UNION, NJ — The East Orange Campus High School football team lost to Montclair, 42-27, Saturday, Sept. 30.
For what it’s worth, the generations-old rivalry between East Orange and Montclair has its ebbs and flows, along with the ups and downs. In a preseason interview, Montclair head coach Jermaine Johnson made it clear there was unfinished business that the Mounties had, after a disappointing season last year. The Mounties were coming into rivalry week with their best start at a 4-1 record, with their lone blemish to Union City. East Orange Campus came into rivalry week feeling high after taking Bloomfield to task last week to get its first win, but that was after dropping the first three games of the season. This year’s rivalry edition was held at Kean University in Union this past weekend. The game, originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m., was delayed by weather and a state of emergency that was issued by the state of New Jersey.
The game kicked off at noon Saturday afternoon. With the much-anticipated kickoff, there was a lot of competitive talk between the two teams, and it spilled over into the first quarter, where Montclair, led by quarterback Malachi “Bubba” Lewis, showed why he and his Mounties were a force to be reckoned with. The junior quarterback made quick work of the Jaguars defense in the opening minutes of the game, going 52 yards in four plays to open the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run by junior running back Ja-Khi Chance to give Montclair the early 7-0 lead with just 10:42 left in the opening quarter.
East Orange senior QB Kyree Fisher was on his way to answering that first score, putting together an impressive drive on the Jaguars’ first possession. Taking the ball from their own 31-yard line, the Jaguars converted a first down and were in the midst of a five-play drive, when Fisher took his second pass of the day and was immediately intercepted by Montclair senior defensive back Bunmi Ojolo, who returned the ball to the East Orange 32-yard line. Lewis made quick work of the short-yardage field position in seven plays, capping the drive by floating an 18-yard quick-slanting touchdown pass to senior RB Yasin Latham to put Montclair up 14-0 with 4:58 remaining in the first quarter.
Things did not get better for the Jaguars, as they coughed up the ball on the very next possession, putting the Mounties deep in their territory at the East Orange 25-yard line. Lewis needed only three plays to find one of his favorite targets in senior wide receiver David Thom-Rogers toe-dragging the back of the East Orange end zone with a wide-open 20-yard touchdown pass to put Montclair in a commanding 21-0 lead with 3:51 left in the opening quarter.
The Jaguars couldn’t get over the sudden bug of fumbles, as they coughed up another fumble, giving Lewis and his Mounties another early crack at the end zone. The Mounties’ scoring machine was on high alert, taking over at the East Orange 32-yard line. Lewis engineered another seven-play drive to cover the distance with a mix of runs and passes, as he tossed another quick dart from 5 yards out to Thom-Rogers with just 53 ticks on the opening quarter clock. With a 28-0 lead over the Jags, the Mounties would seem to be ready to call in their second- and third-string players, but that’s when the Jaguars decided to make it a fight. Starting from their own 34-yard line to close out the first quarter and start the second quarter, Fisher found a way to tuck and run, while finding his short and intermediate targets with receivers Shakur Taylor, Ahkir Morgan and Jermaine Puryear. Finding their groove and rhythm, the Jags covered 66 yards in 10 plays, where Taylor caught a 7-yard screen pass to cut into the Mounties’ lead, 28-6.
Montclair responded in kind with a two-play, 53-yard strike, as Lewis found another of his targets in senior WR Mack Mathisen for a 43-yard air-mail delivery and score, putting the Mounties up 35-6 halfway through the second quarter.
East Orange found a way to grind out another quick score of its own, covering 62 yards in five plays. Fisher started the drive with a 23-yard scamper through the middle of the Montclair defense, followed by two incomplete passes and another run, before stepping up in the pocket to hit Taylor for a 33-yard tripping-on-his back, circus-deflected touchdown pass to pull the Jaguars within 35-13 with 4:32 left in the half. Montclair had enough of the impending threat that the Jaguars were creating. They simply marched 72 yards in 11 plays, with Chance punching in from 4 yards out to keep the score out of reach at 42-13 to close out the half.
East Orange started the third quarter much differently than what started in the first half. A little of the motivation from the near upset in Randolph was starting to show signs of this happening at Kean’s Alumni Stadium. Both teams traded punts, an interception and a fumble to start the second half. But Fisher drove his squad 90 yards in six plays, flashing his squad’s speed and aerial prowess, by hitting Puryear twice and running for 18 yards and a first down, followed by finding Taylor in a tight window, before hitting sophomore WR Alex Hanks twice to cap off the drive with a 2-yard dart with 4:09 left in the third quarter, giving the Jags some hope, while donning their rally caps to the tune of 42-20 with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
Montclair also started to show signs of mistakes, as it was forced to punt and tried to take advantage of yet another East Orange fumble while gobbling up the clock to close out the third quarter. But ultimately, the Jaguars were able to get a much-needed defensive stop and force a turnover on downs, creating another scoring opportunity to help their rallying cause. From their own 17-yard line, Fisher marched his troops, with the help of some key play calls from head coach John Jacob, with a balanced attack, gobbling up 83 yards with big passes to Taylor, Isaac Mathurin and Morgan. Taylor pulled another big catch in the end zone from 4 yards out to pull within two touchdowns, 42-27, with 6:06 left in the game.
With the game in hand, Montclair decided to play the clock and drain it to ensure that East Orange wouldn’t lob another bomb and cut the game down more. What turned out to be a quarterback duel, both QBs put up monstrous numbers, filling the stat sheet to the brim. Lewis closed out the game with the victory, while completing 13 out of 18 passes for 172 yards and four touchdowns. Fisher showed why he’s a dual-threat quarterback by rushing the ball 14 times for 162 yards, then tossing the rock 29 times, while completing 23 passes for 364 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Jacob wasn’t happy with the outcome of the game, stating to his players the importance of finishing and limiting mistakes as the game went on. “We had too many turnovers to start the game. We won’t win any games going forward if we continue to play like we do.”
Johnson simply said, with a big smile, “Hey, they won the last five games against us, so it’s our turn.” He went on to say that they are treating every game like a playoff game, looking to get back some retribution against all the teams that beat them previously.
East Orange will host West Orange on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. at Newark Schools Stadium for a Super Football Conference–Freedom Red Division matchup that can possibly decide the division championship after East Orange faces Barringer on Thanksgiving Day. Montclair will look to upend the vaunted Irvington Blue Knights when they come to visit Woodman Field in Montclair on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 2:30 p.m.
Photos Courtesy of Kerry E. Porter
East Orange Campus vs. Montclair (Saturday, Sept. 30)
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