EAST ORANGE, NJ – The 2016 High School Football season officially kicked off around the state. With the restructuring of the conferences throughout Northern New Jersey, competition will be tougher for all schools that are now a part of the brand new North Jersey Super Football Conference touting 115 schools in one conference.
For East Orange Campus High School, that means that Seton Hall Prep is no longer on the schedule, according to the conference regulations. Public schools have the option not to see any Non-Public/Parochial Schools on their schedules in order to level the competition between the two divisions. In the SHP Pirates’ place are a pair of old rivals that also spans back to the old Iron Hills Conference in Columbia High School and Morristown High School.
“We are ready for this,” stated East Orange Campus Head Coach Al-Majid Hutchins. Ready they were as the Jaguars, coming off a very competitive 2016 pre-season where they scrimmaged the likes of Elizabeth, Union City, Willingboro, Camden, Irvington and St. Augustine High Schools, traveled to West New York, NJ to face the Memorial High School Tigers. East Orange, however, gave up two touchdowns in the first quarter to the Tigers. The first touchdown was on East Orange’s second play of their opening drive when Memorial DB Pedro Moralez snagged a pass from East Orange QB Quraan Dixon and raced the opposite direction for a pick 6. The Tigers fumbled the snap for the PAT Kick but managed to score the two-point conversion instead with just 9:49 left in the first quarter for an 8-0 lead. East Orange did not let that phase them as they found an immediate answer after the ensuing kickoff. From their own 40 with just 9:21 still in the first, East Orange RB Giovanni Shine showed his breakaway speed as he galloped 60 yards to close the gap and help East Orange pull within one point after the PAT Kick 8-7. The Tigers struck again late in the first quarter with just over a minute to play. QB Pedro Moralez found paydirt for a 53-yard touchdown but had it called back due to a penalty. He eventually would score again giving Memorial a 15-7 edge capping a nine-play, 73-yard drive with a 10-yard bootleg into the house ending the first quarter.
East Orange took over from there. The Jags marched 65 yards in nine plays capping their answer with a two-yard punch into the end zone by RB/PK Ahmad Lee to pull the Jaguars 15-14 with 10:26 remaining in the half. East Orange scored again after forcing a punt with 5:46 remaining in the first half. They quickly moved the ball 65 yards in four plays with RB Giovanni Shine (7 carries for 219 yards and 2 TDs) dancing his way to daylight, giving the Jaguars their first lead of the game, 21-14 with the PAT Kick. East Orange ended the first half with a 40-yard, pick-6 of their own. DB Eddie Marshall intercepted a Pedro Moralez pass for the 28-14 stretch with the PAT kick.
The second half started with East Orange scoring often, defensively stopping Memorial from advancing beyond their own territory. But the first Jaguar touchdown came on a 47-yard touchdown run on offense by Nasir Neal, who sprinted for the 35-15 score with just 10:56 left in the third quarter. East Orange struck again, this time with a 33-yard strike from QB Quraan Dixon (50 yards, two INTs, one TD) to his WR Naseem White who had a Memorial defender hanging on him as he scored, bringing the growing Jaguars lead to 42-15 with the PAT kick.
East Orange kept the gas on the Tigers as they scored three more times on both offense and defense in the fourth quarter. RB Taiji Hodges scored from 3 yards out, capping a five-play, 24-yard drive, putting the game far out of reach for the Tigers to a comfortable 49-15 lead. “I put my JV guys in after that touchdown by Hodges, hoping we can just ease up a little,” said Hutchins. He was speaking of the 27-yard TD by Dashon Curry and a fumble recovery in the Tigers’ end zone for the final score of 61-15. “This is just the beginning; we have a tough road ahead of us. Now we go back to the drawing board and prepare for Columbia in our home opener Saturday at 1 p.m.,” said Coach Hutchins to his team.
East Orange will play a two game home stand against the Cougars of Columbia High School on Saturday Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. and the Lancers of Livingston High School on Friday Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. before going back on the road to face Paterson Kennedy High School in Paterson on Saturday Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. and vaunted rival Montclair the following weekend in Montclair. “We are looking forward to these games,” said Hutchins. “I honestly believe we can take it this year.”
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