UPDATED: East Orange Campus HS football team routs East Side, 50-2, in the season opener

EAST ORANGE, NJ — The East Orange Campus High School football team cruised to an easy 50-2 win over Newark East Side to kick off the season on Friday night, Sept. 6, at Schools Stadium in Newark.

The Jaguars will face Passaic this Saturday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. in their home opener at Paul Robeson Stadium.

Head coach Rae Oliver’s Jaguars were coming off a very strong 7-3 campaign last fall and picked up where they left off as they returned a veteran squad led by seniors Nasir Montgomery, Locksley Burke, Keshawn Munford and Quadir Scott.

East Side, on the other hand, was looking to take steps in rebuilding its program, coming off a 2-6 season.

The Red Raiders, who will be playing in the newly-formed Ivy Division in the North Jersey Super Football Conference next year, had their work cut out for them as the Jaguars jump out to a 12-0 first-quarter lead. The Jaguars marched 79 yards in eight plays on the opening drive, thanks to the running of senior running back Bryant Manuel, who broke out for a 43-yard gain and capped it off with a five-yard score the next play with just 9:05 left in the opening quarter.

Manuel struck again with a 28-yard scoot to the house, giving his Jaguars the immediate upper hand with 5:32 left in the first quarter.

East Side took advantage of a mishandled snap late in the first quarter when East Orange was set to punt from deep in its territory. The ball got lost in the scrum, but was ultimately forced out for the safety and the Red Raiders’ lone score of the game.

Penalties plagued most of the game, however. East Orange quarterback Nasir Montgomery found ways to get his team to the promise land repeatedly. He found his way out of trouble in the second quarter and sprinted up the East Side sideline for a 79-yard score after the two-point conversion to make it 20-2.  He struck again through the air with a 23-yard connection with wide receiver Quadir Scott after flipping a short field to go up 28-2 at the half.

East Orange kept its foot on the gas pedal in the third quarter when it returned the favor and blocked a Red Raider punt in the end zone for a safety to keep the score far out of reach at 30-2.

“The penalties hurt us, although we still managed to pull it out,” Oliver said.

East Orange’s monstrous defense, led by lineman Keshawn Munford, linebacker Locksley Burke and defensive back Ian Brown, forced the Red Raiders to switch quarterbacks after sacking Carlos Martinez four times, two by Munford. Matthew Parchment’s 30-yard scamper set up a three-yard score for the growing 38-2 lead. Burke got into the act as he capped an eight-play drive from three yards out, making it 44-2. East Orange would score the final touchdown of the night when Terrell Neals galloped 72 yards.

Said East Side head coach Bryant Grant, “We needed to see where we are as a team. By taking these games, we will know how far we have to go as we continue to rebuild our program.”

The Red Raiders will visit Kearny on Sept. 13.