EAST ORANGE, NJ – The two-game skid the East Orange Campus High varsity football Jaguars have suffered from the hands of the Mountaineers of West Orange HS and the Minutemen of Elizabeth HS came at a time when the team was beginning to gel on all cylinders. “We were looking forward to winning out the rest of the way,” stated East Orange Campus Head Coach Al-Majid Hutchins. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t fulfill that goal due to key injuries for some of our players.”
East Orange lost its last two games by a total of 75-26. This left the Jaguars in unprecedented territory this season.
For the second year in a row, the Jaguars qualified for the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 5 Playoffs as they were able to hold off Elizabeth and Union for the coveted fourth seed and home field advantage. “We wanted to keep the pressure up but we couldn’t respond the way we would have liked,” said Hutchins. “Our execution was just not there for those last two games. West Orange beat us 33-12 last weekend (Nov. 5) with our former player CJ Wilson is one thing, but to lose in a playoff game 42-14 to Elizabeth at home is something we will have to go back to the drawing board.”
But first the Jaguars will look to close the 2016 regular and postseasons with their annual Thanksgiving Rivalry Game against the Barringer High School Blue Bears in Newark’s Schools Stadium. The game itself will kick off at 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving.
When asked about their offseason plans, Coach Hutchins stated that a majority of the team will be running track for the rest of the school year, while some will play basketball and wrestle to help with their skills and footwork.
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