Jaguars players sit at a table and show their ‘shark dorsal fins’ during a recent ceremony. The Jaguars took on the shark theme during their perfect 13-0 season.
EAST ORANGE, NJ — When we last saw the East Orange Campus High School football team, they were marching through the streets of East Orange in a victory parade shortly after defeating the Clifton Mustangs in a triple-overtime thriller to win the state regional championship. They have since had nine seniors sign letters of intent to play at colleges and universities. Most notably, Kyle Louis will play at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Ahmad Nalls will play at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
The East Orange Campus football Jaguars will be graduating 35 seniors this year, including their Lady Jaguar, running back Jessica Felix. Felix is the second female to play for the team and the first female player ever to score in a game. Her trailblazing efforts were among many that made this team special this past season.
Geraldo Gibson’s booming leg sent many footballs flying through the uprights, clocking in nearly 60 yards on a couple of occasions that helped the Jags flip the field and the game when it counted the most.
Dieunerst Collin has a following that started when he was just 10 years old. “I need to show my fans that I wasn’t joking about my ring,” he said. Collin, who was one of the stalwarts of a monstrous front line that dubbed themselves the Killer Whales, will play at NCAA Division II’s Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.
“We have several of our players still waiting on offers to go to college, but we want them to just go and get their education first,” said head coach Rae Oliver. Oliver was extremely proud of his team, exemplified when he and his staff were all quick to step in to pose with each player and family as the players received their coveted championship rings.
“I am extremely proud of what we could accomplish,” said East Orange Campus’ athletic director, Michael Baldwin. “This has never been done in our history, and we want to take the time and celebrate these young men and women for what they earned. By getting it done in the classroom and on the field we saw them all go 13-0, and for that we got them something that they will never forget.” Superintendent of Schools AbdulSaleem Hasan was also on hand, along with the principals from the three high schools — East Orange Campus, East Orange STEM Academy, and Cicely Tyson Performing Arts Middle and High School.
East Orange will start its 2022 football campaign the week of Sept. 2 when they will take on the Clifton Mustangs in a much-anticipated rematch. The game will be at Clifton’s Memorial Stadium.
Congratulations again, Jaguars!
Photos Courtesy of Kerry E. Porter
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