EAST ORANGE, NJ – The East Orange Junior Jaguars football program will send two teams to the National Pop Warner Super Bowl and Cheer Dance Competition, Dec. 3-10, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, at Walt Disney World Resort, in Orlando, Fla.
In addition, for the second year in a row, they are sending their cheerleaders to the Pop Warner Cheer Dance competition. But this time, they are not only sending one team; they are sending three cheer squads.
“We are sending our defending champions Varsity Level, along with our Pee Wee and Junior Pee Wee levels that will be there for the first time,” said Junior Jaguars Trustee and Coach Pernell Johnson. He also stated that the Junior Jaguars will be one of two representatives from the Eastern Region to reach the Pop Warner Super Bowl in the Unlimited Weight Class for football after being defeated by Brick City Lions the week prior.
“We were already in at the time of the game, but we wanted to make sure our Junior Varsity Team gets in as well,” Johnson said.
And that’s what happened. The Junior Varsity Junior Jaguars (ages 10-12 and 13 years old) went to Marsh Creek, Pa. where the 2016 Eastern Regional Championships were held. The host Marsh Creek Eagles stated that they have eight NFL players come out of their program, including current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
The Junior Jaguars had one obstacle in their way and that was the Hornets from Ramapo-Spring Valley, N.Y., which hailed from the Rockland County Pop Warner.
The Junior Jaguars didn’t waste time with the Hornets as they pounced from the opening kickoff. They forced the Hornets to turn over the ball in their opening series and created a pounding drive that went 60 yards in 10 plays where quarterback Samir Dooley sent Sharif Bryan for the 6-yard opening score of 7-0.
The Junior Jaguars defense jumped in on the fun when they blocked Spring Valley’s punt, led by linebacker Al-Shaheed Salaam. They immediately set up the next score that spanned the remainder of the first quarter and the first minute of the second where the Junior Jags punched into the end zone from 2 yards out, capping a seven-play, 32-yard march with 9:06 left in the first half.
East Orange still had control of the game with a 14-0 lead when the Hornets struck back. On the ensuing kickoff, Spring Valley kickoff returner Ruchel Paul found a little crease and buzzed the Junior Jaguars’ sideline as he ran away from everyone 72 yards for the Hornets’ first score of the day. But that was all they could get as the Jaguars proved too strong of a team. Hornets QB Enzo Arjona could not complete a pass as he was hurried and sacked regularly during the game.
The Junior Jaguars even pounced on an interception by cornerback Terrell Neal. Neal saw a screen pass for a Hornets wide receiver and leaped in front for the interception, returning the ball 62 yards to paydirt and stretching East Orange’s lead to 20-6 with 8:34 left in the first half.
The Hornets were able to prevent another Jaguars touchdown by performing a textbook goal-line stand with just 4:43 in the half, forcing a turnover on downs. But once again, East Orange’s stingy defense held the Hornets to less than 4 yards per play.
The second half was all Junior Jags as they scored once in each quarter. Both touchdowns came from Al-Shadeed Salaam, who had a 36-yard rumble in the third quarter and a 23-yard burst in the fourth quarter to lock up their bid to Disney World’s Wide World of Sports.
“We are going to Disney World!!!” shouted the whole team after receiving the Regional Championship Trophy.
“The Eastern Region will help us with $1,000 towards our goal to pay our way to Disney, but we are still short of funds,” stated East Orange Junior Jaguars President Fritz Dupiche. “We will need a minimum of $60,000 to transport 85 student athletes as well as feed them, house them in hotels, and entrance fees to the park.”
The Junior Jaguars have held several fundraisers over the course of the season, but none to the magnitude of Disney. The Junior Jaguars have set up a GoFundme.com account under the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/eojjagsnationals. Any and all assistance will be accepted for their trip to Disney.
“We are asking the community to come and support us as we make our journey to Florida and bring home a national Championship in Cheer and Football,” said Dupiche on behalf of his coaching staff and volunteers. The Junior Jaguars will be leaving this Thursday evening, Dec. 1, or Friday morning, Dec. 2, in order to make their scheduled weigh-in for their players and then prepare to play a quarterfinal game on Saturday, Dec. 3.
The winner will move on to the semifinal round on Tuesday, Dec. 6, for the right to play for the Championship on Friday, Dec. 9.
Coverage of the games will be streamed via www.WatchESPN.com. East Orange will join their conference mates, Brick City Lions Unlimited Team, to vie for the championship in that level as well.
The East Orange Junior Jaguars are only the second team from the immediate area to ever reach this pinnacle in Youth Football. Only 20 years prior, a different organization from the same practice site, Soveral Park, The East Orange Falcons, made the trip to Anaheim, Calif. at Disney Land to compete in the finals.
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