Orange’s Jamar Summers and East Orange’s Tyraiq Beals lead UConn football team in season-opening win

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ORANGE, NJ – Orange’s Jamar Summers and East Orange’s Tyraiq Beals helped the University of Connecticut football team to a 27-20 win over Holy Cross in the season opener Friday, August 31 in Storrs, Conn.

Summers, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior defensive back, posted a team-high 11 tackles (eight solo) with three pass breakups.

Beals, a 6-foot, 185-pound junior wide receiver, had five receptions for 21 yards.

Summers started all 12 games last season. Splitting time at cornerback and safety, the Orange High School graduate recorded 59 tackles (four tackles for loss), nine pass breakups and one fumble recovery. He had an 86-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Navy.

In his junior season in 2015, Summers made First Team All-American Athletic Conference and First Team All-New England by the NE Football Writers’ Association last season when he started 12 of 13 games, posting 39 tackles.

Summers is a pre communications science major.

Beals played in all 13 games, including six starts, as a true freshman in 2015. The East Orange Campus High School graduate was third on the team in receptions with 24 for 275 yards and two touchdowns.

Last season as a sophomore, Beals played in 12 games with two starts, making seven receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. He also returned 12 kickoffs for 186 yards.

Beals is an exploratory major.

Tre Bell, the son of former EOCHS head football coach Marion Bell, also is a defensive back for the UConn Huskies. The 5-11, 175-pound redshirt senior had four tackles (1 solo, 3 assists). Bell sat out last year per transfer rules after transferring from Vanderbilt University.

Last season, the UConn Huskies finished with a 3-9 overall record, 1-7 in the American Athletic Conference.

The Huskies will host South Florida on Saturday, Sept. 9, at noon.