Irvington HS football coach ‘Smoke’ Pierre leaves strong legacy

IRVINGTON, NJ — Seven years ago, Ashley “Smoke” Pierre returned home to Irvington and restored an Irvington High School football program to its previous glorious state.

Under Pierre, the Blue Knights were one of the best public school teams in the state, blessed with dozens of college-caliber players, including many who went on to major colleges, such as Notre Dame, Nebraska, Penn State, Kentucky and Rutgers.

After eight terrific seasons, Pierre announced on Dec. 14 his decision to step down as the Blue Knights head coach.

In a long statement titled “To My Irvington Family” posted on Facebook, Pierre wrote, “It is with strong emotions that I bid my farewell, after eight transformative years as the head football coach at Irvington High School.”

Pierre went on to thank his players, coaches, the community, administration, athletic department, booster club and managers, expressing his gratitude in detail. His successor has yet to be announced.

Pierre had a winning record in each of his eight seasons, making the playoffs in each year that the postseason was contested (the 2020 playoffs were canceled due to the pandemic). 

Pierre’s biggest legacy is leading the program to its second and third sectional playoff final appearances and helping to bring the program’s first state sectional championship in 2021.

Overall, Pierre, who grew up in Irvington, had a 63-25 record for a .715 winning percentage. 

Pierre took over the program in 2016, as the Blue Knights were coming off a 3-7 season. The Blue Knights finished 8-2 in Pierre’s first season, including a 4-1 record in the Super Football Conference–Freedom White Division, losing to Wayne Hills in the regular-season finale for their only divisional loss to finish second in the division.

The Blue Knights then won five straight divisional titles. Irvington won the Freedom White title from 2017-2019, won the Liberty Red Division title in 2019 and won the Freedom White title in 2021. Irvington won 21 straight divisional games, a winning streak that was snapped in 2022 with a 19-15 loss at Union City.

The Blue Knights, seeded fourth, advanced to the semifinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 playoffs in 2017, losing at top-seeded Phillipsburg, 21-20. 

The following year, the third-seeded Blue Knights advanced to the Section 2, Group 4 championship game for only the program’s second sectional final appearance and first since 2006. They faced Phillipsburg again, a few days after a big snowstorm. Phillipsburg won, 42-7. Irvington finished 8-4.

In 2019, Irvington, seeded fourth, reached the semifinals of the Section 1, Group 4 playoffs, falling at top-seeded Northern Highlands, 30-16, to finish 7-4.

After going 7-2 in the 2020 pandemic season, Irvington produced its best season in the playoff era. The top-seeded Blue Knights defeated No. 2 seed Middletown South, 28-13, in the Section 2, Group 4 championship game at IHS’ Football Complex before defeating Northern Highlands, 19-14, to win the North, Group 4 state regional championship, to cap an 11-2 season. Pierre was named the Star-Ledger state Coach of the Year.

Irvington moved to Section 1, Group 4 the next year, and was the No. 1 seed. The Blue Knights met Northern Highlands again in the semifinals at IHS. But Irvington lost, 17-13, to finish 8-3.

This past season, the Blue Knights had a rough start, suffering two straight shutout losses to Camden Eastside, 6-0, at home and Millville, 34-0, on the road. After beating East Orange Campus, 50-20, at Schools Stadium in Newark, the Blue Knights shut out Columbia, 21-0, at Underhill Field in Maplewood to move to 2-2. They dropped their next two games, both at home, to Seton Hall Prep, 23-12, and divisional foe Union City, 7-0, but went on to post three straight shutout wins at Montclair, 27-0, at Livingston, 44-0, and home against West Orange, 14-0, giving them four shutout wins this season.

As the No. 4 seed in the Section 2, Group 4 playoffs, the Blue Knights defeated fifth-seeded Middletown North, 26-7, in the quarterfinals at home, but lost a heartbreaking 15-12 decision at top-seeded and undefeated Roxbury in the semifinals to finish 6-5.

Under Pierre, the Blue Knights have produced 10 all-state players, including two U.S. Army All-Americans – 2023 graduate  and safety Adon Shuler, who is now at Notre Dame, and current senior defensive back Vaboue Toure, who signed with Penn State.

Here is a breakdown of Pierre’s record at Irvington:

• 2016: 8-2 overall, 4-1 in Freedom–White.
• 2017: 8-3 overall, 5-0 in Freedome–White.
• 2018: 8-4 overall, 4-0 in Freedom–White
• 2019: 7-4 overall, 4-0 in Freedom–White.
• 2020: 7-2 overall, 3-0 in Liberty–Red.
• 2021: 11-2 overall, 4-0 in Freedom–White
• 2022: 8-3 overall, 3-1 in Freedom–White.
• 2023: 6-5 overall, 3-1 in Freedom–White.

Photos Courtesy of Felicia Laguerre Owens and Joe Ragozzino

  Irvington High School football