IRVINGTON – The Irvington High School football team will embark on a new era this season on several fronts.
The Blue Knights will be led by new head coach Ashley Pierre, an Irvington native. Pierre joined the coaching staff last season and served as the defensive coordinator under Pete Pascarella, who stepped down this past spring after six seasons at the helm.
Moreover, the team will be playing in the newly-formed North Jersey Super Football Conference, which consists of 114 high school teams. The conference is a merger of four leagues: Super Essex Conference, Big North Conference, Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League, and Northwest Jersey Conference.
The Blue Knights will be in Freedom Division B in the conference. The other teams in the division are:
- Wayne Hills
- Passaic Valley
- Wayne Valley
- Millburn
- Belleville
The Blue Knights will kick off the regular season Sept. 9 at Lincoln of Jersey City, looking to improve on last year’s 3-7 record.
IHS also has been reclassified for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association playoffs. The Blue Knights will move to North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 this season. The team had been in Section 2, Group 4 since 2012.
In addition, rising senior quarterback Jyvon Brown, a four-year letterwinner, received a scholarship offer from Stony Brook University on Friday, July 29. It is Brown’s fourth Football Championship Schools (FCS) scholarship. His other offers are from Monmouth University, James Madison University and Texas State University.
Stony Brook, located on Long Island, N.Y., wants Brown as a wide receiver, a position that he hasn’t played. But Brown (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) said switching positions won’t be a problem for him.
Brown visited Stony Brook’s camp two days before receiving the offer.
“I was excited to receive the offer from Stony Brook especially because I received the offer for a position that I don’t play,” said Brown on Monday, Aug. 1, by phone. “I know I got more than just one position that I can play. All the coaches there had a lot of energy and they were (excited) to introduce themselves to me.”
Brown also said he is receiving interest from Football Bowl Schools (FBS) such as the University of Maryland, Rutgers University, and Boston College.
Brown and junior wide receiver Jashiah Provillon form a dynamic duo in the passing game for the Blue Knights. Provillon (6-2, 190) already has received FBS offers from Penn State University, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, and Boston College.
IHS schedule
Sept. 9, at Lincoln (Jersey City), 7 p.m.
Sept. 16, West Orange, 7 p.m.
Sept. 23, Barringer, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30, Nutley, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7, at Millburn, 7 p.m.
Oct. 15, Wayne Valley, 1 p.m.
Oct. 21, at Belleville, 7 p.m.
Oct. 29, Passaic Valley, 1 p.m.
Nov. 4, at Wayne Hills, 7 p.m.
Irvington HS football team begins new era added by Joe Ragozzino on
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