The Irvington High School varsity football team will get a shot at redemption.
The Blue Knights, under second-year head coach “Smoke” Pierre, will host Wayne Hills this Friday night, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in a game that will decide the North Jersey Super Football Conference-Freedom White Division championship.
It’s the same scenario as last year when both teams met in Week 9, with host Wayne Hills winning 48-27 and handing Irvington its first loss of the season. Irvington had an 8-0 record going into that game.
Both teams enter this Friday’s game with 6-2 overall records. Irvington is 4-0 while Wayne Hills is 3-0 in the division. Wayne Hills did not have Belleville on its schedule this season. Belleville is in the same division.
Last season, Wayne Hills and Irvington were in the same playoff bracket – the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 playoffs. After the win over Irvington, Wayne Hills was seeded No. 1 based on the power-point standings. The NJSIAA subsequently banned Wayne Hills from the playoffs after allegedly using a ineligible player, thus awarding Irvington the top seed and division championship. However, Wayne Hills won an appeal and was reinstated as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Wayne Hills went on to beat rival Wayne Valley at MetLife Stadium for the Section 1, Group 4 playoff championship. Irvington lost in the first round to Randolph, 13-12, at home to finish 8-2.
This season, the Blue Knights are in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 playoff bracket, while Wayne Hills remains in Section 1, Group 4.
The Blue Knights are coming off a 26-21 win over Passaic Valley on Saturday, Oct. 28, in Little Falls in a division game. Senior quarterback Brandon Robinson threw a 23-yard TD pass to N.C. State-bound senior Jasiah Provillon for the decisive score with 5:01 left in regulation. It was Robinson’s third TD pass of the game.
Wayne Hills is coming off 31-0 division win over Wayne Valley.
The Blue Knights are in fourth place in the North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 power-point standings with 107.5 points. North Hunterdon (7-1) is in first place, followed by Phillipsburg (7-0, 143 points), and Colonia (6-2, 115 points). The top eight teams by the eighth game in the power-point standings earn playoff berths. The playoffs begin Nov. 10-11.
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