Irvington HS football team looks to remain a state powerhouse

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

IRVINGTON, NJ — For the past several seasons, the Irvington High School football team has been one of the best in the state.
youtube.com/watch?v=X2bpxtgOEXY&feature=youtu.be

Blessed with Division 1 collegiate-caliber players, the Blue Knights have achieved tremendous success under head coach Ashley “Smoke” Pierre.

This season, the Blue Knights are poised to continue their dominance.

“I feel good about this team,” said Pierre, an Irvington native entering his eighth season at the helm. “We got some experience coming back. We got some extremely talented guys coming back.”

In 2021, the top-seeded Blue Knights won their first state sectional title in program history, defeating second-seeded Middletown South, 28-13, at Irvington in the North 2, Group 4 final. They then defeated Northern Highlands, the North 1, Group 4 champion, 19-14, in the Group 5 state regional title to cap the season with an 11-2 record.

Irvington last season was reclassified to North 1, Group 4, where they hosted Northern Highlands in the semifinals. Northern Highlands, the fourth seed, avenged that regional-final loss with a 17-13 victory over the top-seeded Blue Knights, who ended their season at 8-3.

The Blue Knights lost several stellar seniors to graduation, led by All-American safety Adon Shuler, who has continued his career at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., one of the most storied college football programs in the nation. Other players who graduated from last year were running back Kyshir Desir (Division 2 Alderson Broaddus University, in Philippi, W.V.); receivers Famah Toure (Rutgers University) and Nasir Addison (University of Kentucky); lineman Tyrese George (Long Island University) and Tyler Wint (Division 2 Lincoln University in Pennsylvania), who are all playing at their respective universities.

However, Irvington boasts a myriad of outstanding seniors who have already committed to their respective universities. They are defensive backs Vabou Toure (Penn State University), Cam Richardson (Stanford University), Eric Lee (University of New Hampshire) and Jasin Shiggs (University of Rhode Island). Richardson and Shiggs are both transfers from St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City and Immaculate Conception of Montclair, respectively. Immaculate Conception suspended its football season this fall.

Toure is the third-ranked overall player in the Class of 2024 in New Jersey by 247sports.com, behind offensive tackle Nyier Daniels of Bergen Catholic at No. 2 and Don Bosco Prep defensive lineman and University of Georgia commit Jordan Daniels at No. 1.

Toure recently was selected to participate in the U.S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio, Tex., in January, the same game that Shuler played last January.

Senior defensive back Zakaa Brown received a football scholarship offer from the University of Akron in Ohio. Brown recently was wearing a cast after injuring his wrist during a practice, but he said he expects to be ready for the season opener.

“Everybody on the defense is dedicated, coming out here and working, trying to win that (championship),” Brown said.

Senior CJ Pittman is back as the starting quarterback. Pittman was quite impressive in his first season as the starter last year, earning second-team honors on the all–Super Football Conference–Freedom White Division, selected by the divisional coaches.

The running backs are senior Malaki Dudley and sophomore Jayden Herron.

The offensive line will be led by senior center Tyler James (6-foot-2, 280 pounds), junior tackle Daniel McClees (6-6, 310) and senior guard Dwayne Sterling (5-11, 250). McClees has drawn interest from Boston College, the University of Mississippi and Kent State University.

Besides the stellar group of defensive backs, the Blue Knights have other strong defensive players. Senior linebacker and Division 1 prospect DJ Mangan joins the team after transferring from St. Peter’s Prep. Mangan is the son of Darnel Mangan, the Blue Knights offensive coordinator who recently was named the new Irvington High School principal.

Junior linebacker Jachai Littljohn also is expected to be a strong contributor.

The Blue Knights tasted a championship not too long ago. Now, they want to taste it again. And they got the elements to do it.

“We want to win another one,” Pierre said. “I think we got this group of guys to be able to do it. We have the leadership we need. We just have to put it all together, especially when we get down to this postseason.”

Irvington won five straight Super Football Conference titles from 2017 to 2021. They were undefeated in divisional play during that stretch, winning 20 straight divisional games. The streak ended at 21 games after the Blue Knights lost to Union City, 19-15, at Union City in the SFC–Freedom–White Division last year. Union City won the divisional title with a 4-0 divisional mark and Irvington finished in second place at 3-1.

Pittman, McClees and Littlejohn last season made the second team on the all–SFC–Freedom White. The Freedom White Division teams this season are Irvington, Columbia, Livingston, Montclair and Union City.

The Blue Knights lost to Camden Eastside, 6-0, in the season opener at home on Friday, Aug. 25. Camden Eastside was originally scheduled to play Hudson Catholic. However, Hudson Catholic backed out, and Camden Eastside reached out to Irvington about playing in week 0.

Schedule