Marco Soto named Irvington HS football head coach

IRVINGTON, NJ — The Irvington High School football team will have a familiar person to lead the program.

Marco Soto, who has been assistant coach for the Blue Knights for the past few years, was officially named the new IHS head coach.

Soto was approved by the Board of Education during its monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 20. He succeeds Ashley “Smoke” Pierre, who stepped down at the end of his eighth season last fall.

The Blue Knights have been one of the successful programs in the area for the past several years, boasting dozens of collegiate-caliber players, some of whom have gone on to major programs, such at Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, Notre Dame and Kentucky.

Irvington won its first state sectional title in 2021, capturing the New Jersey State Interscholastic  Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state championship with a 28-13 home win over Middletown South in the final. They went on to win the 2021 North Group 4 regional title, beating Section 1 champion Northern Highlands, 19-14, in the final at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium, to cap an 11-2 campaign.

Irvington is coming off a 6-5 season during which they defeated fifth-seeded Middletown North, 26-7, in the quarterfinals at home before losing a heartbreaking 15-12 decision at top-seeded Randolph in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 state playoffs. Irvington was the No. 4 seed. 

Pierre, an Irvington native, was the head coach of the Blue Knights for the past eight seasons, compiling an impressive 63-25 record, including two state sectional championship appearances. The other sectional final came in 2018, which was the second in program history. Irvington also won five straight Super Football Conference divisional titles from 2017-2021.

Photo Courtesy of Marco Soto

  Irvington High School football