IRVINGTON, NJ — The Irvington High School football team was on the verge of seeing its state championship aspirations dashed.
But the top-seeded Blue Knights, arguably one of the top teams in the area, refused to let that happen. Irvington avoided a huge upset when it rallied for a hard-fought 11-6 victory over eighth-seeded Linden in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 playoffs at the IHS Sports Complex on Friday night, Nov. 5.
Trailing 6-3 with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter, IHS quarterback Saquan Gordon fired a touchdown pass to Zaheem Crawford Patterson to give the Blue Knights their first lead of the game. Adon Shuler scored on the ensuing two-point conversion.
The IHS defense then stopped Linden on a fourth-down play to seal the thrilling victory.
Linden took a 6-0 lead just six seconds into the second quarter on a touchdown pass on third-and-goal.
With 6:22 left in the first half, Anthony Ellis kicked a field goal for the Blue Knights to cut it to 6-3.
The Blue Knights, who improved to 8-2 on the season, will host fifth-seeded Colonia in the semifinals. It marks the fourth straight time that the Blue Knights have reached the semifinals. They made the semifinals in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Last season’s playoffs were canceled due to the pandemic. In 2018, they reached the championship, but lost at Phillipsburg.
The other semifinal pits No. 3 seed Sayreville at No. 2 seed Middletown South.
The following are the other quarterfinals results in North 2, Group 4:
No. 5 seed Colonia defeated No. 4 seed Ranolph, 32-21.
No. 3 seed Sayreville defeated No. 6 seed Middletown North, 18-0.
No. 2 seed Middletown South defeated No. 7 seed North Hunterdon, 34-20.
The following are the season records for the semifinal teams:
- Colonia, 8-2.
- Irvington, 8-2.
- Middletown South, 7-1.
- Sayreville, 8-2.
Photo Courtesy of Felicia Laguerre Owens
Survive and advance: No. 1 seed Irvington HS football team wins playoff thriller added by Joe Ragozzino on
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