The Tornadoes battle Barringer on Oct. 8 at Bell Stadium. Orange, 35-19, for its first win of the season,
ORANGE, NJ — The football season has reached the midpoint for the Orange High Tornadoes and the Barringer Blue Bears. Both were on a losing streak and wanted to break into the win column. “Somebody has to win today. I sure hope that we are able to do that tonight,” said Barringer head coach Dave McCombs before the game at Bell Stadium in Orange on Friday evening, Oct. 8. It was homecoming for the Tornadoes, and they had a packed house, with alumni from classes of yesteryear there to see their squad do battle.
Orange prevailed, 35-19, for its first win of the season. The Tornadoes improved their record to 1-5.
After the opening kickoff to Barringer and an eventual forced punt, Orange got things going, as it marched 72 yards in seven plays all on the ground. The Blue Bears didn’t have much of an answer for the Tornadoes throughout the first half as they turned the ball over with costly fumbles and punts. Orange’s aforementioned drive established a true threat in running back Nazmir Palmer (202 yards on 22 carries, three touchdowns). Orange head coach Khalfani Alleyne stated that it was about establishing control of the game. Quarterback Maurice Williams capped the drive from 15 yards out with just 7:11 left in the first quarter and the 6-0 lead.
Williams struck again late in the second quarter as both teams were playing fast, loose, and close to the vest, as if they were trying to see who would blink first. Barringer, led by quarterback John Camacho and linebacker Akram Kawuma, was still formulating a plan that seemed to work but was again forced to punt the ball to the Orange 15-yard line. Williams found his favorite target in Khyron Hill on a wide receiver screen play for an 85-yard touchdown. After the 2-point conversion, Orange stretched its lead to 14-0 heading into the half.
As the second half started, the Tornadoes were looking more like themselves, as they had more fireworks going. Palmer found the express lane on the first play from scrimmage as he churned his way up the Orange sideline, hit the spin button out of would-be tackles and was gone 75 yards later to put the Tornadoes up 21-0 with just 11:35 left in the third quarter.
But the Blue Bears were waking up slowly, as they found room to roam and rumble. Fullback Rakir Brown ran straight into a pileup on their own 48-yard line. He was able to break free and rumble 52 yards, for a 21-7 trailing score. The Blue Bears struck again after they recovered a fumbled snap. Brown bulled his way in from 6 yards out to close the gap, 21-13, with 8:08 left in the third quarter. The Tornadoes had an immediate response in the form of the Williams–Hill passing tandem. Williams simply air-dropped a 42-yard strike to Hill to keep Orange out front by a 28-13 margin.
The fourth quarter had more fireworks, as Orange found the end zone again, with Palmer doing the honors from 4 yards out to cap a six-play, 39-yard drive to put the game out of reach. Barringer felt it had some fight left, as it went almost the length of the field in five plays with the help of backup quarterback Alexander Feliciano, who swept to his left side and put the ball within striking distance at the Orange 40-yard line. Brown took it the rest of the way up the middle for the final touchdown of the game and the 35-19 score.
Orange will play its final home game of the regular season when it plays Livingston this Friday evening, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Barringer will celebrate its homecoming on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 16, at Newark Schools Stadium when Nutley pays a visit for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
When asked about making a run for the playoffs, Alleyne said, “All I’d like us to focus on is being 1-0 next week.” He continued to say that he is happy for what he and his staff were able to accomplish with the players and looks forward to continuing to build.
Photos Courtesy of Kerry E. Porter
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