ORANGE, NJ – For the second week in a row, the Orange High School varsity football team suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss.
The Tornadoes fell to Parsippany Hills, 34-28, Saturday afternoon, Oct. 21, at Bell Stadium to fall to a 2-5 record.
Quarterback Nick Verducci threw four touchdown passes – three to Jayson Marte – and scored on the game-winner on a 1-yard run as Parsippany Hills rallied from two 21-point deficits to beat the Tornadoes.
Jair McClary broke a scoreless tie in the second quarter with a 1-yard TD run to give OHS a 7-0 lead. Quarterback George Crespo threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Quesean Waithe to make it 14-0. Louie Julien kicked both extra points.
Crespo connected with Waithe on a 32-yard TD pass, followed by Julien’s extra point, for a 21-0 lead in the third quarter.
Parsippany Hills cut it to 21-7 on Verducci’s 4-yard TD pass to Marte later in the third quarter.
The Tornadoes answered when Nyquee Hawkins threw a 7-yard TD pass to Mahkye Boswell and Julien kicked the extra point later in the third quarter.
Verducci hit Marte on a 14-yard TD pass to cut it to 28-14 at the end of the third quarter.
Parsippany Hills continued the momentum with two TDs in the fourth quarter. Verducci threw a 9-yard TD pass to Matthew Borecki. Verducci then hit Marte on a 12-yard TD pass to tie it 28-28.
In the first overtime, Verducci scored on a 1-yard run for the game-winner.
Parsippany Hills improved to 6-1.
Crespo finished 6 of 15 for 199 yards passing. Hawkins rushed for 125 yards on 14 carries and McClary ran for 54 yards on 10 attempts.
Defensively for the Tornadoes, Boswell had 13 tackles; Nasir Givens had 10 tackles, Wilgens Previlon had nine tackles, Hawkins had seven tackles with one interception, and Kyron Copher had seven tackles.
The previous week, the Tornadoes lost to Nutley, 21-14, in overtime on the road after leading 14-0 in the second half.
The Tornadoes will visit Newark Central on Friday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at Shabazz Stadium.