Khalfani Alleyne poses at Bell Stadim in Orange during preseason last August.
ORANGE, NJ — Orange High School head football coach Khalfani Alleyne has been named the head coach of the East team in the 29th annual Paul Robeson High School All-Star Football Classic at Paul Robeson Stadium in East Orange on Tuesday, June 13.
The game, which has been held at Robeson Stadium since its inception, features graduating seniors from six counties. The East team comprises Essex, Hudson and Union counties. The West team consists of Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties.
For the first time, Union County has been added to the game. Union County participated in the old Snapple Bowl every July for several decades, going up against Middlesex County.
Alleyne, a 2001 OHS graduate who completed his second season as the Tornadoes’ head coach last fall, is excited to be the East head coach.
“It’s a huge honor, a huge honor,” said Alleyne in a phone interview with the Record–Transcript on Thursday, March 16. “It’s a game that I played in myself back in 2001. The opportunity is amazing.”
Representing OHS in the game will be defensive back Khy’Ron Hill and safety Jabril Bridgeman. Both players are undecided on their college choices, but have received Division 1 interest, Alleyne said. Hill has received offers from Wager College and Long Island University, while Bridgeman has an offer from Sacred Heart University.
Alleyne, who was an assistant coach in the Robeson Classic last year, is impressed by the rest of the East roster.
“It’s an amazingly talented group of guys,” he said. “We, as a coaching staff, myself, coach (Damon) Harrison of Newark East Side, coach Mark Ingram from Newark Central, coach (Robert) Hampton from Lincoln (of Jersey City), evaluated some of the guys on film and these guys have incredible talent. There’s a lot of speed, a lot of grit.”
Alleyne also is thrilled to have Union County in the game.
“I’m glad we added Union County, because that just opens it up to so much talent, so much more talent,” he said.
Alleyne credited Mike Carter and Ken Trimmer for their tireless dedication in organizing the Robeson Game since its inception. Carter has been the head coach at Bloomfield High School since 1991 and is the general manager of the East team, while Trimmer, one of the founders of the Robeson Classic, retired as head football coach at Caldwell High School in 2016 after 23 years, leading the program to 20 state playoff appearances and three state sectional titles. He was at Caldwell for 53 years.
“Mike Carter and Ken Trimmer, these guys are instrumental in this entire game,” Alleyne said. “They are the brains behind the operation. They are the guys that run the show and have been putting this together for the last 28 years. Nothing short of amazing from those guys.”
The Robeson game was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. In 2021, as the pandemic continued, the game was held as a virtual event to honor the players.
Alleyne is looking forward to the game.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the game, looking forward to the opportunity to coach these young men before they go off to college, just happy to be around a good coaching staff and a great entity. It feels great, it feels amazing,” he said.
Alleyne took over as OHS head coach in the third game of the 2021 season after longtime head coach Randy Daniel decided to step down following the Week 2 forfeit loss to Newark West Side. Alleyne played for Daniel, who was the head coach for the Tornadoes for over 25 seasons since 1996.
The West defeated the East 19-0 in last year’s Robeson Classic.
Photo by Joe Ragozzino
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