Columbia HS football team has solid experience at key positions

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MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Columbia High School football team is searching for its first state playoff victory.

With experienced skill position players, the Cougars are confident that they can reach that goal.

“I like our experience coming back with our skill positions on both sides of the ball,” said seventh-year head coach Gary Mobley. “Our linebackers and secondary are all coming back and experienced. Offensively, all of our skills — quarterback, all the running backs and receivers, pretty much — are all back from last year, so that’s what excites me, having experienced core guys coming back that tasted a little bit of success and are hungry for more.”

The Cougars last season finished 5-5 after losing to Ridgewood in the quarterfinal round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5 state playoffs.

Senior returning starting quarterback Tarik Huff is a dual-threat signal-caller. Mobley is looking for Huff to continue maturing and improve his decision making, especially on third downs, in order for the offense to become more efficient. Huff defensively will play in the secondary.

Zhamir Rowan, a junior receiver and cornerback, is coming off a standout season in which he led the team in touchdown receptions and interceptions en route to earning first team honors in the all-county and all–Super Essex Conference Freedom Red Division, voted by the county and division coaches.

“We’re looking for big things from him on both sides of the ball, and on special teams,” Mobley said.

Rowan said the team’s chemistry is a strength.

“The thing I like about this year’s team is the chemistry,” Rowan said. “Everybody does their job, and we all come as a team.”

Stevenson Memo is another key player. The junior wide receiver and free safety made second team all-county and first team all-division last year.

The Cougars also return junior running back, linebacker, kicker and punter Henry Aaron, who kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired against Bloomfield last season. Aaron has shown improvement in his leg strength and accuracy during preseason, noted Mobley.

Aaron is looking forward to the season.

“We got a lot of returning skill players,” Aaron said. “Almost all of our skill players were sophomores last year, so we got a young group. We got a lot of senior leaders taking guys under their wing.”

The offensive and defensive lines are inexperienced. Leading the way on those lines will be 6-foot-4, 230-pound junior offensive tackle, defensive tackle and defensive end Liam Haley. Mobley said Haley will be a steady force on both sides.

For the Cougars, this is the year to make history and get a playoff win.

“It’s time to get that done, by any means necessary,” Mobley said. “We want to get to the playoffs and win a playoff game. That’s our goal.”

Mobley was encouraged by his team’s effort in a tri-scrimmage at West Orange High School on Wednesday morning, Aug. 17. Willingboro was the other team in the scrimmage.

“I was encouraged by the young linemen that we are going to need to depend on,” said Mobley immediately following the scrimmage. “They showed some sparks today. But just like any first scrimmage, we are going to need to show boatloads of consistency. We need to be a little bit more intense in what we are doing. But I think we will round into shape. I was encouraged by what I saw.”

Indeed, the Cougars are looking forward to a successful season.

“I am really excited about this year,” said Dylan Carthens, a senior wide receiver and cornerback. “We got a lot of returning players. We’re really talented. I expect to go all the way and win a state championship.”

Akbar Holiday, a senior fullback and linebacker, said the team’s work ethic has been strong. “We are ready, confident,” he said.

The Cougars will begin the season on the road against Livingston on Thursday, Sept. 1.

The assistant coaches are Tony Rodriguez, Dallas Clem, Darnell Butler, Steven Brown Jr., Kendall Ashford, Tyhmir Lassiter and Olajuwon Salako.

Notes: The Cougars made the state sectional playoffs in Mobley’s first season n 2016. They missed the playoffs the following three seasons. The 2020 playoffs were canceled due to the pandemic.

This year, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association will add an extra round and will play down to group state public champions for the first time since the current playoff format was instituted in 1974.

In 2009, Columbia clinched its first state sectional playoff berth since 1982 and just its second ever. The team lost to Westfield in the quarterfinals of the North 2, Group 4 state playoffs and finished with an 8-2 record. The Cougars made their second straight playoff appearance in 2010 before losing to Bridgewater–Raritan in the North 2, Group 4 quarterfinals for their only defeat of the season, finishing with a 9-1 record. Dave Curtin, who died in 2016 after a courageous battle with cancer, was the head coach of the Cougars from 2007 to 2013. He missed the 2011 season due to health problems.

Columbia is in the Super Football Conference Freedom White Division. The other teams in the division are Irvington, Livingston, Montclair and Union City.

Here is a video of some of the players:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcapGu8PGgw

2022 Columbia football schedule