Columbia senior captain Henry Aaron, above, tries to shake off a defender during a scrimmage.
MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — On Thursday, Aug. 31, the Columbia High School football team will host Livingston High School in the season opener at newly-renovated Lynn V. Profeta Field at the Underhill Sports Complex at 6:30 p.m. It will be the Cougars’ first home game since the 2021 season. Columbia last season played all their games on the road due to renovations at Profeta Field.
The Cougars have had a successful summer of training and turned in exemplary performances in major regional 7 v. 7 tournaments. In early July, the Cougars made it to the championship game in the New York Jets-hosted tournament, losing to highly-touted Erasmus Hall of Brooklyn, N.Y. Bouncing back two weeks later, the Cougars went 7-0 in the West Orange 7 v. 7 tournament and brought home the championship trophy, besting several squads, including those from Hillside and Union.
The team is led by head coach Gary Mobley and a strong senior class. The 13-strong senior leadership is made up of William Fanka, Steve Memo, Ethan Parlin, Jordan Paul-Pierre, Krishad Clark, Henry Aaron, Zhamir Rowan, Max Gigante, John Richards, Charlie Morrison, Ryan Duval, Yassan “Pop” Fields and Max Archer. The seniors are supported by a talented and growing group of juniors and sophomores. Mobley and his coaches are all pleased with the squad of ninth-graders who came out this year.
The Cougars have been fueled all summer by the way their matchup against Livingston a year ago ended. With under a minute left in the game, then-senior quarterback Tarik Huff dropped back and completed a pass to Rowan for what appeared to be a Cougar first down around the Lancer 30, only for Rowan’s outstretched arm to be ruled short of the marker by the officials.
The Cougars are fired up to have another shot at the Lancers, and have been waiting patiently for a full year to get their revenge.
Mobley has deemed this year’s team the “redeem team,” as the Cougars hope to redeem themselves of last season.
In the Cougars’ week 2 matchup against Paterson Eastside, the Cougars will come in with a similar mindset. The Cougars came up just short again in week 2 of the 2022 season against the Ghosts in a heartbreaking 3-0 loss.
In 2022, the Cougars started the season 0-2, with two well-played games they felt they should have won.
Beginning Aug. 31, the Cougars look to turn that around.
Photos Courtesy of Aidan Heindl
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