West Orange sophomore Timothy Evans runs for yardage against Bloomfield this season (Photo Courtesy of WOHS Sports Media Association)
PLAINFIELD, NJ — The West Orange High School football team continued its mastery of road state playoff games.
The defending champion Mountaineers, seeded sixth, upset third-seeded Plainfield High School, 25-21, in the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state playoffs on Friday night, Oct. 27.
The Mountaineers improved to 5-4 overall. Plainfield fell to 6-3.
West Orange, under fifth-year head coach Darnell Grant, will visit No. 2 seed Union City in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.
It’s been a great turnaround for the Mountaineers, who were 1-3 before winning the next three games, which proved pivotal in qualifying for the playoffs.
West Orange last season also was the No. 6 seed in the North 2, Group 5 state sectional playoffs, as it won three straight road games, beating No. 3 seed Watchung Hills in the quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Ridgewood in the semifinals in overtime and No. 1 seed Phillipsburg in the final. West Orange appeared in its first-ever state sectional championship game last year.
North 2, Group 5 playoffs
Quarterfinals
No. 1 seed Phillipsburg defeated No. 8 seed Morristown, 49-7.
No. 4 seed Westfield defeated No. 5 seed Clifton, 36-0.
No. 6 seed West Orange defeated No. 3 seed Plainfield, 25-21.
No. 2 seed Union City defeated No. 7 seed Hackensack, 41-7.
Semifinals
Westfield (5-4) at Phillipsburg (8-1).
West Orange (5-4) at Union City (8-1).
West Orange results
• Sept. 2: loss, vs. Montclair, at Hinchliffe Stadium, in Paterson, 24-21
• Sept. 8: win, vs. Bloomfield, 41-0
• Sept. 14: loss, at Passaic County Tech, 43-19
• Sept. 22: loss, vs. Mount Olive, 35-27
• Sept. 29: win, at Bayonne, 29-0
• Oct. 7: win, vs. East Orange Campus, at Schools Stadium, in Newark, 29-6
• Oct. 13: win, vs. North Bergen, 43-0
• Oct. 20: loss, at Irvington, 14-0
• Oct. 26: win, at Plainfield, 25-21.
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