WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School football team enjoyed another stellar season.
The Mountaineers finished with a 9-3 record for the second year in a row after being the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5 state playoff runners-up for the second consecutive season.
The top-seeded Mountaineers, under seventh-year head coach Darnell Grant, lost to No. 2 seed Passaic County Tech (Wayne) in a wild 56-42 decision in the state sectional championship game at WOHS’ Joe Suriano Stadium on Friday night, Nov. 14. WOHS defeated PCT 32-29 in the second game of this season on Sept. 7 at Suriano Stadium for its first win of the year. In that game, PCT was missing quarterback Gabe Miles, who sat out per state transfer rules.
In the sectional final, senior running back and Army commit Farad Green Sr. scored all six touchdowns for the Mountaineers.
PCT took a 7-0 lead on Miles’ 2-yard TD run with 7:52 left in the first quarter. The Mountaineers tied it 7-7 as Green ran for a 4-yard TD with 5:44 left in the quarter. Jose Trinidad returned a fumble 19 yards for a TD to give the PCT Bulldogs a 14-7 lead with 2:29 left in the quarter. WOHS tied it 14-14 when Green returned the kickoff 82 yards for a TD with 2:10 remaining.
In the second quarter, Green scored on a 12-yard run with 8:21 left to give the Mountaineers a 21-14 lead. PCT then scored three straight touchdowns. Kadir Younge ran for a 10-yard TD to tie it 21-21 with 7:13 remaining. Miles threw a 10-yard TD pass to Anthony D’Agostino to put the Bulldogs up 27-21 with 1:36 left in the half. WOHS blocked the point-after kick.
The Mountaineers were driving for a score, but Tony Balwin-Harris returned an interception 96 yards for a TD on the final play of the first half to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 33-21. The two-point attempt was unsuccessful.
Younge scored on a 1-yard run with 30 seconds left in the third quarter, followed by the two-point conversion, to make it 41-21.
Green ran for a 4-yard TD to cut it to 41-28 with 11:42 left in regulation. After Randy Lewis scored on a 2-yard run and Miles added the two-point run to make it 49-28, Green scored on a 2-yard run with 4:18 left to cut it to 49-35. PCT’s Naz Mitchell’s 53-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage made it 56-35 with 4:05 remaining. Green’s sixth TD on a 1-yard runwith 1:27 remaining produced the final score.
Last year, the Mountaineers fell to East Orange Campus 13-7 in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5 state final at Suriano Stadium to finish 9-3.
In a Facebook post, Grant expressed his gratitude to the players, coaches, administrators and parents. “The 2025 West Orange Mountaineer Football Team deserves recognition for their hard work this season,” Grant wrote. “Although we did not achieve our goals, I am proud of the progress we have made as a program and the efforts of my coaches, players, and administration. I also want to thank my parents and boosters for their continued support. We will learn from this year’s experience and return next year.”
Photos by Steve Ellmore
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