West Orange HS football team energized, wins first game

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WEST ORANGE — The night belonged to the West Orange High School football team as the Mountaineers took off with a touchdown in the first minutes of the home opener against Newark East Side and won, 44-10. 

Senior running back Makhi Green and junior running back Jekhi “Choo-Choo” Williams stacked up 34 points between them against a struggling East Side team, which scored its points in the fourth quarter. WOHS improved to 1-1 on the season.

This season was a repeat of last year after the Mountaineers lost their first game to St. Peter’s Prep 49-8 the previous week. That defeat energized West Orange and the defense was nearly impenetrable as East Side lost several opportunities to score. 

In 2020, West Orange went on to claim the Super Football Conference-Liberty White Division championship, winning its next six games and finishing No. 11 in the NJ.com Top 20.

Although the Mountaineers lost 36 seniors in June, Head Coach Darnell Grant, now in his third year coaching at WOHS, has put together a solid defense and offense that can rise to the challenge.

West Orange takes on Livingston in an away game on Sept. 17 beginning at 7 p.m.

Photos Courtesy of WOSD