West Orange HS football team eyes turnaround after setback

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange High School football team hopes to get back on the winning track.

The Mountaineers lost to undefeated Mount Olive, 35-27, on Friday, Sept. 22, at WOHS’ Joe Suriano Stadium. 

The loss was the second in a row and moved the Mountaineers to 1-3 on the season. Mount Olive improved to 5-0.

Senior quarterback Jasia Mumford-Lee completed 11 of 20 passes for 182 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Adonis White rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries. Junior 6-foot-4 wide receiver Terrell Wilfong had five catches for 110 yards and three touchdowns and senior wide receiver Justin Laniyan had two catches for 40 yards and a TD.

Mumford-Lee threw a 24-yard TD pass to Wilfong in the first quarter. Mason Insana, a junior, kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Mount Olive answered with two, 1-yard TD runs by junior Tyler Cumming in the first quarter to take a 13-7 lead. 

Laniyan scored on a 12-yard TD pass from Mumford-Lee, followed by Insana’s point-after kick, to give WOHS a 14-13 lead in the third quarter. Cumming scored his third TD on a 2-yard run and the point-after kick was missed to put Mount Olive up 19-14 in the second. Wilfong caught an 11-yard TD pass from Mumford-Lee and Insana kicked the extra point to give the Mountaineers a 21-19 halftime lead.

Senior Jack Mullery scored on a 16-yard TD pass from junior Jake Asbury, who hit junior Jekori Zapata on the two-point conversion, as Mount Olive went up, 27-21, in the third quarter. Cumming scored his fourth TD on a 6-yard run and Asbury scored on the two-point conversion run to extend it to 35-21 in the fourth quarter.

Wilfong scored on a 60-yard pass from Mumford-Lee to cut it to 35-27. The extra-point kick was blocked.

The Mountaineers will visit Bayonne on Friday, Sept. 29, at 6:30 p.m. Bayonne is 2-3.