West Orange HS football team survives playoff matchup with Plainfield

PLAINFIELD, NJ — The West Orange High School football team defeated Plainfield, 25-21, in the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 playoffs on Friday, Oct. 26.

WTo say the NJSIAA North Section 2 Group 5 first round playoffs was a quagmire of heavyweights is to say that rolling the dice for upsets would not be easy with the likes of Phillipsburg, Union City, Westfield, West Orange, Clifton, Hackensack, Morristown, and Plainfield. 

For the latter three mentioned, it would be the first time in several years that anyone of them would make the tournament after an extended absence. 

For Plainfield it would be their first appearance in nearly 20 years where they lost to Union 20-6 under then head coach Clinton Jones. For West Orange, they are making their second consecutive appearance as the defending sectional champs. Plainfield, now under the direction of Head Coach James Williams, made noise this season finishing as the regular season as the third seed for the sectional playoffs. But it wasn’t just about the players and the schools, it was about the familiarity of both coaching staffs and what was the underlying connections they all have. For James Williams, his staff consisted of two former head coaches and a couple of assistant coaches from East Orange Campus and Shabazz high schools. For West Orange Head Coach Darnell Grant, it was the crossover effect that goes back to his days at Irvington and Shabazz high schools. 

West Orange (5-4) would make the 40-minute trek through the Route 22 corridor to Plainfield’s Hub Stein Sports Complex to take on the Cardinals this past Friday evening under the lights. Right from the opening whistle, both teams did not wait for their fans to get their popcorn, drinks, and seats as the Cardinals took the first play from scrimmage for an immediate house call getting good field position on the opening kickoff. Cardinals WR Al-Khabir Bethune took a handoff with nothing but open greenery taking flight 58 yards for the early 7-0 lead with just 11:38 into the first quarter. But the Mountaineers didn’t bat an eyelash nor show any panic. Instead, they just calmly answered right back. They marched 65 yards in 8 plays sending RB Noah Terry to cap the drive with a one-yard door knocker to pull within 7-6 after a failed two-point conversion pass by QB Charlie LaMorte with 6:05 left in the opening quarter. 

For the remainder of the first quarter and all of the second quarter, both teams would go toe-to- toe, neither one giving up crucial yardage forcing turnovers by any means necessary. The defensive struggle featured traded sacks, punts, and a fumble. Plainfield, led by qauarterbacks Ala-Meen Watkins and Kamai Lowery; wide Receivers Hassan Anderson, Bethune, Joel Cordoba; and dunning backs Yasir Wyatt, Eatoniel “EJ” Brown, and Kiewan Kirkland, made it difficult for the Mountaineers defense to maintain the quick strike Cardinals from scoring again in the first half. On the flip side of the coin, West Orange’s LaMorte found ways to keep the balanced offensive firepower going with running backs Noah Terry and Adonis White, wide receivers David Moore, Jr., Terrell Wilfong, Iyan Gainer, and TE Zekai Wimberly while still trailing 7-6 at halftime.

So, with a little taste of the flashy fanfare, West Orange returned the favor after the opening kickoff to begin the second half. The Mountaineers were in great shape from their own 45-yard line. They only needed 21 seconds for White to hit the Mountaineer Express button for a 55-yard gasser for West Orange’s first lead of the game 12-7. But that lead was short-lived after forcing the Cardinals to turn over the ball on downs. Plainfield DB Joel Cordoba snuck into Charlie LaMorte’s passing lane, snagging himself a healthy interception for a 40-yard pick-6 to put the 13-12 lead back in his Cardinals control with 8:53 in the quarter. It wasn’t long before fellow DB EJ Brown would pick off a tipped pass from LaMorte for the second interception of the night. With 6:57 left in the third quarter and starting on their own 46 yard line, the Cardinals decided to drain the clock with a 9-play march that would end the quarter and begin the final quarter with a 17-yard reverse by Cordoba to put them ahead 21-12 with 11:50 remaining in the game. That was all the Mountaineers needed to set up the knockout punch. First, LaMorte would send a healthy dose of White and Terry in the ground game after starting from their own 35-yard line. He would then find WR Mikervens Auguste with a 12-yard juggling dot for the answering score to pull 21-19 with 8:27 left in the game. With just enough time the Mountaineers need two big stops to finish the game on top. Plainfield, who was the three seed while West Orange was the sixth seed, clearly was on the ropes as they indeed were forced to play out the exact two stop situations by punting both times. Gamesmanship started to creep in with key timeouts called by both head coaches, with West Orange taking the ball after the second punt at the Plainfield 49-yard line with 2:21 left in the game. With the dramatic excitement building up on both sidelines and around Hub Stine Field, LaMorte fed the ball to White, who immediately broke free for a 23-yard gain. It was decision time, go for the tie with a field goal and send it into overtime or take a shot with a knockout touchdown. The Mountaineers took the safe route and decided to go for the tie. West Orange Kkcker Mason Insana trotted out for a 32-yard field goal attempt. The Cardinals crashed the line of scrimmage with bad intentions and blocked the kick which would seal the deal for them. But hold everything! There was some yellow laundry on the field which was no surprise since both squads were heavily penalized throughout the game. This time it was a personal foul and roughing the kicker that gave the Mountaineers a second chance to counterpunch with a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down. With 1:04 left in the game it would be West Orange’s Adonis White delivering the 5-yard knockout punch capping the 6-play drive and ultimately delivering the first 25-21 upset of the NJSIAA North Section 2, Group 5 playoffs. 

“We knew we were going to have a big fight on our hands,” said West Orange Head Coach Darnell Grant. “Listen that’s a James Williams-coached team over there. That’s like Ali and Frazier, Forman and Norton, Ali versus anybody. This was a heavyweight fight to the end, and it was going to come down to who wants it more.” He went on to say that he was very proud of Williams, whom he has a longstanding friendship with, for turning the Cardinals program into a force to be reckoned with. “We really wanted to make the playoffs and make it to the next round after,” said Plainfield Head Coach James Williams. He’s largely credited with changing the culture at Plainfield after taking the job this past year. “The kids bought into our program because we wanted to make sure that they are able to get something out of their experience playing football for us. Our goal is to get players ready for the next level and for life.” 

Plainfield will play their annual Turkey Day game against Westfield at Hub Stine Sports Complex at 11 a.m. West Orange will continue to the sectional semifinals as they will have a very tough Union City Soaring Eagles to contend with this Friday evening, Nov. 3, at the “Rooftop” Stadium in Union City at 7 p.m. All roads are seemingly yet again to go through Phillipsburg, who faces upset-minded Westfield also on Friday evening, on Bellis Field at Maloney Stadium. 

All eyes will be on the outcome of the Union City and West Orange game. West Orange will be without their star WR Terrell Wilfong who suffered a broken collarbone during the game against Plainfield. Should both teams win their respective games, then it will set the stage for a rematch of last year’s sectional championship in Phillipsburg. Union City has built its reputation on stout defense and will look to flex their will against the Mountaineers. “We are going to work immediately,” said Grant, who was already in preparation mode this past Saturday before heading to his brother, Hillside Head Coach Barris Grant’s playoff game against Sparta in the NJSIAA North Section 2, Group 3 quarterfinal. Hillside would lose a tough game on a last-second touchdown 27-26.

  West Orange High School football