West Orange HS boys soccer player Marcus Jackson is shown in action during the win over Mount Olive in the North 1, Group 4 state sectional tournament final last fall.
WEST ORANGE — West Orange has always been a hotbed for soccer, evidenced by the strong programs at West Orange High School, particularly the boys program under venerable longtime head coach Doug Nevins.
The best high school boys soccer player in the nation is officially from WOHS.
Recent graduate Marcus Jackson, who last fall led the Mountaineers to the ultimate prize – the Group 4 state championship – was named the Gatorade High School Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
This is Jackson’s second national player of the year honor. He was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Year at the end of the season last fall.
Nevins was ecstatic for Jackson.
“Marcus is incredibly rare in that he came to WOHS as a very talented young man, but he was extremely coachable and motivated to improve throughout his four years here,” Nevins said in an email to the West Orange Chronicle. “By the time he played his last game, and helped us win a Group 4 state championship, he had become about as complete a player as you can be. He is physically dominant at 6’4” and it shows in his ability to head the ball and impose his will in tackles. But he is also very skilled and can make the difficult passes or drop the ball on his teammates’ foot from 50 yards away. Add in his super high soccer IQ and you have a guy that is deserving of being Gatorade National Player of the Year.”
Jackson is the second WOHS boys soccer player to be named the Gatorade Player of the Year, joining 2007 graduate Brayan Martinez, also coached by Nevins, who has been at the helm since 2000.
“It means a lot to our program, our high school and our town,” Nevins said of Jackson’s award.“Hundreds of little kids will now look up to him the way others looked up to Brayan Martinez for the past 20 years. Beyond the field, Marcus was an example for all young people on how to be a good student, good teammate and good citizen. He is kind and friendly and loved by everyone.”
Jackson, who will take his soccer talents across the country to UCLA, was a dominant playmaker in leading the Mountaineers to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 state tournament title and the Group 4 state championship last fall. Jackson posted 18 goals and 5 assists for the season, and finished with 42 goals and 20 assists for his four-year career. In the Group 4 state final, Jackson had a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win over North Brunswick to cap the magnificent 25-2 season for the Mountaineers.
West Orange finished ranked No. 2 in the state by NJ.com, behind St. Benedict’s Prep. Both West Orange’s losses were to St. Benedict’s, the first in a Super Essex Conference–American Division by a score of 2-1 on Oct. 18 and the second in the Essex County Tournament final by a score of 1-0.
St. Benedict’s Prep (19-0-1) finished No. 1 in the nation and WOHS finished No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
Photos Courtesy of Steve Ellmore
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