SPORTS WRAP By William Hathaway, Jr.
The Essex County Tournament produced quite a few surprises. First, the East Orange Lady Jaguars who entered as the 4th seed, defeated 13th seeded Millburn 96-44 in the first round. Triniti Haskins led East Orange with 32 points, connecting on four 3-pointers in the game, while teammate Brianna English hit six treys and finished with 23 points and three steals. East Orange has won six games in a row.
In other girls’ tournament action, University High defeated the Bloomfield Bengals 77-35 thanks to double-doubles from Kaylah Neal and Destiny Johnson. Central High beat West Essex 54-41 with Sanaa Hayes scoring a game high 15 points and snatching seven rebounds. Finally, the 14th seed Bloomfield Bengals defeated 19th seed Newark Tech 52-37. The Lady Bengals who are 12-4 on the season.
In the boys’ tournament, top seeded Seton Hall Prep (14-3) handled Belleville 68-40. The Prep will host Arts High in the quarterfinal game. The 10th seeded Bloomfield Bengals lost a tough game to a gritty East Orange Jaguars squad 45-44. Nahum Lewis gave the Jaguars 13 points and 19 points.
This Sunday, the world will be watching Super Bowl LVI, and Essex County will be represented by former Irvington High School alumnus and current Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. This marks his third time in the Super Bowl, winning one as an assistant with the Buccaneers squad that won Super Bowl XXXVII.
