SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
The New Jersey high school regular season has come to a close, and now the state playoffs will begin. Some local area favor will see the Irvington Blue Knights headed back to the state playoffs to defend their group and regional championships. They will open at home against Sayreville this Friday. Irvington sits at 7-2.
Meanwhile, after a harder than excepted year, East Orange is back in the state playoffs and will take on rival Clifton after beating them in the state championship in overtime last season. The two teams opened their season this year against each other, and Clifton got sweet revenge, stunning East Orange 21-0. East Orange finished the regular season with a 3-5 record.
In other action, the Shabazz bulldogs will be on the road against Woodridge in North Jersey Section 2 Group 2. The Montclair Mounties will be at home against Ridgewood in a Group 5 matchup. Montclair finished their season with a 4-4 record.
Also, 5-3 West Orange will go on the road against Watchung Hills who finished with a 7-2 mark. Finally, 7-1 West Side will be on the road at 7-2 Dumont.
In pro ball, the Giants and Jets continued their surprising winning ways. Big Blue stopped the Jaguars at the goal line to win on the road 23-17, while the Jets defended their home turf successfully in a 16-9 defensive battle.
Finally, the World Series is now set, and will see the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies take on the AL Champion Houston Astros. After beating the San Diego Padres in five games, this year marks the first time the Phillies have been to the Series since 2009 in a loss to the New York Yankees. This came a year after Philly won the Series over Tampa Bay.
Speaking of the Yankees, this year they were swept by Houston, who has made it back to the Series after falling short to Atlanta last year. The Braves were knocked out by the Phillies this postseason. While Houston has home field advantage, the Phillies have gotten great production from reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, who won NLCS MVP honors this year.
