SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS BY FELICIA LAGUERRE OWENS
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. The local sports fans were treated to a lot of sports this week.
In college basketball, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team won a home game this past Saturday at the Prudential Center over Wagner 72-51. SHU is 4-0 and was led by Dre Davis with 17 points and 6 rebounds and Kadary Richmond’s 11 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Seton Hall ladies, they defeated Rutgers at home 82-63 in a NJ battle. Azana Baines gave the Lady Pirates 25 points and 8 rebounds and Micah Gray had 18 points on 6-13 from the field. Seton Hall dominated the game with their tough defense. Rutgers got 27 points from Destiny Adams. The Hall is 3-1 on the season.
In the NFL, the New York Giants broke their losing streak on the road by beating the Washington Commanders 31-19. Essex County native Tommy DeVito was 18-26 with 246 yards and threw for 3 touchdowns. RB Saquon Barkley had 14 carries for 83 yards and WR Darrius Slayton had 4 receptions for 82 yards and 1 touchdown. Leading Washington was Brian Robinson with 17 carries for 73 yards and quarterback Sam Howell was 31-45 for 255 yards 1 touchdown but 3 interceptions thanks to the Giants’ tough defense. NYG are now 3-8 this year.
The Jets were not so lucky on the road, losing to the Buffalo Bills 32-6. QB Zach Wilson was so ineffective that he was replaced by Tim Boyle in the second half. The 4-6 Jets are hoping by some miracle to get Aaron Rodgers back before the end of the season.
In New Jersey’s high school football playoffs, the run of the Shabazz Bulldogs is over. After a 8-4 record this season and winning North 2, Group 1, they made it to the North final but lost to Mountain Lakes 49-12. Another North 2 Group 1 team from Newark’s South ward is Weequahic High, finished the regular season 9-1 but took a loss to Butler 21-14.
Other local teams that were bounced from the postseason include Irvington, West Orange, Seton Hall Prep and Montclair after they beat Columbia. Also, after not losing in what seemed like forever, Caldwell suffered a stunning upset to Lakeland 33-28 in the North 2 Group 2 semifinals.
Despite being out of title contention, Shabazz and Weequahic will be in action on Thanksgiving morning in the annual Soul Bowl. Hopefully, it will not be a repeat of what happened last year. Finally, East Orange will battle Barringer in their annual rivalry game.
