SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS BY FELICIA LAGUERRE OWENS
This past week, a sectional championship was on the line in the New Jersey High School Football Playoffs. It would be decided in a battle of East vs. West – Orange.
It was a Friday night defensive classic that went down to the wire, with the East Orange Campus Jaguars winning on the road over the West Orange Mountaineers 13-7. The Jags got the scoring started when Saeed Cole threw a 12 yard touchdown pass to Alex Hanks for a 6-0 lead.
In the 3rd quarter, Mountaineers running back Farad Green scored on a 6 yard TD run to give the home team the lead 7-6. But in the 4th quarter, Cole hit on a 92 yard TD pass to Hanks to take the Section 1 Group 5 title in dramatic fashion.
With the win, East Orange captured its first sectional title since the 2021 football season. Saeed Cole was the star with the 2 TDs plus 80 yards rushing. For West Orange, Farad Green had 28 carries for 141 yards while Terrell Wilfong had 47 yards on four catches. East Orange will play Union City in the state semifinals round.
In other local playoff action, the Malcolm X. Shabazz Bulldogs defeated Bernards 28-14 to take the North Jersey Section 1 Group 2 crown. Shabazz is on a five game winning streak, and will head to the state semifinal round at Hanover Park on Friday night. Also, Cedar Grove took Section 2 Group 1 crown over New Providence 35-14.
In college basketball, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team shut down Wagner 54-28. Leading SHU was Chaunce Jenkins with 16 points and 3 rebounds. Yacine Toumi added 12 points and 7 rebounds for the 2-2 Pirates. As for the women’s team, they handled Fordham 67-44. Graduate students Yaya Lops and Faith Masonius each scored 17 points, with the latter being named Big East Player of The Week. The Lady Pirates won another big game in comeback fashion against Bryant 55-39 at Walsh Gym. Masonius had 22 points in that victory.
Finally, two eras in NY football have come to an end. First, the Giants announced that they are benching QB Daniel Jones in favor of NJ native Tommy DeVito. Then, after a 28-27 loss to the Colts at home, the Jets fired GM Joe Douglas.
