WAYNE- When third-seeded East Orange traveled to Wayne on Friday to face second-seeded Passaic County Tech, the Jaguars knew that they would have to minimize mistakes to have a chance of winning.
The host Bulldogs forced four East Orange turnovers, including a fourth quarter pick-six to break open a close game and pull away for a 35-0 win and a place in the North 1 Group 5 championship.
The Bulldogs will travel to top-seeded West Orange 7 p.m. Friday (Nov. 14). The Mountaineers advanced with a 21-0 win over fourth-seeded Livingston.
Jose Trinidad led the way for the PCT defense with a pair of interceptions, including the pick-six to extend the Bulldogs lead to 27-0 with 10:56 left.
On the next offensive play, Ahmad Williams picked off an East Orange pass and returned it to the EO 16, setting up Naz Mitchell’s 8-yard TD run to make it 35-0 with 9:48 left.
Trinidad said the key to the defensive effort was preparation.
“It’s showing on the field,” he said. “We’ve been training for so long in the offseason and it’s finally being implemented on the field.”
Offensively, PCT started strong with a pair of first-quarter TDs.
The Bulldogs struck on their first possession, needing just four plays to go 66 yards. On 3rd-and-11 from the PCT 43, Gabe Miles found Tyson Watkins on a comeback pattern. The junior WR shook a pair of Jaguar tacklers, cut to the sideline and raced to the house for a 57-yard score and it was 6-0 with 6:20 left in the first quarter.
PCT added to the lead later in the quarter when Miles scored on a 6-yard scamper and it was 13-0 late in the first.
Moments later, Ian McDuffie blocked an East Orange punt, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Jaguar 8. East Orange’s Robert Minter stopped the threat with an interception at the 2. It would be the first of three redzone opportunities squandered by the Bulldogs in the second quarter.
Miles talked about the offensive struggles in the first half.
“We were thinking too much in the first half,” said the standout QB. “In the second half, we just let it flow.”
When PCT faces West Orange next Friday night at Suriano Field, it will be a rematch of September 7, when the Mountaineers registered a 32-29 victory. It should be noted that Miles did not play for the Bulldogs because he had to sit out four weeks after transferring back to PCT.
Now in his 14th season, PCT coach Matt Demarest felt this was his team’s best defensive effort of the season.
“That’s a great team (East Orange),” he stated. “The kids were focused and motivated the entire game. They wanted to prove that we’re a good football team. A lot of times people try to look at you record and say ‘they’re 8-1, you’re 6-3’, how do you match up?
“Our kids are battle tested, you know, it’s two even teams that we just had more momentum than they did tonight. If we played ten times, they would probably split down the middle, but we had more momentum tonight.”
After struggling with injuries early in the season, Demarest found the silver lining by developing depth in the lineup.
“We were beat up We were missing four or five guys. It’s no excuses, but the beauty of it is that we had to get kids experience where they wouldn’t have got experience. So now we’re able to make some rotational moves in a good way to put kids in spots to be successful and it’s not like the lights are too big.”
By the Numbers:
East Orange was held to 143 yards of total offense and crossed midfield only twice, both times in the first half.
Two East Orange quarterbacks were a combined 7-19 for 96 yards and 3 INT. Alex Hanks had five catches for 80 yards.
PCT won the turnover battle 4-1 and cashed in two for 15 points.
Miles was 11-19 for 150 yards and 2 TD. Watkins had three catches for 63 yards and 1 TD.
In 2024, PCT lost to Union City 34-29 in the North 2 Group 5 sectional championship.
North 1, Group 5 semifinals:
East Orange Campus (8-2) 0 0 0 0 0
Passaic County Tech (8-3) 13 0 7 15 35
PCT- Tyson Watkins 57 pass from Gabe Miles (kick failed)
PCT-Miles 6 run (Nicholas Dragone kick)
PCT-Anthony D’Agostino 24 pass from Miles (Dragone kick)
PCT-Jose Trinidad 38 interception return (Jayden Paulino pass from Miles)
PCT-Naz Mitchell 8 run (Dragone kick)
