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From the top, MVPs from the 31st Robeson East-West All-Star Classic played on Tuesday night, June 10, at Robeson Stadium in East Orange: East offense: Jalen Cline (7) of Shabazz; East defense: Basir Shivers of Snyder; West's offense: Jayden Santiago of Passaic Tech and the West defense: Linden Youtz of Mount Olive. East edged West, 13-3, to snap a 6-game losing streak to lead series 22-9. (Photos by Kevin Meacham)
EAST ORANGE—Jalen Cline spent much of the 2024 season at Shabazz running around and through defenses, and when he took a handoff late in the first half of Tuesday night’s Robeson Classic all-star game and spotted a collapsed defensive front, he felt that familiar feeling one more time.
“I just saw my linemen wash up to the linebackers, they created a hole for me, and I just had to go be an athlete,” said a smiling Cline, who rushed for nearly 1,100 yards for Shabazz last fall.
As he did so many times during the Bulldogs’ fantastic sectional championship season, Cline burst around the wide-open left side of his line and danced into the corner of the end zone. The 14-yard touchdown run gave his East All-Stars the breathing room they needed as they shut down the West, 13-3, in the 31st Classic at Paul Robeson Stadium.
In his final action as a high school football player, the Slippery Rock-bound Cline ran for 86 yards on 11 carries to earn Offensive MVP honors for the East team, made up of senior standouts from Essex, Hudson and Union counties. The East’s win snapped a six-game losing streak to the West and extended their lead in the all-time series to 22-9.
“It feels great,” Cline said. “I feel like we had the most well-prepared team possible [for an all-star game]. Just the way the coaches had us practicing, competing one-on-one, or team-versus-team. We came in tonight ready to compete and show what we could do out here.”
Linebacker Basir Shivers (Snyder), was named the East’s Defensive MVP thanks to a terrific interception in the third quarter, as well as a key sack just before halftime that halted a West scoring opportunity.
The West All-Stars, made up of seniors from Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties, were led by offensive MVP Jayden Santiago of Passaic Tech (4 rushes for 42 yards, including a highlight-reel zig-zagging sprint in the second half), and defensive MVP Linden Youtz, linebacker from Mount Olive, who had a fumble recovery.
Tuesday night marked the return of the annual North Jersey all-star game to East Orange and its namesake stadium after a two-year absence; renovations at Robeson Stadium caused the 2023 and 2024 Classics to be played at Belleville High School.
A large and boisterous crowd were treated to an exceptional night of early June weather and a highly competitive – and occasionally chippy – exhibition, as more than 80 of the area’s top seniors paired off to close the curtain on New Jersey’s 2024 high school football season.
East head coach Chris Strumolo (Glen Ridge) said it was a special feeling to be part of this historic game, and praised the commitment and effort of his coaching staff and players for making Tuesday a very special night.
“I was just very honored to be selected by Coach Carter, Coach Trimmer, and all of the selection committee,” said Strumolo, the 30-year coaching veteran who was inducted into the Essex County Coaches’ Hall of Fame during the 2024 Robeson game. “Obviously on five days’ prep with this team, it’s a unique thing. But myself and my assistant coaches together, we were able to pick a great team, just a good group of kids who were locked in and looking forward to being a part of this game. It was a lot of fun, and I’m happy we could be a part of their last high school sports experience.”
All of the game’s scoring came in the first half. The East set the tone early with a successful trick play on their first offensive snap, as halfback I’yan Gainer-Blackmon (West Orange) tossed a jump ball that Yasir Thomas (Newark West Side) yanked out of the air over two defenders for a 42-yard gain. Four plays later, on 4th-and-7, East QB Connor Demasi (Verona) tossed a sideline fade to 6-foot-1 Ja’Keem Brown, and the Newark East Side receiver hauled in a 32-yard touchdown reception with 6:01 to play in the first quarter.
The West responded with an excellent drive of their own, overloading their line and getting running backs including Santiago and Angelo Cundiff (Pequannock) to the edge. They advanced to the edge of the red zone, but a key pass breakup by Shivers and a stop in the backfield by Jarius Davis (Montclair) and Standley Petitdor (East Orange) forced a long field goal attempt. Montville’s Corey Wang knocked the 38-yarder through the uprights with 1:28 to play in the opening period.
The teams traded punts before the East launched their second and final scoring drive just before halftime, an 8-play, 85-yard march. Demasi (6-for-12, 87 yards, TD) connected on three passes for first downs on the drive, two to Gainer-Blackmon and one to Jayden Lee (Montclair), and Cline had two big runs, a 22-yarder right through the heart of the West defensive front, and his 14-yard scoring run.
The East defense locked the West down after halftime, with key plays including Shivers’ interception and consecutive drive-ending fourth down sacks in the fourth quarter, one by Davis and Lincoln Meyers (Westfield), the other by Meyers and Reynaldo Carter (Weequahic).
In the final statistics, the East outgained the West, 219 yards to 183, despite running 25 fewer plays (34 to the West’s 59). The West stars were paced by Cundiff’s 70 rushing yards on 11 carries, while quarterback Collin Sabric (Lakeland) finished 17-for-33 for 95 yards.
Four New Honorees in Essex Coaches’ Hall of Fame
In addition to honoring outgoing senior stars, the Robeson Classic also annually pays homage to coaching legends who have been part of the football fabric in Essex County over the past several decades.
The four-man Class of 2025 in the Essex County Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame were enshrined at halftime of Tuesday’s contest, presented with plaques and enjoying a moment with friends and family.
This year’s honorees include the late Anthony Bailey Sr., Irvington assistant coach Darnell Mangan; retired Montclair assistant coach Jamie Bittner; and MKA head coach Anthony Rea.
Bailey Sr., who passed away in December 2024, was the head coach at Essex Catholic/Bishop Francis from 1989 until the school’s closure in 2003, and continued a successful assistant coaching career until his retirement in 2019.
Mangan, currently the principal at Irvington High School, boasts more than two decades’ experience as a football coach, serving as the head coach at Barringer from 2010-12, along with stints as an assistant at Shabazz, Weequahic, Columbia, and Irvington.
Bittner, a star defensive end at the University of Delaware who won 73 games during head coaching tenures at Bogota and Emerson in Bergen County, joined the coaching staff at Montclair in 1999 as defensive coordinator. During a 23-year run with the Mounties, he played a key role in guiding the program to five sectional titles and 12 sectional championship games.
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From top, new Essex County Football Coaches Hall of Fame inductees and their families receive the plaques at halftime of the June 10th 31st Paul Robeson East-West All-Star Classic at Robeson Stadium in East Orange: Anthony Rea of MKA, Darnell Mangan, principal of Irvington High School; retired Montclair defensive coordinator Jamie Bittner and family members of the late Essex Catholic head coach Anthony Bailey.
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