Congratulations to the Roxbury High School football team for beating East Orange Campus earlier today at Giants Stadium! The final score was 14 – 6 in a game that had some high points and low points, but that Roxbury absolutely dominated. Check out the pictures below for a view from the packed Roxbury portion of the stands.
As for some comments on the game…
The Gaels celebrate after winning the North 1, Group IV state sectional title (Daily Record)
But I do think it’s necessary to say that EOC is a nice little team and they played GREAT football for about 5 minutes in the fourth quarter. That said, they had the worst special teams that I’ve ever seen on any football team, ever. Ever! If EOC’s punts made it 20 yards (including rolling after the ball landed), then that would be far. The truth is that EOC was outclassed in every possible way today. Granted, I take nothing away from those kids because I know from experience that you have to work very hard to get to the state championship game, but damn – I was absolutely shocked at how substandard their level of play was for most of the game. They weren’t really strong competition for Roxbury at all. It was shocking, really.
The Gaels celebrate (Photo by Joyce Bambach)
| Roxbury beats East Orange to win North 1 Group 4 NJ HS football final |
And then the fake punt came and went nowhere – Roxbury got the ball back. When the entire stadium knows you’re going to go for a fake, then the surprise effect of the play tends to go away, don’t you think? Horrible play calling; definitely not state championship caliber.
Roxbury, on the other hand, did a good job on both sides of the ball as well as with their play calling. I’m sure that this wasn’t Roxbury’s best game that they’ve ever played, but the team definitely got the job done without question. The crowd was into it, the fans showed up in force, and EOC was an inferior opponent in every way. It was the perfect set up for Roxbury to bring home its second state championship in football! Congratulations to the new state champions – an accomplishment well deserved.
| Final Score | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Final |
| East Orange (7 – 5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Roxbury (11 – 1) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| RHS – Chris Biank, 1 yard run (John Cosgrove kick) RHS – Kevin Baker, 7 yard run (Cosgrove kick) EOC – Malik Walker 45 yard pass from Justin Laroda (PAT blocked) |
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And an additional congratulations to my friend and former teammate from the 1998 team, Justin, who is now an assistant coach for Roxbury. If I’m not mistaken, Justin is now the only person in Roxbury history to win two state championships in football – one as a player and one as a coach. We’re proud of you, buddy.
Click the pictures below to see a larger image.
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- The Roxbury Gaels celebrate after winning the North 1, Group IV state sectional title (photo from the Daily Record)
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- The Gaels celebrate (Photo by Joyce Bambach)
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I attended yesterday’s game & to say EOC was dominated is crazy..I understand you’re a Roxbury fan but the Gaels weren’t that impressive either.The game was only a play or two from going the other way so to say that Roxbury was just this “Superior” team is ridiculous when thier secondary was no match the speed of EOC recievers & that Wing T actually didnt produce much.Any team has a chance playing on a short field as Roxbury did in the first half.The game was decided on the failed fake punt in the first half & the strip of Laroda at the goal line in the 4th.Campus will definitely be back next year with only 6 seniors moving on..Good Game though your linebacker #50 & Tackle #73 are really good players
EOC wasn’t really that impressive – they didn’t play like a team that is at the state championship level (individual speed doesn’t make an entire team better – it makes one or two players better). Like I said above, Roxbury didn’t have their best game either, but I was amazed at how poor EOC’s offense and special teams were throughout the game. EOC’s defense was tough and they deserve credit for that, but it’s easy to see why the team isn’t ranked in the Top 25 in the state.
And believe it or not, that statement is not meant in disrespect. Those EOC players are clearly committed and dedicated to their team and that’s great. I’m sure that they’ll continue to do well in their division and probably make it back to the state tournament in the coming years. There is definitely a great deal of potential on that EOC squad – no doubt about it.