A pair of Cougars converge on a West Orange wide receiver on the sideline. Credit: David Chmiel.
Second-half penalties and defensive lapses by the Columbia defense were too much to overcome as the Cougars fell to 0-4 after a 49-21 loss to West Orange High School at Lynn Profeta field.
The game, played Thursday evening to accommodate the Yom Kippur holiday, got off to an auspicious start for the Cougars, who needed just 90 seconds to score their first touchdown. A 45-yard pass from quarterback Jimmy Martinez to junior wide receiver Donte Rolley; Martinez ran the final five yards for the first score.
Martinez scored his second touchdown, a one-yard dive play over center Zach Heinze, after Martinez made a 25-yard run and sophomore tailback Kiambu Jones picked up 15 yards on three carries to get the ball in the shadow of the goal line.
Kiambu Jones takes a handoff from Jimmy Martinez to run for a seven-yard gain. Credit: David Chmiel.
Senior running back Evander Jackson electrified the crowd with a 78-yard sprint for a touchdown in the second quarter. He moved untouched through the West Orange defense and made a quick cut back to his left to beat the rest of the Mountaineers defense.
The Cougars defense was playing without Senior defensive end, senior safety CJ Ibezim, and Junior defensive end Ozzie Williams and the West Orange offense took advantage of the replacements on the other side of the ball.
West Orange quarterback completed 17 of 32 passes, for 247 yards, and 1 touchdown (a 50-yard seam route up the middle of the field to Danielo Francois). The passing game set up the running game. Michael Osuji carried the ball 17 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns;
Francois added two more touchdowns on the ground.
The Mountaineers victimized the Cougar defense with a steady flow of “inside sweeps,” a timing play in which a running back comes in motion toward the center, takes the handoff, and runs along the line until he breaks off his offensive tackle and races into the secondary.
The Cougars defense tries to stop the high-flying Mountaineers offense. Credit: David Chmiel.
The Cougar’s second-half struggles on defense put pressure on its defense. The Cougars made steady progress, with quarterback Jimmy Martinez and tailbacks Kiambu Jones, Evander Jackson, and Kwasi Graham picking up steady yardage. But penalties for holding and illegal motion often derailed the progress and forced them into punts to the Mountaineers.
“That was a challenge that proved too difficult to overcome in the second half,” Coach John Power said. “West Orange is a good team and we needed to keep the ball away from them. But when we don’t execute, it makes it hard to build any momentum.”
Pace of Play: The Cougars quick start delivered a sense of energy and excitement on the sideline, bringing the coaches and players close to the edge of the field so often that the refs had to make repeated requests to move back toward the bench.
Turning Point (for the good): The Cougars first score was set up by a 45-yard pass from Martinez to Rolley.
Turning Point (for the not-so-good): Aside from the penalties, the Cougars suffered two crucial giveaways: a fumble after a 40-yard run down to the West Orange 10 yard line, and the special teams gave up a blocked punt. West Orange turned the two gaffes into two scores, giving them a 28-21 lead at the half.
America’s Pastime?: Public-address announcer ( and Cougar Baseball Coach Joe Fischetti) gave the crowd an update on the Baltimore Orioles-Detroit Tigers first playoff game. Head Coach John Power looked down the sideline at Athletic Director Larry Busichio and the other baseball coaches and jokingly yelled, “Who cares about baseball during a football game?”
Fischetti heard Power above the crowd and broadcast, “I do…”
Next Game: The Cougars take on Weequahic at 7 p.m., Friday, October 10, in Newark.
