Here are the teams in our coverage area (in bold) in the state tournaments

 NORTH 1, GROUP 4

Quarterfinals, Nov. 7

(6) West Orange at (3) Memorial

NORTH 2, GROUP 3

Quarterfinals, Nov. 7

(7) Nutley at (2) Scotch Plains

NORTH 2, GROUP 1

Quarterfinals, Nov. 7

(7) Glen Ridge at (2) Lyndhurst

Glen Ridge is the defending champion. They had to squeak into the tournament this year. They get Lyndhurst, a team they upset in the semifinals last year when Lyndhurst was the No. 1 seed.

West Orange is dangerous. They are playing very well right now. I could see them going pretty far.

Here are the teams (in bold) in our coverage area in the state tournament for high school boys soccer

NORTH 1, GROUP 4

First round, Nov. 3

(13) Belleville at (4) Montclair

(10) West Orange at (7) Morris Knolls

NORTH 2, GROUP 4

Quarterfinals, Nov. 6

(7) Bayonne at (2) Columbia

NORTH 2, GROUP 3

First round, Nov. 3

(9) Scotch Plains at (8) Nutley

NORTH 2, GROUP 2

First round, Nov. 3

(9) Orange at (8) Rutherford

NORTH 2, GROUP 1

First round, Nov. 3

(10) Ridgefield at (7) Glen Ridge

NORTH NON-PUBLIC A

Quarterfinals, Nov. 6

(5) Seton Hall Prep at (4) Morris Catholic

Keep an eye on Columbia. They are the defending champion and they look strong again. I expect them to get to the final again. 

I won't be surprised if Belleville knocks off Montclair in a matchup of NNJIL foes.

Glen Ridge is hot. If they win, they get (2) Harrison, which will be interesting. They met in the sectional final two years ago, with Harrison winning in a shootout.

It was chaos last Friday, Oct. 24 in Newark after several drive-by shootings postponed high school football games in the city.

I understand these schools' concerns. The safety of the kids is of the utmost importance. But to refuse to play these games is ludicrous.

Central and Cranford played their game on Monday, Oct. 27 at neutral site Roselle Park.

The Parsippany-Weequahic game was supposed to be moved to Parsipanny today Oct. 30, but will now be played at Untermann Field on Monday, Nov. 3.

Scotch Plains and Shabazz were supposed to play a day after the shooting. Scotch Plains offered to play the game at a neutral site, but Shabazz refused because it was their last home game of the season. Both teams refused to budge and each sought a forfeit victory. Now, Scotch Plains is willing to play the game later in November in Newark.

Sure, these games can be played at neutral site. But the decision should be up to the host schools. If the host school, which in this case were the Newark schools, felt they should play at neutral sites, so be it. But if the Newark schools want to play their games at their home sites, then it's up to the visiting schools whether they want to play or not. If they don't want to play, then the Newark teams get a forfeit.

It's a delicate situation. On the one hand, you have to protect the players and be concerned for their safety. But on the other hand, it's not fair for these Newark teams to be forced to give up their home games. Again, the Newark teams should make the decision where the game should be played.

Congratulations to Tudor Stefan of the Nutley High School boys' soccer team for becoming the program's all-time leading goal-scorer.

Stefan notched his 36th and 37th goals of his career in the 7-3 loss to Don Bosco Prep on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The old mark of 35 was held by John Geltrude from 1987-89.

Unfortunately, Nutley lost its sixth straight game to fall to 11-8. Don Bosco Prep is ranked No. 3 in the state.

Is West Orange for real?

They will find out on Halloween.

This is a big game for the West Orange football team, which faces Wayne Valley in a battle of 6-1 squads. If West Orange can beat WV on the road, they will certainly prove that they are legit. Not only would it put them in position to win the Northern Hills Conference-Skyline Division title, but it would probably lock up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming North 1, Group 4 playoffs.

Two years ago, West Orange was the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, but lost to Paterson Eastside in the semifinals. It was still a tremendous season as they finished 8-3, one year after going 0-10. Last year was an up-and-down season as West Orange lost their first three, won the next three and lost the final four for a 3-7 season.

West Orange has the offensive firepower. But Wayne Valley is traditionally strong. It will be tough, but I think West Orange will win a close one.

West Orange 35, Wayne Valley 27

The Glen Ridge High School football team has a huge game vs. Mountain Lakes on Saturday, Nov. 1. The Ridgers would get plenty of power points if they win, since Mountain Lakes is 6-0.  Glen Ridge has won four straight to improve to 5-1.

Glen Ridge hasn't made the state playoffs in 25 years. Can they clinch a berth? It might be tough. Right now, they are eighth in the power-point standings, and only eight teams make the playoffs. So they need to get this win if they want to make the playoffs.

I think they can do it. They got plenty of weapons on offense and their defense is solid. It would be a great accomplishment if they can get into the playoffs.

Irvington is on the cusp of locking up its second straight Watchung Conference regular-season title with a 27-6 win over Westfield today, Oct. 25.

It was the second straight win over an undefeated team. Last week, the Blue Knights handed Elizabeth its first loss.

Westfield fell to 5-1. Irvington is now 6-0.

The Blue Knights have picked up a lot of power points after those wins over Elizabeth and Westfield.

Irvington also has now won 20 consecutive regular-season games.

West Orange, meanwhile, bounced back from its loss of the season with a 28-2 win over West Milford at home today, Oct. 25. The Mountaineers are now 6-1.

The Columbia High School football team gave a valiant effort in falling to Mount Olive, 40-28, today, Oct. 25 after unveiling the new FieldTurf at the new Underfield Field Sports Complex in Maplewood.

The Cougars led 15-7 at halftime, but Mount Olive scored five touchdowns in the second half. Mount Olive earned its first win of the season, improving to 1-5-1, while Columbia dropped to 0-7, looking for its first win in four years.

It was the Cougars' first game of the season at Underhill Field, which replaced its grass football field with FieldTurf. The field has been renamed as the Lynn Profeta Field, in honor of the mother of former Maplewood Mayor Fred Profeta, who launched the renovation project. Lynn Profeta was a teacher in the Maplewood-South Orange district for 30 years.

The Cougars' losing streak now stands at 43. They have three more games to avoid a fourth straight winless season.

Covering the game on the sidelines while it was windy and rainy wasn't easy. At first, I was in the press box. While it was raining lightly on and off, it was difficult to see the action in the tight and crowded press box. So I went down to the field while the game was going on, and it starts to rain harder. My notebook is soaking wet, my pen is wet and I am trying to write down play-by-play. You should see my notebook. The writing is barely legible because my notebook is all wet. Even though it continued to rain, I still tried to write play-by-play. I've learned that I have to be prepared when it rains like that again. I have to figure out a system of keeping my notebook dry while covering a football game. Anybody have a suggestion?

The East Orange Campus and Bloomfield high school football teams notched impressive come-from-behind victories on Friday night, Oct. 24.

Tamir Turpin scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to give East Orange Campus a 28-20 win over Morristown at Robeson Stadium in East Orange. After highly-regarded Morristown quarterback Michael Colvin scored early in the fourth quarter to give the Colonials a 20-14 lead, Turpin scored on runs of 1 yard and 2 yards and scored the conversion run on the second touchdown to give the Jaguars tthe victory. It was the Jaguars' fifth straight victory and improved their record to 5-2.

Bloomfield overcame a 12-7 halftime deficit to beat Barringer, 20-12, at Foley Field in Bloomfield. Jerry Cetrulo ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Dewayne Varner ran for the decisive 8-yard score in the third quarter. Bloomfield won its second straight and is now 4-2. Barringer fell to 1-6.

Belleville lost a heartbreaker to Paramus, 27-21, in overtime. BHS senior quarterback Chris Judge found Doug Richardson for a 3-yard touchdown and then connected for the conversion pass to junior Nick Herrman to tie the game at 21 in the fourth quarter, sending the game into overtime.

Mike Mordaga scored on a 15-yard run in overtime to end the game for Paramus. Both teams are now 3-3. Mordaga also scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead and ran for a 38-yard score in the third quarter to give Paramus a 21-13 advantage.

Herrman caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Judge in the first quarter to tie the game at 7. Herrman also returned the second-half kickoff 97 yards into the end zone to give the Bucs a 13-7 lead. Herrman made 19 tackles as a linebacker.

Orange crushed Pequannock, 34-13, in Pequannock to snap a two-game losing streak and improved to 3-3.

This is another big game for the Irvington High School football team.

Irvington will host Westfield tomorrow, Oct. 25, in a battle of 5-0 teams. Last week, Irvington rallied to beat Elizabeth in overtime, 29-21, to hand Elizabeth its first loss of the season. In fact, Irvington was the first team to score on Elizabeth this season. Elizabeth outscored its opponents a whopping 145-0 margin in the four previous games.

So Irvington has to face another undefeated team. Since they are home, I think Irvington will take control and win this game in convincing fashion, despite the rainy forecast, notching  their 20th straight regular-season victory.

Irvington is looking to win its second straight Watchung Conference championship. A win over Westfield will put Irvington in the driver's seat. In addition, Irvington could lock up the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 playoffs for the third straight season.

I really want to see Irvington run the table. Coach Grant has this program on a great run. Since 2003, Irvington has been in the playoffs every year. They were the No. 1 seed in 2003 in North 2, Group 4, in addition to being the top seed for the last two seasons.

Prediction: Irvington 28, Westfield 7

Bloomfield will face Caldwell in the Essex County Tournament championship in high school girls volleyball on Saturday, Oct. 25 at Mount St. Dominic in Caldwell at 2:30 p.m.

Caldwell was 21-0 as of Friday, Oct. 24 and ranked No. 9 in the state by the Star-Ledger top 20 poll. They are seeking their first ECT title since 2004 and has a record four county crowns. Bloomfield had a 17-5 record, seeking its first ECT title since 1998, the first year of the tournament.

Bloomfield upset top-seeded East Side in the semifinals. I think Bloomfield, with a senior-laden team, will shock Caldwell. 

Congratulations to the Orange and Belleville high school boys soccer teams that qualified for their respective state sectional tournaments. Both teams achieved the necessary .500 marks by today's (Oct. 24) cutoff.

This is a feel-good story for Orange, which made the states for the first time since 1984. Belleville, meanwhile, came through in the clutch, beating Newark Tech, 3-0, on Monday Oct. 20 and Bergen Tech, 2-0, on Tuesday Oct. 21 to clinch a postseaon berth. Those wins raised their record to 9-8.

Good luck to Orange and Belleville in their state tourneys.

The Columbia High School football team has lost 42 straight games. That's more than four years without a win. The last win came in 2004 against East Orange Campus

This Saturday (Oct. 25), Columbia (0-6) will have its first home game of the season at Underhill Field, which will unveil its new FieldTurf. Columbia will play Mount Olive, another winless team at 0-5-1.

This would be an incredible way to end the losing streak - doing it on their new field. Do they have a shot? Well, Mount Olive did tie a highly-regarded Morristown team and scored 22 points against a surging East Orange Campus team, which shut out Columbia, 40-0.

But in football, you can't go by past results. Columbia scored 14 points against a strong Livingston team, so that's a positive.

I think Columbia will do it. They will put an end to this dreaded streak and taste victory.

How about Irvington beating Elizabeth!!!

That is a huge win for the Blue Knights. They got major power points from beating a 4-0 Group 4 Elizabeth team that didn't allow a point in those four games, outscoring opponents, 145-0.

IHS is now 5-0. 

Now, they get Westfield, another 5-0 Group 4 team, on Saturday (Oct. 25) at home. Another win and they should really help themselves in getting the No. 1 seed in the North 2, Group 3 playoffs for the third straight year.

 West Orange was looking to go 6-0, but fell by a point on the road to Passaic Tech, 10-9, today (Oct. 18). West Orange was doomed by five turnovers in a game in which all the scoring was done in the first half.

Glen Ridge routed Newark Academy, 49-0, today (Oct. 18) on the road for its third straight win to go to 4-1. Their next three games are tough: Metuchen, Mountain Lakes and Verona. Wins over those teams would certainly put them in the playoffs for the first time since 1983.

Belleville had a bad loss against Paterson Kennedy, 46-21, on the road today (Oct. 18). The Bucs are now 3-2, looking to squeak into the North 1, Group 4 playoffs for the second consecutive year.

East Orange Campus is on fire, posting their fourth straight win with a 48-22 win over Mount Olive last night (Oct. 17) on the road. Boy, that 0-2 start is now a distant memory. In their last three games, the 4-2 Jags have beaten Columbia, 40-0, Randolph, 54-7, and now Mount Olive all in blowout fashion. Junior quarterback Quadir Pendleton is making a case to be the best QB in the state. He threw for six TD passes vs. Mount Olive and now has 21, the same total he had last year when he led the Jags to the North 1, Group 4 championship in their 11-1 season.

Bloomfield bounced back nicely with a 28-12 win over Nutley last night (Oct. 17) at home. Bloomfield snapped its two-game losing streak and is now 3-2. Meanwhile, Nutley had its three-game winning streak snapped and is now 4-2. Nutley running back Antonio Sibilia scored his ninth touchdown of the year and is getting serious attention from such schools as Maryland, Syracuse and Rutgers. Bloomfield senior running back Devon Livingston scored on a punt return. He had a kickoff return for a score in the 20-14 overtime loss to Passaic in the first loss of the season. Passaic, by the way, lost to Barringer, 12-9, today (Oct. 18).

Orange beat West Orange in high school boys' soccer yesterday (Oct. 17).

No, that is not a misprint.

Are you kidding me?

Orange won, 2-1. This was against one of the most successful programs in the area. West Orange has been in the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 4 championship game in each of the last five years (2003-2007). In fact, West Orange won the NJSIAA Group 4 championship in 2006.

Last season, West Orange beat Orange twice by scores of  5-1 and 6-2.

Orange is now 6-6, looking to achieve the necessary .500 mark by the Oct. 24 deadline for the North 2, Group 2 tournament.

Earlier this season, Orange beat Bloomfield, 6-3, in the preliminary round of the Essex County Tournament.

This is a great story. I'm glad to see a team like Orange have a competitive season. The win over West Orange is certainly the biggest in quite some time.

Congrats to the Tornados.

My thoughts and condolences are with the family of Montclair High junior Ryne Dougherty last night (Oct. 15), two days after sufferring a brain hemmorage during a JV football game on Monday vs. Don Bosco Prep.

Unfortunately, these tragedies on the football field are becoming common.

This is a terrble tragedy for the Montclair community. I know this is a tough, tough time for his friends and family and my sympathies go out to them.

For the second straight year, Columbia and Millburn will meet in the Essex County Tournament championship in boys soccer.

Millburn won last year's final, 3-1. So Columbia has a score to settle.

When I got to Millburn last Sunday (Oct. 12) for the semifinals, I saw the final 20 minutes of the Millburn vs. Montclair semifinal, won by Millburn, 1-0. Even though there were no goals during that span, I was very impressed by Millburn. They are a talented team that seemed more aggressive.

Columbia, meanwhile, had a hard time vs. Nutley. In fact, there were no goals at all in regulation and in the two overtimes. Columbia finally put away Nutley in two shootout rounds.

Based on what I saw, naturally I would have to say that Millburn will take control and beat Columbia. But soccer is a funny sport. Right now, my gut feeling is that Columbia will find a way to beat Millburn. Columbia's got two solid playmakers in Dragos Ries and Adrian Alexis.

Prediction: Columbia 2, Millburn 1

Irvington vs. Elizabeth.

One of the biggest high school football games of the year will take place on Friday night (Oct. 17) in Elizabeth. It's a battle of 4-0 teams ranked in the top 10 in the state. Elizabeth is No. 8 and Irvington is No. 9.

So who is going to win?

No one has scored on Elizabeth this year. That's right. Elizabeth has outscored its opponents a staggering 145-0.

Elizabeth has one of the most dynamic players in the state in running back Raymond Graham, who committed to Pittsburgh.

Irvington, on the other hand, has its share of star power, led by quarterback Joshua Evans, who is just as dazzling as Graham. Evans' nephew, Rashon Evans, also is a dangerous running back for the Blue Knights.

Make no mistake, this should be an entertaining game.

Here's my take: I think Elizabeth will win. I am not knocking Irvington whatsoever. I think as the home team, Elizabeth has an advantage. Plus, Irvington hasn't exactly dominated foes this year. Remember, they had a tough time trying to put away East Side a few weeks ago.

Prediction: Elizabeth 21, Irvington 14

The top-seeded Columbia High School boys' soccer defeated fifth-seeded Nutley, 1-0, in a double-round shootout in the Essex County Tournament semifinals today (Oct. 12) at Neigel Field on the campus of Millburn High School.

The game was scoreless through regulation and two overtimes before being decided in the second round of the shootout.

After a 3-3 tie in the first round of the shootout, Columbia won the second shootout round, 2-1.

Columbia (11-1) will meet second-seeded Millburn in the final in a rematch of last year's ECT final won by Millburn. The championship will be held at West Essex High in North Caldwell on Oct. 19. Last year's championship was played at Millburn.

Nutley fell to 10-2.

Here is Nutley High School athletic director Joe Piro's take on the NJSIAA league realignment:

East Orange Campus, Nutley and Belleville are all primed for wins in this weekend's high school football action.

Meanwhile, Orange, in my opinion, will stun Delbarton this Saturday (Oct. 11). The Tornados beat Butler last week for their second straight win to improve to 2-1. Orange has a ton of playmakers who can pose a serious threat. The game is at Delbarton, which will be tough. But I think Orange can pull out the W, and go to 3-1.

Nutley is looking to win its third straight when it hosts Passaic on Saturday (Oct. 11). With a win, the Raiders can go to 4-1, which will double the team's victory total from last year.

Belleville is looking to go 3-1 when it hosts Barringer tomorrow (Oct. 10).

West Orange hopes to remain undefeated when its hosts West Side on Saturday (Oct. 11). The Mountaineers are 4-0 on the season.

Columbia vs. Nutley in this Sunday's Essex County Tournament boys' soccer semifinals should be a good one.

The game is at Millburn at noon.

Columbia and Nutley are both 10-1 as of today (Oct. 9). Nutley is making its first semifinal appearance, while Columbia has a record 14 ECT titles.

These two teams have met in the ECT in 2005 and last year, both won by Columbia.

Columbia just learned that it will not have Jonny Exantus for the rest of the year after the senior standout forward left the school to join a soccer academy in Belgium. But the Cougars have done just fine without Extanus, who played in the first four games for Columbia, scoring a goal in each of those victories.

Nutley is certainly an upstart. The Raiders, who won a school-record 14 games a year ago, have plenty of firepower, and compete in the one of the toughest leagues in the state, the NNJIL.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nutley wins. Right now, if I had to predict, I would go with Columbia, just on their experience alone.

But Nutley is going to be hungry, and as the underdog, they will be more motivated.

So here are the new leagues under the NJSIAA realignment plan for Essex County schools:

Super Conference 1

Division A:

East Orange

Montclair

West Orange

Seton Hall Prep

Columbia

Barringer

Bloomfield

Livingston

Mount St. Dominic

Division B

Belleville

Newark East Side

Irvington

Millburn

Nutley

Newark West Side

Shabazz

Orange

West Essex

Queen of Peace

Division C

Science

Weequahic

Caldwell

Newark Central

Newark Academy

Arts

Verona

Glen Ridge

Technology

University

Bloomfield Tech

Montclair Kimberley

Cedar Grove

Montclair Immaculate

Here are the current leagues

Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League: Bergen Tech, Clifton, Paterson Eastside, Paterson Kennedy, Hackensack, Passaic, Barringer, Belleville, Nutley, Paramus, Montclair, Ridgewood, Teaneck, Bloomfield, Don Bosco Prep, Paramus Catholic, St. Joseph, Bergen Catholic, Holy Angels, Immaculate Heart Academy

Northern Hills Conference: West Orange, Passaic Valley, Montville, Millburn, Newark West Side, Passaic Tech, West Milford, Wayne Valley, Mount St. Dominic, Pequannock, Butler, Orange, Caldwell, Delbarton, Lakeland, Madison, DePaul, St. Elizabeth, Villa Walsh.

Colonial Hills Conference: Pingry, Morris Catholic, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Cedar Grove, Newark Academy, Morristown-Beard, Montclair Immaculate, Glen Ridge, Arts, Mountain Lakes, Boonton, Whippany Park, Kinnelon, Science, Verona, University.

Watchung Conference: Irvington, Elizabeth, Union, Linden, Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Westfield, East Side, Shabazz, Kearny.

Iron Hills Conference: Columbia, Seton Hall Prep, Livingston, East Orange Campus, Randolph, Roxbury, Morristown, West Morris, Mount Olive, Morris Knolls.

In a move that drastically changes the landscape of high school sports competition, the NJSIAA executive committee approved a league realignment plan aimed at achieving competitive balance and easing traveling costs.

However, the plan won't take effect for schools in Bergen and Passaic counties next school year, which forces those schools to scramble to fill out their schedules.

For instance, the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League (NNJIL) and Northern Hills Conference (NHC) contain a mix of Bergen, Passaic and Essex County schools. Thus, Passaic County schools such as DePaul, Lakeland, Passaic Tech, Passaic Valley, Wayne Valley and West Milford in the NHC will have to fill out their schedules, while the rest of the schools in that league will begin to compete in their new leagues in 2009-10.

The same applies to the NNJIL, which will see five Essex County teams leave the league.

Initially, I was in favor of this realignment plan. I thought this was a critical step in addressing the competitive imbalance that was created because of the non-public schools' domination helped by their ability to attract students from anywhere.

But by leaving out the Bergen and Passaic county schools until 2010-11, it makes it even harder for those schools to fill out their schedules. Those schools that usually play some Essex and Morris county schools, will have a hard time playing them now, since the Essex and Morris county schools are now locked into their new leagues. 

Let's be honest here. The whole competitive balance issue pertains to the NNJIL, which has powerhouse schools like Don Bosco, St. Joseph, IHA, Bergen Catholic. Schools like Nutley and Bloomfield have screamed that they can't compete with these non-publics. So why can't the NJSIAA just have the non-public go the independent route, instead of putting them in the leagues with public schools. The public schools should have a CHOICE to play non-publics. They shouldn't be force to play non-publics. If the public schools don't want to play against non-publics, they shouldn't have to. It's that simple.

So now, the current leagues that have existed for years, will be dismantled, and we will have new leagues. It will definitely be a tough transition period for the next few years. But let's hope this fixes the problem of competitive imbalance. If it doesn't, then we will be back at Square One and this problem will never get fixed, unless they just completely separate the non-publics and publics. 

The top-seeded Columbia High School boys' soccer team defeated eighth-seeded West Orange, 3-1, in the Essex County Tournament quarterfinals today (Oct. 5) at Cameron Field in South Orange.

Dragos Ries scored two goals, both off assists from Adrian Alexis, and Thomas Quirk scored a penatly kick in the second half that broke a 1-1 tie. Deyvid Arango tied the score for West Orange early in the second half.

Columbia, playing without senior standout Jonny Exantus, is now 8-1. West Orange, which has a relatively inexperienced team, is 5-4. Exantus is deciding whether to sign a pro contract in Europe. He left the country a few weeks ago to assist his mother in Haiti after hurricanes destroyed her home.

How about Nutley!!!!

The Raiders went to their bag of tricks to beat Paramus Catholic, 36-29, in a high school football game today (Oct. 4) at home. Joe Dispoto threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Tom Ochse on a toss reverse play in the fourth quarter to lift the Raiders to their second straight win. Nutley is now 3-1. The Raiders handed PC its first loss of the season. PC fell to 3-1.

Nutley's got Passaic next Saturday (Oct. 11). Passaic got its first win of the season by stunning Bloomfield, 20-14, in overtime today (Oct. 4). A win would make Nutley 4-1.

Nutley's win over PC will give it some big-time power-points in its quest to make the state playoffs.

It looks like Nutley could have one of its best seasons in years. 

I went to the Bloomfield-Passaic football game today (Oct. 4), but I only stayed for the first half since I had another obligation. So I was expecting Bloomfield to dominate Passaic. After all, Belleville beat Passaic decisively, 40-28, but Bloomfield routed Belleville, 39-14, this year.

So logically, this would be a total lopsided game in Bloomfield's favor.

But this is the NNJIL, where parity is the norm. And that was certainly evident in this case.

The game was tied 14-14 at halftime, after Bloomfield's Devon Livingston scored on a 70-yard kickoff return right before the half. I just found out the game was scoreless in the second half and Passaic won it in overtime, 20-14.

Bloomfield scored in the first quarter, but Passaic answered on the first play of the second quarter on a 77-yard touchdown run to tie it. Passaic then took a 14-7 lead with 29 seconds left in the half after a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took more than 7 minutes. Livingston then took the ensuing kickoff and returned it for the touchdown.

Bloomfield is now 2-1 and Passaic is 1-3.

This is certainly a devastating loss for Bloomfield, but I know coach Mike Carter and his staff will get this team to bounce back.

Don't forget. Bloomfield had to play Passaic only five days after beating Belleville decisively, 39-14. The game with Belleville was postponed from Friday night (Sept. 26) to Monday night (Sept. 29) because of rain. So Bloomfield didn't have much time to prepare for its game with Passaic.

Of course, Bloomfield knows that that is no excuse. But it's very difficult for a football team to play games five days apart. Nevertheless, I know Bloomfield will work hard and put this game behind them and move forward.

The Orange High football team won its second straight with a 33-28 victory over Butler last night (Oct. 3) at home. Orange is now 2-1.

Here's a stunner: Mount Olive tied Morristown, 22-22. Mount Olive was winless going into the game. In fact, they lost their last nine dating to last year. Morristown was highly-regarded going into the season, led by Michael  Colvin, considered the best quarterback in the state. Morristown is now 2-1-1.

For Columbia fans, you have to be a bit worried. Mount Olive was supposed to be beatable on the schedule. Now, who knows? Columbia hasn't won a game since 2004 and the losing streak is now 39 going into today (Oct. 4) against East Orange. Columbia also will unveil its new Fieldturf against Mount Olive during Homecoming on Oct. 25.

Congratulations to Belleville High School girls' tennis player Analee Delgado, who finished runner-up in the Essex County Tournament on Sept. 21.

Delgado upset highly-regarded Alex Livingston of Columbia in the semifinals before losing to Millburn's Rachel Cantor, one of the best players in the state.