Huge Wins: Montclair Football and Soccer Come Up Trumps On Saturday

There are sports days—and then there are sports days.

Of all the games going on in Montclair, the Montclair-East Orange football game that took place Saturday afternoon at Woodman Field was, according to spectators, probably the biggest athletic event in town in the past several years.

The final result: Montclair remains undefeated, winning 35-7 over the previously undefeated East Orange.

If that weren't enough, the Montclair High Girls Varsity Soccer team won the Essex County Tournament 1-0 over Livingston late Saturday.

It was a sweet win for a group of hard-working girls, many of whom had played together for years.

For example, Erica Joab, Kara Maguire, and Maya Pitts are seniors who are also four-year varsity players. All three have verbally committed to Division 1 schools to play soccer. Macguire and Pitts started playing club soccer together when they were 7 years old and still play together at U-17. All three played for Montclair United soccer before moving on to higher level teams. 

When it came to the much-anticipated 1 p.m. football game, some estimated that at least 6,000 enthusiastic spectators converged on Woodman Field, with many people having to park as far away as Montclair Avenue and beyond.

"There were some waiting in line until even after halftime just to get in," said Mary Curtain Creaser, the mother of a marching band member.

The Super Essex Conference rivals both boast amazing quarterbacks including Montclair's Khalif Herbin, who has almost become a household name across the state among high school sports fans.

Before Saturday, East Orange’s defense had allowed only 35 points and just two rushing TDs in six games while Montclair's defense had allowed 93 points in five games.

Perhaps that's why at least some sports writers thought East Orange would win.

The buzz around this game has been building for weeks as No. 5 East Orange continued to surge past one opponent after another, with the help of talented quarterback Justin Laroda, and Montclair also did well with the incredible plays of Herbin.

And, again, Herbin proved to be one of the state's best players on Saturday.

Following a slow start, Herbin turned broken plays into big gains routinely, including a 64-yard scoring scamper late in the first half that not only staked the Mounties to a 28-0 lead, but also made him Montclair's all-time leader in touchdowns scored.

Congrats Montclair!

Did you go to Saturday's big games? Upload your photos to this article or email to Shelley@patch.com.