The West Orange football team didn't just beat Union City 21-6 Thursday night at Roosevelt Stadium; they also showed the kind of composure that may lead them to the kind of season they're chasing.
The Mountaineers, coming off an epic 47-46 overtime win over West Morris to start the season, didn't let the emotion that followed the win get in their way. West Orange, now 2-0, will play host to Bloomfield Friday night. Game time is 7 p.m.
Coach John Jacob had said that the great win against West Morris wouldn't mean as much if the team didn't keep their focus and pursuit of improvement into their week of preparation for Union City.
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They kept their promise to themselves and coach.
The Mountaineers forced five turnovers, turning three of them into scores in Jersey City. West Orange turned it over twice, so that meant a plus three ratio.
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"The defense did what they were supposed to do," Jacob said. "They turned it up and did a great job."
Senior quarterback Christian Smith was steady, but he knew the amazing numbers he put up in the season opener weren't bound to repeat themselves.
"In the first game our offense picked up our defense," said Smith Sunday night. "In the second game, our defense picked up our offense. In the first game our defense struggled a little bit and this time our offense wasn't clicking. This game was kind of like the exact opposite. I had to make sure our guys kept fighting on offense,'' during the Union City game.
It looked like the game would be scoreless at the half. But Smith threw a screen pass to speedy junior Lance Smith (no relation) that turned into a 55-yard touchdown to open the game's scoring with just 37.7 seconds left in the half. Josh McNeil added the conversion run.
Junior cornerback Anfernee Larue then scored on a 90-yard interception return in the third quarter to give his team a 14-0 lead. Smith connected on a 10-yard scoring pass off a play action later in the third quarter with tight end Frankie Bakirtzis to give the Mountaineers a 21-0 lead. Smith threw 20 passes for the game, completing 14 of them for 151 yards.
"We're feeling really confident, but we have to do whatever we can to prepare for Bloomfield," said Smith. "The only ones who can really beat us are ourselves."
