Union City falls to Montclair

Union City, Montclair

A trio of Montclair defenders bring down Antonio Pacheco after a third-quarter catch.

Click Here for more photos from Union City at Montclair.

By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director

MONTCLAIR – For Union City, this year’s postseason provided not just an opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the state, but extract some revenge from earlier in the season. One week after defeating West Orange in a rematch from earlier in the year, the Soaring Eagles got a crack at a Montclair team which had stunned them on the final play back in the season opener.

The eighth-seeded Soaring Eagles were unable to repeat the trick from a week ago as their Cinderella playoff run ended with a 35-12 loss yesterday at Woodman Field in the NJSIAA North 1, Group IV semifinals.

For Union City (6-5), the first four minutes would create a deficit too big for them to overcome.

Fourth-seeded Montclair (6-4) stormed out to a 7-0 lead thanks to some trickery as Michael Smith took a handoff and tossed a strike downfield to starting QB Khalif Herbin for a 49-yard touchdown on the opening drive.

Things would only get worse for the Soaring Eagles as the Mounties’ Tyrone El forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff which was recovered by teammate Donte’ Bellamy. Just two plays later, Anthony Webb would score on a 15-yard touchdown run to give Montclair its second score in a span of 24 seconds and a quick 14-0 lead.

Unlike the first meeting between these two teams (a 27-22 win by Montclair), Union City was unable to match the offensive fire power of the Mounties.

Despite a pair of long runs in the opening half by Dominick Montanez to bring the ball into Montclair territory, the Soaring Eagles were left empty-handed on those drives. The speed and aggressiveness of the Mounties’ defense kept Union City off the scoreboard for the game’s first three quarters.

“We’ve changed our whole defense around about Week 5,” Montclair head coach John Fiore said. “We switched defensive coordinators and it took us a couple of weeks to grasp what we were doing. But we’ve simplified things for our kids, let them be the athletes that they are and go play.

“They gashed us last time. This time I think our kids did a great job.”

The Montclair pass rush in particular proved to be a source of trouble for Union City as they sacked QB Isaiah Moreiera five times in the contest. Junior DE Julian Pinnix-Odrick had two sacks to halt a pair of Soaring Eagle drives in Mounties’ territory and Lateef Pendleton added two of his own.

“Their athletes were a whole lot better than our athletes,” Soaring Eagles head coach Wilbur Valdez said. “We rushed the ball well in the first half, but we just couldn’t finish any of the drives. They have a whole lot of special kids on that team.”

Of all the athletes on the Mounties’ roster, none are as dangerous as Herbin at quarterback. The junior, who Valdez called “without a doubt one of the best players in the state of New Jersey,” helped put the game out of reach with a 12-yard rushing touchdown to make it 21-0 late in the third quarter.

Herbin finished with 126 yards on 23 carries to pace a Montclair squad which rushed for 271 yards in the win. Otis Wright had a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to finish with 70 yards on six carries, while Stephaun Marshall added 70 yards.

Junior Steve Le led the Soaring Eagles’ offense with 105 yards on just 13 carries in defeat. He broke off a 69-yard run to set up a 5-yard score two plays later to put Union City on the scoreboard. Le also had a pair of sacks of Herbin on fourth down to end drives.

Montanez rushed for 78 yards and added 84 more yards on kick returns. Senior Edguardo Ayala had 43 yards (highlighted by a 37-yard touchdown) and Nick Espana rushed for 33 yards as Union City’s first-ever playoff run came to an end.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Valdez said. “They did a good job all season and it’s a stepping stone for the program. We’re far from where we need to be, but it’s a bright spot. It shows the direction we’re heading in.”

Dominick Montanez, Union City

Senior RB Dominick Montanez had 162 all-purpose yards for Union City.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Union City Soaring Eagles (6-5)	0	0	0	12	12
Montclair Mounties (6-4)	14	0	7	14	35

Mon: Khalif Herbin, 49 pass from Michael Smith (Taylor Ullrich kick)
Mon: Anthony Webb, 15 run (Ullrich kick)
Mon: Herbin, 12 run (Ullrich kick)
Mon: Otis Wright, 5 run (Ullrich kick)
UC: Steve Le, 5 run (kick failed)
Mon: Wright, 50 run (Ullrich kick)
UC: Edguardo Ayala, 37 run (run failed)