There are 46 players on the roster, including 15 seniors, while Singh said that there are 25 freshmen on that squad guided by first-year coach Melissa Gromeck.

Singh’s own new varsity staff includes a number of former standout high school and college players such as ex-Rutgers wide receiver Carlton Agudosi, who is serving as the Mounties passing game coordinator.

As far as a few of the players set to assume some of the key roles, the leading candidates to get the nod for the starting quarterback job vs. Ridgewood are the team’s two senior signal callers, Samad Jiles or Eli Miller. Jiles, a natural wide receiver (22 receptions for 208 yards in 2025) and starting defensive back, saw significant action at QB last fall (74 of 98 for 823 yards, 9 TDs, 5 Int. and 35 carries for 296 yards and 2 TDs) while sharing time with the since graduated Jake Martin (62 of 102 for 747 yards, 4 TDs).

Miller saw limited duty with the varsity in 2025 when he was 2-of-8 passing for 4 yards.
Sophomore Andrew Reynolds, who is another QB prospect, is a talented all-around athlete who Singh said is currently slated to be primarily utilized as a wide receiver on offense and at safety on defense.

Among other position changes for this season is Jaydon ‘J-Rod’ Rodriguez moving from the O-Line to now be one of the running backs while complementing the speed of promising sophomore Brad Webb in the Mounties’ new-look backfield.

Webb, who was also a key receiver last fall, will be a primary ball carrier for the Mounties this fall while Zahir Huff, who had been utilized out of the backfield for much of last season, is now working as a slot receiver.

Another player changing roles is Langston Sanders, who has made the switch from D-Line to linebacker for what appears to be a promising defensive unit that also includes veteran standouts such as Rodriguez at linebacker and second-year co-captain Avery Burton, who is at one of the end slots on ‘D’ while also being seen as a ‘hybrid’ linebacker.

Burton also helps anchor the Mounties’ O-Line at right tackle.

There is a new placekicker Singh said he is leaning toward in senior Jaxon Parma, who is perhaps better known as a member of the Mounties ice hockey team during the winter season.

This Saturday’s season-opening opponent returns experience on offense including senior QB Gavin McCrone who threw for 493 yards and ran for another 451 yards last fall. He is joined by three veteran running backs in Brody Perrapato (413 yards, 7 TDs last fall) along with Marcus Flusche and junior Beau Waitrak who will run behind an experienced O-Line.  
Ridgewood is 9-1 vs. the Mounties since 2015 with the only ‘official’ MHS victory coming with a 49-14 triumph in the 2017 North 1, Group 5 playoff semifinals when the Mounties were on their way to a perfect 12-0 season.

Montclair’s last victory on the field vs. the Maroons actually came in 2023 in a mid-October regular season contest at Ridgewood; however, that victory was later wiped out when the NJSIAA awarded a forfeit win for the Maroons when MHS was found to have had an ineligible player in that game due to an academic-related oversight by the school.

Plus, the Mounties were not allowed to participate in a scheduled first-round playoff contest at Ridgewood that season which was also listed as a 1-0 forfeit victory for the Maroons as the MHS record went from 4-4 on the field to 0-9 in the record books with five forfeits in all.
Ridgewood defeated Montclair, 41-28, last September, at the Bergen County school before completing a lackluster 3-6 season with a 27-6 loss at Livingston in a North 1, Group 5 first-round playoff contest.

The Maroons last won at Woodman Field in 2024, dominating the Mounties, 34-0, during a 6-4 campaign and also won a much closer 30-24 contest at Montclair in 2023 during a rather pedestrian 4-5 season.

Ridgewood has defeated the Mounties three times in the N1G5 playoffs in the last 11 years: 24-17 in 2015, 31-20 in 2016; plus the Maroons posted a 27-7 decision in the sectional playoff final at Woodman Field in 2019.

Week Zero Games Involving Essex County Teams. Pick To Win in Boldface:
Thursday, Aug. 27:
Bergen Tech at MKA, 4
West Essex at Montville, 6:30
Bayonne at Livingston, 7
Shabazz vs. Atlantic City in Battle at the Beach (Ocean City) , 7
Ramapo at West Orange in Mountaineer Classic, 7:30

Friday, Aug. 28:
Seton Hall Prep at St. Joseph (Md.), 4
Nutley at Pascack Valley, 6
Ramsey at Verona, 6
Bloomfield at Central (Shabazz Stadium), 7
Hillside at Columbia (Underhill Field), 7

Saturday, Aug. 29:
West Side at Glen Ridge, noon
Piscataway at East Orange Campus, 1
Cedar Grove vs. Gloucester in Battle at the Beach (Ocean City), 1
Ridgewood at Montclair, 1       

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