Moore appreciates being part of an ever-evolving-and-reloading West Orange team during the past four seasons, one which captured the program’s first-ever state sectional playoff championship during his freshman year in 2022, with a big upset of Phillipsburg, and another which was solid once again in 2024, but fell to archrival East Orange Campus, 13-7, in another sectional state final last November.
Some of the players have changed with the graduation of stars such as last year’s QB Charlie LaMorte and WR Terrell Wilfong, among others, but there is still plenty of talent on hand for another strong run toward a playoff title in 2025.
“We have a ton of talented guys on this team who make big plays, people like (junior two-way end) Sydney Padilla, who is a big-time college recruit, (senior WR-DB) Jeremiah Barnes, (senior RB-LB) Micah Howell, (senior WR-CB) Bashir Moss, and (senior Army-bound RB) Farad Green, who is one of the very best backs out there, and I’m honored to come to practice each day with all my teammates,” said Moore. “Whatever I can do to help us win is what it’s all about for me because my No. 1 goal is to lead us to a state championship this season!”
NOTES- Moore, who is an excellent student with Math being his favorite subject, plans to graduate mid-year at West Orange and leave in January for UMass where he plans to be part of the team’s spring practice in March of 2026. He said he still plans to come back to West Orange to walk down the aisle during June graduation ceremonies with his fellow Mountaineer seniors….Moore learned about the sport as a young gridder while playing with the East Orange Jaguars Pop Warner team through eighth grade including receiving tutelage from his dad George Moore, who was one of the coaches there….Moore had 19 receptions for 271 yards and 3 TDs as a junior along with having 23 tackles, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery and returning one kickoff for a TD in 2024…Moore had several FBS (1-A) college offers, including from Duke, West Virginia and Pitt, but chose UMass because of what he describes as a ‘great family atmosphere’ he felt with the program headed by first-year UMass head coach Joe Harasmiah…Sunday’s West Orange-PCT contest was pushed back a day due to heavy rains Saturday when the game was originally slated to be part of the first Lamar McKnight Classic at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson to honor the late Hudson Catholic coach who passed away earlier this year in a tragic car accident….West Orange, which is a member of the Super Football Conference-Freedom Red Division goes on the road this coming Friday night (Sept. 12) at Irvington (1-1). Coach Marco Soto’s Blue Knights are members of the SFC’s Freedom White Division...West Orange had dropped its 2025 season opener, 10-7, to Shabazz, in its Giants Mountaineer Classic on Aug. 30 under the lights at Suriano Field.
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