The Montclair High School Football team had a promising start to their season, but it was soon taken away. The boys played well this year and competed together as a team. Despite their promising start, they ended the season with a 0-9 record due to disqualification from the league. This meant they had to forfeit all of the games but stats were still counted.

Thankfully, Captain Gage Hammond was able to keep his record for most field goals in Montclair High School history. “My personal favorite memory of the season was breaking the school record of most career field goals. It was a special experience with the team,” Hammond said when reflecting back on the season.

The Montclair vs. Ridgewood game was the climax of the season and it was also the team’s senior night. Seniors were honored and the team showed that they could truly compete. Montclair won 17-10 to Ridgewood, a great end to the night. Semaj Adams, David Tom-Rodgers, and Justin Bernal were big contributors showing leadership throughout the game and returning home with confidence.

Hammond reflects, “The moments I was most proud of my teammate were going into the Ridgewood game coming off of a tough loss to East Orange and losing in the last minute against Irvington and finding a way to win. We had our backs up against the wall and we put in our best performance of the season in all three phases of the game and pulled off a great upset.”

The team had another great game against Livingston in their own stadium. They had a very quiet and rough start, losing 10-0 at the half but came out strong. In the 3rd quarter, Semaj Adams, Drew Pfeifer and Justin Bernal all scored touchdowns. Semaj Adams had a 52-yard touchdown reception, Drew Pfeifer had a 83-yard touchdown run, and Justin Bernal had a 32-yard interception touchdown. Then in the 4th quarter, Adams added another touchdown Hammond scored a 48-yard field goal. It was a memorable game. 

Then the boys won Homecoming against Columbia, one of Montclair’s biggest games and newest traditions. It was the highest-attended game of the season. The boys dominated the entire game outplaying Columbia in all 3 stages of the game and didn’t disappoint the large crowd.

“The team came together very well considering the circumstances of everything in the preseason with the coaching staff coming in late. We didn’t have as much time to mold with the coaches so we had to rely on each other and I think we did a great job as a group of not letting that affect us and staying tight together as a team.” Hammond is committed to Wesleyan University where he will play for the next four years.

Despite the disqualification, the team truly did something special this season in each game and their overall performance. We hope to see more from the team next year and a chance to compete in the playoffs.