An early-season injury prevented Alex Hanks from completing passes for the first few games, forcing quarterback Sa’eed Cole to seek other aerial alternatives and rely more liberally on his own feet fast for his running pass options.

The talented junior receiver – who showed so much promise as a sophomore – had become a somewhat overlooked target behind Shakur Taylor and Samaj Toney-El, and yet Hanks never let that development deter him.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m a two-way player. If I don’t succeed on offense, I will always succeed on defense.

With the stakes now as high for East Orange as they have been since 2021, Cole found himself targeting Hanks specifically because his hands, speed and intuition once he has the ball are as good as the selfish attitude he had maintained when he wasn’t the guy to consult.

Hanks caught a 12-yard pass from Cole to give East Orange the lead in the second quarter, and turned another short run into a 92-yard touchdown run early in the fourth to rally the fourth-seeded Jaguars to a 13-7 victory over second-seeded West Orange for the North 1, Group 5 title Friday night at West Orange.

Hanks caught his first TD pass this season last week in East Orange’s 14-3 win over top-seeded Ridgewood, and he also caught a 38-yard pass on Friday, giving him three receptions for 142 yards .

That allowed the Jaguars (9-2) to avenge a 7-0 loss to West Orange (9-3) on Oct. 19 and send them to their second sectional title since 2021. They will face Union City next week in the band. 5 semi-finals.

“It’s an incredible feeling. I can’t even explain it,” Cole said of the section’s title. “But we continue now. We need to have good practices and prepare for the next one.

After generating just 37 yards of offense in the first half, West Orange charged in the second half with much sharper execution from its offensive line to junior running back Farad Green.

He capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive to open the second half with a 6-yard run, and he finished with a game-high 141 yards on 28 carries. After his TD, Mason Insana kicked the PAT to take a 7-6 lead.

But an East Orange defense that had been brilliant until that possession reverted to its ultra-stingy methods to give the offense a chance to respond, which it did after West Orange was stopped on a fourth-and-goal from three with a pass broken up by junior linebacker Quadir Parrish.

Cole ran three yards on first down, then two, then he hit Hanks on a short slant just inside the 20-yard line. He quickly assessed things and pressed the propulsion button.

“I found space. I saw a man, I had to back out and it was off to the races from there,” Hanks said.

There was still 10:03 left to play after that go-ahead score, and West Orange intended not to waste those minutes.

The Mountaineers started the ensuing possession at their 45 and quickly advanced into the red zone with a 31-yard pass from Brandon LaBanca to Terrell Wilfong, followed by a 13-yard run from Green.

West Orange moved to the EO 12-yard line, but sophomore Esa Wittenberg charged left to record a four-yard sack to create a fourth-and-10 from the 16. Next play, senior cornerback Shakur Taylor intercepted a pass. on the goal line with 7:09 left. East Orange maintained possession for the rest of the game.

“Our defense was incredible. They’ve stepped up all year,” Cole said. “After that (West Orange) touchdown, they were able to step up at the right time again.”

Parrish, Taylor, Ernst Jeune, Alvins Collin, Shaler Jackson III, Darell James Jr., Wittenberg and Hanks anchored this defense, which was effective enough to turn two West Orange recovered kicks into mere footnotes.

West Orange ran their first kickoff to start with the ball at the EO 30-yard line. This drive ended with an incomplete pass at the 25 on fourth and five.

The Mountaineers got another one back at the East Orange 35 after their go-ahead touchdown. It ended at the 29 with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4.

“We have a great group of kids; they play with a lot of heart,” East Orange head coach John Jacob said. “I tell these guys every week there are 100 coaches that would line up to coach these kids. I really think so.

Barrino, EahJay McAdams, Somto Ndukwe, Ryde Abdur Aziz, Dylan Adams, Darrius Brown and Jemel Touze led a West Orange defense whose only big breakdown came on Cole’s long TD play to Hanks. This unit has only given up 13 points to EO in eight quarters.

“We felt like that was going to be the kind of game it was about. We knew it would be tight. We knew the scores weren’t going to be easy,” Jacob said.

“Obviously the ultimate goal for both of us was to try and keep football; play, stay away,” he said.

Mike Kinney can be contacted at [email protected].

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