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No. 6 Newark East Side defeats No. 1 Seton Hall Prep for first ECT title since 1978

Richard Greco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com | View the story online
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Box Score
Newark East Side 4
Seton Hall Prep 0
[Montclair, NJ] Thirty-eight years passed since Newark East Side played for an Essex County Tournament championship and the Red Raiders weren’t going to let the opportunity slip away.

Behind goals from seniors Tiago Da Costa, Kevin Avila and Walter Hernandez, and junior Maicol Jumbo Pardo, second-seeded Newark East Side, No. 6 in the NJ.com Top 20, defeated top-seeded Seton Hall Prep, the No. 1 in the state, 4-0, in the Essex County Tournament championship at Montclair State University on Sunday.

The title was East Side’s first since defeating Vailsburg in PKs 5-4 in 1978. The victory was also the first time that the Newark Public school defeated Seton Hall Prep since Jose Pereira took over the program six years ago.

“It’s been a long time coming and a lot of hard work,” Pereira said. “They believed and that’s what it comes down to. Often times kids from Newark get overlooked and they are just the same as everyone else. Their hard work and perseverance paid off in the biggest game of their young lives.”

Da Costa got the scoring started in the the 30th minute when he put a feed from junior Thiago Duarte just inside the near post to give East Side a 1-0 lead.

“It started with Tiago (Da Costa) making that run,” Pereira said. “He is not a right back he’s a midfielder, but as a captain he does what ever it takes to get there.”

East Side built on its momentum two minutes into the second half when Hernandez sent a cross past a diving Jumbo Pardo and onto the waiting head of Avila, who beat beat Seton Hall Prep keeper Liam Bertrand – four saves – to put the Red Raiders ahead 2-0.

“It’s a great thing. It’s a great experience,” Avila said. “I’ve never played in a game like this in my life. This is actually my first game that has been so intense. As being a captain, I wanted to take this title. My three years being on varsity, we made it to the semis, but we never made it this far. The boys worked so hard in practice. The boys worked so hard during the game. I told them before this game started, ‘Hey everyone give 110-percent.’ We did it and we’re champs.”

Hernandez and Jumbo Pardo provided insurance goals in the final 10 minutes. Hernandez put home a rebound following a shot from Jonatas Barbos Pereira in the 71st minute and Jumbo Pardo sent a strike inside the far post on a breakaway to increase East Side’s lead to four goals.

Eric Silva Lopes was East Side’s rock between the pipes and made eight saves to record his fifth shutout of the year.

In preseason we saw right away (how good we were),” Silva Lopes said. “We felt good, the way that we were playing. We played well. That’s all that matters.”

Central High School Band, Dancers & ROTC Attend Delaware State University 125th Homecoming & Annual Parade

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Accompanied by Ms. Graves, Sgt. Branch and Mr. Allen, students left Central High School at 6 a.m. Saturday October 15 and headed down to Dover, the state Capital of Delaware to participate in the annual DSU HBCU Homecoming Parade. With nearly 75 students in attendance, our students were the only High School Band to participate in the annual event and received raving reviews from the crowd.

After participating in the parade, our students went to the Delaware State University campus to participate in HBCU homecoming activities before heading back home with an experience of a lifetime. When you see these youngsters please congratulate them as they represented Central High School and Newark Public Schools with honor, pride, dignity and respect.

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Introducing Zamar Wise, Barringer’s Elite 2019 Quarterback

Written by: Adam Baliatico

Zamar Wise is a name that soon enough, will be a nationally known name. The 6’1 quarterback who plays at Barringer in Newark, exploded onto the scene last year as a freshman, throwing for 1898 yards and 18TDs despite entering Barringer as a wide receiver. We caught up with Wise himself, Barringer Head Coach Ronly London and his quarterback coach Jeff Lucien from Lucien Passing Academy.

As an 8th grader, Zamar was thriving at the pop warner level as an athletic, big-play wide receiver. However, upon arriving at Barringer, the team needed a quarterback only two weeks before the season started when projected starting quarterback Shamir White transferred to DePaul Catholic.

Head Coach Ronly London was preparing to use Zamar’s older brother, Steven, as the teams quarterback, when he saw Zamar throw one deep pass down the field. “We were going to use Steven as our QB,” Coach London told Rutgers 247. “But then I watched Zamar throw one pass, a deep ball, and I said, Wow! That’s my quarterback.”

Initially Zamar was skeptical, according to Coach London. “He said, Coach I am a wide receiver, I am better there.” But Coach London convinced Zamar, and his father, to trust him. “I told Zamar and his dad, just trust me and Zamar will be a star at quarterback.”

Zamar and his father took the leap of faith and Coach London was right, as Zamar threw for over 1900 yards as a freshman, leading Barringer to an 8-2 record.

What should be scary for local defenses, and future college defenses, is that Zamar had that season as a freshman without any formal QB training until two weeks before the season.

As Coach Lucien told Rutgers247, “Last year, Zamar was playing with limited training. The improvements he has shown so far this year are a testament to his tremendous work ethic and all the work he put in the past year in improving as a passer.”

While Zamar is a tremendously hard worker, Coach London spoke about other qualities that make him a tremendous teammate and quarterback. “Zamar is a great listener,” Coach London said. “He is loyal, he is a student of the game, and he doesn’t get caught up in the hype.”

In terms of being a student of the game, Coach London noted how Zamar volunteered to be the freshman team’s offensive coordinator last year. “Zamar came up to me and asked me if he could call the plays for the freshman team,” Coach London told Rutgers247. “He was willing to get up at 7am every Saturday, head to the field, and be with the guys and call the plays. That’s impressive for a high school freshman.”

Talking more about not getting caught up in the hype, we spoke to Zamar and Coach London about Zamar’s decision to attend Barringer rather than a local parochial school as so many great talents in Newark do.

“Basically, I just wanted to be a leader,” Zamar told Rutgers247. “So many kids go to Bosco or Bergen and make it big. I just wanted to show kids in the area that you can stay at the public school and make it big and I didn’t want to be a follower, I wanted to be a leader and set my own path.”

Zamar’s tremendous talent, work ethic, and leadership qualities have him projecting as an elite, power-five level recruit and has already drawn interest from two major college programs in Rutgers and Temple.

In speaking with Zamar about what he is looking for in a college, he mentioned that he wants a program with great coaches, a good environment, and a strong science program, as he loves science, particularly physics.

So far, Zamar has met one college coach in Rutgers Head Coach Chris Ash, who he met this summer at the Rutgers passing camp. “I met Coach Ash this summer,” Zamar told Rutgers247. “He is a great guy and a great coach who is really smart and he is going to try and keep all the local talent home and get them to play at Rutgers.”

While Zamar is very close to his family and said he is impressed with Coach Ash and the Rutgers program, he mentioned Ohio State as his dream school. “Ohio State is kind of my dream school,” he said. “Their tradition of winning, coaching staff, and the fanbase are just unbelievable.”

While Zamar loves Ohio State, he did mention that Rutgers, now that they switched to a power-spread offense, will be a competitor for his services.

“I want to play in a spread or a power-spread offense at the next level,” he told Rutgers247. “So with that, Rutgers now is a possibility especially because of their new coaching staff and strong academics.”

One thing Zamar made clear is that he is going to try and find the right school for himself early on, as he does not like the attention or want to get caught up in the hype. “Once things get going with recruiting, I am going to try and find the right program very early on,” he said.

“I don’t want to deal with the stress of recruiting and want to find my home, commit, and then just get back to focusing on schoolwork and football.”

As a recruit, Zamar projects as a national level recruit, and could end up being one of the top quarterbacks in the country for the Class of 2019. Coach Lucien talked about his strengths as a quarterback, noting that “his arm strength is just incredible. He has the ability to throw the deep ball better than any quarterback I have seen at his age.”

In addition, Coach Lucien noted his “improving footwork, ability to take coaching, and his leadership” as qualities Zamar possesses while also noting that Zamar is still raw, and that there is tremendous room for even further improvement.

“He’s only been playing QB for a little over a year,” Lucien told Rutgers247. “As he gets more comfortable going through progressions and making reads, he is just going to become a better and better quarterback.”

Lucien concluded, saying, “I think Zamar is one of the best QBs in the country for his class. He has all the tools. Strong arm, great ability to take coaching, leadership qualities, incredible athleticism. He just has it all. He’s going to be big time.”

Stay tuned with Rutgers247 as Zamar’s recruitment should explode in the next 6 to 12 months, once his sophomore film hits the college campuses.

View the story here.

Newark Vice Principal Goes ‘Old School’ to Keep Kids Out of Trouble

Barry Carter | The Star-Ledger | Email the author | Follow on Twitter
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Akbar Cook doesn’t want this story to be about him.

Sorry, Mr. Cook. I can’t do that.

You’re hard to ignore when you’ve managed to keep 80 to 100 young people off the streets on which you grew up in Newark’s West Ward.

“I don’t do it for kudos,” Cook said. “This is what I signed up for.”

And he does it without much sleep, raising the eyebrows of those who know him, hoping the 40-year-old doesn’t burn out.

Cook, a family man who has been married 14 years and has three children, leaves his home in the Poconos early in the morning and drives more than an hour to Hunterdon County’s Pottersville, where he works as a program coordinator at a summer day camp for city kids.

By 4 p.m., Cook is on his way to West Side High School in Newark, where he serves as vice principal. He’s there with a small staff to open the gym – that’s where all of those kids who Cook saves from the streets go three nights a week.

From 6 to 11 p.m., the joint is filled, mostly with boys and young men, ages 10 to 25, with younger players competing on separate courts. Some he knows, some he doesn’t, but they come from all over the city to stay out of trouble.

“If I wasn’t doing this, I’d probably be on the block,” said Davon Nelson, 21.

The time period is crucial. That five-hour window is when idle young people can find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Too much of that happened last summer.

Each time that something happened involving a West Side kid, Cook said it was probably someone he knew or had counseled.

This summer, though, Cook made it his business to be sure that things would be different. He called on the West Side Alumni Group and the MCJ Amelior Foundation, which has adopted the school and funds some of its academic and enrichment programs.

Cook’s idea is simple – give kids something to do in a safe place, particularly at night. The concept comes from his childhood, when he was always at the West Side Boys and Girls Club.

“I wanted to create the same type of feeling,” Cook said.

With only one Boys and Girls Club left in the city, Cook figured the gym could be his own version of a community haven.

He calls it the Lights On Program, which started on July 5. The word spread from one ear to another that the gym would be open for activities through Aug 29. The next thing Cook knew, the gym was averaging 80 kids.

Inside, they play basketball, ping-pong, board games and card games. Those waiting their turn sip on water and eat free meals provided by the Amelior Foundation. Out front, there’s a knock hockey table and a medical van. The girls who come to the gym dance to Jersey club music pumping through a speaker. Some play games, too. At dusk, Cook sets up X-Box and PlayStation systems that project sports video games onto the school’s walls. It looks like a movie from a distance, but that’s Lebron James dunking on someone.

The gym is more than a magnet for kids. Adults come, too. While his two sons are shooting hoops, Abdul Cameron is in the weight room working out.

“It keeps my mind off the negative energy,” he said.

Without the gym, many of the fellas said they’re not sure what they’d be doing, heaping credit on Cook, who shies away from the limelight.

Mr. Cook, it’s okay to wear the community honor badge. You’ve earned it.

Alfonzo Anderson, who graduated from West Side last year, said you saved his life. Remember when you spent five hours talking to him, making him see the dead-end track he was on. The 19-year-old hasn’t forgotten that. He stopped fighting, getting in trouble and getting high.

Because of you, he gave up the street corner for a community college in Cheyenne, Wyo. He’s on the basketball team and getting good grades, an achievement he didn’t think was possible in high school.

“I look at him as a father figure,” Anderson said. “He showed me a different way.”

His athletes get it, too. They are members of the West Side High School basketball team, which he led to its first championship this year.

Yup, Cook, is the head basketball coach, too. And when he’s not at the gym program on those three nights, he’s coaching teams on Tuesday and Thursday nights as part of a Newark summer league.

His guys see the time he puts in with them, but they say it’s more about life than basketball. Cook’s message of manhood and personal responsibility sticks with them.

“He knows how to vibe with kids,” said Yasim Hooker, 17. “I’ve never met a hard-working man like (him) at his age.”

His example commands their attention, compels kids to listen to this role model.

“Plus he’s a big guy, so people are kind of scared of him,” said Quayon Williams, 17.

We laughed at that one. Yes, he’s 6 feet 7 inches tall, carrying 300 pounds. He can be strict, but Cook is fun and downright silly as he empties his heart into these kids.

It’s 11 p.m. Time to go home, but Cook has one more stop. There’s always extra food left over, unopened meals the kids haven’t eaten. Cook drives to Newark Penn Station and gives it to the homeless.

Now, he can leave.

Sheridan, his wife, calls him on the road to make sure Cook is awake, knowing he’s tired but understanding that’s he’s deeply committed to what he’s started, making it hard to see the family. His sons are 7, 9 and 18. They come to the gym, too, sometimes and his wife works with him at the summer camp.

“We have a jewel in the heart of the city and nobody knows about it,” he said, talking about the open gym.

You got that right, Mr.Cook.

That jewel would be – you.

Mayor Baraka Honors Roberto Clemente Pupils for Mural Creation at Ceremony

Students collaborated with Halls That Inspire Inc. to beautify the building’s hallways

[Newark, NJ – June 23, 2016] – Mayor Ras J. Baraka, along with other dignitaries, honored students at Roberto Clemente Elementary School this week for inspirational murals they created throughout the elementary school building. Students, in collaboration with Halls That Inspire, Inc., produced a variety of inspiring images and motivational quotes on the hallway walls of Roberto Clemente Elementary School.

“The impressive artwork that the Roberto Clemente school community has created to beautify their school is inspirational to anyone who has the privilege to walk through the hallways of Roberto Clemente Elementary School,” said Christopher D. Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools. “It’s exciting to know that the students’ murals will continue to inspire their school community and its visitors into the future.”

The Roberto Clemente mural, which is displayed on the exterior of the school overlooking the school playground, was unveiled at the awards ceremony. The mural consists of the face of Roberto Clemente, who was the first Latin American player to be inducted in to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The beautification project was sponsored by Mayor Baraka and the Investors Foundation.

Environmental Justice Moment: Dioxin


The Ironbound community continues the struggle to clean up the legacy of pollution which was actively dumped into the Passaic River. The talented media arts program at East Side High School in collaboration with Ironbound Community Corporation has developed a short movie sharing with everyone the history of the contamination of the Passaic River and the continued efforts from the community to demand a full clean up now!

To see more videos, click here to visit the East Side High School New Media YouTube Channel.