The Alternative Press

WEST ORANGE, NJ - The Livingston Lancers fell in their final regular season contest of 2010 as the West Orange Mountaineers ran away with a blowout victory by a score of 39-7.

Livingston’s record stands at 5-4, as they will await the rest of this weekend’s results to find out their standing for the state playoffs. West Orange, which is ranked among the top twenty-five teams in the state in various publications, improved to 8-1 and will likely host a state playoff game next weekend.

Last year’s matchup between these two teams was contentious as a fight broke out towards the later stage of a Mountaineers 34-6 win. Three West Orange players were ejected as a result of the melee, which by rule prevented West Orange from qualifying for the state playoffs.

Today’s game was filled with numerous penalties and wild plays in its own right, although it lacked any major physical confrontations between the two geographically-intimate adversaries. Unfortunately for the Lancers, the ball tended to bounce the Mountaineers' way for a majority of the game.

After stalling on their opening possession, the Lancers punted to the Mountaineers, who abruptly scored two plays later courtesy of an impressive seventy-eight yard touchdown run by junior running back Lance Smith. Smith, who came into the game averaging 7.8 yards per carry, displayed incredible speed and quickness throughout the game as he rushed for 219 yards on just fifteen carries to go along with four total touchdowns.

With all of the momentum firmly on the Mountaineers' side, the Lancers found it difficult to mount a response as they went three-and-out in their second possession. West Orange’s Nurcal Benton returned the ensuing punt sixty-five yards for what appeared to be a touchdown. However, the ball was called back to the Livingston twenty-seven yard line after a boarder-line holding call against the Mountaineers.

West Orange’s offense never wavered though as they punched the ball in three plays later thanks to a seven-yard touchdown pass from six-foot four-inch senior quarterback Christian Smith. Smith missed the extra point but went three for four passing for fifty-four yards on his next drive. That combined with a twenty-six yard touchdown scamper by Lance Smith helped the Mountaineers take a 20-0 lead.

The Lancers lone score came as a result of a bad West Orange punt that set them up with great field position inside Mountaineer territory. Senior wide-out Clint Callahan hauled in a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew Egner to cut the Mountaineers’ advantage to thirteen with two minutes to go in the first half.

Livingston appeared to be in line to make a surge as they sacked West Orange’s quarterback on the subsequent drive, forcing the ball loose. However, it took an unlucky bounce, springing right into the waiting arms of none other then Lance Smith. Smith ran the ball sixty-seven yards down-field, setting up his own one-yard touchdown run right before the half.

Despite another missed extra point, the Mountaineers took a 26-7 lead and never looked back, defeating Livingston 39-7.