So now that Hillside followed up a third straight state championship with a first regional title, what is the next challenge for the suddenly unstoppable Comets?
“We’re now chasing Lou Rettino,” said fourth-year head coach Barris Grant on Monday, referring to the former legendary Union mentor guiding the only program in Union County to four consecutive (1984-1987) state championships.
Hillside, after a 16-day layoff, came back in the second half to defeat Cedar Creek 25-3 in Sunday’s second South, Group 2 Regional Championship game played at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway.
For the first time, Hillside won the South Jersey, Group 2 state championship and Cedar Creek captured the Central Jersey, Group 2 state crown.
After losing to a 12-0 Haddonfield squad in last year’s first South, Group 2 Bowl Game to finish 11-1, Hillside came in at a program record 12-0 just 12 months later.
After winning its third straight state championship Hillside has now become the first school from Union County to win a regional title.
“This is the best Hillside team ever,” Grant said. “Last year, with many stars, they finished 11-1. This group was perfect at 12-0.”
The only way for Hillside to top what it did this year in 2020 is for a ninth regular season game to be added to give the Comets a shot at a possible 13-0 finish.
“These kids are all program kids, all of them from Hillside, and they believe in our process,” Grant said. “They work hard and they fight.”
When the South Jersey, Group 2 playoffs began Hillside was coming off its bye week after producing a second straight 8-0 regular season.
It took the third-seeded Comets some time, they trailed 2-0 at intermission, before they put away visiting Cinnaminson 36-2 in the first round.
Hillside then went on the road to knock off second-seeded and defending champion Haddonfield 35-0 and came back in the second half to thwart top-seeded West Deptford 14-10 in the state championship game.
“We knew Cinnaminson would be tough and with Haddonfield we wanted payback beating them the way we did,” Grant said. “Then we were concerned as coaches if the kids were going to be satisfied after beating Haddonfield.
“West Deptford was the team picked to win South Jersey at the start of the season. We finished that game on phone communication because our headsets were distorted. Our defensive guys had to communicate with the guys in the press box with their phones.
“Then we got to Rutgers. We were down three times in the playoffs, but our kids never flinched.”
On Sunday at Rutgers against Cedar Creek, Hillside was behind 3-0 at intermission after having the past two weeks off. Then, similar to the Cinnaminson game, Hillside’s offense came to life in the second half.
“In the first half we had to get adjusted to the speed of the game as far as the clock management of the officials,” Grant said. “We had more delay-of-game penalties than we had the entire season.
“At halftime we made normal adjustments and figured out how they wanted to defend us and how we were going to slow down (senior slotback Malachi) Melton.”
For the third time in four playoff games Hillside did not yield a touchdown.
“Defensively, we were fine all game,” Grant said. “They remind us of us.”
Offensively, Hillside reached the end zone twice in the third quarter and twice more in the fourth.
Senior signal-caller Nahree Biggins connected with junior wide receiver Fatir Bell for a six-yard touchdown pass to give the Comets the lead for good at 6-3. Then senior running back James Louis scored the first of his two touchdowns on a five-yard run to make it 12-3.
Louis scored again in the fourth quarter, this time on an 11-yard run, and then senior fullback Jahon Moore scored from seven yards out for the game’s final touchdown.
Hillside outscored four playoff opponents 110-15, yielding just one touchdown, two field goals and a safety.
Hillside outscored 12 opponents 435-43, allowing just five touchdowns, two field goals and a safety. The Comets produced six shutouts. Cedar Creek was averaging 34 points a game.
“The credit goes to our defensive coordinator and all those guys,” Grant said. “Our conference (Mid-State 38-Valley Division) opponents scored more against us.”
Putting together a highly-successful game plan on defense week in and week out were coordinator Thomas Weaver, a 2006 Irvington graduate; defensive backs coach Aleem Barnhardt; assistant DBs coach Jesse Merise; strong safeties coach Omar Lucas, Grant in charge of the linebackers and Weaver the linemen.
Hillside’s 3-3-5 stack defense, which did exactly that, stacking up opposing offenses, included junior Kevin Igiehon at end, senior Tyler Gardner at end and junior Omakus Langley II at nose guard; senior Akugbe Omokaro at outside linebacker, senior Godley Pierre at middle linebacker and senior Anu Okugbowa at outside linebacker and in the secondary senior Jyleen Neals at strong safety, junior Nazeer Elias and senior James Westry at cornerback and senior Nahree Biggins and senior Isaiah Johnson at free safety.
Hillside was not without injury issues and breaking in newcomers.
“The way the season lined up we had (senior) Gavin (Melendez) getting hurt in week three and Nahree going to quarterback,” Grant said. “We had four brand new offensive linemen: junior tackle Nazareth Henry, Langley II, Pierre at guard and senior Khalid Hogan at tackle.
“Our first goal was to win the conference and then the kids didn’t concern themselves with the new power points system.”
Hillside repeated, again at 4-0, as Mid-State 38 Conference-Valley Division champions. Then the Comets found out they would be placed in South Jersey, Group 2 for the first time.
“With offensive linemen playing varsity for the first time we thought if we stayed together, worked hard and were able to execute that we would have a chance,” Grant said. “Back in August we didn’t know if we had enough stars.”
Hillside had just four returning starters on offense and only three on defense. Picking up the slack for graduated Division 1 standouts such as Brian Ugwu (Rutgers) and Boris Nicolas-Paul (Army) was challenging enough.
“We thought we could outwork you,” Grant said. “We had 23 guys on the 1,100-pound club, which was bench, squat and dead-lift.”
Grant credited Hillside Athletic Director Halim McNeil for the vision of improving Hillside’s weight room.
“My first season we didn’t have a weight room in the summer, it was being remodeled,” Grant said prior to the start of the 2016 campaign. “We had to put our weights in a garage. They went to a shed where our kids worked out in over 100 degree temperatures.
“Our kids were dedicated and motivated.”
One of those kids will go down as one of the best to ever play at Hillside. Biggins was the epitome of jack-of-all-trades, master-of-many.
“Nahree is very multi-faceted,” Grant said. “He was our quarterback, a receiver, a running back, our punt returner and a safety.
“He also provided special senior leadership. He was the best player here for the last two years.”
Biggins, a three-year starter at receiver and free safety, accepted the role of quarterback when Melendez went down.
Biggins completed 58-of-71 passes (.817) for 936 yards, 11 touchdowns, just one interception and he was sacked only once. His QB rating was an impressive 152.
He also rushed 42 times for 272 yards, a 6.48 average, and six touchdowns and caught eight passes for 76 yards and one touchdown. Biggins also returned one punt and one fumble for two other touchdowns.
Against Cedar Creek, Biggins completed 16-of-18 passes for 173 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. He also rushed 14 times for 108 yards.
Biggins is no longer involved in recruiting with Temple. He is seeking to take his talents to another Division 1 school, with Grant mentioning that he likes Rutgers, which is where Ugwu red-shirted this season.
Louis, ranked No. 6 in his senior class academically, was also a special three-year starter for the Comets at running back.
“James has uncanny speed and power,” Grant said. “A guy with his stature (5-8, 180), you wouldn’t expect to be a power back.”
Louis gained a game-high 124 yards rushing on 15 carries, including his game-high two touchdowns, vs. Cedar Creek.
“He finds holes and runs right past you,” Grant said.
Grant said that Louis is looking at schools in the Ivy League and Patriot League to play at the next level. Lafayette is in the mix, with the school’s athletic director being Hillside graduate Sherryta Freeman, one of only a handful of girls’ basketball players in Union County to reach and surpass 2,000 career points.
JUST THREE YEARS AGO HILLSIDE PLAYED AT VERONA
IN A CONSOLATION GAME;
THIS YEAR VERONA IS THE NORTH, GROUP 2 CHAMP
AND HILLSIDE THE SOUTH, GROUP 2 WINNER
On Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016 one of the state’s consolation games that day included Hillside (4-5) at Verona (3-6). The host Hillbillies were still Group 1, situated that season in North 1, Group 1, while Hillside did not make the playoffs in Central Jersey, Group 2 in Grant’s first season at the helm.
Three years later Verona is New Jersey’s North, Group 2 Regional Champion and Hillside is the South, Group 2 Regional Champ.
“There’s a crystal ball right there,” Grant said.
Hillside was not supposed to play Verona. Here’s how Grant explains the circumstances: “I had some prior experience with Verona as an assistant at Shabazz. They were well-coached and a tough bunch of kids.”
Verona was guided then by head coach Lou Racioppe, in his second-to-last season at the helm of the Hillbillies.
“We were originally going to play Newark Central, but found out that Verona was going to move up to Group 2,” Grant said.
Verona was situated in North 2, Group 2 for the 2017 season.
“We lost on the last play of the game,” Grant said. “We got down to their one-yard line, with our Siraj Abdul-Malik being stopped at the one.”
Verona held on for a 26-20 triumph to finish 4-6 and prevent Hillside from finishing at .500, with the Comets having to settle for 4-6 as well.
Since then Hillside has gone 32-4.
One of these years the state will go one step further and we will get Verona vs. Hillside for the overall Group 2 state championship.
“If the season starts a week earlier then there will be a chance to play down to one champion,” Grant said. “It’s not going to be an easy deal for everybody.”
2019 HILLSIDE COMETS (12-0)
(A) Hillside 54, Spotswood 0
(H) Hillside 20, Bernards 7
(H) Hillside 34, Johnson 7
(H) Hillside 47, Roselle 0
(H) Hillside 48, South River 0
(A) Hillside 49, Bishop Ahr 0
(A) Hillside 20, Delaware Valley 14
(H) Hillside 53, Bound Brook 0
(H) Hillside 36, Cinnaminson 2
(A) Hillside 35, Haddonfield 0
(A) Hillside 14, West Deptford 10
(N) Hillside 25, Cedar Creek 3
At Rutgers Stadium
Head coach: Barris Grant,
fourth season: 36-10 (.783)
Section: South, Group 2
Conference: Mid-State 38
Division: Valley, 4-0 champs
Record: 12-0
Home: 6-0
Away: 5-0
Neutral: 1-0
Points for: 435
Points against: 43
Shutouts: 6
Overtime: 0-0
2019 SOUTH, GROUP 2 REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
AT RUTGERS STADIUM IN PISCATAWAY
CJG2 – Cedar Creek (10-3) 03 00 00 00 – 03
SJG2 – Hillside (12-0) 00 00 12 13 – 25
FIRST QUARTER:
Cedar Creek – FG Taylor Manning 22 (CK 3-0)
THIRD QUARTER:
Hillside – Fatir Bell 6 pass from Nahree Biggins, kick failed (H 6-3)
Hillside – James Louis 5 run, pass failed (H 12-3)
FOURTH QUARTER:
Hillside – James Louis 11 run, kick failed (H 18-3)
Hillside – Jahon Moore 7 run, Jayson Rodrigues kick (H 25-3)