ROSELLE, NJ — Former Jonathan Dayton High School head coach Joe George stepped down at South Brunswick High School, a place where he led the school to a state championship, to become the head coach at Woodbridge High School.
Then, Ibrahim Halsey left Abraham Clark High School to become the head coach at South Brunswick.
Then Tyrone Taylor applied and was appointed the new head coach at Abraham Clark after serving for one year as an assistant to James Williams at Plainfield High School last season. That was Plainfield’s first winning season since 2005, as the much-improved Cardinals finished 6-5.
Williams was the head coach at Abraham Clark from 2013 to 2020, twice leading the Rams to the Central Jersey, Group 2 semifinals and just one win away from playing for a state championship.
On and on the coaching carousel in New Jersey goes at times.
This is Taylor’s third stint as a head coach. He was first a head coach at Eastside High School in Paterson in 2017 (4-6) and 2018 (1-9), and then for four years at Malcolm X Shabazz High School in 2019 (3-7), 2020 (2-3), 2021 (3-7) and 2022 (5-6).
“It’s a blessing to be here,” Turner told Mike Pavlichko of Central Jersey Sports Radio, when he was hired earlier this summer.
Turner, an East Orange Campus High School graduate, was also the offensive coordinator at Weequahic High School in 2015 and 2016. After the 2015 team went 4-7, losing its final two games, the 2016 squad went 12-0 and captured the North 2, Group 1 sectional state championship by beating Malcolm X Shabazz, 18-8, in the final, played at Kean University’s Alumni Stadium in Union.
The undefeated, state champion 2016 Malcolm X Shabazz squad, with Turner’s offensive guidance, averaged 35 points a game.
Although his first season as the head coach at Abraham Clark will be one without a heavy amount of preparation time, Turner is still optimistic he can lead the Rams to a successful 2024 campaign.
“Taking the Roselle job was an opportunity to show leadership and show poise and a little bit of determination,” Turner said. “I felt as though it was my time to step back in and Roselle just came in at the right time.”
Three key returning seniors Turner will turn to for leadership include wide receiver-defensive back Michael Moonsammy (6-0, 150), No. 11; running back-defensive back Shymir Burgess (5-5, 140), No. 1; and wide receiver-defensive back Brandon Puryear (5-9, 150), No. 5.
All three were active in Roselle’s game-scrimmage at Verona High School on Friday, Aug. 23.
Moonsammy caught five passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns a year ago. Burgess rushed for 210 yards on 33 carries and scored two touchdowns. Puryear passed for 334 yards. Defensively, Puryear produced 33 tackles and Moonsammy 31.
The only Union County school with a 10-game schedule this year, the Rams open home at Arminio Field on Friday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m. against Burlington County school Delran.
According to Abraham Clark’s schedule on its school website, the annual game against Roselle Park High School this year is taking place a week earlier, this time on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Arminio Field, not the night before Thanksgiving. That is one of seven home dates the Rams have: seven home games and just three away, which is not the norm.
Abraham Clark has not won its first game of the year since 2017, when the Rams opened with a 34-17 win against Bernards High School at Rahway River Park. The last two years, Abraham Clark began 0-4 before bouncing back.
The 2022 team won its last eight games and, after not qualifying for the playoffs, did win a sectional consolation trophy, finishing 8-4.
Last year’s squad got to 4-4 after going 0-4 again, but finished 4-6, dropping its final two games, including the last one to Roselle Park for the first time since 2017.
Other home opponents this year include Spotswood High School, Metuchen High School, Arthur L. Johnson High School, KIPP Newark Collegiate Academy and J.P. Stevens High School. Abraham Clark’s first three games are home, consecutive 6 p.m. Friday games at Arminio Field against Delran, Spotswood and Metuchen.
Roselle Rams 2024
• Friday, Aug. 30, Delran, 6 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 6, Spotswood, 6 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 13, Metuchen, 6 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 20, at New Providence, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Sept. 27, Arthur L. Johnson, 6 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 5, at Hillside, 1 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 11, Newark Collegiate, 6 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 18, at Delaware Valley, 7 p.m.
• Friday, Oct. 25, J.P. Stevens, 6 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 20, Roselle Park, 6 p.m.
Head coach: Tyrone Taylor, first year
BCC division: Patriot Silver
Section: South, Group 2
Photo Courtesy of Steve Tober