MHS football announces 2021 varsity schedule
Montclair head coach John Fiore has announced his team’s 2021 schedule, which will feature three preseason August scrimmages and a Labor Day Weekend opener against rival East Orange.
Following a 2020 season that was anything but, the Montclair High School football program will look to return to normalcy in 2021, with head coach John Fiore announcing a nine-game schedule featuring familiar rivals for Essex County supremacy, as well as one of the state’s top parochial powers.
Though the schedule is certainly subject to change based on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey, the Mounties are planning a full preseason this summer, including three August scrimmages to prepare for a tough regular-season slate.
Their first scrimmage will be Tuesday morning, Aug. 17, a quad scrimmage at Elizabeth High School beginning at 10 a.m.
Woodman Field will host the Mounties’ scrimmage against Winslow Township, of South Jersey, the following Saturday, Aug. 21, at 12 p.m., as well as the final scrimmage of the summer, a 10 a.m. kickoff against Sayreville on Thursday, Aug. 26.
The regular season is slated to begin on Labor Day Weekend, with MHS visiting Super Football Conference-Freedom Red Division rival East Orange for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 4, at Robeson Stadium in East Orange. This year’s game will mark the 102nd in a series that dates back to 1897. Montclair holds a 49-47-5 series lead, though the Jaguars have won three straight in the rivalry, including a 13-0 victory at Woodman Field in 2020.
Week Two will see the Mounties step outside of divisional play to reunite with one of their toughest foes of recent seasons, Ridgewood, in a Friday night (Sept. 10) tilt at Ridgewood. This will be the eighth meeting of the two North 1, Group V powers since coach Fiore’s arrival at MHS in 2010, with all seven previous meetings coming in the NJSIAA playoffs. The Mounties are 4-3 in those games, and 25-13 all time against the Maroons, though Ridgewood does hold a victory in the teams’ most recent matchup, a 27-7 decision in the 2018 sectional final.
Week Three will be Montclair’s home opener at Woodman Field, when Freedom Red Division opponent Newark East Side is scheduled for a 1 p.m visit on Saturday, Sept. 18. The two teams have not met since 1998, a 35-28 Mountie win, and prior to that not since 1926.
Another longtime rival and division opponent awaits in Week Four, when Bloomfield visits Woodman Field on Saturday, Sept. 25 (1 p.m.), for the Mounties’ “Blue-Out Game.” This will be the 102nd meeting between these two teams, who famously met on Thanksgiving each season from 1922-1976 and 1992-2017. The Mounties boast an impressive 74-26-1 advantage in this series, and have won six straight including a 57-14 win over Bloomfield in the 2020 season opener.
The Mounties will face a big test in Week Five when they travel outside of division play to challenge St. Joseph of Montvale (1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 2) in Montvale. Regularly one of the top parochial teams in New Jersey, the Green Knights finished 6-2 a year ago. St. Joe’s holds a 5-0 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1986, when both teams were members of the old NNJIL. The teams’ most recent meeting came in 1998.
Week Six sees MHS return to Woodman Field and Freedom Red Division play as Columbia visits for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 9. This game will feature Montclair’s salute to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Montclair holds a commanding 45-6-3 lead in 54 meetings between the two Essex County rivals, who have a history going back to 1931. The Mounties, who have won 12 straight in the series, won the most recent matchup in 2019, 44.7
In Week Seven, Montclair will make the short trip to West Orange for a Friday night (Oct. 15) battle that could have big implications for the Freedom Red Division title. The Mounties and Mountaineers have played 38 games since their inaugural meeting in 1934, with the Mounties holding a 30-8 advantage. West Orange has won two straight from MHS, including a 35-13 victory last fall.
Montclair closes out its Freedom Red Division schedule in Week Eight with another Friday night road game, Oct. 22, this time at Livingston. These Essex County rivals first met in 2009, but have played 11 times since. MHS holds a 10-1 advantage in the series, including nine consecutive wins, most recently a 33-13 victory in 2019.
The regular season finale and Senior Day is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m., with Orange set to be the opponent at Woodman. The Tornadoes were 5-3 last year, and are coming off three straight above-.500 seasons. Orange was a regular early-season opponent for the Mounties during the Clary Anderson era, with MHS boasting a 17-1-1 record in 19 meetings all-time. This year will be the first time they’ve played since 1958.
The NJSIAA playoff pairings will be announced on Sunday, Oct. 31, with sectional quarterfinal play beginning the following weekend, Nov. 5-6. The sectional semifinals will be played Nov. 12-13, and the sectional final will follow during the weekend of Nov. 19-20.
As was the case in 2019, the four sectional champions in Montclair’s Group 5 will be paired off in two “Regional Championship” games, to be played on either the weekend of Nov. 26-27 or the following weekend, Dec. 3-5.
This season will mark head coach John Fiore’s 12th season at MHS. He has led the Mounties to four state sectional championships (2012, 2013, 2014, 2017), and has posted a 93-31 record at the school. Fiore is seven wins away from becoming the fourth coach in Montclair history to win 100 games with MHS, following Clary Anderson (197 in 25 seasons), Ed Lebida (130 in 17 seasons), and Butch Fortunato (115 in 19 seasons).
To see the full schedule along with any new changes that may come, click here.
To see Montclair’s 2021 junior varsity schedule, click here.
To see Montclair’s 2021 freshman schedule, click here.