This week in Montclair football history: Sept. 8-14

Khalif Herbin scores one of his five touchdowns in Montclair’s 43-41 victory over St. Peter’s Prep on Sept. 9, 2011.

As part of our mission to celebrate the past, present and future of Montclair High School football, each Wednesday we’ll be taking a look back at some of the notable moments, biggest wins, and most thrilling finishes in program history from each day that week in history.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2001: Hanif Suluki scores on a 36-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, with 2:33 to play in regulation to lift Montclair past Ridgewood, 20-14, in the season opener. Suluki finishes the day with a career high 248 rushing yards, a mark that stands today as the 20th-highest total in program history.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2011: In one of Montclair’s biggest wins in the modern era, Khalif Herbin runs for 206 yards and four touchdowns as the Mounties top St. Peter’s Prep, 43-41, in a showcase game at Rutgers University. Herbin adds a fifth touchdown on a kick return as the Mounties race out to a 36-19 fourth quarter lead against the Jersey City powerhouse before holding off a furious Marauder rally.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2005: MHS plays its first game at Woodman Field in nearly two years, after the installation of a new turf field forces the Mounties to play the entire 2004 season on the road. With a strong Mainland team traveling up from South Jersey to be the first opponent at the rededicated field, Montclair’s Ahmed Karim electrifies the crowd by returning the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the homecoming would be spoiled as Mainland went on to win 27-13, handing Montclair one of its two regular-season losses that year. Julian Cruz leads MHS with 202 rushing yards and a touchdown.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2010: In John Fiore’s first game as head coach, Montclair pulls off one of the most shocking last-second wins in program history to beat Union City, 27-22. Nate Crutchfield’s Hail Mary as time expires is caught by junior speedster Herbin, who sprints to the end zone for a 65-yard touchdown. The game featured three touchdowns in the last 70 seconds of the fourth quarter; a Herbin-to-Aamad Bush TD pass gave Montclair a 21-14 lead with 1:10 left, but Union City’s Dominick Montanez scored on a short run with 10 seconds left on the clock, and the Soaring Eagles made a two-point conversion to force the miracle finish.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014: The Mounties are stunned on the road at Pascack Valley, 29-14, in their season opener. This would be the program’s only regular-season loss between October 2010 and September 2015.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2003: Future NFLer David Caldwell runs for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and catches a TD pass from K.J. Green, as Montclair opens its season with 33-7 NNJIL win over Paramus.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2019: For the first time in more than 20 years, three Montclair players run for 100-plus yards in the same game, a 49-21 victory over Nutley. Junior RB Jordan Diggs leads the way with 160 yards and 3 touchdowns, while sophomore Jordan Williams chips in with his first career 100-yard game (122 yards, TD). Junior QB Michael Robinson rounds out the trio by gaining 110 yards and a pair of TDs on the ground. Previously, there had only been two games in Montclair history featuring a trio of 100-yard rushers: on Oct. 4, 1997 against Paterson Eastside (Anthony Nesbit, Justin Ashe, Anthony Perna), and on Oct. 3, 1964 against Irvington (John Tyson, Garvey Craw and Billy Wood).