TEANECK – For the first time in 20 years, the Teaneck Highwaymen are moving on in the playoffs. They defeated the Garfield Boilermakers 21-20 Friday night at Teaneck High School in the NJSIAA/Xfinity North 2 Group 4 Quarterfinals.
This win was a long time coming for a Highwaymen program that’s been suffering for quite some time. Before tonight, their last playoff appearance came in 2007 with their last win coming the year before. That all changed tonight thanks to consistent passing on offense and a defensive performance that was able to contain a dominant run game.
“I love these guys man,” Highwaymen wide-receiver Aidan Talley said. “It’s a family over here, and you can see that as the score is 21-20, and we just fought. I mean, we love each other and we want every day.”
Tonight’s Group 4 state playoff matchup marked only the sixth time in history where the two schools have played each other in football. The last? 1981.
On top of it being a rare Bergen county showdown, both teams were full of energy. While Teaneck was in the playoffs for the first time in ages, Garfield had also been away from the postseason for some time and was making their first appearance since 2019.
Teaneck had the opening drive and played fairly sloppy. When they scored an 80 yard touchdown on the second play of the game, it was called back for the first of two holding penalties. They’d get instant karma as not only did they give the boilermakers great field position, they paid the price when Jorheny Rodriguez scored his 26th touchdown on the year at the goal line to get the first points of the night.
While their first offensive possession was a costly one, it was ineffective as they’d recover and score a touchdown of their own. They marched down field and ended with a Aidan Talley reception for the score on a 23 yard pass from Jayden Castro. Only four minutes of the game was played and they were already tied up at seven.
For a majority of the first half, Jorheny Rodriguez was his usual self: dominant. The junior scored his second goal-line touchdown to give the lead back to Garfield with 9:49 left in the second quarter.
Despite the Boilermaker back running all over the field, the Highwaymen never let him or his team get ahead. On both touchdowns they let up, Teaneck responded with a score of their own. They’d once again tie the game when Malaki Johnson caught it on the slant for the 13 yard reception.
After playing chase thus far, Teaneck forced Garfield to punt with just minutes to go in the half and looked to score late. They were moving down field but were stopped in their tracks when The highwaymen turned it over on an interception. Castro shook off a Boilermaker defender, tried to get it out quickly while under pressure, and Jaydin Montero jumped the intended receivers route for the pick. Garfield avoided being down and at the half it was tied at 14.
Chaos ensued in just the first minute and half of the third quarter when a fumble recovery turned to a touchdown and the Highwaymen taking the lead. Getting the ball in the second half, Boilermaker quarterback Talib McCullough ran it on the second play, lost the football, and it was recovered by Brandon Meyer. Right away, on the first play of their own offensive possession, Castro found Talley for their second scoring connection of the game on a 40 yard reception. After a 14-14 half with Garfield getting the ball to start the second, it was 21-14 Teaneck with not even two minutes in.
It was certainly the momentum swing the highwaymen needed. After the score, they started to play consistently and they changed what was a back and forth first half and turned it into taking control.
The Boilermakers started to struggle. While they stood tall in the first half, they were starting to get shut down especially on offense. Even their prized possession in Jorheny Rodriguez had been figured out by the Teaneck defense and struggled to gain yardage.
After an exchange of punts and turnover on downs that flowed into the fourth quarter, Garfield got the ball with just eight minutes left in the game. With their season on the line, their mandatory destination was the end-zone.
They’d start at their own 30 yard line and get all the way down to the goal-line for the third time. It was between Rodriguez finally being able to break free on one play for a big gain, and two first down measurements from the officials that put them in position. They had a chance to score but it’d be the only chance they’d have left as they’d taken up over six minutes of game time.
Being in the same position twice already tonight, they knew exactly what they needed to do: give it to Jorheny. After a few jabs to try and get in, they’d turn to their star who’d get in for the third time tonight and make it his second hat trick in a row. With just over a minute to go, they needed a successful PAT to tie things back up.
All signs pointed to kicking the extra point. In this instance, it seemed like the most logical thing to do. However, Garfield head coach Farsheed Taschayyodi had other plans in mind and decided to go for two. Just a week ago, he made the same call after his team scored a touchdown to tie it in overtime of the NJIC championship against Waldwick/Midland Park. That attempt failed and they lost. Now, he looked for a get back in a more crucial instance.
Last game they looked to Rodriguez, who got stuffed. This time, they looked to quarterback Talib McCullough to get the job done and take the lead. But in the end, the result was the same: a stop. McCullough ran it himself and when looking to score, he was met by multiple Highwaymen at the goal-line, who pushed him back and away from the end zone. The stop sealed the game and Teaneck went on to win 21-20.
This night was a long time coming for the Highwaymen who hadn’t made it this far in decades. In a hard fought effort, they stood tall against one of the top teams in the NJIC conference.
Only a few years ago, this Teaneck team was competing in the IVY league. They were in the NJSIAA’s lowest level of competition, and were ineligible for the postseason. Fast forward to tonight, there will be celebrations throughout the town as they move on to the next rounds
“This is a testament to this program, these coaches. I say it all the time,” Teaneck head coach Cekuan James. “God bless those who take care of these babies. And I know they’re all 17, 18 years old, but they’re still all babies. And our staff takes care of them like they’re their own. And in turn, they fight for us. In turn, they fight for each other. In turn, they see this as a family. So that’s where that all comes from.”
You can give credit to many people for the win and the success of the season, but the most credit must go to head coach Cekuan James. He was promoted from defensive coordinator in February of 2024 and since then has built the team he inherited from the ground up. Many of the seniors who were once incoming sophomores when he transitioned have become the key contributors they are today thanks to the coaching and leadership he has provided.
While It may be an ultra huge night in program history that will be highly celebrated, the season’s not over. At this point it’s only the beginning as they will prepare for the semi finals and look to make even more history in achieving their first semis victory in over 25 years. Thanks to private stints and mentors who support him, Coach James knows how to play in a big game like what the semi-finals will be:
“I mean, Myself as a coach and where I’ve been, I’ve done the postseason before, and I did it at a pretty prestigious school down Don Bosco Prep. So I was there for three years under Dan Sabella. I got the opportunity to coach at MetLife a couple times and the one thing he taught me was, it’s a long season. You have to reload every single day, not every single week, but every single day. And I still keep in contact with him, he mentors me a lot. And I just say what he would tell me. It’s only one game, man. You got to go out and do the same thing next week. So it’s just a new season, and we’re 1 to 0 on the season right now.”
Their newest task will be to prepare for and take on the playoffs semi-finals. They may enjoy the win now, but the job’s not finished. While James is prepared for what’s to come, he shouldn’t have too many issue getting his team ready:
“I mean, it’s round two,” quarterback Jayden Castro said. “ It’s round two, winner go home, That’s the mentality, and we don’t want to go home. We want to win. So we’re gonna keep coming to practice and we’re gonna keep working, keep going hard, keep going at it, and you’re gonna keep seeing dubs.”
