𝙋𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚’𝙨 94-𝙮𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 42–7
Linden’s 2025 football season roared to life when 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐡 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝟗𝟒-𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
But after the fireworks, Elizabeth’s precision passing game proved too much, spoiling the Tigers’ season opener with a 42–7 defeat in a Big Central Conference cross-divisional battle at Tiger Stadium — just days before the start of the new school year.
𝐀 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦
Elizabeth struck first on its opening drive of the first quarter to grab an early 7-0 lead. But Linden responded immediately with Pierre’s dazzling runback, capped by Geno Carreno-Jarrin’s extra point, to tie the score at 7–7. The packed stands shook as fans roared, believing the Tigers had seized the momentum.
That spark, however, lit a fire under Elizabeth’s junior quarterback Arique Fleming. From there, he orchestrated an offensive clinic — completing 12 of 14 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 48 yards and another score. His efficiency and poise kept Linden’s defense working overtime all night.
𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐢𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢’𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐭
For first-year head coach Mark Ciccotelli, the opener was less about the score and more about setting a tone for growth.
“𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙬𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙭 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨,” 𝘾𝙞𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚. “𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙀𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙒𝙚’𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧.”
Among those in the stands cheering the Tigers were Superintendent of Schools Dr. Atiya Y. Perkins, Board of Education member Brianna Armstead, and Derek Armstead Mayor of Linden, whose presence underscored the strong community support behind Linden’s student-athletes.
𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗
The Tigers (0–1, 0–1 Big Central) now turn their attention to a crucial September stretch:
Sept. 5 – at Sayreville
Sept. 12 – at Colonia
Sept. 19 – vs. Watchung Hills (Home)