New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association has awarded state championship crowns to siblings who coach The Newark Shabazz High School Bulldogs and The Hillside High School Comets football programs over the weekend.
According to officials, The Malcolm X Shabazz Bulldogs, under the head coach Mr. Darnell Grant, finished with a perfect record of 12-0.
The team defeated The Newark Weequahic High School Indians twice this year, with the first victory coming on Thanksgiving Day for the annual Soul Bowl competition, 7-0.
Officials said, ten days after the Soul Bowl, The Bulldogs handed Weequahic Indians a 35-0 defeat in front of more than a 1000 spectators at Rutgers University in the North 2 Group 1 NJ State Championships game.
Under Coach Darnell Grant, this is the second NJ State Championship crown for the Shabazz Bulldogs in the school's history and the 4th State Championship game appearance for the team under the coach in five seasons officials said.
Less than a mile away in Hillside, The Comets', high school football Coach Barris Grant and his team, were the 7th seed in their playoff bracket and finished with a 9-3 record under the second-year coach.
According to officials, The Comets, on their way to the state championship round, defeated a 9-0, highly seeded South River football program, then handed A.L. Johnson out of Clark their loss although they were 8-1 and seeded third in state rankings.
In the NJ State Championship game, Hillside defeated Point Pleasant Boro, who seeded #1 in the Central Jersey Group 2 playoff bracket.
Coach Barris Grant and The Hillside Comets celebrate their first NJ State Championship crown since 1985.
Congratulations to the Grant brothers and both high school football programs.