Franklin Representing BCC at Mountaineer Classic

Posted on by Big Central Gridiron
The Franklin Warriors enter the 2026 football season with high expectations after finishing 5-4 a year ago.

Revitalized Warriors Open 2026 Versus Ewing at West Orange HS Showcase

WEST ORANGE, NJ – The 2026 New Jersey High School football season got underway on Thursday with a plethora of games around the Garden State.  Despite the storms that brought torrential rains and knocked out the lights at West Orange High School’s Suriano Field, two of the contests were played in the third annual Mountaineer Classic.  This year’s event is being run over two days and involves four teams, including Franklin of the Big Central Conference.

Led by senior QB Jahnaad Cady and junior RB Mike Rogers, the Warriors are looking to improve on their 5-4 season from a year ago.  Last season, Cady passed for 1,350 yards and 13 TDs, while only throwing five interceptions.  Rogers rushed for nearly 900 yards and reached the end zone 14 times a year ago. 

Coming into the 2026 season, there is a lot of buzz regarding Franklin, which also gained the offensive mind of Chris Young, who previously served at St. Thomas Aquinas and South Brunswick.  Former North Plainfield head coach, Derrick Eatman also joined on the Warriors coaching staff led by head coach Blair Wilson.  

Franklin will be taking on Ewing in the first game of day two of the Mountaineer Classic on Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM.  The Blue Devils, coached by Al-Majid Hutchins, finished 7-3 overall last season, including a seven game winning streak.  Ewing is moving up to the West Jersey Football League’s Capitol Division after winning the league’s Valley Division in 2025 with a 5-0 mark. 

The Blue Devils lost the likes of QB Ryan Greig (completed 97 of 167 passes for 1,589 yards and 17 TDs), RB Josh Missick (rushed 194 times for 1,057 yards and 8 TDs), and WRs Kristian Thomas (29 receptions for 486 yards and 5 TDs) and Sam Simpkins (21 receptions for 390 yards and 3 TDs) to graduation.

Below is the schedule for the 2026 Mountaineer Classic.

2026 Mountaineer Classic – Schedule

August 27th

  • Mountain Lakes vs. Jefferson, 4:00 PM
  • West Orange vs. Ramapo, 7:30 PM

August 28th

  • Franklin vs. Ewing, 4:00 PM
  • Hudson Catholic vs. Irvington, 7:30 PM