Montclair head coach John Fiore said that Friday night was going to have a state-playoff feel and that was indeed the case.

Both the Mounties and West Side knew looking at the power points in their respective state sectional that the winner of the contest at Shabazz Stadium in Newark was going to get a bid when the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) releases the playoff seedings on November 8.

And the loser would be playing a consolation game on the weekend of November 12 and 13.

With the Mounties coming off possibly its best complete game against Irvington, Montclair would start out slow, but control the battle with the Roughriders and rejoice in returning to the state playoffs with a 28-7 victory.

"These kids are great and we have gone through a lot of injuries," said Fiore whose team had a four-game losing streak before beating Irvington last week. "I told them that everybody now is 0-0 (playoffs)."

For Mounties quarterback Khalif Herbin it was a relatively calm night with a passing touchdown and a 40-yard touchdown run. The junior would run 21 times for 157 yards and throw 54 yards in the air.

"It was not your typical Khalif Herbin game, but that run was remarkable," said Fiore about his 40-yard touchdown where the junior started going right and then crossed left for the score.

In addition to Herbin, Stephaun Marshall ran for 73 yards while Anthony Webb had 53 yards on the ground.

The victory gives the Mounties a 4-4 record. Teams need at least a .500 record to qualify for the state playoffs. In addition Montclair's tough schedule including games against the likes of Seton Hall Prep, East Orange, and West Orange, allowed Montclair to still be fifth in the Group 4 North 1 section with the top eight going to the playoffs.

If all goes well Montclair could have a home game in the first round of the playoffs on November 13.

Outside of the lone West Side touchdown, the Mounties defensive line led by Julian Phinnix-Odrick, Brandon Taylor, Chase Starks, and Lateef Pendleton would put the clamps on the West Side offense led by Ruiz and Brian Byrd who was switched to quarterback later in the game as Ruiz flipped to running back.

Both Pinnix-Odrick and linebacker Avery Ellis led the team with eight tackles while the Mounties defensive backfield snatched four interceptions including a pair from Tyrone El along with one from Scott Walker and Ottis Wright.

"We knew that we had to stop their running game and get them to pass," said Montclair senior Wright who also brought back an interception 40 yards for a touchdown and put the icing on the cake for a 28-7 lead. "I knew that they would go to number 4 (Ruiz) in the open space so I stayed tight with him."

While the Mounties are young this season, there are still are 10 seniors on the squad like Wright. "It feels good especially being a senior," said Wright who was on the varsity when he was a sophomore and Montclair lost to Hackensack in the state semi-finals.

For the first quarter the Montclair offense could not get going, but once it hit the second quarter everything started to change.

Junior defensive back Tyrone El would thwart the Roughriders first drive as he intercepted an Edgor Ruiz pass at the Montclair 10 and brought it out to the 24.

And then the Mounties got in gear as the running game helped bring them down to the West Side 30 and then the Montclair playmaking caught the Roughriders defense off guard as Herbin hit wide receiver Marquis Salley who got behind the West Side defense for the touchdown. "They didn't have answers for some of our formations," said Fiore.

Montclair kicker Taylor Ullrich came back strong this week and hit the first of four extra points to give Montclair a 7-0 lead with six minutes left in the half.

After West Side went three and punt, it did not take long for the Mounties to get back on the scoreboard as Herbin first went right for a few yards and then crossed left and rumbled 40 yards for a touchdown. Ullrich hit the point after for a 14-0 lead with a couple minutes left in half.

But Montclair let the Roughriders back in and let down before the half as Byrd hit Juwan Reaves on a 37-yard touchdown.

After the halftime intermission, Montclair got back to business as the defense limited West Side again to a three and punt on the first drive of the third quarter.

On a seven-play drive Webb would plunge in for a one-yard and Ullrich would hit the point after for a 21-7 lead with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

With West Side trying to get back into the game, Wright would pick off Byrd for the touchdown to make it 28-7.