COACH OF THE YEAR: Jose Pereira and his Newark East Side team battled valiantly throughout the regular season, putting together a strong campaign in the American Division. That tough schedule turned into a pair of postseason runs.

Pereira guided his team to the Essex County Tournament semifinals after it notched a 3-0 win over Montclair in the quarterfinals, avenging a 6-3 September loss. Newark East Side then had one of the better runs for Essex teams in the state tournament, as it won a pair of games to reach the North 2, Group 3 semifinals.

Newark East Side capped off its 15-6 campaign with a pair of wins to capture the Newark Public Schools Tournament title.

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