Championship Weekend! Everything you need to know about all five Big Central teams vying for state sectional titles

Football Notebook
by Mike Pavlichko

It’s not the last weekend of high school football in New Jersey, but it is Championship Weekend. Or at least “a” championship weekend.

Twenty public schools will be crowned sectional champions this weekend, but for the first time ever, there will be two more rounds to go after that, as the NJSIAA will play down to group champions in football. It’s a historic season, as statewide champs were never awarded in the sport – unlike all the others – for nearly a century.

Winners this weekend will go on to a round that has been held since 2018, but was only the final round. The former “bowl championships” and “regional championships” now are group semifinals, with North 1 and 2 teams playing at Franklin High School next Saturday and Sunday, and South and Central teams facing off at Cherokee High School on the same days.

After a week break for Thanksgiving – and the Non-Public finals at MetLife Stadium – the first-ever public school Group Finals will be held at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium in Piscataway.

You can read all about how the Group Championships came about here: In historic vote, NJSIAA members decide to play to Group Champs in football, starting in ’22

Read more about the history of football championships in New Jersey here: How far has New Jersey come in HS football? The evolution from declared champs to Group Finals in 104 years

But first things first: getting through this week. And there have been some changes due to the bad weather expected Friday due to the remnants of Hurricane Nicole, which made landfall Thursday in Florida.

Below, we preview each game. Some have yet to be written, so please come back to this page and follow us on Twitter for the very latest all weekend long, including game recaps and postgame audio from all five sectional finals involving Big Central teams.

One more thing: here are the sectional final histories of all five Big Central teams – and their opponents – in the sectional finals this weekend:

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 Final
#6 West Orange (7-3) at #1 Phillipsburg (10-0)
Thursday, 7 pm at Maloney Stadium in Phillipsburg

Coverage: Chris Tsakonas will provide updates on Twitter (follow him here) and a recap and postgame reaction after the game on cjsportsradio.com.

How they got here: Phillipsburg defeated #8 Elizabeth 49-13 in the first round, and #4 Paterson Eastside 37-6 in the semifinals. West Orange won at #3 Watchung Hills 18-10 in the opening round, and at #2 Ridgewood 34-31 in the semifinals

Key Stats:

Phillipsburg sophomore quarterback Jett Genovese has thrown for 1,267 yards and 10 TDs on the season, but more importantly just one pick. He has found four different receivers for at least 10 catches and five for at least 120 yards on the year. Senior runningback Xavier Moore leads the way on the ground with 683 yards and 9 touchdowns. Junior Caleb Rivera paces the defense with five sacks, while senior defensive lineman Hunter Cleaver has a team-leading 10 tackles for loss.

For West Orange, senior QB Amir Stewart has thrown for nearly 1,000 yards, but has been turnover prone, which could be disaster against P’burg, which has logged 13 interceptions on the year, led by the half-dozen that have ended up in the hands of junior defensive back Cameron Bohal alone. Stewart has 11 touchdown passes, but has thrown seven INTs. Senior Jehki Williams is the leading rusher with 629 yards and seven touchdowns, while Saboor Karriem has caught 13 touchdown passes this season and has 862 yards receiving.

Preview: Phillipsburg and West Orange to tussle for North 2, Group 5 title one day earlier

Recap: Early West Orange TDs, turnovers do in top-seed, undefeated Phillipsburg in North 2, Group 5 title game

Past Phillipsburg coverage:

Bottom Line: Phillipsburg has been dominant all year, even when it looks like they haven’t. Balance on offense and a spirit-crushing defense have been the keys all year long. Don’t expect much different Thursday night.

Central Jersey Group 5 Final
#6 Edison (8-3) at #1 Lenape (6-4)
Friday, 6 pm at Lenape High School in Medford, NJ

Coverage: Live Broadcast with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe. Pregame begins at 5:40 pm. Recap and postgame reaction after the game on cjsportsradio.com.

How they got here: Edison defeated #6 Hillsborough 10-7 in the opening round, then rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat #2 North Brunswick 33-31 in the semifinals. Lenape blanked #8 Freehold Township 40-0 in the first-round, and escaped #5 Atlantic City with a 21-20 win in the semis.

Key Stats: Senior quarterback Matt Yascko is 34 shy of 5,000 passing yards in his scholastic career, with 38 touchdown passes, and almost 1,200 yards rushing. But he about more than just numbers. He is the guts of this Edison team. He also takes care of the football: just two picks against his 13 touchdown passes. Nyekir Eato the top rusher (1,207 yards and 15 scores) while Yascko’s favorite target through the air is Malcolm Stansbury (570 yards, 4 scores), but four different receivers have at least 21 catches. Defensively, a dozen players have logged a total of 19 sacks, and the Eagles have 86 TFLs as a team. They have eight interceptions as a group, as well.

“Just know No. 8” one of the Edison coaches told us at practice Tuesday. That’s Zyaire Fleming, senior running back, who’s rushed for 1,186 yards this year to go along with 14 touchdowns. No one else even comes close for the Indians, so if Edison can curtail his numbers, that would be nice. Trouble is, in eight games played, only St. Augustine was able to hold him under the century mark. Quarterback Jalen Mins is a thousand-yard passer. On defense, senior linemen Angelo Gola and Nagei Ringo have been the most disruptive, combining for 7 1/2 of the team’s 19 sacks on the year.

Previews:

Past Edison Coverage:

Bottom Line: Edison can win the close game – with a 3-point and a 2-point win in the playoffs – and can win the blowout, as their regular season wins came by an average of 28 points. In fact, their last two games – int he first round and semifinals of the sectional playoffs – are their only two wins all year to be decided by fewer than 21 points.

North Jersey, Section 1, Group 3 Final
#2 Hillside (9-1) at #1 Old Tappan (9-1)
Saturday, 1 pm at Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan High School
(originally scheduled for Friday, 6 pm)

Coverage: Chris Tsakonas will provide live updates during our broadcast of Edison-Lenape, and will have updates on Twitter (follow him here). A recap and postgame aduio will follow after the game on cjsportsradio.com.

How they got here: Hillside has come from behind in both playoff games: an opening round 33-28 win at #7 Parsippany Hills, and a 33-13 win over #3 River Dell in the semifinals, both played at home at Conant Street Park. Old Tappan routed #8 Lincoln 42-8 in the first round, while topping 2021 sectional finalist and #4 Sparta 37-14 in the semifinals.

Key Stats:

Hillside’s two D1 runningbacks get a lot of attention, and deservedly so. Mu Parkman is going to Syracuse, and Kyon Simonson will be headed to Army. Both rushed for 1,000 yards a year ago. This year, Simonson is at 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Parkman has rushed for 536 yards and 6 scores. And they continue to throw the ball, too with senior Caleb Salters racking up his third thousand-yard passing season, and second straight over 1,300 yards, to go along with 13 TDs this year. Three receivers have at least 300 yards catching the ball, including Al-Jamir Davis (402, 4 TDs), Darvens Tunis (363 and 4 scores) and Marcus White (300, 3 TDs) – and all three are juniors. The Cmets can get after it on D, too, with 16 sacks – a quarter of them coming from McNaully Erminal, a junior D-back – and 87 TFLs. Fellow D-Back Marcus White, a junior, has five of the team’s 12 interceptions, with two of the team’s three pick sixes.

Old Tappan’s schedule hasn’t been the most challenging, but it’s also not filled with cupcakes; no winless teams on this year’s slate. That being said, their defense has registered three shutouts, and held six different teams to single digits. They get to the quarterback, with 22 sacks (Dennis Delaney has eight) and 63 TFLs. The Golden knights will throw it just as much as they run it: QB Tommy Caracciolo has completed 100 of 141 passes this year for 1,699 yards and 23 touchdowns, with just 7 picks, while Aidan Heaney leads the ground game with 1,112 yards.

Past Hillside Coverage:

Bottom Line: The Comets are well-tested, and have an especially-recent tradition of excellence that can’t be overlooked. Both teams have guys than can put up numbers, but playing in the rugged Big Central is a big plus.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 Final
#2 Randolph (9-1) at #1 North Hunterdon (9-1)
Saturday, 12 noon at Singley Field in Annandale

Coverage: Live Broadcast with Mike Pavlichko and North Hunterdon alum Shane Dunn. Pregame begins at 11:40 am. Recap and postgame reaction after the game on cjsportsradio.com.

How they got here: North Hunterdon beat #8 Middletown North 34-7 in the first round, then rallied from 14-0 down in the first quarter to beat #5 Morris Knolls 25-14 in the semifinals. Randolph topped #7 Rahway 42-7 in the first round, and #3 Wayne Valley 31-28 in the semifinals.

Key Stats:

The Lions will get their yards and points. Even in a loss to Phillipsburg, they scored three touchdowns and rushed for over 200 yards; the Stateliners were just a little bit better. Quarterback Luke Martini leads a senior-heavy group on offense with 1,736 yards passing and 17 TDs. But the ground game has pounded out 2,254 yards and 28 scores on the strength of Kente Edwards, who has 12 TDs and 1,138 despite missing two full games and the better part of four overall due to a lower body injury. He was bak last week and almost looked like his old self. Alex Uryniak, who head coach Kevin Kley says could be a starter on any other BCC team, has rushed for 942 yards and 12 TDs. They are the ground game. On defense, Greg Rayl is a beast up front and has seven sacks, while Hunter Vos has six on a team that has recorded an astounding 36 on the season, plus 80 TFLs. That’s got to be one of the best defensive groups in the state.

Randolph has a QB who’s thrown for even more yards than Martini: 1,878, with 23 TDs and nine interceptions. That’s senior Sean Clark, who has found found seven targets for over 100 yards each this season, with James Fusco being his favorite: 28 catches for 466 yards and five TDs, while James Kratochvil has a team-leading six touchdown receptions.

Previews:

Past North Hunterdon Coverage:

Bottom Line: It’s not easy to stop the two-headed monster of Edwards and Uryniak, plus the passing game as a change of pace for the Lions.

North Jersey, Section 1, Group 1 Final
#4 Brearley at (10-0) at #2 Mountain Lakes (9-1)
Saturday, 12 noon Wilkins Field in Mountain Lakes

Coverage: Chris Tsakonas will provide live updates during our broadcast of North Hunterdon-Randolph, and will have updates on Twitter (follow him here). A recap and postgame aduio will follow after the game on cjsportsradio.com.

How they got here: Brearley beat #5 North Arlington 50-16 in the first round at home, then beat #8 Kinnelon 45-14 in the semifinals. Mountain Lakes beat #7 Boonton 35-10 at home in the first round, and #3 Waldwick 27-21 at home in the semifinals.

Key Stats:

Matt Sims, the Brearley senior quarterback, puts up the big numbers in the air and on the ground. He’s passed for 955 yards and 9 touchdowns this season, with just one INT, while rushing for 1,355 yards and 26 scores. Amazing! Brendan Fitzsimmons has a huge chunk of the receiving yards with 740 and 6 TDs.

Preview: Brearley, Mountain Lakes looks like a test of wills for North 1, Group 1 title

Past Brearley Coverage:

Bottom Line: These teams might as well both be undefeated. Brearley is, Lakes has one loss. The Herd’s only defeat is to Caldwell, which has the state’s longest active winning streak, now at 25 games, going back to the tail end of the 2020 COVID-shortened season. In the end? It starts and ends with Sims. That’s it. If he can do what he does, Brearley will be just fine, and bring home another sectional title.

Leave a Reply