Big Central knocks off two big South Jersey parochials as Aquinas, Carteret pick up wins over Paul VI, St. Joe’s-Hamm.

On Friday night, the opening night of the 2023 high school football season for a growing number of teams now beginning play in Week Zero, Carteret pulled off a nice win at The Pit.

They topped St. Joe’s of Hammonton by a decisive 42-14 score, behind two touchdowns from Jahad Thompson. The theme for the Ramblers was “score early and often,” jumping out to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first 12 minutes.

Then, Saturday afternoon in the Battle at the Beach at Ocean City’s Carey Stadium, St. Thomas Aquinas proved that even graduation can’t tame the Trojans, as they beat Paul VI handily, 42-7. In the first half, STA’s stingy defense allowed just 15 yards of offense, and not a single first down.

Click below to hear Marcus Borden with postgame reaction from Ocean City as St. Thomas Aquinas beat Paul VI in the Battle at the Beach:

Aquinas has a new defensive coordinator, but their defense has been very good the last couple of years, tying a modern-era Middlesex County shutout record with seven two seasons ago.

Click below for bonus coverage of St. Thomas Aquinas’ win over Paul VI; Marcus Borden talks to Zacai Manigo and Chase Young:

Neither Joe’s nor Paul VI are Don Bosco or Bergen Catholic at the moment, but both are South Jersey parochial schools that have had a great deal of success over the years. St. Joe’s-Hammonton in particular is a multiplier teams in the NJSIAA’s power point part of the UPR formula.

The win by Carteret, in particular, is of note: it was the first for a current Big Central public school over an out-of-area multiplier since Somerville – then in the Mid-State Conference – beat Delbarton in 2018, the third year of the multiplier formula.

Last year, St. Thomas Aquinas beat multiplier St. John Vianney 27-14 in the last week before the non-public playoffs.

A number of GMC teams – and later, BCC – beat St. Joseph-Metuchen when they were a multiplier from 2018-2021 (2020 was not included because there were no playoffs due to the COIVD-19 pandemic).

Linden beat Donovan Catholic in 2019, and St. Joseph-Metuchen did the same in 2017, but the Griffins – who became a multiplier last year, were not a multiplier team in those seasons:

Current Big Central team wins over out-of-area multipliers:

• 2023: Carteret beat St. Joe’s-Hammonton 42-14 (August 25)
• 2022: St. Thomas Aquinas beat St. John Vianney, 27-14 (October 28)
• 2021: St. Joseph-Metuchen beat Pope John 2-10 (October 29)
• 2018: Somerville beat Delbarton 35-7 (August 31)

Note: This article was corrected, having originally stated Paul VI was a multiplier team. They are not, but a are a notable South Jersey parochial school.