Big Central Conference announces 2023 All-Division teams; more than 400 honored

The Big Central football Conference has announced its 2023 All-Conference Teams, with over 400 players honored by the league of 59 teams, now playing its fourth season.

Honorees were placed on the first and second team in each of the BCC’s ten divisions, as chosen by the coaches. Scroll through this story for the complete list:

*St. Joseph’s Jeremy DeCaro (#26) leaps an Eagle defender on a 64-yard pick six in the first half of a 35-14 win at Edison on October 6, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)*

AMERICAN GOLD DIVISION:

First Team

Elizabeth: Ibn McDaniels, Josue Blanco
St. Joseph-Metuchen: Jeremy DeCaro, Daniel DeGennaro, Elias Scott, Ryan Leyner, Jaheir Styles
Somerville: Quinn Carran, Terrell Mitchell, Jaydin Loftin, Braeden Kaye
Union: Kordal Hinton, Renick Dorilas, Zach Menon, Babadara Olowe, Bryan Accinot, Mehki Best, Dallas Trulis, Darius Vallderruten
Westfield: Max Cho, Jullian Montez, Max Romano, Enzo Ferrero

Second Team

Elizabeth: Arique Fleming, Isaiah DeRosa
St. Joseph-Metuchen: Jason Ridges, Javon Hudson, Ashton Irving
Somerville: Brendan Pacheco, Josh Rodriguez, Chase Insabella
https://www.nursesstrike.com/Union: Kasie McDowell, Kinte Warnock, Cedrick Raymond
Westfield: Jack Martin, Chris Rosetti, Steven Csorba

AMERICAN SILVER DIVISION

First Team

Bridgewater-Raritan: Joe Spirra, Dane Sorensen
Hillsborough: Jonathan Lobelo, Tyler VanCleef, Shayne Powell, Nick Santa Barbara, Jackson Jankowicz, Chimmy Ozokpor
Hunterdon Central: Jakob Saus, Jack Heide, Decker McNally
Phillipsburg: John Wargo, Jett Genovese, Colin Higgins, Matthew Scerbo, Jr., Kevin Burgess, Cameron Bohal
Ridge: Will Deady, Chris Oliver, Rooke Donohue, Ryan Olivo, Aidan Stieglitz, Jacob Giordano

Second Team

Bridgewater-Raritan: Jack Bray
Hillsborough: Yorddi Ahumada, Xander Borowski, Garrett Meyer
Hunterdon Central: RJ Hart
Phillipsburg: Jack Regan, Gifton Friday-Johnson, Patch Day
Ridge: Ryan Turner, Chase Fritz, Andrew Serluco

*Spotswood senior Trey Lazar interviews by Central Jersey Sports Radio at Big Central Media Days in August. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

FREEDOM GOLD DIVISION

First Team

Brearley: Mike Kollarik, Gavin Marranca, Kristian Janeczko, Guiseppe Lombardi, Matt Resende, Anthony Flowers
Dayton: Alex Altemus, Barndyn Bernknopf, John John DeSarno
Highland Park: Marcos Hantsoulis, Jouwan Keyes
Roselle Park: Adrian Palacios, Xavier Padilla, Jake Swirz, Matthrew Drada
Spotswood: Trey Lazar, Noah Rodriguez, Quin Esser, James Curnal, Matt Savarese, Steven Mastrolonardo, Stephen Henits, Sebastian Saracino

Second Team

Brearley: Ryan Obidzeski, Carter Stein, Anthony Pacheco
Dayton: Declan Vesey, Nick Apicella
Highland Park: Danial Sanchez
Roselle Park: Tyler Signorello, Eathan Jones, Manuel Mazuelos
Spotswood: Nagee Lewis, Souglas Tumundo, Daniel Keelen

FREEDOM SILVER DIVISION

First Team

Belvidere: Brayden Stephan, Kyle Blew, Mason Chamberlin
Dunellen: Chiekezie Ogbuewu, Aidan Sangiray, Jason Scott, Luke Petterson
Manville: Na’quavere Thomas, Johsua D’Ambrosio
Middlesex: Cam Robinson, Nick Jamieson, Dakota Clark, Dan Kannaley, Jax Jarvis, Joey Lawler
South Hunterdon: Anthony Venettone, Garrett Swayhoover, Aaron Zalesick, Ryan Rampel, Edward Cooper, Ryder Manfready, Ty Dunn, Thomas Breuer

Second Team

Belvidere: Luke Tipton, Geoffrey Young
Dunellen: Kevin Roberts, Luke Shealy, Elijah Duplesis
Manville: Isaiah Bennett
Middlesex: Joe Johnson, Dom Parenti, Jack Killian
South Hunterdon: Dayton Ratowski, Quinn Field, Gael Cruz-Ortiz

*Colonia’s Jaeden Jones (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

LIBERTY GOLD DIVISION

First Team

Colonia: Jaeden Jones, Noah Bone, Nygel Hill, Joe Perosi
JFK: Grant Lorentzen, Miguel Alvarez
Linden: Myles Hamilton, Tequan Thomas, Kevin Taylor, Tyron Hinton, Devon Chavis, Alex Donic
Perth Amboy: Jahmiel Brown, Laivon Balthazar, Jerome Green
Woodbridge: AJ Bosch, Jordan Williams-Byron, Derek Anderson, Bryan Anderson, JanCarlo Mena, Jayden Feliciano, Jose Tejeiro, Ian Roberts

Second Team

Colonia: Joseph Baca, Antonio Pulecio, Brian Freitas
JFK: Giandiego Mazzara
Linden: Shahad Brown, Joe Mesko, Davon McClintock
Perth Amboy: Shakir Price, Grant Lorentzen
Woodbridge: Dean Fiore, Nadino Joseph, Jahmir Beal

LIBERTY SILVER DIVISION

First Team

Montgomery: Matthew D’Avino, Michael Schmelzer, Jr., Brady Post, Lucas Szczepanski, Ethan Golubitsky, Lucas Clark, Brandon Rector, Eamonn Kyler, Trey McFadden
North Hunterdon: Tyler Anderson, Luke Testam Nicholas Tamaci
Plainfield: Josue Cordoba, Joel Cordoba, Alameen Watkins, Keiwan Kirkland
Watchung Hills: Scott Drews, Aleks Sitkowski, Brayden Kelly, Jack Clintock, Brady Marshall, Aiden Gaebele, Cam Montague

Second Team:

Montgomery: Brian Giambra, Michael Bellamy, Zachary Schick, Landen Dikker
North Hunterdon: Alex Moore, Brennan Zundel
Plainfield: EJ Brown, Al-Khabir Bethune
Watchung Hills: Braden Fenton, John Ozgur, Sean Wahlers, Lucas Garcia

Montgomery’s Matt D’Avino hauls in a second half touchdown pass from Michael Schmelzer, Jr. – one of three on the night – in a 28-21 win at Watchung Hills on September 30, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)

NATIONAL GOLD DIVISION

First Team

East Brunswick: Ryan Bennett, Derrick Christie
Monroe: Salvatore Marchione, Logan Fotiadis, Zack Wallace
Old Bridge: Brody Nugent, Jaden Griffith, Ryan Kuhl, Jared Ruderman
Piscataway: De’Shaun Stephens, Kiandre Dato-Snead, Jahai Johnson, Kenley Candil, Josh Stephens, Riley Wingate
South Brunswick: Braden Paulmenn, Matt Pierre, Greg Sledge, Shawn Schneider, Dason Boateng, Chisom Asonye, Havier Hullum, Evan Cojocar

Second Team

East Brunswick: Vito Tropeano
Monroe: Brandon Macaluso, Dylan DeGraw
Old Bridge: Thomas Kasoff, Aiden Reynoso
Piscataway: Horace Thompson, Dejaun Wheems, AJ White, Jr.
South Brunswick: Jeylon Billups, Jayden Davis, Matt Grzelak

*Sayreville’s Zaimer Wright scores one of his three touchdowns – an 89-yard run in the second quarter – in a 42-21 win at Colonia to open the season on August 25, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)*

NATIONAL SILVER DIVISION

First Team

Edison: Sebastian Vera, ricky Harvey, Ah’meir Gibbs, Justin Reid
Franklin: Joe Nwachukwu, Jeff Shea, Ethan Villa
New Brunswick: Omari Williams, Stanford Williams
North Brunswick: Samaad Hicks, Peyton Wieczerzak, Jack Garbolino, Jahir Dawud, Alan Martinez, Abdul Kargbo, Anthony Walker, Tamir Gladden Boone
Sayreville: Zaimer Wright, Connor Walsh, Ky’von Mitchell, Diego Jesus, Frank Paczkowski, Aaron Losada

Second Team

Edison: Matthew Pazmino, Tori’ahn Rattray, Shaun Garland
Franklin: Miles Muldrow, Unsia, Kumara
New Brunswick Jabril Bright
North Brunswick: Tommy Koroma, Noah reyes, Ruhan Siriam
Sayreville: Bryce Bouchard, Derek Osae, Xavian Pena

Bernards WR Jack Morra (left) and OL Logan Ritchie (with trophy) celebrate with their North 2, Group 2 title hardware after beating Lakeland 23-17 in OT for the school’s first-ever state sectional title on November 10, 2023 in Bernardsville. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

PATRIOT GOLD DIVISION

First Team

Bernards: Connor Laverty, Jake Caldwell, Logan Ritchie, Tim Pagonis, David Brothers, Jonas Gonzalez, Thomas Diemar, Logan Stevens
Bound Brook: Jamile Adoboe, Grant Guzzino, Andy Perpignan
Delaware Valley: Michael Holzworth, Jeff Bate, Anderson Olcott, Eric Klemmer, Simeon Pecchia
South River: Troy O’Connor, Gavin Staffa
Voorhees: Travis Cryan, Brandon Kurzeja, Cameron Baumann, Isaac Levitan

Second Team

Bernards: Charlie Gonella, Max Austin, Logan Marks
Bound Brook: Jeremiah Norwood, Lucas Coleman
Delaware Valley: Nick Mauro, Justin Kollmer, Jared Leeds
South River: Parker Lane
Voorhees: Tyler Kinney, Kyle Borgh, Logan Direny

PATRIOT SILVER DIVISION

First Team

Hillside: Talibi Kaba, Al Jamir Davis, Darvins Tunis, Leo Harris, Zion Risher, Darren Ikinnagbon, McNally Erminal, Diego Rodriguez
Johnson: Emilio Menicuccui, Vittorio DeMartins, Sean Joy, Aaron Tapia, Ryan George, Robert Gallagher
Metuchen: Cody Cardillo, Matt Flood
New Providence: Matt Botvinis, Jackson Zarinko, Sean Donnelly, Jack Verbaro
Roselle: Timothy Porter, Ajani Phillips, Owen Delice

Second Team

Hillside: Kendrell Gordan, Jr., Chibugo Chigozie-Nwosu, Yani Cajuste
Johnson: Mark Hansen, Carlos Pina, Joshua Maltez-Torres, Ryan Volmut
Metuchen: Kyle Johnston
New Providence: Eric Dowden, Matt Perillo, Ben Gullo
Roselle: Rahkeim Sheppard, Brandon Puryear

UNITED GOLD DIVISION

*Summit’s Oscar Marx grabs a key second-half interception in a 30-20 home win over Linden on September 7, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)*

First Team

Cranford: Ryan Carracino, Lucas Caldwell, Justin Hoeffler, Dylan Jones
Rahway: Andrew Avent, Marquis Diggs, Trevor Delapara
St. Thomas Aquinas: Jack Joyce, Roman Blanks, Elijah Abass-Shereef, Elijah Thomas, Chase Young, Zacai Manigo, Christian Magliacano, Caden Sternlieb
Scotch Plains-Fanwood: Noah Ricca, Callum Fynes
Summit: Tyler Kessel, Carter Shallcross, Leo Hasselmann, Sam Henry, Shane Walsh, Jack Bronikowski

Second Team

Cranford: Niko Aloi, Michael Scotti, Amari Petgrave
Rahway: Ray Giacobbe, Mikal Stephenson
St. Thomas Aquinas: Tyler Nerges, Lamar Stevenson, Khalil Stubbs
Scotch Plains-Fanwood: Anthony Romano
Summit: Seamus Browne, Jake Procaccini, Oscar Marx

*Carteret’s Antwaun Jackson goes after the quarterback. (submitted photo)*

UNITED SILVER DIVISION

First Team

Carteret: Sir Hezekiah Ragland, Antwaun Jackson, Tyrece Parrott, Jahad Thompson, Ja’Kir Thomas, Jacob Bess, Jeremiah Serrano, Kayson Smith-Grant
Governor Livingston: Jack Dally, Owen Chait, Michael Geertsma, James Campbell, Matt Shaffer, James Daoulabani
JP Stevens: Hiven Biffot, Marquise Webb
North Plainfield: Jayden Brea, Aaron Potts, Nfii Bannavti
South Plainfield: Patrick Smith, Dom Massaro, AJ Perales, Dylan Oller

Second Team