Sayreville head coach Don Sofilkanich after a season-opening win against Colonia on August 25, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)
After just one season, Don Sofilkanich is out as the head football coach at Sayreville War Memorial High School.
Athletic Director Jen Badami confirmed the news to Central Jersey Sports Radio Tuesday morning in a text message, saying “Coach Sofilkanich will not be returning to Sayreville next year.”
Badami did not comment further, and a messages for the Sayreville Superintendent, Dr. Richard Labbe, and Soflikanich were not immediately returned.
It appears to be the first coaching change in the Big Central following more than two dozen over the past two seasons, with 14 new mentors heading teams going into 2022, and another ten changing leaders for the 2023 season.
Sofilkanich was a volunteer assistant in 2022 under Chris Beagan – who retired after eight seasons at his alma mater, and resurrected the program after a hazing scandal – then was elevated to head coach last February.
The Bombers went 8-3 this past fall, finishing 8th in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten. The resurgence of runningback Zaimer Wright – who was slowed by injury in 2022 – helped the Sayreville to a 7-2 regular season. They beat Montgomery in the opening round of the playoffs, but lost in the sectional semifinals to Mount Olive, 30-28.
Sofilkanich came to prominence as a coordinator under John Quinn at New Brunswick on two state championship teams, the first of which came in 2003 when he led the defense on a team headlined by future New York Giants captain and two-time Super Bowl winner Jonathan Casillas and future NCAA All-American at USC Dwayne Jarrett. That was the Zebras’ first title since 1926. They won again in 2006 with him as the Offensive Coordinator..
He then left to become head coach at Asbury Park, turning around a program that went 1-9 in 2006, going 11-1 in 2007 with a Central Jersey Group 1 title.
After two more 11-1 seasons, he moved next door to to Neptune for a year before coming back to the GMC to lead then-Bishop Ahr, going 12-8 from 2011-2013. He spent the next three years at New Brunswick, going 15-16, including 9-2 in 2015.
Before working under Beagan at Sayreville, he coached at Plainfield in 2019 and 2020, going 4-11 in those two seasons.