10 Questions: Part One of a look at the upcoming 2024 H.S. Football season

With the start of the new football season almost upon us, coaches are game planning, players are watching film, ADs are getting their stadiums prepped, while we sit back and think about the 2024 campaign, about to start this weekend for the majority of teams in New Jersey and the Big Central Conference.

Yes, it’s time for our annual Ten Questions, with the first five today, and the rest coming tomorrow here at Central Jersey Sports Radio.

#1. We know who’s No. 1 now, but who will be there by the end? Phillipsburg begins the season right where it left off the last one, at No. 1. The Stateliners have a lot of talent back, and have been so good the last two seasons. Right behind them is St. Thomas Aquinas. So let’s start with those two.

Phillipsburg plays in what many would consider the toughest division in the Big Central. All five of its teams have made the playoffs in each of the last two years, a feat no other division in the league can claim. The Stateliners may not roll through the division – they were 3-1 along with Ridge and Hillsborough in the American Silver last year, but they have every right to expect they can finish on top.

Could St. Thomas make a push? They certainly have a more difficult schedule in the National Silver, playing the likes of Sayreville and North Brunswick, along with Edison and Franklin, all Group 5 schools. A sweep through the division would make them a legitimate contender.

Hillsborough could be on the cusp of something big. The third-ranked Raiders have a bigger, better, more experienced line this year to protect the likes of Jackson Jankowicz, and they could make some noise.

Woodbridge certainly has the talent, as does Somerville and Piscataway. None of the three finished in the final rankings last year, but all are in the middle of the pack this year.

North Brunswick – ranked seventh in the preseason – has won eight games apiece in each of the last three seasons, but they’ll need a deep run in the playoffs, and maybe a state title, to pass the teams in front of them.

And, of course, there could be some surprises. Who do you like?

#2. Who will be the marquee players? Thirteen Big Central quarterbacks returning this year threw for over 1,000 yards last year. Somerville’s Brenden Pacheco was tops on that list, and is tenth in the state among returning QBs. He tossed for 1,888 yards and 15 TDs last year, with Derek Anderson the second-most prolific returning passer in the BCC at 1,750 with 21 touchdowns.

One who just missed the 1,000-yard plateau was Lucciano Santamaria, a dual threat who aired it out to the tune of 965 yards and eight scores, but ran for another 497 yards and five touchdowns. The Highlanders had a great year at 6-4 and will meet sectional finalist Lakeland in their opener Thursday.

On the receiving end, there’s Joel Cordoba, who grabbed 66 passes last year for 1,234 yards and nine touchdowns in a solid season for Plainfield, and is one of two returning CJSR Players of the Year. He was the Two-Way Player of the Year in 2023, a defensive back who had five interceptions last year, including three for touchdowns. Cordoba is No. 3 in receiving yards among returning players in the entire state.

Another in the top ten statewide is Enzo Ferrero of Westfield, who hauled in 54 passes for 925 yards and 11 scores a year ago. And of course, there’s Matthew Scerbo, Jr., of Phillipsburg, who caught 45 for 7171 yards and six scores in 2023.

We’d be remiss, of course, if we didn’t mention Bryan Anderson of Woodbridge, whose twin brother Derek will be back throwing to him. Anderson caught 30 passes for 524 yards and four scores as a junior last year, while Derek is the top returning QB in Middlesex County, at 1,750 yards with 21 touchdowns, more TD passes than any returning QB in the entire league.

On the ground, Hillside’s Talibi Kaba is the top returnee in the Big Central, rushing for 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago. One of only three thousand-yard rushers coming back, Chase Young of St. Thomas Aquinas (1,038 yards, 16 TDs) and Jackson Jankowicz of Hillsborough (1,012 and 8 TDs) also will be huge for their teams this year.

Let’s also mention Brody Nugent of Old Bridge, who carried 101 times for 814 yards and 7 TDs as the Knights’ quarterback last year. The dual threat threw for 1,217 yards and 11 scores last year.

Defensively, returnee Thomas Diemar of Bernards ranks sixth in the state among returning players in the sack department, logging a dozen last year. And with the North 2, Group 2 champion Mountaineers losing a ton of talent from last year’s team on the offensive side, someone like Diemar could help keep Bernards in games early as they find their way through 2024.

Plainfield’s Ala-Meen Watkins had eight sacks last year for a very good Cardinals’ defense, while others like Jaydin Loftin of Somerville (six sacks last year) will be disruptive, too.

When it comes to tackles, South Hunterdon’s Edward Cooper is the top returnee in the state, logging 153 total tackles last year, 35 solo. Brayden Stefan of Belvidere ranks fifth in the state among returnees at at 122, while others like Linden’s Tyrone Hinton (100 last year) and South Plainfield’s Dylan Oller (111 in 2023) will be busy as well.https://eliteqb.com/

#3. Which new coach will make the biggest impact on his team? There are ten Big Central football teams with new coaches this year, and for some, it’s going to be about keeping that ball rolling, like Matt Andzel at Westfield, one of the more consistent programs in the league.

Mark Poore – who apparently never leaves Sayreville, having been an assistant under the Bombers’ last three coaches, including the one he played for, George Najjar – returns a solid team. As does Robert Swercheck at Middlesex. John Hack inherits a Voorhees team that went 7-4 last year, its best outing since the 2017 team that went 9-3 and lost to West Essex in the North 2, Group 3 finals at MetLife Stadium.

Matt Pazinko – in taking over for Andy Steinfeld – isn’t going to reinvent the wheel at East Brunswick, but will need to keep developing players after back-to-back one-win seasons. Jason Scott inherits a solid foundation at Union.

Shawn Johnson will have a task at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, which hasn’t finished above .500 since going 5-2 in the COVID-shortened season of 2020. Roselle had averaged almost six wins a season – and won eight two years ago – under Ibrahim Halsey, and now Tyrone Turner comes over from Plainfield to try and push the Rams to the next level.

It’s Roselle, and the other two schools connected to that coaching carousel that we think will be the most interesting to watch.

First, there’s Joe Goerge’s move to Woodbridge. He’s mostly run the option – often to great success – at his various coaching stops in New Jersey and on Staten Island, but that’s not the game Derek and Bryan Anderson are used to. So, will we see hints of it? Will Goerge be flexible with his schemes to match the style the Barrons are used to? Something to watch.

And then there’s Halsey, who took Goerge’s spot at South Brunswick. Goerge didn’t leave due to a lack of talent. He saw an opportunity and took it. Can Halsey get the most out of what he’s got and elevate the Vikings over back-to-back 5-5 seasons?

#4. How will the power point tweaks affect the playoff race? The NJSIAA, in tweaking the playoff formula again this year, made two major changes.

First, Group Points are no longer in the equation. That means beating a Group 5 school with a 5-2 record is just as good as beating a Group 1 school with a 5-2 record. The NJSIAA is of the mind that group size matters less than results. We agree.

This will likely help smaller schools like Spotswood or Metuchen. Both Group 2 schools, they would often play Group 1 teams, while those in their section fighting for the same playoff spot, mainly those in South Jersey, would play Group 2s and 3s, sometimes even a Group 4 school. That gave them a leg up. We think this will help the smaller Big Central schools fighting for playoff spots.

The second change takes the multiplier – and its astronomical fixed values, which often were worth more for a loss than beating the best, undefeated non-multiplier – and moves it to the OSI part of the playoff math. The different tiers (A, B, C and now D) remain, but the biggest change is that teams will get no additional points for beating a multiplier. That “strength” is inherent in OSI. But those that lose to a multiplier will get more than the typical 50 percent. A schools are with 80% of the SI for a loss, B schools are worth 75 percent, and C and D are worth 70. (We’ll explain why there’s a D another time, or see the NJSIAA’s Football Regulations for 2024 for an explanation.)

We think this will lessen the impact of the multipliers, which carried way too much weight since their inception almost a decade ago. This should also make OSI ranking closer to UPR, and with it being 60 percent of the formula already, we believe it will make power points much less influential in seeding. Could power points’ days be numbered in football? (Read this story for a more detailed look.)

#5. Who’s going to get off the skid? We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the elite, but one of 2024’s great moments was when Highland Park beat Point Pleasant Beach to wipe out its 51-game losing streak, the longest active in the state at that point.

The Owls were one of four one-win teams last year, and the others will be looking to make some moves this year. That includes JFK (1-8), East Brunswick (1-9) and North Plainfield (1-10).

There were four winless teams, and JP Stevens will look to break what now is the state’s longest active skid at 42 games when the Hawks open up Firday, September 6th against Bound Brook. Others include South River, which was 0-9 and beset by injuries last year, a death knell for a small school.

New Brunswick went 0-9 in Steve Gluchowski’s first season, and North Hunterdon lost virtually everyone from their state sectional championship team of 2022, going 0-9 in 2023. That likely won’t happen again; they just need to reload. With titles in 2017 and 2022, the Lions just saw the two extremes of the cyclical nature of high school sports.