No. 5 Somerville brings back major talent ahead of season opener against No. 3 Hillsborough

When Somerville takes the field for the season opener against Hillsborough on Thursday night, second-year head coach Matt Bloom will have plenty of familiar players to work with.

On the offensive side, Somerville will have an experienced passing game with starting quarterback Brendan Pacheco and two of last season’s three starting wide receivers in Josh Rodriguez (21 catches for 356 yards and two touchdowns) and Brady Scheier (26 catches for 347 yards and two touchdowns) back for another year. The Pioneers also bring back senior running back and Wake Forest commit Terrell Mitchell, who had 91 carries for 513 yards and a team-high ten touchdowns in 2023.

The Pioneers also bring back several key defensive contributors from 2023, including edge rusher and Tennessee commit Jayden Loftin. Linebackers Max Nuzzi (61 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks) and Sean O’Neill (41 tackles and two sacks) are expected to be factors in the middle of the defense, while the trio of Scheier, Spencer Carran and Zahid Lee Jackson will give Somerville an experienced pass defense this fall.

Thursday, they’ll face a senior quarterback in Ryan Seamon who’s making his first varsity start.

You can listen to the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving Thursday, with kickoff at 7 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action; click here to listen live.

The Pioneers are coming off of a 5-5 finish in Bloom’s first full season in charge of the program, and his second full year will start by facing a Hillsborough team that came away with a 14-7 home win last October. Those Raiders finished the year 8-3 and have standout thousand-yeard runningback Jackson Jankowicz returning behind a bigger, more veteran offensive line

Click below to hear Somerville head coach Matt Bloom talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas: