Bridgewater-Raritan head coach DJ Catalano talks to his team after a 52-48 win at Piscataway Friday night. The win put the Panthers’ in this week’s CJSR Top Ten. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)
While the top half of the Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football rankings remained steady this week, there was a bit of a shakeup in the bottom five, as teams eight through ten – North Brunswick, Ridge and Watchung Hills – all dropped out.
That made way for three new teams to join the Big Central Conference’s best, with Hunterdon Central, Bridgewater-Raritan and South Brunswick joining the fray.
Holding at No. 1 this week is Phillipsburg, which won its opener Friday night at Maloney Stadium against Westfield, 44-17. The Stateliners host No. 8 Hunterdon Central (2-0) this Friday night and put a six-game Big Central winning streak on the line.
Staying at No. 2 is St. Thomas Aquinas (1-1). The Trojans rebounded from a season-opening loss to beat Lincoln (NY) up at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson Saturday night, 53-28. Aquinas will visit winless North Brunswick (0-2) Friday night to begin Big Central play, having won 25 straight against league competition, the longest current streak of its kind in the BCC.
Off to a 2-0 start under new head coach Joe Goerge, Woodbridge remains at No. 3, following a 13-10 win over then No. 10 Watchung Hills Friday night. The Barrons will host Plainfield (1-1) Friday night at 7 pm in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving.
Somerville (2-0) holds in fourth place following a 32-14 win over Cranford in the Pioneers’ first road game of the season. They’re back on the trail Friday night when they visit Montgomery (0-2).
And holding in fifth is Hillsborough (1-1), which edged out Union 21-14 at home Friday night to get in the win column after a one-point season-opening defeat at Somerville. The Raiders travel to Ridge (0-1) Friday night.
Bernards (2-0) moves up to No. 6 after a solid 30-14 win over Hillside Friday night. The Mountaineers have now won ten straight home games and 16 in a row overall against the Big Central, the league’s second-biggest streak at the moment. They’ll visit Delaware Valley Friday night for the Mountain Valley Trophy.
Debuting at No. 7 is South Brunswick. The Vikings are 2-0 after their first win in seven years over arch-rival North Brunswick, a 30-21 victory at Steve Libro Field. They’ll make their shortest trip of the year Friday night when they play at Monroe (1-1).
Hunterdon Central also is new to the rankings this week. The Red Devils are off to a 2-0 start for the second year in a row (they began 4-0 last year) after a 30-14 win over Monroe, and will visit top-ranked Phillipsburg (1-0) Friday night at Maloney Stadium in a huge divisional matchup.
The third new team this week is Bridgewater-Raritan (1-1), which checks in at No. 9 after beating then No. 6 Piscataway in a wild game Friday night, 52-48. That result also moves Piscataway (1-1) down to No. 10. The Panthers visit 1-0 Morris Knolls Saturday for a non-league game, while the Chiefs play Friday night at Old Bridge (1-1).
Also considered in this week’s rankings are Rahway and Colonia, both 2-0.
Below is the full Central Jersey Sports Radio Week 1 Top Ten:
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