Bernards moves up a spot to join the top five in the latest Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football rankings. (Source: @bernards_football on Instagram)
Once again, the upper echelon in the Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football rankings didn’t change, but there was turmoil in the bottom half.
Phillipsburg, St. Thomas Aquinas, Woodbridge and Somerville all held their positions at the top, but No. 5 Hillsborough and No. 9 Bridgewater-Raritan – both of which lost to drop to 1-2 – fell out. That left room for Colonia and Rahway to make their debuts in the last two spots, in that order.
Phillipsburg continues to hold the No. 1 position, improving to 2-0 Friday night with a 35- shutout of Hunterdon Central. The Stateliners visit Ridge (1-1) this Friday night, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with kickoff at 7 pm and Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas on the call of the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving.
Holding at No. 2 is St. Thomas Aquinas, which moved to 2-1 after a 42-6 thumping of North Brunswick on the road Friday night that extended their league-best win streak against Big Central competition to 26 games. They’re back at it Friday in their home opener against Franklin (3-0).
Staying in third is Woodbridge (3-0). The Barrons got four touchdowns from Jahmir Beal Friday night in a 41-26 home win over Plainfield. Next up is in-town rival and newly-ranked Colonia (3-0) on the road on the blue turf.
Holding the line in fourth is Somerville (3-0). The Pioneers crushed Montgomery 42-7 on the road Friday night, and will entertain Rahway (3-0) in a battle of undefeated teams Friday night at Brooks Field.
Up a spot this week t No. 5 is Bernards (3-0). The Mountaineers got just one touchdown, but that’s all they needed Friday night to beat Delaware Valley in Alexandria to win the Mountain Valley Trophy game between rivals for the third year in a row. Voorhees (2-1) comes to Olcott Field this Friday night.
South Brunswick (3-0) also is up a spot to No. 7, as the Vikings won their third road game in a row to start the season, topping Monroe 28-21. It’s the first time South Brunswick has won its first three road games of the year since 2-16, when they went 8-3 under Joe Goerge – in his first go-round. They’ll play their first home game of the year Friday night when Old Bridge (1-2) comes to Monmouth Junction.
Piscataway (2-1) rose to No. 7 after a narrow, gut-check 22-21 win over Old Bridge that wasn’t over until Najay Best recovered an Old Bridge fumble in the closing seconds. The Chiefs go out-of-conference next week when they visit Ridgewood (3-0), the first meeting between the teams since the 2018 North 5 regional bowl game, which Piscataway won to finish undefeated, 13-0, the most wins ever recorded by a Middlesex County team.
Despite the loss to top-ranked Phillipsburg, Hunterdon Central (2-1) holds in eighth. The Red Devils entertain Bridgewater-Raritan (1-2) in Flemington Friday night.
Then, there are two new teams in the rankings. In ninth is Colonia (3-0). The Patriots came back to beat Linden on the road in Union County on Saturday afternoon, and host Woodbridge (3-0) Friday night.
New to the rankings in tenth is Rahway (3-0). With a 28-7 road win Friday at Perth Amboy, the Indians have allowed just one touchdown apiece in the last two games, and will visit Somerville (3-0) in a battle of unbeatens Friday night.
Also considered in this week’s rankings are Ridge (1-1) and Summit (2-0). The Red Devils thumped Hillsborough 34-7 at home Friday and entertain No. 1 Phillipsburg (2-0) Friday, while Summit (2-0) trampled Hillside on the road 41-14 Saturday afternoon.
Below is the full Central Jersey Sports Radio Week 2 Top Ten:
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HC 1-1 after losing to Pburg