Somerville players hold their Central jersey group 3 trophy high above their heads after beating Delsea 24-6 in the title game at Brooks Field in Somerville on November 15, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
While Somerville may have swept the Liberty Silver Division in 2024 and won the Central Jersey Group 3 title, many key Pioneers are off the graduation, and there are plenty of teams to challenge them in 2025. There’s the Rahway team that was right behind them, going 3-1 last season in the division and with a boatload of talent returning, plus Watchung Hills looking for a bounceback year and North Hunterdon on the way up.
Then there’s Montgomery, which graduated a ton following 2023 and finished just 1-9 last year, but is now led by Sean Carty, who joined the Cougar staff under Zoran Milich in 2018 and for much of that time has been their offensive coordinator. With young players getting an extra year under their belt, and a jolt from Carty, this could be a very interesting division in 2025.
Here are the preliminary schedules for the Liberty Silver Division teams – in alphabetical order – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge. Please note game dates and times may be changed without notice as the season approaches. Division games marked with an asterisk (*).
Montgomery Cougars (1-9, 0-4, 5th place in ’24)
Head Coach: Sean Carty (1st season)
- Week 0: Hopewell Valley (6p)
- Week 1: Summit
- Week 2: at Somerville* (6:30p)
- Week 3: North Hunterdon*
- Week 4: at Watchung Hills*
- Week 5: Linden
- Week 6: Woodbridge
- Week 7: at Sayreville
- Week 8: at Rahway* (6p)
Yes, their top rusher is gone, but the Cougars’ No. 2 only had two fewer yards – QB Jack Kristjanson, with 150 – but he’s also back as their signal caller, as is top receiver Trey McFadden. Carty may need to figure out a few more pieces, but they can be good. The defense loses a couple of two-way linemen in Matthew Cudmore (3.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery) and Landen Dikker (5 sacks, 3.5 TFLs) but there’s plenty expected back, too, including linebacker Dragomir Georgiev (2 sacks, 3 TFLS), and excellent two-way lineman Michael Bellamy (1.5 sacks, 7 TFLs, 1 forced fumble).
North Hunterdon Lions (4-5, 1-3, 4th place in ’24)
Head Coach: C.J. Robinson (4-14, 3rd season)
- Week 0: Hunterdon Central (Thurs)
- Week 1: at Colonia (6p)
- Week 2: Watchung Hills*
- Week 3: at Montgomery*
- Week 4: Rahway*
- Week 5: at Monroe
- Week 6: Somerville*
- Week 7: East Brunswick
- Week 8: at Voorhees
The Lions lost a ton following their sectional title in 2022, including their head coach Kevin Kley, and struggled in Year One under new head coach C.J. Robinson, which was to be expected. Then, as hoped, they showed much improvement in 2024, winning four games. Expect North to take another step up next year. Quarterback Nick Ramaci started as a junior last year and threw for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he should have major skill guys back, including runningback Cole O’Connor (622 yards, 8 TD) and Xzavier Warner (269 yards, 5 TDs), not to mention the nearly 500 yards Ramaci ran for himself. They also bring back all but 61 of 1,132 team receiving yards, with three receivers catching double-digit passes, led by Antonio Sauchelli (477, 4 TD) coming back for one more go. On paper, this experienced club could be near the top of the division. On defense, nearly everyone who recorded a sack, interception of fumble recovery last season is back.
Rahway Indians (7-3, 3-1, 2nd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Brian Russo (57-42, 11th season)
- Week 0: Willingboro (6p)
- Week 1: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
- Week 2: Perth Amboy (Thurs, 6p)
- Week 3: Somerville* (Sat 12p) (Veterans Field)
- Week 4: at North Hunterdon*
- Week 5: at Cranford
- Week 6: Watchung Hills* (6p)
- Week 7: at New Brunswick (Sat, 12p)
- Week 8: Montgomery* (6p)
Coach Russo is blessed with an abundance of electrifying talent coming back. Jaquan Robinson won the starting QB job as a sophomore; he threw for 706 yards and eight touchdowns, while rushing for 246 yards and two scores. Super-talented RB Andrew Avent returns, bringing back 1,412 rush yards and 16 TDs, while all but 150 of nearly 750 receiving yards come back. Avent also is a defensive force at linebacker, where he led the team with 17 TFLs, while also recording three sacks, a scoop and score, and a blocked kick. Rising juniors Jyvon Cooper (2 sacks, 6 TFLS, 2 fumble recoveries) and Jalen Eastman (2 sacks, 9 TFLs, and a pick-six) will make defensive noise, too. This could be a big year for Rahway.
Somerville Pioneers (12-1, 4-0, Liberty Silver, Central Jersey Group 3 champs in ’24)
Head Coach: Matt Bloom (18-7, 3rd full season)
- Week 0: at Schalick (6p)
- Week 1: Cranford (6:30p)
- Week 2: Montgomery* (6:30p)
- Week 3: at Rahway* (Sat, 12p) (Veterans’ Field)
- Week 4: Hillside (6:30p)
- Week 5: at Summit (Sat, 2p)
- Week 6: at North Hunterdon*
- Week 7: Plainfield (6:30p)
- Week 8: at Watchung Hills*
The departure of a ton of talent will leave a lot of spots to fill for Bloom and company. First, he’ll need a new signal caller with Brendan Pacheco (1,742 yards, 27 TD, just 4 INT) off to graduation. So is RB Terrell Mitchell (1,406 yards, 18 TD) and WRs Brady Scheier (6887 yards, 8 TD) and Josh Rodriguez (478 yards, 7 TD). In fact, just one receiver is back (Aidan Bush, 5 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD), and a handful of runningbacks return. Defensively, Josh Bowen is among the top statistical returnees expected; he tallied four sacks, six TFLs, and had one pick and a forced fumble as a sophomore last season. Replicating last year’s overall success will be quite the challenge.
Watchung Hills Warriors (5-5, 2-2, 3rd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Rich Seubert (38-50, 10th season)
- Week 0: Moorestown (6p)
- Week 1: Woodbridge
- Week 2: at North Hunterdon*
- Week 3: at Linden
- Week 4: Montgomery*
- Week 5: South Brunswick (6p)
- Week 6: at Rahway* (6p)
- Week 7: Elizabeth
- Week 8: Somerville*
The Warriors looked good through the first half of 2024, going 6-1, their lone loss at Woodbridge, but they slumped to the finish line, losing their last four, including a first round playoff defeat to the Barrons. Their starting QB, Mason Kelly (1,134 yds, 10 TD) is gone, as is their top rusher (Lucas Garcia, 624 yards, 5 TD) and top receiver (Brayden Kelly, 532 yards, 3 TD), but there are some other players with experience. It’ll be up to Seubert to decipher it all. The defense was senior-heavy, too, with rising senior DL David Thornton the top returnee stats-wise, with four sacks, seven TFLs and a fumble recovery last fall.
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