After a busy Thursday, Week Zero football continued in the Big Central – and around the state – Friday night, with 17 league teams in action, and ten of them coming up winners.
One of the more impressive efforts came in Linden, where Elizabeth exploded for 42 first-half points en route to a 42-7 victory over the Tigers, thanks in large part to junior quarterback Arique Fleming’s 253 passing yards and four touchdowns, with a fifth on the ground. It was the biggest margin of victory for the Minutemen since 2018, with all the points coming before halftime, and the second half played with a running clock.
Speaking of big numbers, Montgomery got shutout in last year’s season opener by Hopewell Valley, 42-0. But Friday night, despite giving up 20 straight third-quarter points to Hopewell Valley, the Cougars rallied not once, but twice, in the fourth quarter to beat the Bulldogs 25-28 in overtime out in Pennington.
But those weren’t the only big wins.
League win streaks stay in tact another week…
St. Thomas Aquinas and Bernards came into the 2025 season with the two longest win streaks against Big Central competition, and both extended their respective success by another game Friday night.
The fifth-ranked Trojans left no doubt in a 56-3 home win over Montclair, putting their streak at 32 games. Their last loss came on November 12, 2020, to Bernards.
The No. 4 Mountaineers were 27-15 winners over Cranford, behind three touchdown connections from Nolan Walsh to Sean Arcelay. After a John Fiore touchdown catch in the second quarter tied the game at seven, Walsh and Arcelay hooked up for the next three scores, going for 54-, 24- and 14-yard TD connections that gave Bernards a 27-7 lead.
Their league win streak is now at 24, with their last loss coming September 2, 2022 to Hillside.
Top Ten does well…
Besides Bernards and Aquinas, second-ranked Somerville and No. 8 Piscataway also won, though No. 7 Rahway lost 35-33 at home to Willingboro. Four of the five ranked teams in action Friday won, making it five of six in Week Zero overall.
The Chiefs had to rally to beat Edison, trailing the Eagles 14-10 early in the third quarter. But they scored 21 unanswered points to come out with a 31-14 win. Piscataway quarterback Landon Pernell threw three touchdowns in the game, and now both teams have a tough opponent next week. The Chiefs will visit Bridgewater-Raritan, which knocked off Notre Dame at home 35-20, while the Eagles will visit No. 9 Old Bridge, which visits Rowan University Saturday at 3 pm for a Battle at the Beach clash with Cedar Creek.
Here’s the Friday evening scoreboard from the Big Central for Week Zero:
- #2 Somerville 34, Schalick 17
- #4 Bernards 27, Cranford 15
- #5 St. Thomas Aquinas 56, Montclair 3
- Willingboro 35, #7 Rahway 33
- #8 Piscataway 31, Edison 14
- Elizabeth 42, Linden 7 (Coverage from Mike Pavlichko)
- Washington Twp. 43, Hillsborough 12 (Battle at the Beach) (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
- Montgomery 35, Hopewell Valley 28 (OT) (Game Story and Audio)
- Bridgewater-Raritan 35, Notre Dame 20
- Summit 14, Morristown 11
- Pt. Pleasant Beach 37, South River 6
- Robbinsville 41, South Brunswick 34
- Watchung Hills 9, Moorestown 7
- Monroe 41, West Windsor-Plainsboro 0
Week Zero play continues with just four games on the Saturday slate, headlined by the Battle at the Beach, where CJSR analyst Marcus Borden will head down to Rowan to cover the Knights and Cedar Creek.
Here’s the Saturday schedule:
- New Brunswick at Freehold Boro, 12 pm
- Manville at Keyport, 12 pm
- Delaware Valley at Metuchen, 1 pm
- Old Bridge at Cedar Creek, 3 pm (Battle at the Beach at Rowan University) (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
Here’s a look back at Thursday’s action, with links to individual stories:
- No. 1 Woodbridge 14, Union 10
- Spotswood 38, Middlesex 0 (Game Story and Audio)
- Sayreville 26, Colonia 18 (Game Story and Audio)
- Hunterdon Central 36, North Hunterdon 28 (Game Story and Audio)
- South Plainfield 9, East Brunswick 7
- JFK 36, Perth Amboy 0
- Westfield 21, Plainfield 14
- Belvidere 23, Hackettstown 20
- North Warren 32, Bound Brook 27
- Wallington 20, Brearley 13
- Lakeland 28, Governor Livingston 0
- Hammonton 24, Franklin 14
- Lakewood 48, JP Stevens 8
- Jackson Twp. 33, North Brunswick 0
- Voorhees 39, Orange 16
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