It wasn’t always easy, and for others it was. You never know what you’re going to get in Week Zero football, but nine Big Central Conference teams came out with wins in 15 games on the opening night of the 2025 high school football season.
In the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, Spotswood got three touchdown runs and a TD pass from senior quarterback Se’mir Tolbert Brimage in a 38-0 shutout of Middlesex at home.
It was the first meeting between the formerly frequent GMC opponents since 2020, the first year of play in the Big Central. And it was the first game for the Chargers under the brand-new permanent lights installed late last year at their home field.
Just one Top Ten team played Thursday night: No. 3 Woodbridge was a 14-0 shutout winner over Union at home, getting a pair of touchdown runs – one in the first and one in the fourth quarter – from senior Josh Allen.
Here’s the Thursday evening scoreboard from the Big Central for Week Zero:
- No. 1 Woodbridge 14, Union 10
- Spotswood 38, Middlesex 0 (Game Story and Recap)
- Sayreville 26, Colonia 18 (Game Story and Recap)
- Hunterdon Central 36, North Hunterdon 28 (Game Story and Recap)
- 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
Week Zero play continues with 17 teams in action in 14 games Friday, then four more games with five Big Central teams on Saturday afternoon. Mike Pavlichko will have live updates from Elizabeth’s game at Linden, while Marcus Borden will be headed to Rowan University for the first of two Battle at the Beach matchups this weekend, the first featuring Hillsborough and Washington Twp.
Here’s the Friday schedule:
- Hillsborough vs. Washington Twp. at Rowan University, 12 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
- #2 Somerville at Schalick, 6 pm
- Montclair at #5 St. Thomas Aquinas, 6 pm
- Willingboro at #7 Rahway, 6 pm
- Edison at #8 Piscataway, 6 pm
- Notre Dame at Bridgewater-Raritan, 6 pm
- South River at Pt. Pleasant Beach
- Robbinsville at South Brunswick, 6 pm
- Moorestown at Watchung Hills, 6 pm
- Montgomery at Hopewell Valley, 6 pm
- Monroe at West Windsor-Plainsboro, 6 pm
- Summit at Morristown, 6:30 pm
- Cranford at #4 Bernards, 7 pm
- Elizabeth at Linden, 7 pm (Follow Mike Pavlichko on Twitter for updates)
Here’s the Big Central schedule for Saturday:
- New Brunswick at Freehold Boro, 12 pm
- Manville at Keyport, 12 pm
- Delaware Valley at Metuchen, 1 pm
- Old Bridge at Cedar Creek, 3:30 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
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