Saturday Big Central Roundup: New Providence and No. 1 Phillipsburg roll, but storms wreak havoc on later games on the schedule

Saturday was a mixed bag in the Big Central Conference, with some teams moving their games earlier to avoid the thunderstorms in the forecast, and others standing pat. Those who moved their games fared well. Others, not so much.

No. 1 Phillipsburg was already scheduled for a noontime kickoff at Westfield’s Kehler Stadium, and they didn’t disappoint, getting three touchdowns from Sam Dech and another from Tyler Wargo in a 28-0 whitewash of the Blue Devils.

Meanwhile, in Berkeley Heights, A.J. Whitehead scored four touchdowns – two three-yard runs, a long punt return for 57 yards and a 68-yard pick-six – as New Providence beat Governor Livingston for the seventh straight year, coming out with a 42-7 win.

No. 5. St. Thomas Aquinas’ already had an early start scheduled as well, an 11 am tussle with Catholic Memorial (MA), the No. 1 MaxPreps ranked team in Massachusetts, but they fell 35-7 to drop to 1-1. They’ll open their Big Central schedule next Friday night when North Brunswick (0-2) comes to town, with 31-game win streak going against league competition, a record for the BCC, now in its sixth season.

Then came the rain…

Hillside and Bernards didn’t fare as well up in Union County. They got through a half of football with the Mountaineers up 10-7, but lightning arrived at the break, and after a long wait, officials from both schools decided to resume the game Sunday morning at 11 am back at Conant Street Park, per CJSR analyst Marcus Borden, who was covering the game.

South River-Metuchen suffered a similar fate. The thunderstorms there came late in the third quarter with the Bulldogs up 34-6. Head coach Jordan Leitner told CJSR he discussed the situation, and they decided to call the game entirely, evening up their record at 1-1 ahead of a home game with Roselle (1-1) next Saturday afternoon. The Rams (0-2) will visit Roselle Park (1-0) next Friday night.

East Brunswick was set to kickoff at Hamilton at 2 pm. And they did. They got to halftime before the game had to be suspended, with Hamilton up 13-7. East Brunswick Athletic Director Frank Malta says they will finish it at 4:30 Monday afternoon.

Here’s a look at the very limited Saturday scoreboard due to the weather:

• No. 1 Phillipsburg 28, Westfield 0
• New Providence 42, Governor Livingston 7 (heard live on CJSR)
• Catholic Memorial (MA) 35, No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas 7
• Metuchen 34, South River 6 (came called late in third quarter)
• No. 4 Bernards 10, Hillside 7 (suspended at halftime, will finish 11 am Sunday)
• Hamilton 13, East Brunswick 7 (suspended at halftime, will finish at 4:30 pm Monday)

And here’s the Friday evening scoreboard from the Big Central for Week Zero, with links to individual game stories:

• No. 2 Somerville 28, Cranford 12 (Coverage via Marcus Borden)
• No. 3 Woodbridge 26, Watchung Hills 23
• No. 6 Old Bridge 28, Edison 6
• St. Joseph-Metuchen 24, No. 7 Ridge 7
• Bridgewater-Raritan 34, No. 8 Piscataway 27
• Bayonne 26, No. 9 Elizabeth 21
• Bound Brook 43, JP Stevens 28
• Colonia 24, North Hunterdon 21
• Delaware Valley 26, South Plainfield 0
• Franklin 20, Passaic 14
• Highland Park 34, Dunellen 6
• Manville 34, Hopatcong 0
• Voorhees 43, JFK 13
• Johnson 35, Brearley 0
• Hunterdon Central 41, Monroe 13
• Summit 31, Montgomery 28
• North Plainfield 19, Belvidere 13
• Carteret 28, Perth Amboy 2 (heard LIVE on CJSR)
• Plainfield 56, New Brunswick 6
• Roselle Park 45, Middlesex 13
• Sayreville 28, Linden 14
• Rahway 35, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 7
• Dayton 21, South Hunterdon 6
• Spotswood 31, Roselle 8
• Hillsborough 20, Union 13

There was also one game Thursday night, as South Brunswick (1-1) topped rival North Brunswick 10-0, dropping the Raiders to 0-2 for the second time in as many seasons. The last time they’d gone 0-2 before 2024 was in 2017, a year they finished 6-4 in Mike Cipot’s second year as head coach. Kamari Toney rushed for 128 yards on 25 carries, while Daniel Duffie had a rushing touchdown and Greg Schifrin kicked a 26-yard field goal.