Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Montgomery, Piscataway pull upsets sure to shake up the rankings, Phillipsburg wins 750th game, Woodbridge’s Joe Goerge wins 250th (at least)

Two big upsets highlighted a busy Friday night of action in the Big Central Conference in Week Two, with unranked Montgomery and Piscataway both scoring big upsets over ranked teams. And in two other games, more history was made.

Montgomery knocked off No. 2 Somerville on the road, 22-15, getting a late touchdown to erase a 15-14 deficit. That handed the Pioneers their first loss of the season, while the Cougars doubled last year’s win total in just three games after going 1-9 last season. QB Jack Kristjanson hit WR Trey McFadden for all three Monty touchdowns.

Meanwhile, in Piscataway, the Chiefs knocked off No. 6 Old Bridge, 28-21. It was a back-and-forth affair that was tied 14-all at the half. But Piscataway got a Landon Pernell 72-yard touchdown run in the third, and an 11-yard touchdown run for insurance by Zaire Young in the fourth. That turned out to be critical, after Brody Nugent connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass with Cam Olivencia to pull within a touchdown on the game’s final play.

The Chiefs improve to 2-1 ahead of a non-conference game next Saturday at home against Ridgewood, moved from Friday night because Rutgers hosts Iowa in Big Ten play that evening. The Knights drop to 2-1, taking their first loss of the season. Old Bridge will host South Brunswick next Friday at 6 pm.

Meanwhile, out in Flemington, No. 1 Phillipsburg got four touchdowns from senior Sam Dech to beat Hunterdon Central, 55-14, and claim the program’s 750th all-time win. They had come into 2025 at 748, and are now 2-0. You can see CJSR analyst Marcus Borden’s coverage here.

And with Woodbridge beating Plainfield 27-18 at Hub Stein Field Friday night, head coach Joe Goerge earned “at least” his 250th win. Tracking the records had brought a couple of conflicting totals, as Goerge – in addition to coaching at Franklin, Dayton and South Brunswick – also has coached in a couple of stints on Staten Island. He began his coaching career at Port Richmond, and went to St. Joseph by the Sea in between his two stints with the Vikings in Middlesex County. His son, Jason, says it could be 251, but he’s definitely cracked the 250 mark.

Here’s the Friday evening scoreboard from the Big Central for Week Week One, with links to individual game stories:

• No. 1 Phillipsburg 55, No. 7 Hunterdon Central 14 (Coverage via Marcus Borden)
• Montgomery 22, No. 2 Somerville 15
• No. 3 Woodbridge 27, Plainfield 18
• No. 4 Bernards 43, Delaware Valley 7 (heard LIVE on CJSR)
• No. 5 St. Thomas Aquinas 50, North Brunswick 8
• Piscataway 28, No. 6 Old Bridge 21
• No. 8 Bridgewater-Raritan 27, Morris Knolls 21
• No. 9 St. Joseph-Metuchen 28, Union 21
• No. 10 New Providence 37, Johnson 14
• Middlesex 20, South Hunterdon 12
• Rahway 43, Perth Amboy 8
• Colonia 35, Linden 18
• Cranford 25, Carteret 14
• Bound Brook 48, Dunellen 0
• Franklin 50, East Brunswick 19
• Sayreville 46, Edison 14
• Elizabeth 36, Westfield 29
• Highland Park 26, Dayton 14
• Ridge 28, Hillsborough 7
• Voorhees 45, JP Stevens 8
• Governor Livingston 36, JFK 28
• Manville 31, Belvidere 0
• Watchung Hills 14, North Hunterdon 9
• Roselle Park 42, South River 0
• South Brunswick 31, Monroe 17
• South Plainfield 27, North Plainfield 7
• Spotswood 40, Brearley 7

There are just two games on the Saturday slate in the Big Central Conference:

• Roselle at Metuchen, 1 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
• Hillside at Summit, 1 pm

THURSDAY’S SCORES:

• Rahway 43, Perth Amboy 8
• Middlesex 20, South Hunterdon 12