Friday Night Big Central Roundup: No. 1 Phillipsburg wins again, so does Bernards in first game without Diemar; Woodbridge tops Colonia in rivalry game, Bound Brook wins third straight

It was a busy Week 3 Friday night in the Big Central – with nobody playing Thursday – and there were some huge wins as well.

Starting at the top:

• No. 1 Phillipsburg was a 28-6 home winner over Ridge, putting the Stateliners at 3-0 ahead of a trip to struggling Hillsborough next Friday night.
• No. 2 Woodbridge edged out Colonia in their rivalry game, 34-21, to improve to 4-0.
• No. 3 Bernards pulled out a 31-21 win at Voorhees in a battle of 3-0 teams, in their first game without defensive end Thomas Diemar, the school’s all-time sack leader who injured his ACL and meniscus last week against Delaware Valley. It was the Mountaineers 27th straight Big Central Conference win – second-best in the league – and 29th straight regular season win, the top active streak in New Jersey by 13 over Butler, which won Friday night and is on a 16-game streak.

Meanwhile, fourth-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas won a shootout against Franklin, 57-45, extending its Big Central-best league win streak to 33 games, The 45 points allowed was the most the Trojans had given up since 2022, in a 50-21 first-round playoff loss at Holy Spirit, and most in a regular season since a 49-0 loss to Hillside in 2019, when the Comets finished a perfect 12-0, won the South Jersey Group 2 title, and won the South 2 regional championship game, a precursor to the state group finals. It’s the most they’ve ever allowed in Big Central play, but it was also the second time this season they’ve scored more than 50 in a game. The other was the 56-3 win in the season opener over Montclair. They also topped 50 for times last year, including a 61-6 playoff-opening win at home over St. Mary-Rutherford.

And congratulations to Brearley, which snapped a 14-game losing streak dating back to 2023 with a 27-26 win over Highland Park. It was the first win for new head coach Elliott Platt. Their last win also came over the Owls, a 52-14 win at home on October 5, 2023.

Bound Brook wins third straight…

The last few years haven’t been kind to Bound Brook, which went 4-6 in 2021 after a five-win COVID season, but then went 0-9 in 2022, then 2-7 and 1-8 over the next two seasons.

Friday night, they equaled the combined win total of their last two years, beating South Hunterdon at LaMonte Field, 14-2. And they’re now 3-1 after a 14-12 home win over South Hunterdon. It’s their first 3-1 start since they went 4-1 to start 2020, a year they went 5-2. And they’ve allowed just two points in their last two games.

The Crusaders host Belvidere (2-2) next Friday night before playing their next three games on the road.

Gega gets first win with Bears…

First-year East Brunswick head coach Zach Gega got his first win with the Bears, via a 35-26 win at Monroe (1-3). The Bears are now 1-3 on the season, and host Old Bridge (3-1) next Friday in the first of back-to-back home games, the second with Hunterdon Central.

Woodbridge wins bragging rights battle…

Big players step up in big games, and Friday night, in the battle for bragging rights, second-ranked Woodbridge got 252 rushing yards from Josh Allen – a career high – in a 34-21 win over Colonia. While the Patriots have a 29-26-4 advantage in the series, the Barrons have won three straight. Colonia’s last win came by a 14-13 decision in 2022.

Now 4-0, and on a 13-game winning streak – they had a perfect regular season last year before a second-round playoff exit – Woodbridge will visit Linden (1-3) next Friday night, while Colonia visits 0-4 Perth Amboy.

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

• No. 1 Phillipsburg 28, Ridge 6
• No. 2 Woodbridge 34, Colonia 21
• No. 3 Bernards 31, Voorhees 21
• No. 4 St. Thomas 57, Franklin 45
• No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan 35, No. 7 Hunterdon Central 7 (heard LIVE on CJSR)
• No. 10(t) Montgomery 24, North Hunterdon 8
• No. 10(t) Old Bridge 45, South Brunswick 7
• Sayreville 28, Hillsborough 14 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
• JFK 35, New Brunswick 0
• Edison 20, North Brunswick 14
• Plainfield 33, Perth Amboy 7
• Brearley 27, Highland Park 26
• Delaware Valley 48, JP Stevens 0
• Johnson 34, Roselle 8
• East Brunswick 35, Monroe 26
• Cranford 35, South Plainfield 14
• Bound Brook 14, South Hunterdon 2
• Dayton 37, Roselle Park 20
• Linden 28, Watchung Hills 21
• Summit 21, Carteret 0
• Belvidere 53, Dunellen 20
• Manville 42, Middlesex 0 (recap with audio)

Here’s a look at Saturday’s Big Central slate:

• No. 5 Somerville at Rahway, noon
• Governor Livingston at North Plainfield, noon
• Elizabeth at No. 9 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 1 pm
• New Providence at Metuchen, 1 pm
• Union at Westfield, 1 pm
• Spotswood at South River, 1 pm
• Scotch Plains-Fanwood at Hillside, 1 pm
• Ridgewood at No. 8 Piscataway, 2 pm

Look for our Saturday Big Central Roundup for details on the day’s games.