Saturday was a busy day in the Big Central Conference, with seven games on tap, but in particular for Belvidere and Dayton.
The two played a 10 am game out in Warren County this morning, and by the time they were done, it was well into the afternoon. That’s because an 8-8 game at the end of regulation went to three overtimes, with the Bulldogs eventually winning, 17-11.
Belvidere scored in the first quarter on a ten-yard TD pass hookup from Jake Enderley to Chris Vannata., and a two-point conversion run by Geoffrey Young. The rest of the half was scoreless, but the Bulldogs tied it at 8-8 with a 32-yard hookup from Adrian Bernknopf to Jackson Babiarz – plus a two-point conversion from the QB.
Regulation would end 8-8, and even the first overtime saw now scoring. In the second, Pedro Isaque Dos Santos kicked a 32-yard field goal for Belvidere, while Dayton matched with a 17-yard field goal from Babiarz.
In the third overtime, Chidiogo Iherobiem caught a ten-yard touchdown pass, but the two-point try failed. The defense saved the day, keeping Belvidere off the board, as the defense knocked down a last-ditch fourth-down pass into the end zone.
Dayton is now 4-1, off to its best start since a -2 season in 2010 under Joe Goerge, just the fifth year of the program that he resurrected, with its first varsity season in 2006. That year, the Bulldogs dropped the opener, but won nine straight, falling in the second round of the North 2, Group 3 playoffs to Lincoln, and finished 9-2.
The Bulldogs – who have made six playoff appearances in their history – were 21st in the North 2, Group 2 playoff standings heading into the weekend. They’ll close with Spotswood at home next week, then at Dunellen, and home to Brearley as they seek their first playoff berth since 2012. The top 16 teams in each supersection qualify for the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the Saturday scoreboard in the Big Central Conference, with links to individual game stories on Somerville-Summit and Hillsborough-Westfield:
- No. 5 Somerville 41, Summit 20 (game story with audio)
- Hillsborough 42, Westfield 21 (coverage by Mike Pavlichko)
- Ridge 24, Union 13
- Manville 41, JP Stevens 12
- Dayton 17, Belvidere 11 (3 OT)
- Delaware Valley 43, South River 13
- Hillside 20, Roselle 18
Here’s a look back at the Friday evening scoreboard from the Big Central for Week Four, with links to individual game stories:
- No. 1 Phillipsburg 24, West Orange 20
- No. 2 Woodbridge 41, Perth Amboy 0
- Paramus Catholic 42, No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 14
- No. 4 Bernards 7, South Plainfield 0
- No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen 42, North Brunswick 7
- No. 8 Sayreville 42, No. 7 Piscataway 24 (Recap with audio)
- No. 9 Montgomery 22, Linden 16
- No. 10(t) Bridgewater-Raritan 34, Elizabeth 23
- No. 10(t) Old Bridge 24, Morristown 0
- New Providence 46, Middlesex 7
- Voorhees 41, North Plainfield 13
- Spotswood 36, Bound Brook 7
- Metuchen 36, Highland Park 13
- Watchung Hills 20, South Brunswick 15
- Plainfield 34, Franklin 8
- North Hunterdon 30, Monroe 12
- Colonia 21, Edison 0
- Hunterdon Central 28, East Brunswick 7
- Johnson 21, Governor Livingston 20 (OT)
- Carteret 45, New Brunswick 0
- Cranford 43, Rahway 41
- JFK 33, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14
- Brearley 21, South Hunterdon 0 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
- Roselle Park 50, Dunellen 8
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