It was a busy night in the Big Central Conference Friday, and there were some thrilling games along with some important wins by teams fighting to improve their playoff standing just three weeks before the NJSIAA’s cutoff weekend.
The highest-ranked team in action, No. 2 Woodbridge, fell behind in the first half and trailed by eleven at the break. But the Barrons pulled out a 41-31 road win to stay unbeaten at 7-0.
No. 7 Sayreville also came up with a big win, 37-28 at Franklin, to also stay perfect at 7-0. Shaun Jackson made the most of 20 carries, rushing for 338 yards and four touchdowns.
Hillsborough and Rahway notched big wins, while Spotswood took its first loss of the year, falling 20-19 at Dayton. Tyler Fuscaldo had two touchdown runs for the Bulldogs in a game Dayton led late, 20-13.
Spotswood still had life, though. With just 78 seconds to play, Semir Tolbert-Brimage scored his second touchdown of the game, a 14-yard run. After the defense went off-sides on the PAT, they elected to go for two, and Tolbert-Brimage got stopped shy of the goal line.
The 20 points was the most the Chargers have given up all year. They had one shutout and hadn’t surrendered more than eight points in a game all season through six games and a start.
The win puts Dayton at 5-1 with a road game at Dunellen next week, followed by a home game against Brearley on Saturday of Cutoff Weekend. The Chargers drop to 6-1, with a visit to South Hunterdon next week, and a home game with Roselle Park Friday of Cutoff Weekend.
Click below for postgame reaction from Dayton head coach Nick Iannacone with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
Hillsborough wins second straight, makes playoff push…
Things were looking a bit grim for Hillsborough at 1-4 heading into a Saturday matinee at Westfield last week. Then they gave up a touchdown 20 seconds in to fall behind 7-0, and were down two scores midway through the first quarter. But they scored the next five touchdowns and pulled away for a convincing win.
That momentum carried into Friday night’s game home game Bridgewater-Raritan, even if the first quarter was scoreless. Call that a win with Panthers’ QB Declan Kurdyla coming back from a leg injury he suffered a few weeks ago against Hunterdon Central.
Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty, Jr., said he doubted he would play, but his Raiders came prepared for either him or fill-in Evan Woodring. It was Kurdyla, but his team was prepared.
Andrew Schwarz scored four times in the game, on a two-yard run, two eleven-yard runs, and a 13-yard scamper in the fourth quarter of a game the Raiders never trailed, and won 30-18.
Click below for postgame reaction from Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty, Jrl, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
Rahway rolls past Watchung Hills, injured player OK…
Two-time defending Higgins Speed Lab “Speedster of the Week” Andrew Avent scored three times in the first quarter – his longest a 42-yarder – as the Indians topped Watchung Hills on the road, 46-18.
The early boost by Avent had the game in a second-half running clock, with Rahway ahead 40-6 at thebreak, getting three touchdown passes in the second quarter from Jaquan Robinson, who hit Ziare Fields once, and Triston Driscal twice.
It was a solid bounceback win after a tough loss at Cranford a week ago.
There was a scary moment though for the Indians, when senior runningback/linebacker Daniel Gonzalez was injured on a play and taken to the hospital as a precaution. Head coach Brian Russo was there after the game and told Central Jersey Sports Radio there’s no official diagnosis, but it looks like a stinger-type injury and that he’ll be okay.
Click below for postgame reaction from Rahway head coach Brian Russo with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
Here’s the Friday evening scoreboard from the Big Central for Week Three, with links to individual game stories:
- No. 2 Woodbridge 41, No. 8 Montgomery 31 (coverage from Marcus Borden)
- No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 41, Edison 6
- No. 5 Somerville 43, North Hunterdon 14
- No. 7 Sayreville 37, Franklin 28
- Hillsborough 30, No. 9 Bridgewater-Raritan 18
- No. 10(t) Piscataway 35, East Brunswick 0
- No. 10(t) Old Bridge 35, Monroe 0
- Roselle Park 35, Highland Park 12 (recap with audio)
- Elizabeth 24, Morristown 21
- Rahway 49, Watchung Hills 20
- South Plainfield 41, East Brunswick 8
- Westfield 35, North Brunswick 6
- JFK 33, North Plainfield 13
- Brearley 49, South River 12
- Metuchen 53, JP Stevens 0
- Colonia 27, Plainfield 13
- New Providence 21, Verona 10
- Linden 34, Perth Amboy 0
- Belvidere 16, South Hunterdon 0
- Ridge 28, Hunterdon Central 7
- Cranford 35, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 6
- Dayton 20, Spotswood 19
- Union 22, South Brunswick 13
- Bound Brook 38, Middlesex 28
- Johnson 21, Delaware Valley 19
Here’s a look at Saturday’s Big Central Conference slate:
- No. 1 Phillipsburg at No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 1 pm (LISTEN LIVE on CJSR)
- No. 4 Bernards at Summit, 1 pm
- Voorhees at Governor Livingston, 1 pm
- Roselle at Newark Collegiate, 1 pm
- Carteret at Hillside, 2 pm
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