Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Streaks, perfect seasons go by the boards as No. 2 Woodbridge, No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas, No. 7 Sayreville all fall; Bernards takes mantle of league’s longest win streak with win over GL

If much of the regular season to this point, or at least until last week, was about consistency, the last two weeks have been anything but.

Last week’s big news was No. 1 Phillipsburg dropping its first game of the season, falling 21-0 to St. Joseph-Metuchen in a Saturday matinee on the road.

And what did the Falcons do with that ranking? They went up Plainfield Avenue and blitzed No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas after halftime en route to a 41-19 win, ending the Trojans’ Big Central-record 35-game league win streak.

That hands the honor off to Bernards, which now is just four-games away from matching that run. The Mountaineers won their 31st straight BCC game Friday night, topping Governor Livingston 35-7 at Olcott Field.

Elsewhere, No. 2 Woodbridge took its first loss of the season, getting knocked off at home by Summit, 10-7. The Hilltoppers had been in the Also Considered category of the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten much of the year, until a second straight loss last week, but they rebounded with a huge road win that will boost their chances at a top-seed in the Group 3 playoffs.

And then, to add to the chaos, No. 10 Montgomery pulled away with four unanswered second-half touchdowns, to knock off No. 5 Sayreville, 43-15, on the road. That ended the Bombers undefeated season; they were 7-0 coming in.

Playoff Implications…

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have a fill look at all the public school playoff standings early Saturday morning, once all results have been reported. But here’s a quick look at some wins and losses and their significance to the playoff chase:

• Bridgewater-Raritan beat Westfield at home, 28-7, to bounce back from a tough, 30-18 loss at Hillsborough last week. With a trip to Phillipsburg coming next Friday, the win might help the Panthers hang on to a top-seed in Group 5, regardless what happens next week.
• Linden may have boosted its chances with a 27-10 win at Carteret.
• Piscataway picked up a huge road win at Hillsborough, snapping a two-game Raider win streak while giving them one of their own. The Chiefs also are in a battle for a top seed in North 5, coming into the night third behind the Panthers (first place) and West Orange (in second), which beat East Orange 14-13 Friday. The Chiefs are at Monroe (1-7) next week.
• Manville put the brakes on Highland Park with a 48-14 win that shouldn’t hurt them much despite the Owls being just 2-5. But it did keep the Mustangs’ perfect season alive at 8-0.
• We’ll see if Phillipsburg‘s win over one-win Union lets them keep the top spot in North Group 4, while Union will now have to beat Elizabeth next week if they want a shot at making the playoffs, as they need to reach two wins to become playoff eligible, by NJSIAA rule.
• Somerville‘s win over Plainfield may have kept their hopes alive for a top-seed in Central JErsey Group 3, where they’re the defending champions.
• Spotswood rebounded from its first loss of the season – which dropped them from the high teens into a 16th place tie with Point Pleasant Boro in South Group 2 – with a 41-8 win over winless South Hunterdon. We’ll see if it hurt them or not.
• New Providence beat Bound Brook to stay perfect (7-0) and should have helped their push for a No. 1 seed in North 2, Group 1.

Congrats are in order…

Plaudits to Perth Amboy, which won its first game of the season, 34-14 at Waters Stadium Friday night over Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The Panthers (1-7) had lost 16 straight dating back to Week 1 of last season, after they beat JFK on the road, 27-9, in their Week Zero opener.

And East Brunswick got its second win of the season in a 13-10 victory over North Hunterdon out in Annandale, holding off the Lions, who cut it to a field goal – but no closer – with a fourth quarter touchdown.

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

• No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen 41, No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 19 (coverage from Marcus Borden)
• Summit 10, No. 2 Woodbridge 7 (recap with audio)
• No. 4 Phillipsburg 42, Union 0
• No. 10 Montgomery 41, No. 5 Sayreville 15 (recap with audio)
• No. 6 Bernards 35, Governor Livingston 7
• No. 7 Somerville 40, Plainfield 28 (recap with audio)
• No. 8 Piscataway 21, Hillsborough 7
• No. 9 Old Bridge 45, Hunterdon Central 29
• Franklin 40, Monroe 22
• Bridgewater-Raritan 28, Westfield 7
• Colonia 40, Cranford 15
• JFK 42, Middlesex 0
• Roselle Park 49, JP Stevens 6
• New Providence 49, Bound Brook 3
• Perth Amboy 34, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14
• East Brunswick 13, North Hunterdon 10
• Ridge 57, North Brunswick 20
• Elizabeth 28, Watchung Hills 14
• Delaware Valley 21, Roselle 18
• Spotswood 41, South Hunterdon 8
• Dayton 48, Dunellen 0
• Voorhees 6, Hillside 0
• Manville 48, Highland Park 14
• AL Johnson 36, North Plainfield 0
• Linden 27, Carteret 10

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

• Rahway at New Brunswick, 12 pm
• North Warren at Belvidere, 1:30 pm