Rahway wins “playoff play-in,” clinching postseason berth with 28-7 win over No. 3 Montgomery behind Avent’s mammoth night, and a solid supporting cast

Andrew Avent is one of the most prolific runningbacks in Rahway program history, which goes back longer than many schools in the Big Central Conference.

And while he sure had another big night Friday in a 28-7 win over visiting No. 3 Montgomery – as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – with nearly 312 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, the supporting cast was just as good.

Junior quarterback Jaquan Robinson threw three touchdown passes, one each to Syncier Touissant, TristonDriscal and Ziare Fields, while the offensive and defensive lines dominated.

With the ball, the front five carved out slivers for Avent to gain long runs of 52, 45, 60 and 36 yards among his 22 carries. Didn’t matter he didn’t finish off the drives; he was happy to set up his teammates.

And the defensive line had at least three solid sacks on Jack Kristjanson, including two from Jaylen Eastman and another from Jyvon Cooper, who looked like Avent finding a hole in the line, then doing their damage.

The win improved Rahway to 6-3 and appears to have clinched them a playoff berth, where a loss would have made it extremely difficult. Montgomery couldn’t have gained much ground with a win, and at 6-3, could drop a bit, but should start at home in the playoffs.

We’ll have a full unofficial playoff update later tonight into early Saturday morning at Central Jersey Sports Radio, then tune in at 6 pm Saturday to our 2025 Playoff Projection show for our look at how we think the brackets have shaken out. The official seeding will be announced by the NJSIAA on Sunday.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rahway’s Jaquan Robinson, head coach Brina Russo and Andrew Avent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen: