The Big Central went 7-9 in opening round NJSIAA playoff action Friday night, with the two top-seeds – Phillipsburg and Bridgewater-Raritan – winning big, while high seeds Bernards and Somerville both were upset, each by just one point.
The Stateliners rolled past eight-seed Newark Central, 55-14, at Maloney Stadium in North 2, Group 4 action, while the Panthers were 35-6 winners over eighth-seeded Linden in North 2, Group 5. Read more about those two games, and the rest of North 2, Group 4 at the link.
There will be more North 2, Group 5 action on Saturday, when seventh-seed Plainfield visits neighbor and second-seed Piscataway at 1 pm in our Saturday “Big Central Game of the Week,” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Click the link to listen.
Central Jersey Group 5…
The only one of the three Big Central teams in this section to play Friday night was Sayreville, and the second-seeded Bombers left no doubt in a 35-0 win over seventh-seed Trenton to improve to 8-1 on the season.
Shaun Jackson rushed for 111 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns, while also adding three catches and a touchdown reception on the evening.
Sayreville (9-1) will be back at home next Friday night in the semifinals. They’ll play the winner of Saturday night’s first round game in Old Bridge between the third-seeded Knights (8-1) and sixth-seed Freehold Twp. (5-4). Marcus Borden will have coverage of the game on Twitter, and you can follow him here for updates, with postgame reaction to follow here.
Group 3…
Two of the three Big Central teams here were eliminated, with one more to play Saturday.
Fifth-seed Cranford lost up at No. 4 seed Roxbury, 21-12, in North 2, Group 3. The Cougars got on the board first with a Gabe Worrell touchdown, but a failed PAT left it 6-0. Roxbury got the next two scores, and Like Owens got what could have been the equalizer in the fourth with a 67-yard touchdown catch on a pass from Aidan Capizzi, but a two-point run failed, leaving it 14-12, and Frankie Falco of Roxbury put the game away after that with his third TD of the game.
Saturday, second-seed Summit (7-2) will host seventh-seed Warren Hills (5-4) at Tatlock Field, with the winner getting third-seed West Essex (6-3), a 24-6 home winner over sixth-seed Mendham.
Meanwhile, second-seed Somerville was upset in its quest to defend its Central Jersey Group 3 title from a year ago, falling to the seventh-seed Matawan, 14-13. After falling behind 6-0 in the first, the Pioneers took a 7-6 lead on a 15-yard TD pass from Dylan Boehm to Dario Lozano. But the Huskies got it right back and completed a two-point play to make it 14-7 at the break.
Somerville would score in the third, on an Aidan Vesuvio-Bush 41-yard touchdown run to make it 14-13, but the two-point try failed, and that would hold as the final score through a scoreless fourth quarter.
Group 2…
Bernards was another upset victim, as the Mountaineers’ streak of back-to-back sectional finals appearances ended with a first-round defeat at home to seventh-seed Madison, 22-21. Logan Stevens scored all three touchdowns – two on the ground, one via catch – in a tight game that saw no one lead by more than a score.
In fact, Bernards never trailed in the game until a fourth-quarter one-yard run by Liam Melvin, and a two-point conversion that game them the win.
Meanwhile, in Central 2, eighth-seed Voorhees saw its season come to an end at 8-2 after a 53-0 loss at top-seed Camden. The Panthers will get the winner of Saturday’s opening round game involving fifth-seed A.L. Johnson (7-1) out of the Big Central at fourth-seed Manasquan (7-1).
Group 1…
In North 2, Group 1 action, eight-seed Brearley fell 42-0 at second-seed Mountain Lakes, ironically, the last team they played in the playoffs, which came three years ago in the North 1, Group 1 final. Third-seed New Providence (8-0) of the Big Central will play Saturday at home against sixth-seed Secaucus (5-3). The winner gets second-seed Hasbrouck Heights, a 45-14 winner over seven-seed Wood-Ridge Friday.
And in Central Group 1, Manville notched its first-ever playoff win in six tries, shutting out Shore Conference foe and five-seed Asbury Park, 35-0, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. They’ll visit top-seed Burlington City (9-1) next Friday at 6 pm, after the Blue Devils blanked eight-seed Bound Brook, 49-0.
Here’s the Friday evening scoreboard for the first round of the playoffs:
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 5:
- #1 Washington Twp. 41, #8 Howell 0
- #2 Sayreville 36, #7 Trenton 0
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 5:
- #1 Phillipsburg 55, #8 Newark Central 14
- #5 Colonia 20, #4 Ridge 19
- #3 Montgomery 32, #6 Westfield 10
- #2 Woodbridge 21, #7 Rahway 7
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 3:
- #1 West Morris 42, #8 Snyder 6
- #4 Roxbury 21, #5 Cranford 12
- #3 West Essex 24, #6 Mendham 6
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 3:
- #7 Matawan 14, #2 Somerville 13
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 2:
- #7 Madison 22, #2 Bernards 21
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 2:
- #1 Camden 53, #8 Voorhees 0
- #3 Rumson-Fair Haven 14, #6 Point Pleasant Boro 10
- #2 Wall 41, #7 Bordentown 0
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 1:
- #1 Mountain Lakes 42, #8 Brearley 0
- #4 Cedar Grove 35, #5 Glen Ridge 20
- #2 Hasbrouck Heights 45, #7 Wood-Ridge 14
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1:
- #1 Burlington City 49, #8 Bound Brook 0
- #4 Manville 35, #5 Asbury Park 0
- #2 Shore 34, #7 New Egypt 0
Here’s a look at all Saturday’s games in playoff sections sections where Big Central Conference teams are still alive:
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 5:
- #7 Plainfield (4-5) at #2 Piscataway (7-2), noon (LIVE on CJSR – click to listen) (Follow Marcus Borden for updates)
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 5:
- #5 Hillsborough (4-5) at #4 Rancocas Valley (5-4), noon
- #6 Freehold Twp. (5-4) at #3 Old Bridge (8-1), 6 pm (Follow Marcus Borden for updates)
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 3:
- #7 Warren Hills (5-4) at #2 Summit (7-2), 1 pm
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 2:
- #5 A.L. Johnson (7-1) at #4 Manasquan (7-1), 1 pm
NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 1:
- #6 Secaucus (5-3) at #3 New Providence (8-0), 1 pm
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 1:
- #6 Point Pleasant Beach (6-2) at #3 Riverside (7-2), 11 am
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