North 2, Group 5 Final Preview: Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers vs. Bayonne Bees

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 Final:
When: Friday, 6 pm
Where: Basilone Field, Bridgewater, NJ
Matchup: #6 Bayonne (8-3) at #1 Bridgewater-Raritan (8-3)
Coverage: Follow Chris Tsakonas on Twitter
Weather: 44 degrees, partly cloudy, wind W 2 mph (crosswind from home stands toward visitor stands)

HEAD COACHES:

Bridgewater-Raritan: D.J. Catalano (3rd season, 15-17)
Bayonne: Jerome Hayes (4th season, 22-18)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Bridgewater-Raritan:
First Round: def. #8 Linden, 35-6
Semifinals: def. #4 Union City, 22-7

Bayonne:
First Round: def. #3 Elizabeth, 44-14
Semifinals: def. #2 Piscataway, 27-13

Who’s next? The winner of this game will play the North 1, Group 5 winner in the Group 5 semifinals. That title game features top-seed West Orange (9-2) hosting second-seed Passaic Tech (8-3) Friday at 7 pm. Should Bridgewater advance and face West Orange – the overall No. 1 seed in North Group 5 – they’d be on the road, but it PCTI wins, the Panthers would host them next Friday night at 6.

SERIES HISTORY:

This is just the second meeting between the Panthers and Bees, with their only other matchup coming in 2005, a consolation game win for Bridgewater-Raritan, 30-28, to cap a 4-6 season under Tony Maglione. Bayonne would finish that season 6-4.

Ironically, Bayonne had beaten Union Hill on Cutoff Weekend and Emerson in late September. Those two schools later merged to form Union City, the team Bridgewater just beat last week to get to the finals.

BRIDGEWATER-RATIAN PREVIEW:

It’s been a while for the Panthers, as Bridgewater-Raritan hosts North 2 Group 5 finals against Bayonne, seeking first-ever state title

FINALS HISTORY:

Bridgewater-Raritan:

The Panthers have only been to three sectional finals in their history, which only dates back to 1992 and the merger of Bridgewater East and West into the one high school that exists today.

Those came in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and all three were losses at Met Life Stadium to a juggernaut Westfield team that won all three and finished that stretch a combined 36-0. The Panthers were undefeated themselves heading into the first two finals, finishing 2015 and 2016 at 11-1. They finished 9-3 in 2017.

Playoff Berths: 19
Playoff Record: 10-17
Previous Finals Berths: 4
Sectional Titles: 1

North 2, Group 5
2015: #2 Westfield def. #1 Bridgewater-Raritan, 10-7
2016: #2 Westfield def. #1 Bridgewater-Raritan, 15-13
2017: #1 Westfield def. #3 Bridgewater-Raritan, 20-7

Bayonne:

This is just Bayonne’s fourth appearance in a title game, and their first trip since 2002, when they won as a five-seed and beat 7th-seed Hackensack, 25-23. Their first finals appearance came in 1976, then they made it again in 1981, and 1987, all in North 1, Group 4. This will be their first time in North 2, Group 5.

Playoff Berths: 19
Playoff Record: 20-15
Previous Finals Berths: 8
Sectional Titles: 4

North 1, Group 4
1976: #4 Bergenfield def. #2 Bayonne, 19-8
1981: #1 Passaic def. #2 Bayonne, 29-0
1987: #1 Paterson Kennedy def. #2 Bayonne, 13-7
2002: #5 Bayonne def. #7 Hackensack, 25-23

2025 BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN COVERAGE:

Football players in action on the field during a game, with a group of players in white uniforms and helmets on one side and players in black uniforms on the other. — *No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan hosts No. 7 Hunterdon Central at Basilone Field in Bridgewater on September 19, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

NEWS & NOTES:

Math teacher or intrepid sports reporter?

We’re going to shout out Bridgewater-Raritan math teacher James Olivola first in this space. You can easily find him at any Bridgewater-Raritan sporting event on campus, and even some on the road.

Why? He posts frequent updates – often peppered with memes and GIFs related to Panthers – while giving detailed updates on Bridegwater-Raritan athletic events.

This week, he noted that in 2023, Bayonne beat Bridgewater in baseball for their first sectional title since 2002, and did it with a father/son and coach/player duo in head coach Dave Hoffman and his son Justin, a third baseman and pitcher who was a senior that year.

The Bayonne football team this year has the same kind of duo: Jerome Hayes is in his fourth season as head coach, and his son – Jerome, Jr. – is a wide receiver and linebacker. In fact, he had a critical scoop and score to put his team up two touchdowns with just over four minutes to go in the semifinals at Piscataway last week.

Lacrosse influence…

People talk about teams that play smash mouth football, but there are few sports as physical as lacrosse. And when you get those guys in your football program, it’s something special.

The Panthers have had a very successful program over the years, and have a set of brothers on the Rutgers squad: Brady Kurdyla will be a senior this year, and Colin Kurdyla a junior. Both are midfielders.

Next year, Bridgewater quarterback Declan Kurdyla will join Colin for his senior season on the Banks.

But he’s not the only lacrosse athlete on the football team. There are four others on the offensive side of the ball, including receivers Jack Winne, Mikey Bratus and James Locrotondo, along with tight end Jack Cifuentes. Defensively, LoCcrotondo is at cornerback, Winne is at safety, and Cifuentes sees time at outside linebacker along with Nick Crovello.

And there’s another connection. Catalano also played lacrosse, as did his father at the Naval Academy, while his uncles played at Penn State. He says he eventually “got too big” for the sport.

“When you think Bridgewater-Raritan, you think Bridgewater-Raritan lacrosse,” Catalano says. “To get those kids to bring that culture to us is awesome.”

The Panther lacrosse team reached the North Group 4 finals last year and in 2023, after winning it in 2022. They also reached the SCT finals and the now-defunct Tournament of Champions that year, and won the Somerset County Tournament back in 2018.