With first NJSIAA hardware in hand, Bridgewater-Raritan hungry for more with Passaic Tech coming to town for Group 5 semis

For some, the state finals are the be-all, end-all, this new concept of “true state champs” dominating the thought process as it heads into its fourth season of existence.

For others, it’s gravy. Bridgewater-Raritan has a trophy, no matter what: it’s first-ever North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 championship, after making three trips in the mid 2010s without bringing home the hardware.

For the Panthers, they’ll surely celebrate that trophy, but they would really love another one.

To get a chance to win it – and the Group 5 state championship – they’ll have to win one more first, in the state Group 5 semifinals. That’s where Bridgewater-Raritan (9-3) will entertain North 1, Group 5 winner Passaic Tech (9-3) Friday night, with the winner moving on to face either Washington Twp. or Kingsway either at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands on Black Friday, or at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium in Piscataway on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

The Panthers are in the midst of their first winning season since going 6-4 in 2021. And yet, they’ve made the playoffs every single year since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

Playing in the American Silver Division – a brutal Big Central Conference grouping that also features Phillipsburg, Ridge, Hillsborough and Hunterdon Central – has its perks, insomuch as all the teams are generally rated very high, and the losses don’t seem to make as much of a dent in a team’s playoff chances as they do in other divisions.

That said, none of that has mattered much to the Panthers this year. Even though they had three division losses – to the Stateliners, Raiders and Ridge – they were strong against non-conference and crossover opponents.

They beat Notre Dame in the opener in Week Zero, 35-20. They beat Piscataway, 34-27, the following week, topping the Chiefs for a second year in a row. And they also took out Morris Knolls by a score in Week 2, and Elizabeth – always a challenge with the dynamic Arique Fleming at QB – to start October.

Since then, it’s been three playoff wins, and it starts with senior quarterback Declan Kurdyla running the offense. He’s now thrown for 1,339 yards this season and, while Jahmier Black and Denzel Amoafo have combined for 1,644 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground this season.

Defensively, they’ve also been very good, and last week got a 35-yard scoop-and-score from Jamelle Jones to tie the game at seven in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, PCTI won a shootout last week in the North 1, Group 5 title game against West Orange. It was 14-14 at the end of one, and the Bulldogs lead 33-21 at the break, with many more points scored in the second half – six more touchdowns, to be precise.

Kadir Yongue rumbled for 171 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, while three other backs – Gabriel Miles, Naz Mitchell and Randy Lewis – each scored touchdowns and rushed for at least 40 yards apiece.

They don’t throw it much, something that could play into Bridgewater’s hands if Tech is one dimensional. Gabriel Miles completed 75 percent of his passes last week, but threw for one touchdown and 97 yards in the win.

Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano talk about the Panthers, and their Group 5 semifinal matchup against Passaic Tech, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: