Manville’s Josh D’Ambrosio looks to throw against Asbury Park in a Central Jersey Group 1 opening round game at home on October 31, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Just like some of the large school divisions, no change was made on the opposite end of the spectrum by the Big Central Conference when it comes to the Freedom Silver Division, which will keep the same six teams it had last year.
Manville is coming off a 10-1 season and a year in which it scored the first playoff win in school history, but they will see some significant graduation losses that could allow others to make a move. Bound Brook and Belvidere are coming off .500 seasons, while Middlesex will look to gain some ground, South Hunterdon has a new coach – but one who’s been with the program – and Dunellen will enter its second year with head coach Phlip McGuane, who took the post last season after longtime mentor Dave DeNapoli retired.
Here are the preliminary schedules for the Freedom Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.
Manville Mustangs (10-1, 5-0, Freedom Silver Division Champions)
Head Coach: Dave Markowitch, 4th season (20-11)
- Week 0: at Keansburg
- Week 1: at Brearley
- Week 2: Bound Brook*
- Week 3: Dunellen*
- Week 4: at South Hunterdon*
- Week 5: Belvidere*
- Week 6: Middlesex*
- Week 7: Hillside
- Week 8: at Dayton
It was a dominant year for the Mustangs in 2025, who went 10-1, beating Asbury Park for their first-ever postseason victory, before falling in the second-round at Burlington City. Manville posted four shutouts during the season, and never scored fewer than 31 points in league play. But, there are some big graduation losses, starting with senior quarterback Josh D’Ambrosio, who threw for 720 yards and nine TDs (with no picks!) while also rushing for 1,268 yards and 18 scores. No. 2 rusher Isaiah Bennett (925 yards, 17 TDs) also was the top receiver, with 262 yards and three TDs, but he’s also graduated. At QB, rising junior Aiden Johnson could get a shot. He threw just one pass last year, a 37-yard touchdown in a win over Highland Park. Senior tight end Collin Shimp is gone, too, and he was solid on the other side of the ball as well, logging three sacks and three TFLs last season. So is Evan Canica, who had three sacks and ten tackles for loss. But two freshmen who made an impact will return: linemen Levan Chankotadze (3 1/2 sacks, 8 TFLs) and Matthew Gorbatuck (3 sacks, 4 TFLS).
Bound Brook Crusaders (5-5, 4-1, 2nd place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Dave LePoidevin, 7th season (17-37)
- Week 0: at Point Pleasant Beach
- Week 1: Dayton
- Week 2: at Manville*
- Week 3: South Hunterdon*
- Week 4: at Belvidere*
- Week 5: Highland Park
- Week 6: at Dunellen*
- Week 7: Middlesex*
- Week 8: Sussex Tech
The Crusaders are coming off their best season since the COVID-shortened year, when they went 5-2. Going 5-5 was a big step for Dave LePoidevin’s group, and they even made the playoffs, falling at Burlington City in the opening round. Rising senior Jayden Cruz should get a look at QB after the graduation of starter John Archer (829 pass yards and 7 TDs, 609 rush yards and 8 TDs), but he only threw one pass last year. The Brook also will have to replace top rusher Jake Markey, who carried 124 times (ten more than archer) for 910 yards and seven scores. But they will bring back top receiver, Zahmir Moore (22 catches, 347 yards, 4 TDs), for his senior season. The defense was very senior heavy, too, but Moore should continue to make an impact there, after logging three TFLs and three interceptions, including one for a touchdown last season. Rising junior Kayden Bailey (2 TFLs, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT) also could have an impact.
Belvidere County Seaters (5-5, 3-2, 3rd place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Jordon Schreffler, 5th season (16-23)
- Week 0: at Hackettstown
- Week 1: at Roselle Park
- Week 2: at Dunellen*
- Week 3: Middlesex*
- Week 4: Bound Brook*
- Week 5: at Manville*
- Week 6: at South Hunterdon*
- Week 7: at North Warren
- Week 8: Delaware Valley
Primarily a running team, the Seaters should be set at the quarterback position, with sophomore Jake Enderley (457 yards, 8 TD) back for his junior year, with No. 2 Elijah White (162 yards, 1 TD) also back for his senior year. Top rusher Geoffrey Young is gone with his 729 yards and six touchdowns, but White could make an impact there, and on the receiving end, where he caught 10 passes for 157 yards, while rising senior Kayden Thorpe also is back at wide receiver, with 14 catches for 141 yards and two scores last season. Defensively, the loss of senior lineman Brayden Duckworth (5 sacks, 1 TFL) will have an impact, but sophomore Nick Muha (5 sacks) should make a bigger impact now as a junior, while White also had two picks and a fumble recovery playing defensive back last season.
Middlesex Blue Jays (2-8, 2-3, 4th place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Robert Swercheck, 3rd season (8-12)
- Week 0: at New Providence
- Week 1: at Highland Park
- Week 2: South Hunterdon*
- Week 3: at Belvidere*
- Week 4: at Dunellen*
- Week 5: Roselle Park
- Week 6: Manville*
- Week 7: at Bound Brook*
- Week 8: JP Stevens
The Blue Jays struggled last season, but were young, with a sophomore QB in Matthew Petti, Jr., who threw for 681 yards and seven touchdowns, while top rusher Gerard Boateng – also just a tenth-grade – rushed 70 times for 343 yards and two more scores. The experience should pay off there, and in the receiving unit. The top defensive players were a bit more senior-heavy, so Swerchek will have to work on that, looking to younger players like defensive back Tyler Orts, who ha d a TFL, two forced fumbles/recoveries and two interceptions last season. There’s talent, and Middlesex should be improved this season.
South Hunterdon Eagles (1-7, 1-4, 5th place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Kyle Hart, 1st season
- Week 0: New Hope
- Week 1: South River
- Week 2: at Middlesex*
- Week 3: at Bound Brook*
- Week 4: Manville*
- Week 5: at JP Stevens
- Week 6: at Belvidere*
- Week 7: Dunellen*
- Week 8: OPEN
The first new coach out in Lambertville in 16 years, Hart’s No. 1 job is to increase numbers in the program, part of what led to a one-win season last year. But he played for the Eagles, and has spent the last several years working under Jefferis, so he’s intimately acquainted with the scenario out there. The bright side is their QB last year, Tucker Hicks, was a junior. he threw for 284 yards and a touchdown last year, while top rusher Kellen Healy (119 carries, 541 yards, 5 TDs) is back for his junior year. Their defense was young, too, and will be more experienced in 2026. That includes freshman Brendan Paciulli (3 sacks), freshman Tommy Silagy (1 sack, 2 TFLs) and Healy, who had two interceptions, one for a touchdown. The Big Central notes Week 8 is open with the possibility of picking up an NJIC squad later in the year.
Dunellen Destroyers (0-9, 0-5, 6th place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Phlip McGuane, 2nd season (0-9)
- Week 0: at Metuchen
- Week 1: at JP Stevens
- Week 2: Belvidere*
- Week 3: at Manville*
- Week 4: Middlesex*
- Week 5: at South River
- Week 6: Bound Brook*
- Week 7: at South Hunterdon*
- Week 8: OPEN
The Destroyers were shut out four times last year, and scored in double figures just once, but the team was young. Never a big passing team, they only managed 90 passing yards and just a shade over 700 yards on the ground as a team, but Dunellen also was young. Of the three quarterbacks on their roster to play, two were sophomores and one was a freshman. Of eleven players to rush the football, only three were seniors. That could bode well for the program as many will be back, with another year experience under their belt. On defense, they’ll miss seniors line linebackers Kahbir Casey (3 1/2 sacks, 10 TFLs) and Jackson Portik (1 1/2 sacks, 14 TFLs), but freshman lineman Colin Reynolds had seven TFLs, and sophomore Ben Howard had 12, so the cupboard isn’t bare. Again, they’ll look to bank on a baptism by fire in 2025 to make 2026 a more successful season.
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