There was a lot to talk about Friday night in the Big Central Conference, besides No. 3 Piscataway shutting down a very good Somerville offense in a big 28-14 home win over the No. 5 Pioneers, in the Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week.
Two of the three longest active league win streaks came to an end, Rahway had a big upset of No. 8 Summit at home, and JP Stevens is 2-0 for the first time in a long time.
Read on for game recaps and notes, audio, and links to other coverage, as well as the full slate of Friday night scores, plus Saturday’s games and coverage plans.
Rahway gets big win at No. 8 Summit…
After winning a wild opening game down at Willingboro in Week Zero, including lightning delays, things didn’t look to get any easier for Rahway in Game Two with eighth-ranked Summit coming to town.
But that didn’t daunt the Indians, who jumped out to a 14-0 lead, saw that advantage shrink to four, then pulled away for a 21-0 win over the Hilltoppers with an excellent defensive effort at Madden Field.
The win leaves Rahway 2-0 for the second time in three seasons as head coach Brian Russo returns to his old stomping grounds next Friday when the Indians take on Woodbridge (1-1), which rebounded off a season-opening home loss to Bridgewater-Raritan last Friday (heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio) with a 14-8 road win at Edison Thursday night.
They’ll be looking to avenge a 21-7 loss in the first round of last year’s North 2, Group 4 playoffs. Before that, Rahway had been 4-0 against the Barrons in three meetings from 1927 to 1929 and in 1915.
Click below for postgame reaction from Rahway head coach Brian Russo and Defensive Coordinator Troy Eastman:
Bernards, Manville see Big Central win streaks end…
It had been straight 32 Big Central wins for the Bernards football program heading into Friday night’s home game at Olcott Field against Cranford, and the visiting Cougars made sure that streak went no farther.
In the season opener for the Cougars, Aidan Capizzi threw touchdown passes to Luke Owens and John Fiore, Jr., to help power Cranford to a 31-24 win.
After a 24-7 lead shrunk to 24-21 in the third following a 15-yard Bernards TD catch by Sean Arcelay, and a 35-yard pick-six by Luke Bubnowski, Logan Murray’s 45-yard TD run for Cranford in the fourth gave them enough cushion to survive late field goal.
Bernards was within three victories of tying the league record for most consecutive BCC wins of 35, held by St. Thomas Aquinas. That streak ended last year.
The Mountaineers’ last Big Central loss had come on September 2, 2022, to Hillside, 35-20.
But that wasn’t the only one that ended Friday night.
Manville – which had won 12 in a row against BCC competition, including its last five in 2024 and all seven last season – fell Friday night at Brearley, 21-18.
That leaves New Providence with the league’s top active win streak against BCC opponents. The Pioneers have won 14 Big Central games in a row, including their last five in 2024, all eight last season, and Thursday night’s league opener against Voorhees, 27-7.
Now, the second longest league win streak belongs to St. Joseph-Metuchen. The No. 2 Falcons host No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen at 1 pm Saturday. Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for live coverage, with a recap and postgame reaction to follow later on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Stevens in uncharted recent territory…
When the final horn sounded in North Edison Friday night, JP Stevens did two things it hasn’t done in a very long time: start a season 2-0, and win back-to-back regular season games.
To start, it’s the Hawks’ first 2-0 start since Frank Zarro was the head coach in 2003. That team beat North Brunswick, 14-7, in the season opener on September 12th, a date which seems quaint these days, with the season now starting in late August. they followed it up with a 35-7 win over Perth Amboy the following week. The started that season 3-0, and finished 6-4, with a North 2, Group 4 first-round playoff loss to Union, which lost to Piscataway in the finals at Giants’ Stadium, earning Dan Higgins his first of seven state titles.
Secondly – no pun intended – the 2-0 start gives JP its first back-to-back regular season wins since that same stretch in 2003. The Hawks have won consecutive games in a season only three times since – in 2006, 2009 and 2012, but all three included a “postseason” consolation game win.
Notes and Nuggets…
- East Brunswick’s 2-0 start – after a 36-19 home win over North Hunterdon – also is its first in quite some time. The last time they did that, CJSR analyst Marcus Borden was the head coach. It was in 2009, and the Bears began the year 3-0, en route to an 8-4 season and a 9-0 win over Brick Memorial in the Central Jersey Group 4 final.
- Piscataway’s Zaire Young finished with 268 rushing yards Friday night in a 28-14 win over Somerville, and volunteer Chiefs assistant John Thompson says that’s the fifth-highest single-game rushing performance in school history. The only four better: Kelvin Veras (289 vs. Old Bridge on October 16, 1998), Tyshnn Jackson (300 vs. Franklin on Thanksgiving, November 28, 1989), Juwon Jackson (303 vs. Edison on November 3, 2017) and Tevin Shaw (304 vs. Elizabeth in the North 2, Group 4 final on December 3, 2011). That also makes it the No. 2 rushing performance against a Somerset County school, as well as the fourth-best regular season rushing output in a game in program history.
FRIDAY SCORES:
- #1 Phillipsburg 24, Emmaus (PA) 10
- #3 Piscataway 28, #5 Somerville 14 (Recap with Audio)
- #4 Old Bridge 49, Montgomery 21
- Ridge 21, #7 Sayreville 7
- Rahway 21, #8 Summit 10
- #9 Elizabeth 43, Plainfield 20
- #10 St. Thomas Aquinas 24, Westfield 20
- Union 15, Watchung Hills 12
- Monroe 28, Governor Livingston 7 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
- Metuchen 29, New Brunswick 0
- Spotswood 51, JFK 13
- East Brunswick 36, North Hunterdon 19
- Brearley 21, Manville 18
- South Brunswick 27, North Brunswick 19
- Colonia 16, Franklin 14
- Highland Park 27, Middlesex 0
- South Hunterdon 35, South River 8
- Cranford 31, Bernards 24
- JP Stevens 21, Dunellen 7
- South Plainfield 20, North Plainfield 10
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
- #6 Bridgewater-Raritan at #2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 1 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
- Roselle at Hillside, 1 pm
THURSDAY SCORES:
- Hillsborough 21, Hunterdon Central 14 (Recap w/ Audio)
- Dayton 43, Bound Brook 12 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
- Woodbridge 14, Edison 8
- Belvidere 28, Roselle Park 27
- Delaware Valley 34, Johnson 33
- New Providence 27, Voorhees 7
- Carteret 26, Perth Amboy 20
- Linden 34, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 6
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