There were just two matchups Saturday afternoon in the Big Central Conference, with many teams playing Thursday and Friday and holding 9/11 commemoration ceremonies – there was even a State Police helicopter flyover at the Old Bridge South Brunswick game Thursday evening in Monmouth Junction, although the officials started the game a bit early.
Kickoff was set for 6:02 pm, but the teams were already out for the kickoff. After getting that out of the way, they paused for a minute as the chopper flew from right to left “on your radio dial” across the field, and the game resumed.
Scroll down for a game recap on Roselle Park-South River, and the full Big Central Week 2 scoreboard.
Roselle Park nabs first win with big first quarter…
Clearly, Roselle Park wanted to establish themselves early Saturday afternoon at South River, and they did just that.
The Panthers (1-2) – who took a non-league loss in Week Zero up in Wood-Ridge, then suffered a narrow home loss to Belvidere – scored 35 first-quarter points, and got two more the rest of the way out in a running clock game to beat the Rams, 49-6.
While Josiah Matos got the scoring started on defense with a 35-yard pick-six, Nick Salas scored the next two touchdowns on six- and one-yard runs, while Nasir Cheston and Maxwell Griffin added 24- and five-yard TD jaunts, respectively.
Salas added two more scores to finish the day with four; he had a 20-yard TD run in the second quarter, and busted out for an 88-yarder in the third before South River (0-3) spoiled the shutout with a two-yard run by Aiden Lubczynski.
The Rams have dropped 12 of their last 13 contests, their lone win in that span coming in their finale last season, 19-0 over Dunellen. Roselle Park has won the last two against South River by a combined 91-6, though the Rams beat them by a similar score, 45-19, in 2024, a season where they went 3-7.
SATURDAY SCORES
- Roselle Park 49, South River 6
- Hillside 20, Delaware Valley 3
FRIDAY SCORES
- Freedom (PA) 32, #1 Phillipsburg 31
- #2 St. Joseph-Metuchen 28, Westfield 6
- #5 Bridgewater-Raritan 40, Hillsborough 14
- #8 St. Thomas Aquinas 40, Franklin 0
- #10 Rahway 42, Woodbridge 21
- Belvidere 42, Dunellen 2 (Coverage via Marcus Borden)
- Manville 35, Bound Brook 7 (Recap with Audio)
- Summit 13, Carteret 6
- Monroe 42, North Brunswick 7
- Plainfield 26, Colonia 7
- Perth Amboy 42, Roselle 6
- South Plainfield 35, JFK 0
- Dayton 14, Brearley 7
- Linden 14, New Brunswick 15
- Sayreville 41, Edison 6
- Elizabeth 19, Union 7
THURSDAY SCORES:
- #3 Piscataway 42, East Brunswick 7
- #4 Old Bridge 21, South Brunswick 0 (Recap with Audio)
- #6 Somerville 54, North Hunterdon 6
- #9 Ridge 23, Hunterdon Central 17
- Highland Park 43, JP Stevens 0 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
- South Hunterdon 21, Middlesex 15
- New Providence 27, Johnson 20
- Cranford 40, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14
- Voorhees 14, North Plainfield 7
- Bernards 49, Governor Livingston 29
- Montgomery 32, Watchung Hills 14
- Spotswood 47, Metuchen 14
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