Photo: Marcus Borden
Thursday night’s matchup between the JP Stevens Hawks and Highland Park Owls was between two proud programs that have struggled in recent years trying to overcome extended losing streaks which in turn caused rosters to be depleted.
Highland Park ended a 51-game losing streak in their final game on November 2, 2023, defeating Point Pleasant Beach, 46-29, whereas Stevens buried their 42-game losing skid in an overtime thriller on September 6, 2024, taking down Bound Brook, 22-21.
I was in attendance for both of those games and I can tell you that the weight of the world was off their shoulders as they were leaping for joy and hugging everyone in sight as tears streamed down their smiling faces!
Kudos to the Big Central Conference braintrust for scheduling these two rebuilding teams to face each other as they continue to bring their programs back to competiveness and respectability.
The visiting Owls wasted little time making their presence known as Senior quarterback Marcus Smith would score on their 3rd play from scrimmage going 48 yards to paydirt. The defense led by Smith, Jacob Quiros, Duan Fleming, Ziquan Grier and a host of others would stifle the Hawks offense as their own would put up 36 first half points forcing a running clock for the 2nd half. Bryce Morales would make the final score 43-0 on a 13-yard scamper late in the 3rd quarter.
Friday nigh,t I was at Columbia Park in Dunellen, as the Destroyers hosted Belvidere in white uniforms as their new, navy jerseys have yet to arrive.
Belvidere would win the toss and defer the choice until the 2nd half. The Seaters would stop the Destroyers new spread offense on their first series and proceed to score quickly with Junior quarterback Jake Enderley finding his elusive wide receiver Elijah White – a four-year starter for the Seaters – and the early 7-0 lead.
Enderley would execute a perfect option pitch to Kaiden Drake for a 33-yard score in the second quarter, followed by his own 23-yard cutback run for a 21-0 lead late in the second quarter.
Dunellen would muster a drive toward the scoreboard end of the field coming up short on a 4th down play to the Seaters 2-yard line with 1:23 before halftime. They would be rewarded a safety as they tackled the ball carrier as they snap sailed over the quarterback’s head. The halftime score would stand at 21-2
The combination of Enderley to White would account for a 55-yard score on the first play of the third quarter and a 97-yard hitch pass down the visitor’s sideline for a 35-2 lead with 40 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter which meant there would be a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Senior linebacker Kayden Thorpe would cap the scoring with a 60-yard interception return making the final score 42-2 as the Belvidere improved their record to 2-1. Dunellen would fall to 0-2.
Here are my Week 3 Top Tens for the entire Big Central Conference, plus the BCC West, Middlesex County and Union Count
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