It doesn’t get much better than the home stretch of the regular season in high school football, where the games are bigger and seemingly anything can happen. And on Friday night in the Big Central Conference alone, just about anything did.
Start with a stunner in Basking Ridge, where No. 10 Ridge got a touchdown as time expired to knock off No. 1 Phillipsburg, 14-13. In the other top ten game of the night, No. 3 Old Bridge got an interception from Chase Rizzo to seal a 14-12 victory over visiting No. 8 Sayreville.
That’s two top ten matchups decided by a combined three points.
And all four unbeaten teams remained so after Friday, with one more to play Saturday. Elizabeth made a strong case for being the top team in the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings come out for Week Six with a 29-18 win over Linden, improving to 6-0 on the year.
Highland Park’s amazing season continues, improving to 6-0 with a 35-7 win at Bound Brook. Cranford edged Montgomery 13-12 at home, and New Providence beat Dayton 41-21, as the Cougars and Pioneers both moved to 5-0.
Read on more more recaps, scores, Notes and Nuggets, and the rest of the weekend schedule.
Can Middlesex surge late?
Going back to Thursday night for a moment, while Middlesex is just 1-4 after a 29-28 overtime home loss to Roselle Park, they started the year with a homegrown talent missing the first four games of the year.
Brian Cilento had been at Immaculata, where as a sophomore last season he was the team’s second-leading rusher with 818 yards and 15 touchdowns. (He also was a starting outfielder for the Spartans’ Somerset County Tournament runner-up baseball team.)
But after the coaching change with Dallas Whitaker replacing Mike Columbo, and an influx of transfers, he decided to make a move himself and go back home, according to Middlesex Athletic Director Mike O’Donnell.
Since he transferred after pre-season practice had already started, that meant he would have to sit four games, even though it was his first transfer. But had he waited the year, he’d have to sit out three next year as a senior transfer. Cilento could be a difference-maker down the stretch for the Blue Jays, who ran the ball for 192 yards Thursday night against the Panthers; that’s almost half their total over the previous four games combined.
Middlesex might be too far gone to make the playoffs this season, but perhaps the addition will lead to a stronger finish in 2026 and some positive vibes to build off of heading into next year, when Cilento will get a full senior season, a reason to feel optimistic about 2027, when the rest of an inexperienced squad will have another year under its collective belt..
Notes and Nuggets…
- Highland Park is slipping! We jest, but the Owls were allowing a Big Central best 1.2 points per game through their first five, and still are allowing just 2.2 a game after their 35-7 win at Bound Brook. (Oh, and the TD they allowed Friday night was a pick-six, so the defense is has let up just six points all year, just one point per game on average now.) They have allowed just 13 points on two TDs all season – allowing 2.2 points a game. Marcus Smith was an efficient 7-of-9 passing for 163 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing four times for 43 yards and a TD. Jacob Quiros also carried 20 times for 102 yards and a score, while Ziquan Grier had 140 yards receiving and two scores. But things get tougher the next couple of weeks. They host Brearley (5-1) next week and visit Dayton (4-2) the Friday after before closing at home against longtime Thanksgiving Day rival Metuchen on Cutoff Weekend.
- Edison’s 21-0 over East Brunswick was the Eagles’ first since its opening game of the 2024 season. That also came against the Bears, 27-0. Their last whitewash against a team other than East Brunswick came in Game Two of the 2023 season – Matt Yascko’s first at the helm of his alma mater, and his first win there – a 57-0 blowout of in-town rival JP Stevens.
- Elizabeth continues to put up huge numbers, as the Minutemen beat Linden, 39-18. It’s the fourth time in their first six games they’ve scored more than 30 points. They also scored 53 in their opener against Carteret, 43 at Plainfield the next week, and 62 against St. Joseph-Metuchen two weeks ago.
- Belvidere is now 5-1 for the second time in three years after a 34-28 win against Manville one of the two toughest games of their four remaining heading into this week, including Delaware Valley at home on Cutoff Weekend. In 2024, the County Seaters lost their opener at Boonton, but reeled off eight straight – all in Big Central play – before taking a 20-0 loss at Veronia in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 opening round.
- The New Providence offense continues to thrive, as they rolled up 357 total yards in a 41-21 win over Dayton in Springfield Friday night. Kevin Reilly was 10-of-14 passing for 162 yards and three scores, while four different backs and Reilly combined for 280 yards and three scores on the ground, including 192 from Charles Maneely. And it was only the second game this year in which the Pioneer defense has allowed more than a touchdown, allowing seven to Voorhees in their opener, and three to Metuchen in Week Two, before blanking Roselle on the road last week. The 21 points they allowed Friday night was a season high.
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
- #10 Ridge 14, #1 Phillipsburg 13 (Recap with Audio)
- #2 Elizabeth 39, Linden 18
- #3 Old Bridge 14, #8 Sayreville 12 (Recap with Audio)
- #6 Bridgewater-Raritan 35, Hunterdon Central 18
- #7 Cranford 13, Montgomery 12
- Somerville 42, #9 St. Thomas Aquinas 26
- Highland Park 35, Bound Brook 7
- Woodbridge 13, Westfield 7
- New Providence 41, Dayton 21
- Colonia 31, Hillsborough 13
- South Hunterdon 30, JP Stevens 14
- Perth Amboy 42, New Brunswick 14
- South Plainfield 28, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14 (Recap and video via Marcus Borden)
- Brearley 48, Roselle 13
- Carteret 33, North Brunswick 14
- Summit 21, Watchung Hills 0
- North Plainfield 28, Spotswood 27 (OT)
- Belvidere 34, Manville 28
- Edison 21, East Brunswick 0
- Monroe 28, North Hunterdon 20
- Metuchen 35, JFK 28
- Delaware Valley 35, Voorhees 0
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
- #5 St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-2) at Delbarton (2-3), 1 pm
- Plainfield (2-3) at Union (4-1), 1 pm
- Franklin (1-4) at #4 Piscataway (4-1), 2 pm
- Johnson (2-2) at Governor Livingston (3-2), 2 pm
- Dunellen (0-4) at South River (0-5), 2 pm
- Bernards (3-2) at Hillside (5-0), 2 pm
THURSDAY SCORES
- Roselle Park 29, Middlesex 28 (OT)
- Rahway 38, South Brunswick 20
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