Entertaining. That was the name of the game Friday night on an evening with 25 Big Central Conference football games on the docket.
The biggest win of the night came in New Providence, where visiting Perth Amboy handed the Pioneers their first loss of the season, 39-34, giving the Panthers a shot at the division title next week when Johnson visits Waters Stadium, as Amboy seeks its first seven-win season since Lyndon B. Johnson was president.
Elsewhere, Highland Park (7-0) blanked Brearley to stay undefeated, and set up a potential winner-take-all game for the Freedom Gold Division title next week at Dayton.
Read on more more recaps, links, scores, Notes and Nuggets, and the rest of the weekend schedule.
No. 5 Piscataway rolls behind big game from Young…
Zaire Young scored four times for Piscataway, as the Chiefs won their second straight game since a 27-26 loss at Old Bridge, beating No. 8 St. Joseph of Metuchen 35-14, handing the Falcons their fourth straight loss after starting the season 2-0, including a big season-opening win over Bridgewater-Raritan.
Young opened the scoring with an 80-yard run in the first quarter, and for while, it was a back and forth game. St. Joe’s QB Cole Seyler answered with a one-yard run to tie it at seven, with Chiefs’ quarterback Landon Pernell answering with a six-yard run to take a 14-7 lead. But Seyler found Jaiden Askew for a 75-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14, and that was the way it would go into the break.
But the second half belonged to young, who scored from nine-yards out in the third, and on two more short touchdown jaunts in the fourth, while the defense blanked the Falcons over the final two quarters.
Piscataway improves to 6-1, while St. Joseph falls to 2-4. The Chiefs travel to Monroe next week, while the Falcons host Union.
Notes and Nuggets…
- A’rique Fleming of top-ranked Elizabeth tossed three touchdown passes in a shutout win over Hillsborough, as the Minutemen continue their undefeated season, their best since going 11-0 in 2012, when they won the first NJSIAA North 2, Group 5 championship. With another 175 yards passing Friday night, he’s now at 1,536 on the season and a mind-blowing 6,582 yards through four seasons – yes, he started from Game One as a freshman when John Fiore – now the Perth Amboy Athletic Director – was head coach. He’s now just 275 yards shy of his best season ever, which came last year as a junior, when he threw for 1,811 and 18 touchdowns. His 19 TD passes this year are a career-best, as is his interception total: just two. His previous best came in his sophomore season, when he threw just six.
- Speaking of Fiore, how great does his hire of Evan Baubles look? In just his first season, the Wall alum – who spent last year as defensive coordinator at Carteret – the Panthers are 6-1 after knocking off undefeated New Providence. And how about quarterback Amauris Peguero? Last year, he threw nine touchdowns and six interceptions, while he had 11 TD passes and just one pick heading into Friday night’s win. But don’t forget solid line play up front, making all that possible.
- No. 7 Cranford’s 14-0 win at South Plainfield was the Cougars’ second shutout of the season, and they’ve allowed just 19 points in their last four games. Cranford has beaten the Tigers each of the last three seasons, and they are looking more and more like the team that won the 2021 North 2, Group 3 title, beating Sparta in the title game.
- Ridge – which has played solid defense all year – got its first shutout of the season when the Red Devils blanked Westfield, 34-0, Friday night at Lee Field, their third straight home game. After a 2-1 home stand, they travel to Hillsborough next week then close with what should be a fantastic matchup in Basking Ridge on Cutoff Weekend, when Old Bridge travels up for a crossover. C.J. Griffith scored four touchdowns in the game, from one, five, seven and 48 yards out as he ran for 256 yards on 30 of the team’s 42 carries.
- While the 28 points No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan scored in a 28-7 win at Union wasn’t their highest point total this year, or even this month – they scored 35 last week against Hunterdon Central and 40 in a win over Hillsborough in early September, it was the most the Farmers have allowed in a game all season, as they dropped to 5-2. The most points Union had allowed coming in was 19 to now-No. 1 Elizabeth, in a 19-7 loss on September 11th, the same day the Panthers scored their season high. Union had been allowing 10.2 points per game through their first six, but Bridgewater more than doubled that Friday night at Cook Field.
FRIDAY SCORES
- #1 Elizabeth 44, Hillsborough 0
- #2 Old Bridge 38, Monroe 20
- #3 Ridge 34, Westfield 0
- #5 Piscataway 35, #8 St. Joseph-Metuchen 14
- #6 Bridgewater-Raritan 28, #9 Union 7
- #7 Cranford 14, South Plainfield 0
- #10 Sayreville 23, Somerville 16
- Perth Amboy 39, New Providence 34 (Recap with Audio)
- Highland Park 35, Brearley 0 (Recap with Audio)
- South Brunswick 45, East Brunswick 22 (Coverage via Marcus Borden)
- Carteret 44, JFK 13
- Delaware Valley 37, New Brunswick 14
- Spotswood 35, Roselle 0 (Recap with Audio)
- Franklin 14, Edison 7
- Montgomery 26, Hunterdon Central 21
- Rahway 35, Plainfield 6
- Roselle Park 43, JP Stevens 18
- Watchung Hills 14, North Hunterdon 12
- Belvidere 39, South Hunterdon 13
- Bernards 34, Voorhees 20
- Scotch Plains-Fanwood 7, Governor Livingston 3
- Johnson 47, Metuchen 12
- Bound Brook 21, Dunellen 0
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
- North Plainfield (4-2) at Hillside (5-1), 1 pm
- Dayton (4-2) at South River (0-6), 1 pm
THURSDAY SCORES
- Manville 28, Middlesex 20 (Coverage via Marcus Borden)
- Summit 42, Woodbridge 21
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