Shuffling of the deck as Hillside enters Marcus Borden’s Week 9 Big Central Top Ten; plus rankings for BCC West, Middlesex and Union Counties

Friday night in Highland Park’s Joe Policastro Stadium and the newly refurbished Jay Dakelman Field, legendary Owl L.J. Smith was the first athlete in the school’s history to have his No. 85 jersey number retired in a pre-game ceremony in front of family, alumni, the high school football team and the many fans who filled the bleachers to witness this special ceremony for a hometown hero who also represented the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens.

*Former Highland Park star L.J. Smith with his extended family, as his jersey is retired by the Owls on October 23, 2026 at Jay Dakelman Field in Highland Park. (Photo: Marcus Borden)*

Highland Park would win the toss and put their offense on the field first while facing long-time Thanksgiving rival Metuchen in the last regular season game of the 2026 season. Senior quarterback Marcus Smith would only need four plays to give the Owls the early lead on a 38-yard quick pass to fellow classmate Ziquan Grier who sprinted untouched for a 7-0 advantage at the 9:22 mark of the the first quarter.

Metuchen’s young team under first-year head coach Joe Riggi would mix the run and pass and move down the field to the Owls 22-yard line on their first drive before turning the ball over on downs.

Once again, Smith would keep the ball in his hands as Highland Park’s nifty signal caller looked to throw to his left, then turned upfield while criss-crossing to the visitor’s sideline out running the Bulldog defense for a 76-yard score and a 14-0 lead just eight seconds into the second quarter!

The Bulldogs would continue running senior Nasir Chaplin while mixing in fellow classmate Luis Vigo and quarterback Rocky Bhatia. However, the Owls defense would force Metuchen to punt with 4:41 remaining in the first half down 14-0.

Smith would only need about a minute and a half to put the home team up 21-0 with his second jaunt to pay dirt, a 31-yard burst down the home sideline while barreling over a few would-be-tacklers along the way.

The two teams would trade punches for the remaining 3:04 minutes with Highland Park having a comfortable 21-0 lead at halftime.

The start to the second half saw the Bulldogs and Owls giving each other the ball with a fumble or interception. After settling down, senior running back Jacob Quiros would score on a one-yard run giving Highland Park a 28-0 lead with four minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Metuchen would be forced to punt on their next series giving the Owls the ball as the third quarter was coming to a close. Quiros would score again from five-yards out at the 10:36 mark of the 4th quarter invoking the running clock rule with a 35-0 lead for playoff-bound Highland Park.

It was all over but the shouting as the alumni, fans, coaches and players waited a long time to pose with The Goal Post Trophy as the drought was over for the proud small town program which has been revived by their head coach Shawn Harrison and proud alumni like L. J. Smith and countless others in attendance on Friday night.