Saturday was a mix of playoff football, consolation football, and – for the lone non-public playing this weekend, St. Joseph of Metuchen – regular season football.
On Day Two of the opening round of the state playoffs, third-seed Piscataway got two rushing touchdowns from Zaire Young and a touchdown pass from Landon Pernell to Colby Cotton to secure a 20-7 win over visiting sixth-seed Bayonne, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs a year ago. The Chiefs will move on to play at second-seed West Orange next Friday night at seven in the sectional semifinals.
Meanwhile, sixth-seed Montgomery lost 41-20 at third-seed Chatham Saturday afternoon in the North 2, Group 4 opening round. Chatham built a 35-0 halftime lead before Xavier Harrigan helped the Cougars get to within three scores with a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter, and a 27-yard touchdown catch in the fourth, all with a running clock. The teams traded one more score each. Montgomery’s season ends at 6-4, a year after going 8-4 and reaching their first ever sectional final, where they lost at Phillipsburg.
St. Joseph battles Donovan Catholic, but falls…
Only one of the Big Central’s two non-public teams played this weekend, with St. Thomas Aquinas idle.
In that lone game, St. Joseph of Metuchen had Donovan Catholic on the ropes by halftime, leading 20-14 on a trio of touchdown passes from Cole Seyler to Nick Brust, Edgar Cruz, and Brust for a second time.
But two quick scores by the Griffins in the first four minutes of the second half gave them a 28-21 lead from which they never looked back. Another TD made it 35-21. A QB sack led to a fumble, recovery, and field goal on the ensuing Donovan Catholic possession and a 38-21 advantage, before Seyler found Zamarr Raiford to cut the deficit to ten, and the final was 45-28 Griffins.
St. Joseph falls to 3-6 and awaits its playoff seeding tomorrow in Non-PUblic Group A when the brackets are unveiled tomorrow by the NJSIAA, which seeds non-public by committee. Entering the weekend, they were just ahead of Delbarton in the UPR standings, which – along with power points and OSI – are used among several criteria used by the committee.
St. Thomas Aquinas sits in the middle of the pack in Non-Public Group B, but could end up in the upper half if any teams opt out.
Two consolations Saturday…
There were two consolation games played Saturday involving Big Central teams. The first saw Governor Livingston fall 45-22 at Mendham, ending the Highlanders’ season at 4-6.
Meanwhile, Dunellen got its second win of the season, beating Gloucester Catholic 40-6. The Destroyers fumbled their very first snap of the game, giving the Rams (0-9) a short field, and eventually, a touchdown. But they scored 40 unanswered points from there.
“We all needed this one,” first-year head coach Kyle Baach said after the game. “Beautiful day at the park to put a ribbon on the season.”
Freshman QB Cole Johnson finished 5-for-5 passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Dunellen finishes its season at 2-7.
SATURDAY PLAYOFF SCORES – FIRST ROUND
- North 1, Group 5: (3) Piscataway 20, (6) Bayonne 7 (Recap with Video)
- North 2, Group 5: (2) East Orange 14, (7) Union City 13
- North 2, Group 4: (3) Chatham 41, (6) Montgomery 20
SATURDAY REGULAR SEASON SCORE
- Donovan Catholic 45, St. Joseph-Metuchen 28
SATURDAY CONSOLATION SCORES
- Mendham 45, Governor Livingston 22
- Dunellen 40, Gloucester Catholic 6
NEXT WEEK’S SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS (all Friday unless noted)
Note: There are no more Big Central teams remaining in Group 4.
Group 5
- North 1
- (4) Irvington at (1) Ramapo, 6:30 pm
- (3) Piscataway at (2) West Orange, 7 pm
- North 2
- (4) Passaic Tech at (1) Elizabeth, 6 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for coverage)
- (3) Phillipsburg at (2) East Orange, 1 pm Saturday
- Central
- (4) Williamstown at (1) Old Bridge, 6 pm (LIVE on CJSR)
- (3) Sayreville at (2) Rancocas Valley, 6 pm
Group 3
- North 1
- (4) West Morris at (1) Old Tappan, 6 pm
- (3) Shabazz at (2) Cranford, 7 pm
- North 2
- (5) Montville at (1) West Essex, 6:30 pm
- (6) Somerville at (2) Wayne Hills, 7 pm
Group 2
- North 2
- (4) New Providence at (1) Waldwick/Midland Park, 7 pm
- (3) Bernards at (2) Hoboken, 6:30 pm
Group 1
- South
- (5) Shore at (1) Schalick, 6 pm
- (3) Pennsville at (2) Delaware Valley, 7 pm
FRIDAY PLAYOFF SCORES – FIRST ROUND:
Group 5
- North 1
- (1) Ramapo 49, (8) Franklin 14
- (4) Irvington 48, (5) Perth Amboy 0
- (2) West Orange 26, (7) Union 0
- North 2
- (1) Elizabeth 35, (8) Linden 12
- (4) Passaic Tech 35, (5) Bridgewater-Raritan 0
- (3) Phillipsburg 38, (6) Ridgewood 27
- Central
- (1) Old Bridge 20, (8) Lenape 15
- (4) Williamstown 45, (5) Freehold Twp. 26
- (3) Sayreville 29, (6) Vineland 27
- (2) Rancocas Valley 42, (7) Jackson Twp. 7
- South
- (1) Washington Twp. 56, (8) South Brunswick 14
Group 4
- North 1
- (1) Roxbury 42, (8) Carteret 7
- (4) Middleotwn South 21, (5) Ridge 14
- (3) Morris Knolls 42, (6) Summit 21 (Coverage via Chris Tsakonas)
- (2) Northern Highlands 35, Woodbridge 6
- North 2
- (1) Middletown North 42, (8) Watchung Hills 7
- (4) Teaneck 21, (5) Garfield 20
- (7) Mount Olive 44, (2) Rahway 14
Group 3
- North 1
- (1) Old Tappan 35, (8) Paramus 7
- (4) West Morris 49, (5) Morris Hills 21
- (3) Shabazz 42, (6) Wayne Valley 19
- (2) Cranford 34, (7) Matawan 27
- North 2
- (1) West Essex 10, (8) Weequahic 6
- (5) Montville 23, (4) River Dell 13
- (6) Somerville 27, (3) Holmdel 26
- (2) Wayne Hills 35, (7) Parsippany Hills 7
Group 2
- North 1
- (3) Rutherford 22, (6) Hillside 21
- North 2
- (1) Waldwick/Midland Park 21, (8) Indian Hills 7
- (4) New Providence 48, (5) Becton 27
- (3) Bernards 21, (6) Hanover Park 20 (Recap with Audio)
- (2) Hoboken 49, (7) Ramsey 14
- South 2
- (2) Haddonfield 27, (7) Johnson 25
Group 1
- North 1
- (2) New Milford 49, (7) Belvidere 20
- North 2
- (3) Butler 46, (6) Dayton 13
- Central
- (3) Woodstown 14, (6) Highland Park 10
- South
- (1) Schalick 44, (8) Maple Shade 6
- (5) Shore 34, (4) Manville 7 (Coverage via Marcus Borden)
- (3) Pennsville 17, (6) Burlington City 14
- (2) Delaware Valley 28, (6) Gateway 6
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