Author: Mike Pavlichko

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: American Silver is one team smaller, but no easier for those who remain

When the Big Central Conference did its realignment this off-season, part of a two-year cycle, it pulled Hunterdon Central from the American Silver Division and put them with smaller schools in the Liberty Silver, including Somerville and Montgomery, among others.

But that won’t make life any easier for the teams left in the American Silver, as Ridge, Bridgewater-Raritan, Hillsborough and Phillipsburg still get the Red Devils as a crossover – and, of course, still have to play each other. The Stateliners moved up to the North Group 5 supersection due to its new success formula, but that doesn’t affect the BCC. And besides, there were in Group 5 in 2022 and 2023 before moving down to four the last two seasons.

And just as an example of how brutal this division can be, both Phillipsburg and Bridgewater-Raritan, 4-0 and 1-3 in the division, respectively, won state sectional titles last season.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the American Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Phillipsburg Stateliners (10-3, 4-0, American Silver Division Champions)
Head Coach: Frank Duffy, 11th season (85-27)

  • Week 0: Parkland (PA)
  • Week 1: at Emmaus (PA)
  • Week 2: at Freedom (PA)
  • Week 3: Hillsborough*
  • Week 4: at St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Week 5: at Ridge*
  • Week 6: BYE
  • Week 7: Bridgewater-Raritan*
  • Week 8: Hunterdon Central
  • Thanksgiving: Easton (at Lafayette College)

Due to the NJSIAA’s new success formula, since the Stateliners can pull kids from other districts, and won North 2, Group 4, advancing to the state semifinals last year, they are now up in Group 5 as far as the playoffs concerned. But no matter: Phillipsburg has made the last four sectional finals – twice in Group 5 then twice in Group 4, winning trophies each of the last two seasons. And while they will lose senior runningback Sam Dech – who had a team-leading 1,530 yards on the ground last year and 23 touchdowns – sophomore QB Dominic Bracco is back. All that remains to be seen is which has more juice, the run game or the pass game, and how P’burg will adapt, because one thing is for sure: the Stateliners always have talent. But they will take a big hit defensively from the loss of senior Aeden Hywell, the reigning Central Jersey Sports Radio Defensive Player of the Year, who finished the season with 17 1/2 sacks and 27 TFLs, leading a defense that allowed just 12.4 points per game.

Ridge Red Devils (5-4, 3-1, 2nd place American Silver)
Head Coach: Jeff Sutherland, 2nd season (5-4)

  • Week 0: OPEN
  • Week 1: at Sayreville
  • Week 2: at Hunterdon Central
  • Week 3: at Bridgewater-Raritan*
  • Week 4: Elizabeth
  • Week 5: Phillipsburg*
  • Week 6: Westfield
  • Week 7: at Hillsborough*
  • Week 8: Old Bridge

Second-year head coach Jeff Sutherland has some work to do in finding some key offensive replacements. Senior QB Sawyer Paul graduated, as did top runningback Nick Pfennig (129 carries for 692 yards), along with tight end and top receiver Toby Nicholson, but close No. 2 runningback C.J. Griffith (688 yards, 4 TDs) is back for his junior year, and could be a focal point moving forward, while senior Tristan Frank likely is a top candidate under center. Senior defensive lineman Anthony Valera (4 1/2 sacks) will be missed, as will Nicholson (3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT), among others, but rising senior DE Greg Brown (3 1/2 sacks, 6 TFL) will be back. Ridge will crossover with two Middlesex County schools this year, Sayreville and Old Bridge, both of whom – if the NJSIAA ran football playoffs like every other sport – should have both been Central Jersey Group 5 finalists last season (instead, they met in the semis due to snaking).

Hillsborough Raiders (4-6, 2-2, 3rd place American Silver)
Head Coach: Kevin Carty, Jr., 15th season (92-64)

  • Week 0: at Manalapan
  • Week 1: Hunterdon Central
  • Week 2: at Bridgewater-Raritan*
  • Week 3: at Phillipsburg*
  • Week 4: Union
  • Week 5: Colonia
  • Week 6: at Elizabeth
  • Week 7: Ridge*
  • Week 8: at Montgomery

It’s a unique schedule for the Raiders, who will visit Shore opponent Manalapan opening weekend and close on Cutoff Weekend with the Carty Bowl, coaching against his brother, Sean, now in his second year as head coach at Montgomery. (They coached against each other in the COVID year when then-head coach Zoran Milich had to miss the game for a medical situation – and famously were not permitted to “shake hands” after the game, per NJSIAA COVID policy.) Gone are twins Devon Khurana (QB with 1,125 yards passing) and Shane (WR with 30 catches for 537 yards and 3 TDs), but sophomore Cooper Wright got some experience last year, and should be the leading candidate to take over at quarterback. Carty also will have to replace top RB Andrew Schwarz, who rushed for 1,114 yards and 12 scores last season. Watch Logan Jankowicz, younger brother of Jackson, whose senior season was 2004 and twice rushed for over a thousand yards. The defense will look at guys like Jamie Piccirillo (3 sacks, 3 1/2 TFLs as a freshman) and rising junior LB Tyler Zysk (1 1/2 sacks, TFLs) to hold down the unit.

Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers (9-4, 1-3, 4th place American Silver)
Head Coach: DJ Catalano, 4th season (16-18)

  • Week 0: at Woodbridge
  • Week 1: at St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Week 2: Hillsborough*
  • Week 3: Ridge*
  • Week 4: at Westfield
  • Week 5: Hunterdon Central
  • Week 6: at Union
  • Week 7: at Phillipsburg*
  • Week 8: Watchung Hills

The defending North 2, Group 5 champions will likely look to Evan Woodring as the leading starting QB candidate, with the graduation of Declan Kurdyla (1,371 yards, 13 TD), just as they did when Kurdyla was missed a couple of games last season. But they’ll have top runningback Jahmier Black for his senior season; Black ran for 978 yards and seven touchdowns last season, which also catching nine passes for 187 yards. Defensive end Jamelle Jones (8 sacks, 12 TFLs) is the most disruptive player returning from what was a very senior-led defense in 2025. The Panthers open with two tough crossover tests against Middlesex County foes Woodbridge and St. Joseph-Metuchen, both of whom won eight games last season.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: St. Joseph still team to beat in American Gold Division, but has a lot to replace

Having swept the Big Central Conference’s American Gold Division each of the last two seasons, one would have to consider St. Joseph-Metuchen a team that will at least be right back in the thick of things in 2026, but there will be work to be done for Bill Tracy and his program, with some key talent lost to graduation.

Their next best competition could very well be Elizabeth, with senior QB Arique Fleming back for his fourth year as the starting signal-caller for the Minutemen. Westfield – coming off a 4-6 season under first-year head coach Matt Andzel – also will look to make strides, as will Union, which went 3-8 last year with a very young club under Barris Grant, who left Hillside for the job.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the American Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

St. Joseph-Metuchen Falcons (8-2, 3-0, American Gold Division Champions)
Head Coach: Bill Tracy, 5th season (25-15)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Week 2: at Westfield*
  • Week 3: at Elizabeth*
  • Week 4: Phillipsburg
  • Week 5: at Delbarton
  • Week 6: at Piscataway
  • Week 7: Union*
  • Week 8: at St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Week 9: Donovan Catholic

St. Joseph put up big numbers last year, but some key players who posted those numbers are gone. Senior dual threat quarterback Justin Scaramuzzo threw for 1,212 yards and 12 touchdowns – with just one pick – while leading the team in rushing with 580 yards, while senior wideout Reggie Bropleh had a team-best 522 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Only 70 of 1,604 rushing yards are back, and 206 of 1,215 receiving. And while they’ll lose senior Michael Wellett III (5 sacks), Tommy Kwiatkowski (4 sacks) and Jason Gross (team-best 8 sacks) on defense, others like Jack Cummings (3 1/2 sacks) will be counted on. Always strong coaching when Bill Tracy is running the show, and that helps.

Elizabeth Minutemen (5-5, 2-1, 2nd place American Gold)
Head Coach: Eugene Kline, 2nd full season (9-9)

  • Week 0: at Edison
  • Week 1: at Watchung Hills
  • Week 2: Elizabeth*
  • Week 3: Westfield*
  • Week 4: at Hillsborough
  • Week 5: Plainfield
  • Week 6: Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Week 7: at St. Joseph-Metuchen*
  • Week 8: at Linden

It’ll be one last go-round for Arique Fleming, a true team leader who has been the starting quarterback and matured in leaps and bounds since his very first start in the 2023 season opener as a freshman. He tossed for 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns a season ago, while also leading the team with 551 rushing yards. And with four of the five receivers who each caught at least 200 yards’ worth of passes last season coming back, Fleming will have plenty of options. The defense should be solid, too, with key players like defensive back Eric Cespedes (2 INTs) and and linebacker Isaiah Butler back as well.

Westfield Blue Devils (4-6, 1-2, 3rd place American Gold)
Head Coach: Matt Andzel, 3rd season (9-12)

  • Week 0: Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Week 1: at St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Week 2: St. Joseph-Metuchen*
  • Week 3: at Union*
  • Week 4: Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Week 5: at Woodbridge
  • Week 6: at Ridge
  • Week 7: Elizabeth*
  • Week 8: Plainfield

Matt Andzel embarks on his third season as head coach, and gets a tough schedule out of the gate with the two non-publics – St. Thomas Aquinas and division foe St. Joseph – back to back in Weeks One and Two. And the crossover slate doesn’t get any easier with North 2, Group 4 champion Bridgewater-Raritan and a trip to Ridge also on the slate. QB Cole Weidler returns; he began 2025 as the starting quarterback but was replaced by Jordan Walsh when top receiver Ezno Ferrera went down to injury, and the team began to run the ball more.

Union Farmers (3-8, 0-3, 4th place American Gold)
Head Coach: Barris Grant, 2nd season

  • Week 0: at Edison
  • Week 1: at Watchung Hills
  • Week 2: Elizabeth*
  • Week 3: Westfield*
  • Week 4: at Hillsborough
  • Week 5: at Plainfield
  • Week 6: Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Week 7: at St. Joseph-Metuchen*
  • Week 8: at Linden

Barris Grant’s first season resulted in an immediate boost of one win for the very young Farmers, but they are poised to take the next step this season. Take their starting quarterback, for example. Elijah Bryant was just a sophomore, but threw for 1,259 yards and five touchdowns, though he’ll want to cut down on the turnovers this season. The top runningback was a junior; Jamir Hall finished just shy of 1,100 yards and scored 12 touchdowns. The defense was a little more veteran, as seven seniors will graduate, but not all of them starters.

by Mike Pavlichko

Big Central Conference coaching updates: What’s left to fill with less than two months before camp opens?

It was another year of coaching turnover in the Big Central Conference, whether by coaches not being retained, or stepping down on their own.

Of the 59 schools in the league, 12 will have new head coaches for the upcoming 2026 season. That’s 25 coaching changes in the past two seasons – nearly half the league – after 13 new coaches were hired following the 2024 campaign.

The latest hire was Steven Brown at North Plainfield, whose appointment was approved Monday night by the Board of Education. He’s been the defensive coordinator at Verona for the last two seasons, and also at Elizabeth for girls’ flag football, a Big Central playoff finalist each of the last two seasons.

And that leaves just one position open in the BCC, in Perth Amboy, where William Clark will not be retained after seven seasons as the Panthers’ head coach. His teams were 12-52 in that span, never winning more than three in a season; they went 3-7 in 2021.

Once that hiring is complete, the entire Patriot Silver Division – Amboy, New Providence, AL Johnson, Spotswood, Roselle and Metuchen – will have new head coaches, and be responsible for half the new mentors in the BCC this season.

Here’s a look at the rest of the Big Central Conference schools with new coaches in 2026:

  • JFK: One of the early hires, the Mustangs will be led by Anthony Nyers, a Woodbridge grad from across town who was appointed in late February. He most recently was the wide receivers coach and Offensive Coordinator at Westfield under Matt Andzel, and had spent the previous season with Al Chiola at Linden.
  • Johnson: Athletic Director Gus Kalikas ran the show last season, and the Crusaders went 7-2 with his son, Jack, at starting quarterback. But this year, the job was given to Mike Ryan, who was approved in late May by the Board of Education, and promoted after spending two years with the Crusaders as an assistant. Ryan has been a head coach at JP Stevens in the past, and was on the Edison staff of Matt Fulham when they won the Central Jersey Group 5 title in 2022.
  • Metuchen: Alum Jordan Leitner is gone after going 21-20 in four seasons, including a solid 7-4 campaign in 2024. In steps Middlesex County veteran Joe Riggi, who was a defensive coordinator at JFK in the mid 2010s, sandwiched by a pair of stints as the head coach at JP Stevens, from 2007 to 2009, and again from 2015 to 2019.
  • New Providence: The Pioneers kept it in-house after Chert Parlavecchio, Jr., stepped down to take an assistant coaching position at his alma mater, Delbarton. They went with Anthony Conzentino, who played scholastically at Livingston – starring on a 2008 squad then led by current St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Bill Tracy – and coached running backs, linebackers and special teams the past five years at New Providence.
  • Roselle: Tyrone Turner is out after two seasons – and was quickly snapped up by Steven Brown at North Plainfield – and James Roach is in. He’s been director of the Union County Vipers youth football and mentoring organization since 2011 and is a local outreach coordinator, according to his LinkedIn bio.
  • South Brunswick: Mike Gerst will now lead the Viking program, coming to Middlesex County after two seasons up at Fort Lee, his first-ever head coaching job. He replaces Ibrahim Halsey, who was 7-12 in two seasons (and now is an assistant at Franklin) while Gerst’s teams went 16-3 in that span an the Super Football Conference’s “Ivy Red” Division, one in which teams aren’t eligible for the playoffs by playing a “relief” schedule aimed at rebuilding. That included a 9-0 campaign last year, the first in over 100 years of Fort Lee football.

by Mike Pavlichko

Steven Brown approved by North Plainfield Board of Ed as next Canuck football coach

The coaching vacancies in the Big Central Conference are filling up, with Steven Brown being officially hired as the new football coach at North Plainfield, Athletic Director Sean Dowling has confirmed to Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Board of Education approved the hiring at its regular meeting Monday night, along with the hiring of five assistant coaches.

Brown has been the defensive coordinator at Verona for the last two seasons; the Hillbillies were 2-7 last year, but 7-4 in 2024. He’s also been the defensive coordinator for girls’ flag football coach at Elizabeth the past two seasons. This year, they went 11-5, following a 14-2-1 program debut in 2024; they reached the Big Central Conference title game each of the last two seasons. (Flag football will be an official NJSIAA sanctioned sport in 2027, including state playoffs, after a two-year pilot program.)

Brown replaces Derek Eatman, who stepped down in the off-season after four years leading the program. The Canucks went 3-6 each of the last two seasons, and were 8-31 over that four-year span. Eatman is now an assistant at Franklin under Blair Wilson

The five Canuck assistant coaches approved Monday night by the Board of Ed include Defensive Coordinator Jameel Drummond, defensive line coach Emanuel Weaver, linebackers coach Damien Torres, and defensive backs coach Jah-Quinn Wembley, all of whom were announced on Instagram by Brown.

Tyrone Turner, who spent the last two seasons at Roselle, also was hired and will serve as Offensive Coordinator. Turner was 6-16 in two campaigns with the Rams, and 13-23 in the four seasons prior as head coach at Shabazz in Newark.

James Roach was appointed in May as Roselle’s new head coach.

by Mike Pavlichko

As Blackwell steps down from Ridge, here are the winningest coaches in the GMC, Somerset County, and who will move into the top ten

Ridge baseball coach Tom Blackwell told his players last week, and announced publicly Tuesday that he was stepping down as the Red Devils’ skipper, with just a couple of years left before he completely retires from teaching.

Blackwell will hang ’em up as one of the winningest active coaches in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Coverage area, entering and finishing the year in the top ten.

Here’s a look at the rest of the group in the Greater Middlesex Conference and Somerset County. We’re counting all wins, even at other, out-of-area schools, as long as those coaches are still in the CJSR area.

  1. Dennis McCaffery, St. Joseph-Metuchen (533-178): The vast majority of those wins came in 25 years as the head coach at Cranford, where he was 511-154 from 1999 through 2024. He came to the Falcons last season when Mike Murray stepped down, and went 16-7, winning the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament on four straight walk-off wins, including a grand slam in the final off the bat of senior JP Zayle. This year was a rebuilding year, as the team went 6-17 after graduating a slew of seniors.
  2. Lou Urbano, South Brunswick (337-289): Urbano made his return to coaching this year at South Brunswick, after spending much of his career in the northern end of Middlesex County, where he coached at all three Woodbridge schools – JFK (1987-1989), Colonia (1994-1995) and Woodbridge (2008-2017) – as well as at St. Joseph-Metuchen (1997-2006). This year’s team turned a 4-20 record into a 12-12 mark, a formidable achievement considering Urbano said there were only 20 kids in the program when he took it over.
  3. Larry Santowasso, Rutgers Prep (370-298-1): The Argonauts are always in the thick of things in Somerset County, even winning the county tournament as a 12-seed in 2023, a year they just got off to a slow start, just 2-6 when the SCT began. But they came on strong to go 12-9 the rest of the way, with berths in the Prep B and Non-Public North B sectional finals. This year’s team went 17-8.
  4. Glenny Fredricks, Spotswood (359-207-2): Glenny started his career at Freehold Boro, spending a year there in 2003, then was an assistant in New Brunswick before coming to the Chargers in 2005. Two years later, he became just the second coach in GMC history to win a division title, the GMC Tournament, a sectional title, and a state title (Group 2). The other? The legend himself, Jim Muldowney, with Edison in 1993.
  5. Vinnie Abene, Edison (334-269): The Eagles helped Abene flip-flop with Mike Lepore, Jr., of South River, as he trailed the Rams’ head coach by one win, and now is in front of him by one. Edison went 19-8 this year, with injuries at various points to their top three starting pitchers – all going to play D1 in college – derailing what could have been a really special season.
  6. Mike Lepore, Jr., South River (333-340-2): It was another solid season for the Rams, who went 17-10 this year. Lepore – whose dad also was a legendary baseball coach and won 291 games at South River, Cedar Ridge and Madison Central, while also coaching the Ram football program, and baseball at Middlesex County College – is a lifer, and next season will be his 30th at the school.
  7. Tom Blackwell, Ridge (328-211): In a year where everyone seemed to beat everyone – Immaculata won the Skyland Conference Delaware Division, Watchung Hills won the Somerset County Tournament – Blackwell went out a North 2 Group 4 champion with a gritty group that, win or lose, played from start to finish. They finished 19-11 this season and won the North 2 Group 4 title over a Watchung Hills team they lost to in the SCT semis. While his program has had numerous 20-win seasons, it’s ironic that his two sectional titles came in seasons where they did not reach that mark.
  8. Pete Mueller, Montgomery (312-291): While the Cougars went just 9-18 this year, Mueller is one of six coaches on this list – four of which are from Somerset County – who have been with one school their entire head coaching careers.
  9. Max Newill, Bridgewater-Raritan (271-221): The Panthers bounced back from a seven-win season in 2025 with a 13-17 campaign this year, including trips to the Somerset County Tournament and North 2, Group 4 semifinals. And in 2024, Bridgewater pulled the same trick Fredricks and Muldowney of the GMC did: they won the Skyland Delaware – also going undefeated in league play overall – then won the Somerset County Tournament, the North 2, Group 4 title, and the state Group 4 championship, setting a new program record for wins as they went 30-3.
  10. Chris Banos, Somerville (236-149): Banos has been the Pioneers’ mentor since 2015, and he’s won everywhere he’s been. As a player for Jim Muldowney at Edison, he went to the 1995 Group 5 final. As an assistant at JFK under Jerry Smith, the Mustangs won the Group 3 title in 2009. And after a few years as head coach at Dunellen, he landed in Somerville, winning the Group 3 state championship over Allentown.

So, when we start the 2027 in about nine months, who will be in that tenth spot with Blackwell retired and Mueller, Newill and Banos move up a spot? That would be Leo Danik, who coached at South Brunswick, Dunellen and JP Stevens before landing in Metuchen in 2015, where he’s been ever since. After a 19-8 season, he’s now 212-154.

The next winningest coach in Somerset County is Watchung Hills’ Joe Tremarco, Central Jersey Sports Radio’s 2026 Somerset Coach of the Year. The Warriors were 18-9 this season and won the Somerset County Tournament, setting him up bat 172-148 heading into 2027.

These win-loss records were compiled from multiple sources. If you believe any of these are in error, please email us at mike@cjsportsradio.com.

by Mike Pavlichko

Karl-Anthony Towns’ historic NBA title with Knicks brings us back to his last ultimate championship: St. Joe’s TOC win in 2014

Karl-Anthony Towns has had a fantastic basketball career, whether it’s been with the Knicks, the Timberwolves, Kentucky, or in high school at St. Joseph-Metuchen.

The one-time Falcons star played in the Tournament of Champions all three years when he was in high school (he reclassified and graduated early) and won it all in 2014 with a core trio that also included Wade Baldwin (Memphis, Portland in the NBA, now in Europe) and Marques Townes (also now playing in Europe).

After a year at Kentucky playing for John Calipari – where the Wildcats went 38-1, won the SEC Tournament, but lost their lone game in the national semifinals to Wisconsin – Towns went pro.

He was the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft that year, chosen by the Timberwolves, and was Rookie of the Year in 2016. He’s been a six-time NBA All-Star, and was traded to the Knicks in October of 2024 as part of a three-team deal.

Now, in his second season in New York, he’s an NBA Champion – his first “overall” championship since that Tournament of Champions win in 2014, crowned the best high school team in New Jersey.

And so, we decided to take a look back at that title. This reporter broadcast that game live on WCTC in March of 2014, and interviewed KAT courtside after the game. Click below to listen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge seniors Callanan, Nicholson and head coach Tom Blackwell talk CJSR Team of the Year honors, as veteran skipper also announces retirement

What a whirlwind year for the Ridge Red Devils baseball team.

They began the year 11-1, with an Opening Day win at West Morris bringing the program its 1,000th victory all-time. Then injuries hit, and they lost five straight in late April. After getting knocked out of the Somerset County Tournament in the semifinals by eventual champion Watchung Hills, they regrouped and rebounded to beat the Warriors in the NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 championship game.

They would fall in the state semifinals, 8-7, on a walk-off home run in extra innings at Ridgewood, but earn the final No. 1 ranking in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten.

After which, head coach Tom Blackwell told his team last week, after 21 years and 20 seasons as the Red Devils’ skipper, he would be retiring. Blackwell went 328-211 from 2006 through 2026 (there was no high school baseball in the COVID year) with his teams winning two Somerset County Titles (2011 and 2022) and two North 2, Group 4 titles in the state tournament (2021 and 2026).

It was the perfect way to end a coaching career, but so much more than that for Blackwell, a Ridge alum who played for the legendary Pete Hall, the namesake of the Red Devils’ baseball field.

In a rollercoaster of a season, Ridge is the 2026 Central Jersey Sports Radio Team of the Year.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Ridge seniors Kieran Callanan and Toby Nicholson, as well as retiring head coach Tom Blackwell:

The Ridge Red Devils: NJSIAA North 2, Group 4 sectional champions for 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
by Mike Pavlichko

Photo Gallery: We stopped by the new home of the NJSIAA state baseball finals at Rutgers, and all seemed to be having a good time

Free parking, free admission, a day in the sun with seat-back chairs, or a chance to spread out on a blanket on the grassy hill in left field.

That pretty much summed up a beautiful (if not on the warm side) Sunday afternoon at Rutgers University’s Bainton Field in Piscataway, where the NJSIAA held its four public state championship games, just a few days after crowning the Non-Public champions on Wednesday night.

Back when this reporter was calling Rutgers baseball games on student radio station WRSU 88.7 FM in New Brunswick, the field – not yet named Bainton – was a lot different: natural grass, smaller bleachers, and an uncovered platform behind the plate on ground level for a press box.

But in recent years, the field was completely turfed, and a video board and lights were added for night baseball. And this past off-season, the bleachers were replaced and expanded, including several hundred seat-back chairs behind home plate. The press box was relocated to the top of the bleachers, with room for media, a broadcast booth, and stadium operations booth, along with additional wings on the side for press.

Those upgrades, and the central location – with easy access from Routes 287 and the Turnpike – made it a no-brainer for the NJSIAA to move the finals to Rutgers from Veterans’ Park in Hamilton, where the natural grass surface limited play after rain, parking was limited, and a curfew affected some late-running games.

Let’s call the move to Bainton a home run for the NJSIAA and the 12 teams that got to play for state championships there. (Scroll down for all the state finals results.)

Here’s a photo gallery from our visit to the opening game of the day, the Group 3 state final, in which Old Tappan beat Brick Memorial 5-0 to win its second state title in program history:

A panoramic view of Bainton Field at Rutgers, home of the 2026 NJSIAA state baseball finals. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Fans watch Old Tappan and Brick Memorial play in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
A Brick Memorial meeting on the mound during the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brody Moore throws a pitch for Brick Memorial against Old Tappan the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Fans watch Old Tappan and Brick Memorial from the stands at the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Old Tappan players watch the state Group 3 final against Brick Memorial from the dugout at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Fans watch Brick Memorial play Old Tappan in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Old Tappan players watch the state Group 3 final against Brick Memorial from the dugout at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Caden Yoon of Old Tappan lays down a bunt against Brick Memorial in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brick Memorial and Old Tappan play in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brody Moore of Brick Memorial pitches against Old Tappan in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brick Memorial hits against Old Tappan in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

A.J. Aiello of Old Tappan earns a walk against Brick Memorial in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Old Tappan hist against Brick Memorial in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
The new video board at Rutgers’ Bainton Field. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brick Memorial players watch from the dugout in between innings of the state Group 3 final against Old Tappan at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Bainton Field at Rutgers, home of the 2026 NJSIAA state baseball finals. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

NJSIAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES:

Wednesday, June 10:

  • Non-Public A: Delbarton 4, St. Augustine 1 (10 inn.)
  • Non-Public B: Gloucester Catholic 11, St. Mary-Rutherford 1 (5 inn.)

Sunday, June 14:

  • Group 4: Ridgewood 7, Kingsway 6
  • Group 3: Old Tappan 5, Brick Memorial 0
  • Group 2: Ramsey 4, Governor Livingston 2
  • Group 1: Point Pleasant Beach 10, Pompton Lakes 4
by Mike Pavlichko

Former North Plainfield coach Derrick Eatman, St. Thomas assistant Chris Young Sr. to join Blair Wilson’s staff at Franklin

It might not be Crosby, Stills and Nash, but Blair Wilson is assembling a supergroup of coaches in Franklin.

The Warriors’ football coach has made two big additions to his staff this spring, bringing in Derrick Eatman and Chris Young, Sr. to be part of his crew.

Eatman spent the last four seasons as the head football coach at North Plainfield before stepping down in the off-season. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family, and though he’s back in coaching now, it’ll still be easier to do that with fewer responsibilities as an assistant compared to a head coach.

Eatman’s Canucks won one game each his first two seasons, but improved to win three games each of the last two.

Young, meanwhile, had been the offensive coordinator at St. Thomas Aquinas under Tarig Holman while his son, Chase, was a standout there, but then left after Holman was not brought back for 2025 and spent a year at South Brunswick under Ibrahim Halsey. With South Brunswick changing course in the off-season and bringing in Mike Gerst from Fort Lee, Young has now landed at Franklin with Eatman.

Wilson was hired at Franklin in 2022, and after a winless campaign that first year, they improved to 3-8 in 2023, 4-6 in 2024, and went 5-4 last season, but still failed to make the playoffs. Though the Warriors have the highest playoff win percentage of any Somerset County team at .621 – and have six titles to their credit, second only to Somerville’s nine – they haven’t had a state playoff berth since 2012.

But with the talent in Franklin, beefing up the coaching staff could really be a big help. Eatman tells Central Jersey Sports Radio that Young will be the Offensive Coordinator and coach wide receivers, while Eatman himself with help Young call the offense, while also coaching quarterbacks, linebackers, and serving as Special Teams Coordinator.

“It’s exciting getting to coach close to a hundred players this year,” Eatman told Central Jersey Sports Radio last week. “Blair has done a tremedous job recruiting the hallways.”

Franklin returns mobile quarterback Jah’naad Cady, who last year as a junior threw for 1,350 yards and 13 touchdowns, while leading the team in rushing with 964 yards on 79 carries, with 13 TDs. Senior Dajour Taylor and junior Rahmel Barr are expected to be among the top receivers.

With summer practices beginning this week, Franklin is opening up the process with a special midnight practice tonight.  Central Jersey Sports Radio football analyst Marcus Borden will be on hand, and will have video and interviews on the site Monday afternoon.

by Mike Pavlichko

Warriors move up, win SCT, and Watchung Hills’ Joe Tremarco is CJSR Somerset County Coach of the Year

Everyone knows the challenge of playing in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division.

You don’t have to be the first place team to make a deep run in the county or state tournaments, with Exhibit A being Bridgewater-Raritan.

And you don’t need to have won the division to win a postseason tournament either.

Not only did Watchung Hills finish second in the division – and beat top-seed and Delaware champ Immaculata in the county final – but they did it after moving up following a first-place finish in the Raritan Division (7-1) in 2025.

And yet, they went 7-3 in the Delaware this year, were the only team to beat the Spartans in Skyland Conference play, and won seven more games overall than they did in 2025, improving from 11-12 to 18-9, their best season since 2016, when they went 27-5 and reached the Somerset County final.

For all of that, Watchung Hills head coach Joe Tremarco is the Central Jersey Sports Radio Coach of the Year for 2026.

This year’s Hustlin’ Warriors never lost more than two games in a row all year. The first of those came against Ridge in mid-April, but they avenged those two losses in the semifinals of the SCT, with a 4-2 win that sent them to the title game, where Lucas Sheehan blanked Immaculata for a 1-0 win. In the process, he became the first sophomore to get a win in the county final since 1998, when Casey Cahill won his first of three finals, a feat that has never been matched.

Hills will graduate some key players this month, including Rob Centamore, who hit .353 with 22 RBI and three home runs. But the team may not have had the success they did without his arm; on the mound, the Ramapo-bound senior was 8-0 with a 0.97 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innigns pitched.

But Tremarco is quick to point out none of this happens without his assistants either: varsity assistant and pitching coach Joe Ascolese, JV coach Paul Leinbach, freshman coach Vin Crisafi and assistant manager/equipment maven James Soranno.

Fellow seniors Brody Griffith, Max Payne, Landon Pudlak, and leading hitter Jacob Jaconski (.460, 26 RBI, 2 HR) also will be missed, but there is plenty coming back that the Warriors will be a factor next season, and beyond.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s 2026 Somerset County Coach of the Year Joe Tremarco – and senior Rob Centamore – talk with Mike Pavlichko: