Central Jersey Sports Radio is giving YOU the chance to weigh in on your favorite play of the 2023 high school football season! All five finalists are in the montage below…
Watch the video below, then scroll down
to vote for your favorite!!
Voting ends at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, Dec. 16th.
Remember: Vote early, vote often!
St. Thomas Aquinas, Phillipsburg and Ridge of the Big Central Conference all finished in the Top 25 of the final 2023 statewide power rankings, based on Strength Index values.
The Strength Index is used to calculate OSI, which is 60 percent of the state’s UPR formula.
Bernards – the only sectional champion this season out of the BCC – finished just outside the Top 25, placing 26th.
Central Jersey Sports Radio calculated the final Strength Index numbers, which are unofficial. Gridiron New Jersey performs the official SI and playoff calculations for the NJSIAA, but does not typically release final Strength Index numbers, though they do release them at the start of each season.
Below, you’ll find all 342 high school football teams in the state ranked by Strength Index, along with how much they rose or fell in SI from the start of the season:
With the 2023 high school football season now complete, St. Thomas Aquinas can add another line on its resume for the year: No. 1 in the final Big Central Power Rankings
Central Jersey Sports Radio debuted the new feature mid-season, using the NJSIAA’s Strength Index numbers, which are used as part of the playoff qualification formula to make a team’s OSI, which is 60 percent of a team’s UPR.
Our rankings are are based our CJSR calculations, using final scores reported to Gridiron New Jersey and NJ.com, as well as the official numbers that are frozen before Cutoff Weekend, as per Gridiron, the official state playoff calculator for the NJSIAA.
The numbers below represent the unofficial final Strength Index values, which will change at the start of 2024 based on the NJSIAA’s “centering” model, where all teams have their value raised or lowered by one third the distance to 60, considered the “midway” point in the SI system.
Thursday, we’ll unveil the full state rankings.
Below are the full Big Central final power rankings, including how much each team went up or down from the preseason through the end of 2024.
The Big Central football Conference has announced its 2023 All-Conference Teams, with over 400 players honored by the league of 59 teams, now playing its fourth season.
Honorees were placed on the first and second team in each of the BCC’s ten divisions, as chosen by the coaches. Scroll through this story for the complete list:
AMERICAN GOLD DIVISION:
First Team
Second Team
AMERICAN SILVER DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
FREEDOM GOLD DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
FREEDOM SILVER DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
LIBERTY GOLD DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
LIBERTY SILVER DIVISION
First Team
Second Team:
NATIONAL GOLD DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
NATIONAL SILVER DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
PATRIOT GOLD DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
PATRIOT SILVER DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
UNITED GOLD DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
UNITED SILVER DIVISION
First Team
Second Team
In his first year joining Central Jersey Sports Radio, longtime former East Brunswick coach and high school football analyst Marcus Borden is bringing his Middlesex County All-Area team to our pages!
Borden has handpicked first and second teams on Offense, Defense, and Special teams, plus a group of Honorable Mentions, all of which combine to have all 24 Middlesex County schools represented.
Scroll through this story to see this year’s honorees.
With three first-place votes and a 10-2 record, the Phillipsburg Stateliners have finished 2023 as the top team in the Big Central Media Poll.
P’burg was the preseason No. 1, as well, and held the position until a late-September loss to Hillsborough in the Rumble on the Raritan. The Stateliners’ only other loss came in the North 2, Group 5 final to Union City; they came back to beat Easton on Thanskgiving, the first time they’ve beaten the Red Rovers back-to-back since 2002 and 2003.
St. Thomas Aquinas finished second in the final media poll, three points behind Phillipsburg. The Trojans (10-1) got two first-place votes. They finished the regular season undefeated with a Thanksgiving Eve victory at Immaculata, their only loss coming to DePaul in the Non-Public B semifinals.
Ridge – which finished 8-2 and made it to the North 2, Group 4 semifinals – came in third, whiel National Silver Champion North Brunswick (8-1) finished fourth.
Coming in fifth is Bernards (12-1), which set a program record for wins and took home its first-ever state sectional title three weeks ago when the Mountaineers rallied to beat Lakeland in overtime for the North 2, Group 2 Championship. They were also Patriot Gold Division Champions.
The bottom five includes Sayreville (8-3) in sixth, Hillsborough (8-3) at No. 7, Liberty Silver Division winner Montgomery (8-1-1) at eight, followed by Watchung Hills (8-3) and St. Joseph-Metuchen (7-3) at nine and ten.
Summit, Hillside, and Westfield also received votes.
Below is the full Final Big Central Media Poll for 2023:
The final Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten of the 2023 high school football season finds Phillipsburg not where they were when we last left them, rather, back on top.
The Stateliners finished 10-2 after a loss in the North 2, Group 5 title game, but a victory over Easton for the second straight year, the first time they’ve done that in 20 years. They were also Big Central Conference American Silver Division Champions, one of five division champs to finish in the Top Ten.
The Stateliners are followed by St. Thomas Aquinas, which finished 10-1 and was the champion of the United Gold Division. The Trojans are 19-3 in two seasons under Tarig Holman, and 28-4 since the COVID-shortened season.
Ridge (8-2) – which finished second to P’burg in the United Silver – finished in third in the final rankings.
In fourth is Bernards, which at 12-1 set a school record for wins, and won the North 2, Group 2 title, its first state sectional title in program history. The Mountaineers were the only Big Central team to win a championship this season, but lost at 17-0 at Westwood in the Group 2 semifinals. They also were the Patriot Gold Division Champions.
North Brunswick, the National Silver Division Champions, finished fifth, with a record of 8-1, that lone loss coming in the first round of the playoffs by a single point to Freehold Township.
Montgomery checks in at No. 6, and like North Brunswick, suffered its only loss of the season in the playoffs, ending at 8-1-1, with the Liberty Silver Division title.
The final four teams include Hillsborough (8-3) in seventh, followed by Sayreville (8-3), St. Joseph Metuchen (7-3), and Watchung Hills (8-3). Summit, which had been tied for tenth in the last ranking after cutoff weekend, dropped out, finishing 7-3.
Below are the full Central Jersey Sports Radio Final high school football rankings for 2023:
With two games on Thanksgiving – and one on Thanksgiving Eve – involving Big Central teams, Westfield, Phillipsburg and St. Thomas Aquinas all won their Turkey Day rivalry games.
Westfield 28, Plainfield 9
The Blue Devils (6-5) got 100 rushing yards on 20 carries out of Luke Jordan – along with two second half interceptions on the defensive side of the ball, as Westfield took their 118th meeting with Plainfield.
It was the eleventh straight win in the series, which the Blue Devils now lead 55-45, with seven ties.
The Cardinals – who also finish 6-5 on the year – were seeking their first win in the series since 2011.
Westfield got on the board first after a scoreless second quarter, on an 11-yard touchdown run by quarterback Mac Cho, to go up 7-0 with the extra point. Plainfield got to within four on a 26-yard field goal by Armando Avril, but Sebastian Magherini’s 20-yard touchdown catch on a pass from Cho made it 14-3.
In the third quarter, Cho threw another TD pass, then Jordan ran for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Blue Devils up 21-3.
In the fourth, Joel Cordoba caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Kamai Lowery, that got them to within 21-9 after the a two-point pass attempt failed. Then Jordan caught a 25-yard TD pass, with the PAT making it 28-9, the final.
Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden at Hub Stine Field presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Phillipsburg 47, Easton 12
Last year, the Stateliners beat Easton for the first time since 2014. This year, they made it two straight for the first time in two decades, since they turned the trick in 2002 and 2003.
Phillipsburg (10-2) ran the ball for 319 yards and seven touchdowns, pounding their way on the ground to a 47-12 win at Fisher Stadium at Lafayette College. It was also P’burg’s second-largest win in the series, a 35-point margin.
John Wargo was named offensive MVP by the attending media, going for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries; he also had two receptions in the game for 33 yards. Sophomore Sam Dech – who filled in more than ably when Wargo missed a couple of games due to injury this season – ran the rock 12 times for 136 yards, including long touchdown runs of 50 and 75 yards.
Easton still leads the overall series, 67-44-5.
St. Thomas Aquinas
In a new rivalry game this year, St. Thomas Aquinas closed out its season with a 42-14 win over Immaculata out of the Super Football Conference.
The Spartans (6-4) opened the scoring on an Own Blum touchdown pass from quarterback Mason Geis, and Anthony Brown returned a kick 90-yards for six in the second quarter. But Aquinas got the next three scores to take the lead before the half. Chase Young ran in a two-yard touchdown, Elijah Abass-Shereef scored from six yards out, and Roman Blanks took one in from a yard out to make it 21-14 at the half.
After a scoreless third period, the Trojans put up three more scores in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Young added a one-yard score, and Abass-Shereef added two more, the first of which went for 42 yards on the ground.
STA finishes the year 10-1, tying a program record for wins achieved just twice before. Aquinas went 10-1 in 1989, and also in 1984 when they beat Holy Cross to win the Non-Public South A title. That was their first of three straight state titles from 1984 through 1986, a span that saw the program go 28-4, winning its only three titles in program history.
The expansion of the high school football playoffs by the NJSIAA – first in 2018 to include “regional championships” and then again last year with true state championship games in each group – has been the death knell for Thanksgiving games in many parts of the state.
With the season starting earlier, teams knocked out of the playoffs in early rounds had forever and a day to wait around to play their Turkey Day game, and eventually, those contests moved to earlier in the season, often in Week Zero.
In the Big Central, only three teams had traditional Thankgsiving games on the schedule: Westfield at Plainfield, and the big one with Phillipsburg Easton playing Easton out at Lafayette College.
But this year, there’s a new one on the schedule, even though it’s just being played Wednesday night.
St. Thomas Aquinas – coming off a tough loss to DePaul in the Non-Public B semifinals – will take its 9-1 record into Bridgewater Wednesday night at 7 pm to take on a 7-3 Immaculata team looking to finish with its highest win total since Tom Falato had the Spartans finish 8-3 in 2015.
It’s an interesting matchup, especially the timing, but one STA head coach Tarig Holman really wanted on the schedule, with Immaculata now having won seven games for the second time in three years.
Aquinas has had a fantastic year despite graduate its starting quarterback, top receiver and top rusher, along with its leaders in three key defensive categories: tackles, interceptions and sacks. All they did this year was go 9-0 heading into the playoffs, with five shutouts, winning by an average of 33.7 points per game.
This year’s team has relied more on the run game, having not even eclipsed a thousand yards as a team last year, but passing for over 1,600. The 2023 edition of Aquinas football has rushed for 2,178 yards, led by junior Chase Young, whose 910 yards on the year could have him close enough to eclipse the thousand-yard mark Wednesday night.
Defensively, it’s been a banner year for Christian Maglicanao, who leads the team with a whopping 148 tackles, and an unbelievable 30 tackles for loss, and a pick six. The defense has racked up 24 sacks in ten games.
For the Spartans, they are sophomore quarterback Mason Geiss with 1,025 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions. A balanced rushing attack has 1,925 yards and 14 touchdowns, with senior Joe Fleming (762 yards, 10 TDs) leading the way.
On defense, the Spartans didn’t allow a single team to score double figures on them all year until a 36-33 loss to Holy Spirit in the opening round of the Non-Public B playoffs. They had given up 39 all year to that point. Senior Roscoe Davis and junior Aaron Melick pace the unit with four sacks apiece, and senior Anthony Brown has a team-leading five interceptions.
The teams have only met eight times, and not since 2005, a 28-0 win for Immaculata, which has won five straight in the series, dating back to 1974. Aquinas – before it changed its name to Bishop Ahr, then back – won its two games in 1972 and 1973.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tarig Holman about the Trojans’ season and their Thanksgiving Eve matchup with Immaculata:
When the Mid-State and Greater Middlesex Conferences merged to form the Big Central Conference, which played its inaugural season in the COVID year of 2020, the deal brought together what now consists of 59 schools in five counties.
The GMC brought all 24 schools from Middlesex County, while the Mid-State brought in 35 from four counties, including 17 from Union, eleven from Somerset, and now seven from “out west” (Warren Hills left for the Super Football Conference due to geography) including Hunterdon and Warren Counties.
So, we’ve decided – at the end of each year – to honor one of geographical groups with the “Central Jersey Sports Radio Cup!” It goes to the county/region that had the best winning percentage throughout the season. To balance out the groupings, we’ll have three of them, generally based on geography and/or the leagues in which they play for all other sports:
And even though the season isn’t over yet – three teams still have to play Thanksgiving Day games, including Phillipsburg (against Easton) and the Westfield-Plainfield matchup – we’ve already got a winner!
The Skyland Conference – bolstered by eight teams with at least seven wins this season – is our inaugural winner, with a combined record of 100-86-1 (so far) among 18 teams, for a .534 winning percentage. That includes Bernards – the only sectional champion from the Big Central this year – which finished its season 12-1, a program record for wins, and with their first-ever sectional title.
Other top teams included Ridge (8-2), Hillsborough (8-3), Watchung Hills (8-3), Montgomery (8-1-1) in Somerset County, plus Voorhees (7-4), South Hunterdon (9-2) and Phillipsburg, which is 9-2 and still has its annual Thanksgiving Day rivalry game with Easton Thursday morning.
The other two counties finished under .500 overall. Union County finished second, with a current record of 79-86-1 and a .479 winning percentage. That won’t change much with one game remaining, the Westfield-Plainfield Thanksgiving game to be played Thursday at Hub Stine Field. The much-improved Cardinals will be seeking their first win in the series since 2011 and just their second since 2005.
Union County’s top team was Summit, which finished with a 7-3 mark. They were the only seven-win team, but Plainfield (6-4) could equal that with a win on Turkey Day. (Westfield is 5-5.)
Middlesex County finished in third, with an overall 109-131 record, for a .454 winning percentage. That won’t change much with St. Thomas Aquinas playing Immaculata Wednesday night at the Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater.
The top team from Middlesex in terms of wins was St. Thomas Aquinas with nine (9-1), followed by North Brunswick (8-1), Sayreville (8-3), and Spotswood (8-2). Seven former GMC teams had seven wins or more, but three went without a win all season: New Brunswick, South River and JP Stevens.