Author: Mike Pavlichko

September 8, 2026September 6, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Who’s at the top after Bernards, Manville see Big Central win streaks snapped? Plus, a look at state winning, losing streaks

St. Thomas Aquinas holds the Big Central Conference record for most consecutive league wins with 35, a streak that was snapped last season. That put Bernards in the catbird’s seat, and they entered 2026 just three wins away from tying that mark.

But the Mountaineers’ streak came to an end Friday, as Bernards dropped to 0-2 on the season, dropping their league opener at home, 31-24 to Cranford.

Of the top four active league win streaks, two came to and end this past weekend. Besides Bernards, Manville had a 12-game league stretch going, but the Mustangs lost their 2026 BCC opener as well, falling by a field goal at Brearley on Friday night, 21-18.

So who does that leave next?

New Providence now owns the league’s best current streak with 15 straight wins. They’re 1-0 this year, opening the season in fine form Thursday night, with a 27-7 home win over Voorhees, the first win for new head coach Anthony Conzentino. He took over for Chet Parelvecchio, Jr., who’s now the Defensive Coordinator at Delbarton. New Providence will look to extend that streak Thursday when they visit Johnson at 7 pm.

Next up is St. Joseph-Metuchen. The second-ranked Falcons have won nine-in-a-row, dating back to the start of last season, when they won all eight of their league contests. St. Joe’s will put that streak on the line Friday afternoon at 4 pm when they visit Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield to take on the Blue Devils.

State leaders all from down South…

Around the state, Glassboro and Washington Township have the top two overall winning streaks, with no one else even close; that’s because they were thew only two non-Ivy teams (Super Football Conference squads with a “relief” schedule who are ineligible for the playoffs) to finish last year entirely undefeated.

Glassboro has won 29 straight; the Bulldogs are the two-time defending state Group 1 champions, and finished 13-0 in 2024, then 14-0 last year. They are off to a 2-0 start this season, their most recent win coming Friday at Mainland, 38-6. This week, they host Winslow at 6 pm Friday. The Eagles have won two straight state Group 4 titles, and 15 straight games, including their last 13 last season, and their first two this year, over Neptune and defending South Jersey Group 5 champion Kingsway.

In the regular season, Glassboro has won 21 straight – the best streak in the state – while Washington Township has won 13 regular season contests in a row.

As for losses…

The state’s longest active skid currently belongs to Dunellen, which will try and break it Friday when the Destroyers host Belvidere. Longtime mentor Dave DeNapoli stepped down after the 2024 season, and Phlip McGuane came in to take over, while also becoming the new AD in the middle of the school year. That turned out to be a transition year for football, with Kyle Baach becoming the head coach this off-season.

Dunellen dropped its opener at JP Stevens, 12-7, and they will have some opportunities to get off the schneid this season if they can develop what has always been a small group. Their last win came on October 19, 2023, a 34-28 win at Columbia Park over Brearley.

After that, it’s Orange and West Windsor-Plainsboro at 16, but the next two teams both snapped their skids last week. Long Branch had lost 14 straight, but is 1-1 now after a 51-0 win at Keansburg last Thursday. And Paterson Kennedy (an Ivy team) snapped its 13-game losing streak with a season-opening win at Ferris Saturday, 32-6.

September 7, 2026September 7, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Exclusive: Here’s a look at unofficial updated Strength Index numbers for all NJ Football teams following Week One play

With the shutdown of Gridiron New Jersey over the summer – and the job of calculating the NJSIAA’s complication playoff formula moving to NJ.com, Central Jersey Sports Radio will continue to run its own unofficial numbers all year, and that includes the Strength Index calculations, which are critical to figuring out a team’s OSI (Opponent Strength Index), which is 60 percent of the playoff formula.

NJ.com is expected to debut it’s playoff standings after Week 2 action this weekend, just like Gridiron New Jersey did, but it’s unclear whether it will be publishing the Strength Index numbers on a weekly basis, something Gridiron did not do. However, Gridiron would update each team’s page with their current SI value. We would run our own numbers to compare with Gridiron the first few weeks, but no such mechanism currently exists.

So, we’ve run our own calculations once again this week, and are publishing today the unofficial updated Strength Index values after Week one of play.

Each week, SI values change based on the final score and the rating of the two teams that played. Here’s an example. SI goes up or down depending on how a team did compared to the difference between the two teams. If Team A (80 SI) plays Team B (60 SI) and Team A wins by 20, there’s no change. If Team A wins by 10, they underperformed by 10 points, and Team B overperformed by 10 points. Team B increases by 2 points to become a 62, and Team A drops to a 78. Team A then gets the full value of Team B for its OSI (62) while Team B gets half the value of Team A (39).

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio’s UNOFFICIAL Strength Index values after Week One play:

2026 Strength Index (Unofficial) after Week 1 (v3)Download

September 7, 2026September 6, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Top teams win, middle teams drop games, so Bellamy & Son Paving Week 2 Top Ten sees more changes; Phillipsburg still No. 1

Four of the teams in the Bellamy & Son Paving Week One Top Ten lost last weekend, which leaves half of them still in the rankings, and the other half out, while the top four all stayed put in Week Two.

That starts with Phillipsburg (2-0) still atop the list, after a 24-10 win at Emmaus (PA) Friday. The Stateliners finish out their three-game Pennsylvania stretch to start the season this Friday when they visit Freedom (PA).

St. Joseph-Metuchen (1-0) won its season-opener in thrilling fashion Saturday afternoon, outlasting then-No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan, 43-36. The Falcons are back at it Friday afternoon at 4 when they travel to Westfield.

Holding in third is Piscataway (2-0). The Chiefs were 28-14 winners over then No. 5 Somerville Friday night in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week, the first time the Pioneer offense has been held without a point since 2023. Thus week, it’s a Thursday trip to East Brunswick for Piscataway.

Rounding out the unchanged top four is Old Bridge (1-1), which got in the win column after a season-opening non-conference loss to Shawnee in the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City with a 49-21 win over Montgomery Friday. Thursday, the Knights visit South Brunswick, in our Friday night Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Up a notch from six to five this week is Bridgewater-Raritan (1-1). Though the Panthers lost, they hung in nearly to the wire Saturday in a 43-36 loss at No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen. This week, it’s the Battle of Route 206 as Bridgewater welcomes in Hillsborough.

Flipping with Bridgewater and dropping one spot to sixth is Somerville (1-1), which took a 28-14 loss at No. 3 Piscataway Friday night in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week. The Pioneers host North Hunterdon on Thursday.

The next two teams both move up two spots this week, after losses by then-No. 7 Sayreville and then No. 8 Summit, both of whom dropped out. It starts with Elizabeth (2-0) at No. 7, following a 43-20 home win over Plainfield Friday. The Minutemen visit Union this Friday. And St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0) moves up to No. 8 after a 24-20 win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood, with a Friday date at Franklin awaiting the Trojans.

The final two teams join the rankings for the first time this season. Ridge (1-0) is at No. 9 after opening its season with a 21-7 win over then-No. 7 Sayreville. The Red Devils visit Flemington to play Hunterdon Central this Thursday.

And Rahway (2-0) comes in at No. 10, after a 21-10 home win over previously-No. 8 Summit. The Indians visit Woodbridge Friday as head coach Brian Russo goes up against his alma mater, where he also previously coached.

Below is the complete 2026 Week Two Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

September 6, 2026September 5, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: No. 3 Piscataway 28, No. 5 Somerville 14

Senior runningback Zaire Young ran for three touchdowns, going for 268 yards – the fifth-best single-game performance in school history – to help No. 3 Piscataway top No. 5 Somerville, 28-14, in a Big Central Conference crossover game, the first meeting between the schools since 1987.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart call all the play-by-play live from Kenny Armwood Stadium in Piscataway, NJ, on September 4, 2026:

1st Half

2nd Half

September 5, 2026September 5, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen takes early lead, then rallies for 43-36 win over No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan

One of a handful of Big Central Conference teams to take Week Zero off, No. 2 St. Joseph came ready to play Saturday afternoon in a marquee matchup at Brenner Family Field in Metuchen.

So did No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan, which had time to work out any kinks last Friday, and won its opener at then-No. 8 Woodbridge.

But they were outlasted Saturday by the Falcons, who in starting 2026 with another win, 43-36 over the Panthers, now have emerged victorious in all four season openers since head coach Bill Tracy took over in 2023.

While things didn’t exactly kick off perfectly for the Falcons – with QB Cole Seyler getting intercepted by Panther defensive back Evan Woodring just 51 seconds in – it didn’t cost them, and both teams settled in until Seyler got Joe’s on the board first, via a 13-yard touchdown run with 1:29 left in the opening period. Just four game minutes later, he connected with Maddox Mignucci for a 39-yard touchdown pass 2:29 into the second quarter to make it 14-0.

But Bridgewater (1-1) would come right back on the next possession, with runningback Jahmier Black powering in from a yard out, and a two-point run closing the deficit to 14-8.

With nine seconds left and the Falcons nearing the goal line on the next possession, Tracy called a time-out, and they returned with Seyler hitting Kenny Noonan in stride as he crossed the goal line to make it 21-8, with the PAT, before the break.

Bridgewater picked off Seyler again nearing the midway point of the third quarter, with James LoCrotondo intercepting a pass, and this time the offense cashed in, as Jonathan Okolo punched in a score with 3:46 to go in the third to make it 28-15 Joe’s before the Panthers surged back.

First, it was a nine-yard run by Black to make it 28-22 with 11:25 to go in the fourth, then another from 26 yards out gave BR its first lead of the game at 29-28 with 9:59 to play.

And then the momentum swung again.

Nick Brust caught a seven-yard touchdown pass with 8:05 left to go up by six, and on the ensuing possession, Dominic Rodriguez picked off a pass for St. Joe’s to get the ball back, and Dillon Diaz hauled in a touchdown catch with 5:39 left; that and a two-point conversion gave the Falcons a 43-29 lead.

Bridgewater still wasn’t done, as Jahmier Black would score on the next possession with a one-yard run at the 2:47 mark, and the Panthers recovered their onside kick to give them one last change to tie or win, down 43-26. But the Falcons made a big defensive stand, forcing a turnover on downs with 27 seconds to go that effectively ended it.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Marcus Borden with St. Joseph head coach Bill Tracy and senior Liam Barr, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

September 5, 2026September 5, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Cranford stops Bernards’ long streak; Rahway upsets Summit; JP Stevens is 2-0 for first time in over two decades

There was a lot to talk about Friday night in the Big Central Conference, besides No. 3 Piscataway shutting down a very good Somerville offense in a big 28-14 home win over the No. 5 Pioneers, in the Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week.

Two of the three longest active league win streaks came to an end, Rahway had a big upset of No. 8 Summit at home, and JP Stevens is 2-0 for the first time in a long time.

Read on for game recaps and notes, audio, and links to other coverage, as well as the full slate of Friday night scores, plus Saturday’s games and coverage plans.

Rahway gets big win at No. 8 Summit…

After winning a wild opening game down at Willingboro in Week Zero, including lightning delays, things didn’t look to get any easier for Rahway in Game Two with eighth-ranked Summit coming to town.

But that didn’t daunt the Indians, who jumped out to a 14-0 lead, saw that advantage shrink to four, then pulled away for a 21-0 win over the Hilltoppers with an excellent defensive effort at Madden Field.

The win leaves Rahway 2-0 for the second time in three seasons as head coach Brian Russo returns to his old stomping grounds next Friday when the Indians take on Woodbridge (1-1), which rebounded off a season-opening home loss to Bridgewater-Raritan last Friday (heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio) with a 14-8 road win at Edison Thursday night.

They’ll be looking to avenge a 21-7 loss in the first round of last year’s North 2, Group 4 playoffs. Before that, Rahway had been 4-0 against the Barrons in three meetings from 1927 to 1929 and in 1915.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rahway head coach Brian Russo and Defensive Coordinator Troy Eastman:

Bernards, Manville see Big Central win streaks end…

It had been straight 32 Big Central wins for the Bernards football program heading into Friday night’s home game at Olcott Field against Cranford, and the visiting Cougars made sure that streak went no farther.

In the season opener for the Cougars, Aidan Capizzi threw touchdown passes to Luke Owens and John Fiore, Jr., to help power Cranford to a 31-24 win.

After a 24-7 lead shrunk to 24-21 in the third following a 15-yard Bernards TD catch by Sean Arcelay, and a 35-yard pick-six by Luke Bubnowski, Logan Murray’s 45-yard TD run for Cranford in the fourth gave them enough cushion to survive late field goal.

Bernards was within three victories of tying the league record for most consecutive BCC wins of 35, held by St. Thomas Aquinas. That streak ended last year.

The Mountaineers’ last Big Central loss had come on September 2, 2022, to Hillside, 35-20.

Click here for postgame reaction from Cranford head coach Erik Rosenmeier with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

But that wasn’t the only one that ended Friday night.

Manville – which had won 12 in a row against BCC competition, including its last five in 2024 and all seven last season – fell Friday night at Brearley, 21-18.

That leaves New Providence with the league’s top active win streak against BCC opponents. The Pioneers have won 14 Big Central games in a row, including their last five in 2024, all eight last season, and Thursday night’s league opener against Voorhees, 27-7.

Now, the second longest league win streak belongs to St. Joseph-Metuchen. The No. 2 Falcons host No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen at 1 pm Saturday. Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for live coverage, with a recap and postgame reaction to follow later on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Stevens in uncharted recent territory…

When the final horn sounded in North Edison Friday night, JP Stevens did two things it hasn’t done in a very long time: start a season 2-0, and win back-to-back regular season games.

To start, it’s the Hawks’ first 2-0 start since Frank Zarro was the head coach in 2003. That team beat North Brunswick, 14-7, in the season opener on September 12th, a date which seems quaint these days, with the season now starting in late August. they followed it up with a 35-7 win over Perth Amboy the following week. The started that season 3-0, and finished 6-4, with a North 2, Group 4 first-round playoff loss to Union, which lost to Piscataway in the finals at Giants’ Stadium, earning Dan Higgins his first of seven state titles.

Secondly – no pun intended – the 2-0 start gives JP its first back-to-back regular season wins since that same stretch in 2003. The Hawks have won consecutive games in a season only three times since – in 2006, 2009 and 2012, but all three included a “postseason” consolation game win.

Notes and Nuggets…

East Brunswick’s 2-0 start – after a 36-19 home win over North Hunterdon – also is its first in quite some time. The last time they did that, CJSR analyst Marcus Borden was the head coach. It was in 2009, and the Bears began the year 3-0, en route to an 8-4 season and a 9-0 win over Brick Memorial in the Central Jersey Group 4 final.
Piscataway’s Zaire Young finished with 268 rushing yards Friday night in a 28-14 win over Somerville, and volunteer Chiefs assistant John Thompson says that’s the fifth-highest single-game rushing performance in school history. The only four better: Kelvin Veras (289 vs. Old Bridge on October 16, 1998), Tyshnn Jackson (300 vs. Franklin on Thanksgiving, November 28, 1989), Juwon Jackson (303 vs. Edison on November 3, 2017) and Tevin Shaw (304 vs. Elizabeth in the North 2, Group 4 final on December 3, 2011). That also makes it the No. 2 rushing performance against a Somerset County school, as well as the fourth-best regular season rushing output in a game in program history.

FRIDAY SCORES:

#1 Phillipsburg 24, Emmaus (PA) 10
#3 Piscataway 28, #5 Somerville 14 (Recap with Audio)
#4 Old Bridge 49, Montgomery 21
Ridge 21, #7 Sayreville 7
Rahway 21, #8 Summit 10
#9 Elizabeth 43, Plainfield 20
#10 St. Thomas Aquinas 24, Westfield 20
Union 15, Watchung Hills 12
Monroe 28, Governor Livingston 7 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
Metuchen 29, New Brunswick 0
Spotswood 51, JFK 13
East Brunswick 36, North Hunterdon 19
Brearley 21, Manville 18
South Brunswick 27, North Brunswick 19
Colonia 16, Franklin 14
Highland Park 27, Middlesex 0
South Hunterdon 35, South River 8
Cranford 31, Bernards 24
JP Stevens 21, Dunellen 7
South Plainfield 20, North Plainfield 10

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

#6 Bridgewater-Raritan at #2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 1 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
Roselle at Hillside, 1 pm

THURSDAY SCORES:

Hillsborough 21, Hunterdon Central 14 (Recap w/ Audio)
Dayton 43, Bound Brook 12 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
Woodbridge 14, Edison 8
Belvidere 28, Roselle Park 27
Delaware Valley 34, Johnson 33
New Providence 27, Voorhees 7
Carteret 26, Perth Amboy 20
Linden 34, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 6

September 4, 2026September 5, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Monroe uses critical plays in key moments, two big TD runs from Xavier Wilson, to get past Governor Livingston, 28-7

The Monroe football team won its opening game in 2025, a 41-0 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro in Week Zero. It never won a game again, finishing 1-8.

West Windsor is one of the lowest-rated teams in the NJSIAA Strength Index.

On the other hand, Governor Livingston looked very good in its 48-27 win over Dayton in Week Zero this year, and it always a competitive group. So it had to feel good for the Falcons – after a heartbreaking 33-28 loss at Perth Amboy to open the season – to get in the win column with a victory over the visiting Highlanders Friday night, 28-7.

A big reason why was senior wide receiver/H-back Logan Richter. Even as Xavier Wilson started the scoring with fireworks – on an 85-yard touchdown run with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter, and closing he scoring with an 80-yard run in the fourth – senior quarterback/H-back Logan Richter scored twice – one on a catch, another on a run – and converted numerous fourth downs throughout the contest.

Monroe (1-1) will visit North Brunswick (1-1) next Friday night; the Raiders lost 27-19 to neighboring rival South Brunswick at home Friday. Governor Livingston (1-1) will go to Bernards (1-1) next Thursday night; the Mountaineers had a 32-game Big Central winning streak snapped Friday night when they lost at home, 31-24, to Cranford.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Monroe head coach Nick Isola and senior Logan Richter, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

September 4, 2026September 5, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Young’s monster game, No. 3 Piscataway defense, stifle No. 5 Somerville for 28-14 win

There were two big storylines out of No. 3 Piscataway’s big win Thursday night at Kenny Armwood Stadium over No. 5 Somerville, heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The first is obvious: senior Zaire Young ran 37 times for 268 yards – the fifth-best single-game rushing yardage performance in school history – and scored three touchdowns in the win, including gobbling up time on the clock late in the fourth quarter to keep the ball out of the Pioneers’ hands. That included runs of two, one and 57 yards, on the night’s final score.

The other was less obvious: the Chiefs (2-0) shutout the Somerville offense, the first time that’s happened since a 37-0 shutout at the hands of Westfield in 2022, the last game Ian Pace coached in his only season in The ‘Ville before Matt Bloom took over with two games left in that year’s regular season. (They won both to get into the playoffs.)

That’s because Somerville began the game in fine form, with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Dushawn Dorsey, who found a hole, then outraced the rest of the defense into the end zone. Their other score came on a 65-yard pick-six by cornerback Thyce Pappas.

But that was all they could muster in the win, in a game which had a lot of juice coming in, at least for the fans and coaches, if not the players, none of whom were alive the last time these two teams met, in 1987, the last of 23 consecutive meetings while members of the Mid-State Conference.

Somerville (1-1) could not get into a flow all night, and never really displayed its tempo, no-huddle offense as a result. Justin Bowen was held to 30 yards on 11 carries, with his long being 12, the only run he had over six yards on the night. Seven of his eleven runs were for three yards or less.

Click below for postgame reaction from Piscataway head coach Dan Higgins and senior runningback Zaire Young with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

September 4, 2026September 4, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Landon Pernell’s talent is no joke, now he owns the Piscataway all-time passing record to prove it

The Piscataway football program doesn’t always have a quarterback.

Yes, they do on game days, but there have been so many great backs, great talented athletes over the years, that it’s up to Dan Higgins to find the kid who has the best arm, but didn’t necessarily grow up playing the position.

Landon Pernell is not one of them.

He has always played the position, and for the last few years – and, he hopes, this year, too – has has been an integral part of Piscataway’s slow and steady resurgence from the ravages of the program not playing during the 2020 COVID-shortened season, with all of their fall teams sidelined.

On Saturday, in the Chiefs’ season-opener at East Orange, he didn’t throw a single touchdown pass, but was 13-of-19 for 163 yards, passing Chet Trechok (1983) to become the all-time leading passer in school history. And he still has nearly a full senior year ahead of him.

“He’s been playing since his freshman year,” says veteran head coach Dan Higgins, who has had many signal-callers since being elevated to the head coaching position after Joe Kuronyi retired following the program’s 2002 Central Jersey Group 4 championship. “The stage has never been to big for him, but to me, the greatest growth for him … is his leadership.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BIG CENTRAL GAME OF THE WEEK
PRESENTED BY BELLAMY & SON PAVING:
NO. 6 SOMERVILLE at NO. 3 PISCATAWAY

“This team listens to him,” Higgins points out. “He’s not afraid to demand them and challenge them when needed. He did that [Saturday]. We had some weak moments and Landon just called out everyone and huddled them up,” Higgins added. “There’s no price tag.”

High praise from a guy who has coached the likes of Kyle Wilson, Anthony Davis and Malcolm Jenkins.

“Most talented, hardest working, and unselfish leader? You don’t see a lot of that these days,” Higgins says. “And I’m really proud of him.”

Click below to hear Piscataway senior Landon Pernell talk about becoming the school’s all-time leading passer with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

September 3, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Bernknopf tosses five first-half TD passes to power Dayton past Bound Brook, 43-12

Dayton senior quarterback Adrian Bernknopf had himself quite the night, and the game was only half over.

Bernknopf threw five touchdown passes before the break to four different receivers, and by the time Bound Brook got on the board, the Bulldogs already had staked themselves to a 43-0 lead.

All that led to a running clock in a fast second half in Springfield Thursday night, as the Bulldogs (1-1) picked up their first win of the season 43-12 over visiting Bound Brook.

Bernknopf opened the scoring 2:03 into the game with a four-yard touchdown pass to James Babiarz. Then, after the defense came out and Dominic Pintado returned an interception 68-yards for six, he hit Babiarz again to make it 22-0 with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

The senior QB would hit for one more score late in the first – 48 yards to Kevin Paiva to make it 29-0 – then toss a 21-yard TD strike to Kevin Lunch with 9:08 to go before the half, and another 13 yards to Aiden Delpeche to make it 43-0.

Bound Brook (0-2) would get on the board with a six-yard touchdown run before the half. The PAT was blocked, and Dayton went into the home locker room with a 43-6 lead, kicking off a running clock to start the second half.

With that, and the jayvee in, Bound Brook added one more score, on a 16-yard run by sophomore Guy Pugh.

Click below for postgame reaction from Dayton head coach Nick Iannacone and senior quarterback Adrian Bernknopf, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!