Connor Jakubowski had a touchdown catch, touchdown run and and interception for a score to lead Governor Livingston past visiting JFK, 49-12, in a Big Central Conference United Silver Division game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Click below to listen to Chris Tsakonas and Nick Hart call all the play-by-play live from Berkeley Heights, NJ, on September 19, 2026:
Senior quarterback A’rique Fleming threw for 378 yards and five touchdown passes – two each to Qua’Yon Williams and Eric Cespedes – as the No. 7 Elizabeth Minutemen knocked off No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 62-35, in a Big Central Conference American Gold Division game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel and Dylan Allen call all the play-by-play live from Williams Field in Elizabeth, NJ, on September 18, 2026:
Brearley jumped out to an early led and never looked back Saturday afternoon in a 42-12 win at South River in Big Central Conference Freedom Gold Division action.
After taking the opening kickoff and getting a 20-yard return to their own 40 yard line, the Rams fumbled on a run up the gut the very first play from scrimmage, giving the Bears the ball. And they would punch it in with a three-yard run from senior Nehemiah De Leon with 9:37 to go in the quarter to go up 7-0.
Brearley’s Ryan Nelson would snag an interception on the next South River possession, and though they wouldn’t score an ended up punting the ball away, the Rams fumbled that, too, for their third turnover of the game after just two offensive possessions.
Nelson – also the quarterback – would then throw a 14-yard touchdown pass to receiver Rocco Federico to make it 14-0 at the 3:11 mark of the first.
And that was essentially the way it would go for the rest of the afternoon in South River for the Bears and Rams.
In the second quarter, Monroe Passmore added a 71-yard touchdown run with 5:57 to go, and a seven-yard touchdown pass before halftime made it 27-0 at the break.
The Rams got on the board with a 53-yard touchdown run by Dominic Harris in the third quarter, but Brearley answered back with a 43-yard TD run from Passmore to make it 34-6. The Bears also recovered a fumble with 3:45 to go in the third, making it 34-6, and a Nelson four-yard run seven seconds into the fourth – plus a two-point run – made it 42-6 and kicked off a running clock.
Harris added a 20-yard touchdown run with 3:58 remaining after Harris scored on a 20-yard TD gallop, making the final score 42-12.
Brearley (3-1, 1-1) is off to its best start since 2022, when they went undefeated in the regular season, and finished 10-1, their only loss coming at Mountain Lakes in the North 1, Group 1 title game.
South River (0-4, 0-2) has won just once in its last 14 games, a season-ending victory over Dunellen, 19-0, last season.
Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden with….
After losing two straight games, Governor Livingston looks to bounce back on Saturday afternoon when they return home for the first time since Week Zero to take on JFK.
The Highlanders (1-2, 0-1 BCC United Silver) head back to the hill after falling 49-29 in a high-scoring loss to Bernards last Friday night. It was the second straight loss for Governor Livingston, who also fell 28-7 to Monroe the week before.
Saturday’s tilt is a late start at 2 pm due to SAT testing that morning. You can hear the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving with Chris Tsakonas and Nick Hart on the call. Pregame starts at 1:35; click here to listen.
It’s a similar position to where Governor Livingston was last year: after an 0-2 start with two lopsided defeats, the Highlanders beat JFK 36-28 to get the first win of the year, sparking a three game win streak and paving the way for a 5-5 finish.
Governor Livingston’s offense this year has been led by star running back Elijah Garcia, who already has 273 yards and two touchdowns to lead the rushing attack.
Sophomore quarterback Colin Hughes has taken over as the full-time signal caller for Governor Livingston this season, completing 55.5 percent of his passes for 406 yards and four touchdowns through the first three games. Hughes has also emerged as a rushing threat with 22 carries for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
In the passing game, Hughes is relying on the duo of Parker Chatfield (11 receptions for a team-high 221 yards and two touchdowns) and Connor Jakubowski (11 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown) as his go-to receivers this season.
It’s a new-look group on the defensive side of the ball, as the Highlanders graduated seven starters from last year’s unit. Governor Livingston’s defense has had a strong showing on the defensive line, with Theo Tombros and Dylan Cisko combining for 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
The linebackers and defensive backs are a younger group, with juniors like Jakubowski, Chatfield and Garcia all playing key roles. Junior linebacker Logan Stack has emerged as another key piece with a team-high 32 tackles this year.
Listen to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas speak with Governor Livingston head coach Pete Ramiccio ahead of Saturday’s game:
There was a lot of great football on Friday Night of Week three around the Big Central, including a trio of fantastic Top Ten matchups.
Seventh-ranked Elizabeth used its speed in a big upset win over American Gold Division rival and No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, No. 5 Old Bridge used an early lead to down eighth-ranked St. Thomas Aquinas, and No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan picked up its first win in over a decade against No. 9 Ridge.
Scroll down to read more on the Panthers’ win and other games around the Big Central, followed by the full Friday night scoreboard and Saturday afternoon’s schedule.
This story will be updated with remaining scores once they are reported.
Panthers’ pick up long-awaited win over Red Devils
Heading into Friday night’s contest at Basilone Field, No. 9 Ridge had won eight straight over No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan, dating back to 2018. The teams had not played the two years prior, but the Panthers last beat Ridge in 2015, not once but twice: first, to cap an undefeated regular season, then again in the second round of the North 2, Group 5 playoffs, before finally succumbing to Westfield 10-7 in the sectional final at MetLife Stadium.
This year’ matchup was a tight one, with the Panthers pulling out a 7-3 victory.
Most of the first half was scoreless, until the 1:19 mark in the second quarter, when Jahmier Black scored from seven yards out on third-and-goal, breaking several tackles on a sweep toward the left sideline to make it 7-0.
And much of the second half was the same. In fact, Ridge got on the board with 8:55 to go in the game, making it 7-3 when Herik Villalba-Ozuna connected on a 29-yard field goal.
Things got interesting later, with Ridge getting the ball at their own 21 with 4:32 to go. But they kept the ball for barely over a half-minute before having to punt, done in by a penalty and a solid Bridgewater pass defense. And after another Panther punt, Ridge still had a chance, beginning the drive at their own 40, but Jack Winne cape up with his second pick of the game to nearly seal it.
The Panthers still needed to gain some yardage, and after a Ridge time out before a second down play from the Red Devil 33, Black busted through the line for a 28-yard run to set up first-and-goal at the five, allowing his team to take a knee to close it out.
Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano talk about the Panthers’ tight win over Ridge Friday night:
Notes and Nuggets…
Click below to hear Bernards head coach John Simoneau talk about the Mountaineers win over the Tigers with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
FRIDAY SCHEDULE
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
THURSDAY SCORES
They might not be the powerhouse they were when they won a Big Central Conference record 35 straight league games from 2020 through 2025, but St. Thomas Aquinas is a very, very talented football team – playing more of the big boys every year – and creates a lot of headaches for a lot of opponents.
But it was No. 4 Old Bridge that likely gave the eight-ranked Trojans and their coaching staff headaches Friday night at Vince Lombardi Field, as the Knights built up a 23-0 lead before STA could get on the board, and it was enough to power a 26024 victory for Old Bridge.
The Knights opened the scoring at 6:38 of the first quarter on a three-yard touchdown run by Chase Rizzo to make it 7-0.
Then, just past the midway point of the second quarter, the Knights’ scored again, as QB Aiden Rios hit Amari Alsbrook for an eleven-yard touchdown strike. to make it 14-0 with 5:12 to go before the half.
Old Bridge called a time out with 3:30 to in the second anticipating an STA punt, and it helped the Knights punch in a one-yard run from Rizzo with 41.6 to go to make it 23-0. But that was enough time for Aquinas, which got on the board with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Zymere Weaver to Tristan Bester as time expired, and a good two-point try made it 23-8 at the break.
In the second half, the Trojans were not done. They got a touchdown closer at the 6:31 mark of the third, when Weaver hit Aaron Crooms for a 69-yard touchdown pass, with a two-point run making it 23-16.
But with 1:34 to go in the third, Old Bridge got perhaps its most important score of the game: a 34-yard field goal by Arain Mezera to put them up by ten, and they would need almost all of it.
That’s because with 8:23 to play, Tristan Bester picked off a pass from Rios, and the ensuing drive resulted in a Zymere Weaver one-yard touchdown run at 7:46 left to make it 26-24 with their third two-point conversion of the game.
Old Bridge, though, would chew up clock the rest of the way, and win the game to improve to 3-1, with all three wins in BCC play. St. Thomas fell to 3-1 on the year.
Click below for postgame reaction with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue, senior RB/DB Chase Rizzo and junior QB Aiden Rios, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
The NJSIAA loves MetLife Stadium.
Whether you do or not – and Giants and Jets fans have strong feelings one way or the other – clearly, it’s the state athletic association’s preference to have as many games as they can in the biggest venue they can.
And who can blame them, when you look at a kid taking a picture with his team on that big NFL logo?
But almost instantly came criticism from some corners of the state where Thanksgiving Day games are played. For the first four years of crowning state champions, Turkey Day-playing teams would get to play their final on a Wednesday, six days after thanksgiving, and following along the NJSIAA regulations that limit teams to no more than two games in a nine-day span.
That went out the window with Wednesday’s announcement by the NJSIAA, with Executive Director Colleen Maguire saying teams would have to figure out Thanksgiving on their own.
That could mean moving a Thursday Thanksgiving game to Wednesday, or cancelling altogether.
So, we decided to take a look back at the first four years of state finals, which began in 2021, to see how many teams that play on Thanksgiving actually went all the way.
In four seasons, there have been five public and two non-public championship games played each year. That’s seven total games a year, 14 berths in the finals.
There have been two Thanksgiving teams to make the finals every year but one, in 2023, when none of the finals teams played on Thanksgiving. With 14 berths a year in four years, that’s 52 finals berths, and six Turkey Day teams making it to the state finals, meaning 12 percent of the berths in state championship games were taken by Thanksgiving teams.
That’s small number overall, but not insignificant.
We didn’t really consider teams who made the state semifinals – there were two in each of the four years who fell into that category – because the short turnaround for Thanksgiving has always been part of high school football since the playoffs expanded to four teams in each section in 1975: the opening round came the week before Thanksgiving, and the finals were in early December, at the end of the week after Thanksgiving.
Even when the NJSIAA expanded to eight-team playoff sections, the semis were still held the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the finals at the end of the week after the holiday.
Here’s the breakdown of which Thanksgiving Day teams made the state finals in each of the last four seasons:
Anthony Costello caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Ian Lameira as North Plainfield evened its record at 2-2 with a 25-0 win at New Brunswick Thursday night, in the Big Central Conference Patriot Gold Division opener for both schools at Memorial Stadium.
After a season-opening 7-0 shutout win over Orange, that record mirrors the 2-2 start the Canucks had last season, with those two victories coming over Orange and New Brunswick.
It’s also the first time North Plainfield has won two games via shutout in the same season since 2011, when they beat Holmdel in a consolation game, 37-0, on November 11th, then blanked rival South Plainfield on Thanksgiving, 28-0, to finish the season with four straight wins and a 4-6 record under Bob Lake.
The Zebras hung in for the first 24 minutes, with Costello grabbing a nine-yard pass in the back left corner of the end zone, just barely staying in bounds, to take a 6-0 lead after the PAT was blocked.
It would stay that way through halftime, but the Canucks would get another score in the third and two more in the fourth. First, it was a one-yard touchdown run by Alex Kruszczynski in the third period that made it 12-0 after a two-point run failed
Then, in the fourth, Isaiah Broy scored on a five-yard run, but the PAT failed, making it 18-0. And Costello’s second TD reception of the night, a 12-yard pass from Lamiera, made it 25-0, after Edwin Nunez connected on the extra point.
New Brunswick falls to 0-4 with the loss.
High school football across the state – and in the Big Central – is in mid-season mode now, and it’s time to talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst with Marcus Borden!
We open the show looking back at last week’s games, including Coach Borden’s trips to see Highland Park at JP Stevens Thursday and Belvidere at Dunellen on Friday.
Borden also shared recent observations on inconsistencies with application of the running clock rule, and then we moved on to breakdown the three Top Ten games in the Big Central this week, including No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas at No. 4 Old Bridge – which he’ll be covering – as well as our Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week Friday between No. 7 Elizabeth and No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, plus No. 9 Ridge and their visit to No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan.
The episode concludes with “breaking news” that emerged during our Wednesday taping, that the NJSIAA would host all state finals at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, throwing some potential chaos into the mix for Thanksgiving Day teams that reach the state championships.
Click below to listen to the Week Three edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:
The Immaculata football program is in discussions to join the Big Central Conference, Central Jersey Sports Radio has learned.
League president Scott Miller confirmed the Somerville Catholic school’s request to CJSR on Thursday afternoon.
While Miller says the potential admission of Immaculata is in the “extreme infant stage,” he confirmed that it’s definitely a topic that is on the table.
The process for admission is that once a school approaches the league, the Executive Committee must decide whether to present the request to the entire conference, where the league membership would vote on admission. In between, there would likely be multiple meetings to discuss any issues or concerns.
Miller says the Executive Committee did indeed vote to present Immaculata’s request to the full league, and it would be up to the 59 existing Big Central athletic directors to make the ultimate decision. That process could take several months, Miller noted.
The BCC is in the first year of a two-year scheduling cycle, so if Immaculata were added, Miller says the Spartans would not begin play until the 2028 season.
Their addition would give the Big Central an even 60 teams across four counties – at least for now – including all the Greater Middlesex Conference schools, as well as the schools that made up the former Mid-State 38 Conference, which included Union, Somerset, Hunterdon and parts of Warren Counties.
It would also give the league three non-public schools, including St. Joseph of Metuchen and St. Thomas Aquinas, formerly known as Bishop Ahr (though Aquinas was its original name when the school opened).
Immaculata was one of the original BCC members, having been in the Mid-State Conference, but over the summer of 2020, before the inaugural season kicked off, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, they withdrew due to scheduling disagreements.
Warren Hills also was an original member of the Big Central, playing in the league in its inaugural season of 2020 and in 2021, but moved to the Super Football Conference in 2022.
And in news coming out of Robbinsville Wednesday, where the NJSIAA held its first Executive Committee meeting of the year, Bernardsville is in the process of seeking a split from the Skyland Conference in most sports, and the BCC in boys’ football and girls’ flag football, seeking to join the NJAC and Super Football Conference, with travel seemingly a key issue.
Immaculata parted ways with Mike Columbo after the 2025 season and in early February hired Class of 2011 alum Dallas Whitaker as head coach, with mentor Jeff Vanderbeek also on board as the Football Program Coordinator.
Vanderbeek took over at Somerville in 2015 as co-head coach with Chris Cassamento, then went solo the next year as the Pioneers went 10-1, falling in the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals to Rumson-Fair Haven. They went 11-1 the next season, in 2017, and beat Rumson for the CJ3. Whitaker was his Offensive Coordinator.
Vanderbeek handed Whitaker the keys in 2018 and the team went 36-6 under his leadership, finishing with a No. 4 ranking in the state (7-0) in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with one of the highest-octane no-huddle offenses you’ll ever see at the high school level.
The Spartans are currently 1-2, with a Week One win over St. Joseph-by-the-Sea of Staten island, 50-28. They dropped a 40-20 decision in their opener to Glassboro, and fell 38-16 this past week at Archbishop Stepinac (NY). Though they are affiliated with the Super Football Conference to help with scheduling, they are considered independent within the league and do not play in an SFC division.
