Category: Marcus Borden

Read all posts by Marcus Borden, including his Camp Caravan, Borden’s Ballers coverage, and more!

December 3, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: State Finals!

After two years of playing down to Group Champions in New Jersey High School Football, the Big Central has joined the party, and CJSR analyst Marcus Borden talks about it all with Mike Pavlichko on our final edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden” this season!

Mike and Coach Borden take a look back at Thanksgiving Day games between Plainfield and Westfield, along with Phillipsburg-Easton, then delve into the Stateliners’ Group 4 Championship Game at Rutgers Wednesday night against Winslow Twp.

Click below to listen to the State Finals Edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

November 30, 2024December 1, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Plainfield closes out first win in 13 years against Westfield with Brown and Watkins, earns Week 13 Chris’ Auto Body “Drive of the Week”

Thanks to our newest sponsor, Chris’ Auto Body of Lambertville and New Hope, we have a new segment this football season on Central Jersey Sports Radio: “The Chris’ Auto Body Drive of the Week.”

Each week, we’ll pick the best drive from the previous weekend’s games, as shot by our high school football analyst Marcus Borden. And you’ll be able to watch the drive right here on cjsportsradio.com.

This week, it’s the last drive of the Thanksgiving Day clash between Plainfield and Westfield, with the Cardinals prevailing 14-9 for their first win in the series since 2011. Plainfield got the ball back on a Blue Devils’ punt with just under four minutes to go, and they kept Westfield from ever getting the ball again.

Click below to watch the “Chris’ Auto Body Drive of the Week” for Week 13:

November 29, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg’s long drive to start second half in Group 4 semis is the Week 12 Chris’ Auto Body “Drive of the Week”

This week, it’s Phillipsburg again, with a long, plodding, methodical scoring drive to keep the ball away from Ramapo and pad the Stateliners’ lead in the Group 4 semifinals on November 22nd. With the win, Phillipsburg will meet Winslow Twp. for the Group 4 state title on Wednesday, December 4th at Rutgers, a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Click below to watch the “Chris’ Auto Body Drive of the Week” for Week 12:

November 27, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Thanksgiving Day Rivalry Edition!

Thanksgiving is here, and it’s time for two big rivalry games involving Big Central Conference schools, Plainfield taking on Westfield, and Phillipsburg clashing with Easton out at Lafayette College.

Mike and Coach Borden take a look back at Somerville and the Stateliners in Group Semifinal action last week, and look ahead to Thursday’s Turkey Day games:

Click below to listen to the Thanksgiving Day Rivalry Edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

November 22, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Genovese, Phillipsburg dominate Ramapo 35-6, clinches Big Central’s first-ever trip to state finals

For all the talk about the laundry list of talented players who’ve contributed to Phillipsburg football this season, it came down to one of the mainstays.

Jett Genovese, the senior quarterback in his third year as a starter, put on a master class Friday night at Maloney Stadium. He scored four of the Stateliners’ five touchdowns in a 35-6 win over Ramapo in the Group 4 semifinals, making history in the process.

Phillipsburg will be the first team from the fledgling Big Central Conference to make the state finals in the third year of the expanded playoffs.

Phillipsburg will face one of the top two teams in New Jersey – as far as the power rankings based on Strength Index is concerned – in the Group 4 final at Rutgers on Wednesday, December 4th. Winslow Twp (12-0) hosts Millville (9-2) Saturday at 1 pm in the South end of the Group 4 semis.

The title game will be played on December 4th because Phillipsburg still has a Thanksgiving Day game ahead, next Thursday against Easton at Lafayette. The Stateliners have beaten the Red Rovers on two straight Turkey Days.

After a scoreless first quarter, Genovese opened the scoring with a five-yard run, and while Ramapo got what looked like the equalizer, they missed the PAT, and it was 7-6 Stateliners. But P’burg got two more touchdown runs of 12- and 22-yards from Genovese – who finished with 149 rushing yards on 15 carries – to take a 21-6 lead into the break.

By that time, it was nearly over, as Felix Matos added a one-yard touchdown run in the third, and Genovese added a 36-yard run in the fourth.

Either way, Group 4 will have a brand-new champion, though last year’s title winner still has a shot at one. That’s because Mainland – which won Group 4 last season – is down to Group 3, but they’ll face Old Tappan in the Group 3 final at a time, date and location to be determined after beating Somerville in overtime Friday night at Brooks Field, 36-35 in overtime.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Marcus Borden, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

November 21, 2024November 20, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg’s 5-play, 24-second, sectional title-winning drive is the Championship Weekend Chris’ Auto Body “Drive of the Week”

This week, it’s Phillipsburg’s fantastic finish to win the North 2, Group 4 title game, 13-11 over Northern Highlands. The Stateliners had the ball, down one, with no timeouts at their 36-yard line, and set up a school-record 46-yard field goal by Alexie Moriera as time expired to win it.

Click below to watch the “Chris’ Auto Body Drive of the Week” for Championship Weekend:

November 21, 2024November 20, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Group Semifinals Edition!

We’re on the Group Semifinals of the state playoffs, and with just two Big Central Conference teams left – Phillipsburg and Somerville – we talk about it on “Gameday with Marcus Borden!”

Mike and Coach Borden preview the Group 3 Semifinals in the South between Somerville and Mainland, as well as the Group 4 Semifinals in the north between Phillipsburg and Ramapo.

Click below to listen to the Group Semifinals Edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

November 15, 2024December 11, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Finished Business! Phillipsburg wins North 2, Group 4 title in dramatic fashion on Moreira’s career-long, school record FG as time expires

Two years in a row, Phillipsburg was the top seed heading into a sectional title game and came up empty.

That wasn’t going to happen again.

The Stateliners vowed it wouldn’t as soon as the 2023 football season wrapped up with last year’s Thanksgiving Day win over Easton. They lived that vow in the off-season, during camp, and the entire 2024 season to this point.

Friday night, they made it pay off, thanks to the foot of Alexie Moreira.

He hit a career-best and school record 46-yard field goal as time expired – not long after third-seed Northern Highlands took an 11-10 lead – to give top-seed Phillipsburg a 13-11 win in the North 2, Group 4 title game over the third-seeded Highlanders.

The kick was just his third in his high school career, and a career long at that.

It was a wild finish, as Highlands took a one-point lead with 24 seconds left. They did it on an eight yard touchdown pass from Jack O’Callaghan to senior wide receiver Shane Hanlon, then a two point conversion between the two.

That gave the Stateliners the ball back at their own 36. Senior QB Jett Genovese ran it twice, and hooked up with senior wideout Matthew Scerbo, Jr., twice, to set up Moreira’s heroics.

His first career field goal came in last week’s semifinal win, and his second came earlier in the game to give the Stateliners the lead.

Now 10-1, with their ninth NJSIAA sectional title in hand, the Stateliners wait to see who they will play next week. They’ll face the winner of North 1 Group 4, and that title game is Saturday afternoon at 1:00, when third-seed Ramapo (7-3) visits top-seed Morris Knolls (10-0).

Genovese finished 7-of-9 for 92 yards, rushing for 65 yards on ten carries and the only Phillipsburg TD of the night. Scerbo finished with four catches for 56 yards.

Click below for postgame reaction from Phillipsburg’s North 2, Group 4 title game win over Northern Highlands, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

November 14, 2024November 13, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Championship Weekend Edition!

It’s Championship Weekend for the public schools, and we delve into it all – in great detail – on “Gameday with Marcus Borden!”

Mike and Coach Borden preview all four sectional title games involving Big Central Conference teams this weekend, including Bernards, New Providence, Phillipsburg and Somerville.

Click below to listen to the Championship Weekend Edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

November 14, 2024November 13, 2024 by Mike Pavlichko

We unveil the 2024 “Borden’s Baller of the Year”: Listen to the show with all three finalists to find out who took home top honors!

The newly-expanded Borden’s Baller of the Year voting has reached its conclusion, and we have a winner after a more than a week of voting, and over 122,000 votes cast!

But, we’re not going to tell you that easily!

This year’s voting added another round. With 59 Big Central Conference teams now represented, we divided the total vote to come up with three finalists: one from Middlesex County, one from Union County, and a third from the “Big Central West” – Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties.

The finalists were: