Category: Notebook

by Mike Pavlichko

Thursday Night Big Central Roundup: Kunyz gets first win at JP Stevens, Brearley blanks Wallington, Rahway wins wild one with lightning delay on light night due to storms

Just like the many thunderstorms that have hit the Garden State this summer, Thursday night’s forecast for Day One of Week Zero of the 2026 high school football season was hit or miss.

Some places got walloped. Schools moved games to Friday. Hillsborough went all the way down to Manalapan for a game initially delayed an hour, then it got moved back another 30 minutes before the game was called and rescheduled for Friday.

But the Brearley Bears were anything but hit or miss Friday night, as they pitched a shutout up in Bergen County, beating Wallington 33-0 to open the season with a win for the first time in five years, when longtime coach Scott Miller (who’s still the Athletic Director) was leading the program.

Brearley was hot right from the opening kick. They scored on each of their first two possessions to go up 14-0 – each possession lasting just one play – while pitching a couple of three-and-outs on defense.

The Bears will host Manville next Friday night.

Click here to listen to Brearley head coach Elliot Platt talk about the Bears’ 33-0 win at Wallington with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

First win for Kunyz with Hawks…

Meanwhile, in North Edison, second-year JP Stevens head coach David Kunyz picked up his first win with the Hawks, who beat the cop-op from West Windsor-Plainsboro North and South, 21-6, snapping a 12-game losing streak that dated back to late October of 2024.

Stevens opened the scoring on an 11-yard touchdown catch by Harrison Zuniga from Mac Khawaja in the right corner of the end zone with 7:02 to go in the first. The point after failed, and the Hawks led 6-0.

With just under eight minutes to go, West Windsor’s Mahildhar Madasu tied the game up as he picked off a pass and brought it back 41-yards for a score, but the Hawks answered right back. On an option play on second-and-six from the West Windsor 28, Dwight McIntosh threw a flare down the right sideline that the deep receiver thought was his ball. But it went to Jream Sorrel, streaking across the field in front of him, and he ran right by his teammate down the sideline into the end zone. A two-point conversion made it 14-6 with 6:04 to go before the half.

The final score in the game came with 11.7 seconds left. The Hawks, coming out of a time out, got a second TD pass from Khawaja, this time to Raquan Woodson on second-and-goal from the eight. The PAT made it 21-6; neither team scored in the second half.

Click here to listen to JP Stevens head coach David Kunyz talk about the Hawks’ 21-6 home win over West Windsor-Plainsboro with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

And the only other Big Central team to win Friday night was Rahway, as the Indians won a see-saw battle in South Jersey over Willingboro out of the West Jersey Football League, 30-28.

Rahway only trailed once, but and no one led by more than ten in the game, including a 30-20 lead the Indians had in the fourth quarter. The Chimeras got to within two on a touchdown and two-point conversion with under two minutes to go, but Rahway recovered an on-side kick, and ran the clock out with the ball to seal the win.

Click here to listen to Rahway head coach Brian Russo talk about the Indians’ 30-28 road win over Willingboro with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

Many games were, indeed, wiped out Thursday, with the bulk moved to Friday. We’ve got Thursday’s scores – just four games – below, then scroll down for a look at the Friday and Saturday schedules, including two games you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

THURSDAY SCOREBOARD

  • Brearley 33, Wallington 0
  • JP Stevens 21, West Windsor-Plainsboro 6
  • Rahway 30, Willingboro 28

FRIDAY SCHEDULE

  • Dayton at Governor Livingston, noon
  • Scotch Plains-Fanwood at Westfield, 1 pm
  • Colonia at #9 Summit, 1 pm
  • #3 Old Bridge vs. Shawnee (Battle at the Beach, Ocean City), 4 pm
  • Ewing at Franklin, 4 pm
  • South Plainfield at #5 Somerville, 6 pm
  • #6 Bridgewater-Raritan at #8 Woodbridge, 6 pm (LISTEN on CJSR – Note: This is not the usual link!)
  • #10 Bernards at Rutherford, 6 pm
  • Union at Edison, 6 pm
  • Eastern at Hunterdon Central, 6 pm
  • Bound Brook at North Warren, 6 pm
  • Hopewell Valley at Montgomery, 6 pm
  • Snyder at North Brunswick, 6 pm
  • Monroe at Perth Amboy, 6 pm
  • Watchung Hills at South Brunswick, 6 pm
  • JFK at East Brunswick, 6 pm
  • Roselle Park at Wood-Ridge, 6 pm
  • Parkland (PA) at #1 Phillipsburg, 7 pm
  • Plainfield at #7 Sayreville, 7 pm
  • New Brunswick at Highland Park, 7 pm (LISTEN on CJSR)
  • North Hunterdon at Delaware Valley, 7 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
  • Hillsborough at Manalapan, 7 pm
  • Hillside at Colulmbia, 7 pm
  • New Hope-Solebury (PA) at South Hunterdon, 7 pm
  • Orange at North Plainfield, 7 pm
  • Elizabeth at Cranford, 7 pm
  • Warren Hills at Voorhees, 7 pm
  • Monmouth at Spotswood, 7 pm
  • Belvidere at Hackettstown, 7 pm

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

  • Manville at Keansburg (Battle of the Bridge), 11 am
  • #4 Piscataway at East Orange 1 pm
  • St. Thomas Aquinas at Frank J. Macchiarola (NY), 1 pm
  • South River at Point Pleasant Beach, 2 pm
lightning strike on a gloomy sky
by Mike Pavlichko

With dangerous storms in forecast, Big Central football openers start to get postponed, including Bellamy Game of the Week with Woodbridge and Bridgewater-Raritan

It’s not the full slate, at least not yet, as of lunchtime, but a number of Thursday’s high school football openers in the Big Central Conference and around the state are getting postponed due to severe weather in the forecast.

The list of games moving continues to grow throughout the day – so be sure to check back here – involving Big Central teams getting moved to Friday, now including our Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week – featuring No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan at No. 8 Woodbridge at 6 pm – which was announced around 11 am this morning by Woodbridge Athletic Director Joseph Ward. That game has been moved to Friday at 6 pm, and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, but at a different link than usual.

That’s because we will still carry Friday’s scheduled broadcast featuring New Brunswick at Highland Park at 7 pm. That game will be available on our main stream, by clicking here, while the Bridgewater-Woodbridge contest will be on an alternate stream, which you can find here.

The latest AccuWeather forecast for the New Brunswick area calls for humid weather with shows and thunderstorms throughout the day, some of which could be severe with flash flooding and “localized damaging wind gusts.” And the best chances, at the moment, for those storms will come in the 5 and 10 pm hours, which may provide a window to play.

However, some schools have already decided to not take the chance and move to Friday, where the same forecast calls for temperatures of around 80 degrees, mostly sunny skies, low humidity, and just a 20-30 percent chance of rain, diminishing to about three percent for the rest of the evening.

One game got moved to later in the evening. Brearley’s contest at Wallington was pushed to a later start time; originally scheduled for 6, that game will now kick off at 7:30

The postponements will hit Marcus Borden’s coverage this weekend, as Thursday’s game between North Hunterdon and Delaware Valley in Alexandria has been moved to Friday at 7 pm. Borden will be there, and will not be able to follow Old Bridge down to Ocean City, where the Knights are scheduled to play Shawnee at 4 pm.

Below is a list of Thursday’s postponed games so far. This list will be updated as warranted:

  • Hillsborough at Manalapan, Thursday at 7 pm (original start time was 6 pm)
  • Scotch Plains-Fanwood at Westfield, Friday at 1 pm
  • Bridgewater-Raritan at Woodbridge, Friday at 6 pm (LIVE on CJSR)
  • Eastern at Hunterdon Central, Friday at 6 pm
  • Union at Edison, Friday at 6 pm
  • Roselle Park at Wood-Ridge, Friday at 6 pm
  • Bernards at Rutherford, Friday at 6 pm
  • South Plainfield at Somerville, Friday at 6 pm
  • Brearley at Wallington, Friday at 7 pm
  • North Hunterdon at Delaware Valley, Friday at 7 pm
  • Monmouth at Spotswood, Friday at 7 pm

by justinsontupe

New-look Woodbridge looking forward to a challenge in season opener vs. Bridgewater-Raritan

When third-year Woodbridge head coach Joe Goerge approached his team about potentially playing the reigning North 2, Group 5 champions – Bridgewater-Raritan – in the 2026 season opener, the response was definitive: “We want to play them.”

“You’ve got to play the better teams if you want to improve, get to the playoffs, move on, and get to a sectional final,” Goerge said. “We are expecting a very tough, physical game.”

So the No. 8 Barrons will do just that, hosting No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan in a Top Ten matchup for the first 2026 Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Kickoff from Woodbridge is at 6:00 Thursday evening on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame at 5:45. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe are on the call.

Note: This game has a unique link, and cannot be found by clicking the normal “Listen Live Button.” Click here to listen to the Bridgewater-Raritan/Woodbridge live stream!

No stranger to the big game, Woodbridge has gone 18-4 over the past two seasons, reaching the North 2, Group 4 semifinals in 2024 and 2025. This year’s team will feature quite a few new faces, but the Barrons are hoping to reload rather than rebuild.

Joshua Allen graduated after running for 1,579 yards and 20 touchdowns. Dylan Mastrola and Kenny Mongelli combined for 177 tackles, while A’aarow Andrewz, Jhonny Collado, Jeremiah Colon, and Dylan Sabb each had multiple sacks. All have graduated.

Junior quarterback Dylan Stephen is back. He threw for 388 yards and 4 touchdowns last year, while running for another 335 yards and 7 scores.

Senior Kyle Campos is back, too. He was Woodbridge’s second-leading rusher last year (376 yards), tallied 70 tackles, punted, and return punts. Expect him to do it all again this year.

Beyond that, it’s a lot of new faces – and new opportunities – for Woodbridge.

Click below to hear Woodbridge head coach Joe Goerge talk about the 2026 opener against the Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe:

REMEMBER: This game has a unique link, and cannot be found by clicking the normal “Listen Live Button.” Click here to listen to the Bridgewater-Raritan/Woodbridge live stream!

by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Week 0

It’s time for the 2026 high school football season in New Jersey to kickoff, and it’s time to talk about it with Marcus Borden!

But we begin the show talking about the new NJSIAA football classifications for the next two seasons, which have eight teams finding new sections, moving up or down based on enrollment and a balancing of the number of teams in each section.

Then we get into the games, with the majority of Big Central Conference teams opening up this weekend. That includes our two Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week broadcasts: Thursday at 6 pm as 2025 North 2, Group 5 champion Bridgewater-Raritan travels to Woodbridge, and Friday at 7 when New Brunswick visits Highland Park. Then we talk about the games Coach Borden will cover, including Thursday night’s tussle in Alexandria between North Hunterdon and host Delaware Valley, as well as Friday afternoon’s “Battle at the Beach” game in Ocean City, featuring 2025 Central Jersey Group 5 finalist Old Bridge facing Shawnee.

We also look at some other intriguing early season matchups, and talk our favorite stadiums in the Big Central. What’s yours?

Click below to listen to the Week Zero edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

Note: This podcast was recorded before some football games – including the ones mentioned in the show – were rescheduled to Friday. For a complete list of Thursday’s postponements, updated as more come in, click here.

by Mike Pavlichko

Bridgewater-Raritan plans to keep everyone guessing – especially Woodbridge – when Panthers visit Barrons Thursday in ’26 opener

Bridgewater-Raritan football coach D.J. Catalano, fresh off the Panthers’ first-ever state sectional title, has no idea what’s going on.

And that’s just the way he wants it.

What does he know? He knows the Panthers have players. He knows what they can do. And he even knows how he’s going to use them.

The problem for their Thursday night opponent in the season opener at Woodbridge is this: Catalano hasn’t decided yet how he’s going to use them. Or when.

But use them, he will, in the inaugural 2026 Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, 6:00 Thursday evening on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame at 5:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe are on the call.

Note: This game has a unique link, and cannot be found by clicking the normal “Listen Live Button.” Click here to listen to the Bridgewater-Raritan/Woodbridge live stream!

Take Evan Woodring for example. Catalano says he’s a guy who will play “every position but the line” on offense. Last year’s backup to starter Declan Kurdyla at quarterback, he was also a wide receiver, but will still play QB sometimes, though the bulk of the work will likely go to sophomore J.B. Baxter. Thursday will be his first varsity start.

The main back, of course, will be Jahmier Black, the biggest offensive returnee, who led the team in rushing last year with 978 yards, while scoring seven touchdowns.

Defense will be much the same way for the Panthers: a lot of players at a lot of different positions, with multiple looks.

His opponent, Woodbridge and head coach Joe Goerge, is much the same way. He’s always running some version of the triple-option, but included more passing in his debut season with the Barrons in 2024 with the Anderson twins playing catch, and added a tight end to the mix last year. What we see this year is also anyone’s guess.

All of which should make for an entertaining Week Zero season opener, while leaving Catalano and Goerge to spell R-O-L-A-I-D-S.

Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano talk about the preseason, and the 2026 opener against the Woodbridge Barrons, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

REMEMBER: This game has a unique link, and cannot be found by clicking the normal “Listen Live Button.” Click here to listen to the Bridgewater-Raritan/Woodbridge live stream!

by Mike Pavlichko

More than a dozen Big Central squads do the NJSIAA shuffle as state unveils Group and Supersection classifications for next two seasons

There are a total of 14 Big Central Conference football teams who find themselves in new supersections Wednesday morning, with nine of them moving up or down into a new group based on school size.

One of the more prominent moves was Phillipsburg, due to the NJSIAA’s new competitive balance formula, which moves teams to larger sections based on playoff success according to a points matrix, if those schools are designated as being able to draw from areas outside their traditional geographic boundaries. Such schools must be open enrollment, choice schools, and the like, or charters, all of which are considered public schools (compared to non-publics) because they receive public money.

The Stateliners, who won their second straight sectional title last season, winning North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4, moved up from the North Group 4 supersection to the North Group 5 supersection. That’s where they played in the 202 and 2023 seasons, but not due to the rule, which had not been established yet. It was due to their school size, and P’burg has gone back and forth in that regard, so it’s not something that program is unaccustomed to.

Westfield – which also has been in Group 5 in the past, but was in Group 4 the past two years – also is back up to Group 5, staying in the North.

Other notable group changes include North Brunswick dropping to Group 4, while also moving into the North from the South; Carteret and Summit – with the Hilltoppers having gone to the North 2, Group 3 final last year – moving up to North 4; New Providence moving up from North 1 to 2, and Jonathan Dayton in Springfield doing the opposite; and Delaware Valley moving from South 2 to South 1.

Other teams simply got moved to different geographic sections due to the Super Football Conference “Ivy Division” teams. Those are teams that are requested by the league to be in a developmental division, ineligible for the playoffs (and ineligible to play any playoff-eligible teams). In the past, the NJSIAA had counted them in balancing out geographic supersections within a group (North vs. South), but since they were not eligible, one supersection would have more teams than the other.

That resulted in schools like Perth Amboy and Franklin moving from South to North in Group 5, for example, and explains many of the “lateral” moves geographically within a Group.

Here are the full changes involving Big Central Schools:

  • Franklin: moves laterally from South 5 to North 5
  • Perth Amboy: moves laterally from South 5 to North 5
  • Phillipsburg: moves up from North 4 to North 5, due to the Competitive Balance Formula
  • Westfield: moves up from North 4 to North 5; though enrollment fell, removing “Ivy” schools likely changed the cutoff from Group 4 to Group 5
  • Carteret: moves up from North 3 to North 4; enrollment fell slightly, but likely pushed up by Shabazz moving up from North 2 to North 3 due to the Competitive Balance formula, as well as three Ivy removals in North 3. The Ramblers would have been the largest school in North 2, and instead are the smallest in North 3.
  • North Brunswick: moves down from South 5 to South 4; enrollment dropped by 153
  • Summit: moves up from North 3 to North 4; also one of the largest North 3 schools last year (same as Carteret, 874), enrollment dipped slightly, but likely moved for the same reasons as Carteret
  • Somerville: moves laterally from South 3 to North 3; likely due to Ivy removal, this also removes the lone remaining team in South 3, leaving that and South 4 as the only state supersections without any Big Central Conference representation
  • Hillside: moves laterally from South 2 to North 2; likely due to Ivy teams being removed
  • New Providence: moves up from North 1 to North 2; enrollment increased from 472 to 502
  • Voorhees: moves laterally from South 2 to North 2; likely due to Ivy teams being removed
  • Dayton: moves down from North 2 to North 1; enrollment dropped from 496 to 458
  • Middlesex: moves laterally from South 1 to North 1; likely due to Group 2 teams moving up due to Competitive Balance Formula
  • Delaware Valley: moves down from South 2 to North 1; enrollment dropped from 514 to 464

Here are the Groups and Supersections with Big Central Conference teams:

  • North Group 5: Bridgewater-Raritan, Elizabeth, Franklin, JP Stevens, Linden, Perth Amboy, Phillipsburg, Piscataway, Plainfield, Union, Westfield
  • South Group 5: East Brunswick, Edison, Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central, Monroe, New Brunswick, Old Bridge, Sayreville, South Brunswick
  • North Group 4: Carteret, Colonia, JFK, Montgomery, North Brunswick, North Hunterdon, Rahway, Ridge, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Summit, Watchung Hills, Woodbridge
  • South Group 4: none
  • North Group 3: Cranford, North Plainfield, Somerville, South Plainfield
  • South Group 3: none
  • North Group 2: Bernards, Hillside, New Providence, Voorhees
  • South Group 2: Johnson, Governor Livingston, Metuchen, Roselle, South River
  • North Group 1: Belvidere, Brearley, Dayton, Dunellen, Middlesex, Roselle Park
  • South Group 1: Bound Brook, Delaware Valley, Highland Park, Manville, South Hunterdon
  • Non-Public A: St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Non-Public B: St. Thomas Aquinas

See and download the NJSIAA’s Football Classifications for the 2026 and 2027 football seasons:

2026-2028 NJSIAA Football ClassificationsDownload
by Marcus Borden

CJSR analyst Marcus Borden announces his preseason All-Big Central Team for 2026

As the football analyst for Central Jersey Sports Radio, I can say that I have seen all 59 teams in the Big Central Conference since joining CJSR, whether it was at practice, a scrimmage or a game.

The conference has so many outstanding players who will be instrumental in their team’s success and there will be others who will come out of nowhere to surprise us all! Your accomplishments will not go unnoticed.

I will continue to recognize the top weekly performers for the entire BCC. This will include offense, defense and special teams performers. Please make sure your statistics are available by Tuesdays at the latest.

It is now my pleasure to introduce my 2026 preseason All-Area Big Central Conference Offensive and Defensive Teams.

As a reminder to all the players in the 59 BCC football playing schools, what matters most is not how you start the season, it is how you finish it!

Best of luck to all the players and coaches.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg, Bridgewater-Raritan begin season at Nos. 1 and 2 in Big Central Preseason Power Rankings

Just like they were at the end of 2025, Phillipsburg and Bridgewater-Raritan – both state sectional champions last fall – are the top two teams in the preseason 2026 Big Central Conference Power Rankings.

In the world of the NJSIAA’s Strength Index, values carry over from the pervious year, though they are re-centered toward a midpoint of 60 by one-third. That means a team rated a 90 (30 points away from 60) would get an 80 ranking (one-third of 30 is ten), while a team rated a 51 (nine points away from 60) would get a 54 ranking (one-third of nine is three).

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.

New Providence – a sectional finalist last season – along with St. Joseph-Metuchen and Somerville round out the Top Five in the BCC. Sayreville, Old Bridge, Bernards, Montgomery and Woodbridge finish out the rest of the Top Ten.

Statewide, no Big Central team finished in the Top 25, with state Group 4 champion Winslow leading the pack, followed by Non-Public Group A runner-up Don Bosco Prep, Group A quarterfinalist Bergen Catholic, state Group 1 champion Glassboro, and state Group 5 champion Washington Twp.

Non-Public Group A champ St. Joseph-Montvale – which finished as the No. 1 team in the state in NJ.com’s final rankings – comes in sixth, while state Group 2 champion Camden begins the year seventh.

There were three Big Central teams that cracked the Top 50 however. Phillipsburg checks in at No. 35, while Bridgewater-Raritan is at 46, and New Providence is at No. 48.

Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.

Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).

Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.

Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.

Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.

by Marcus Borden

Marcus Borden unveils his preseason Big Central Conference Preseason Top Ten

These past two weeks of the Big Central Camp Caravan have been exciting and eye-opening for those who follow high school football.

It has been my pleasure to witness six schools during the first week of official practice, which included John F. Kennedy, Spotswood, Delaware Valley, East Brunswick, New Brunswick and St. Thomas Aquinas.

I am extremely grateful to all the coaches who welcomed me and afforded me the opportunity to interview their players and themselves. I met many outstanding leaders who shared their team’s philosophy and vision for the upcoming season.

Scrimmage week was just what I expected with high energy, intense, and a much needed opportunity to hit someone in a different color jersey.

The Monday tri-scrimmage at Elizabeth H.S. with Hillside and Toms River North was a track meet when TRN had the ball, as they ran 17 no-huddle plays in a 12-minute sequence. Elizabeth and Hillside had great speed and size with several key returning starters.

Tuesday’s quad scrimmage at Somerville featured Woodbridge, Ridge and Wall. The Pioneers proved they could match athleticism and size with schools that have much larger enrollments. There were plenty of big plays by all three BCC teams, which should have their fans excited.

Wednesday’s trip to Montgomery was another quad scrimmage with Hillsborough, Linden and Nottingham. The Tigers showed incredible improvement since their first round playoff loss to Bridgewater last year as they had an entire off-season with their coaching staff. The Cartys look to continue the family legacy of winning.

Thursday at Edison saw the Eagles battle Watching Hills in game conditions. Each team is looking to improve from last year with a solid running game and opportunistic defense. They both possess playmakers.

The double-header at Old Bridge versus Red Bank Catholic was moved up from 6 pm to 2 pm due to the impending thunderstorms. I made it there with fifteen minutes to spare. The Caseys were the dominant team which should come to no surprise that know their program. Old Bridge was in the midst of a pre-season quarterback duel as they prepare to open up at the Battle of the Beach versus Shawnee this Friday at 4 pm in Ocean City.

This past Friday, the Caravan traveled to Westfield as the Blue Devils hosted neighboring Cranford in similar game-like conditions. The Cougars looked impressive in their first scrimmage as they open up Week 1 at Bernards. Westfield opens with Scotch Plains-Fanwood this week.

The last stop of the 2026 preseason Camp Caravan was at Bound Brook, where the Crusaders played two full quarters of game conditions with Point Pleasant Beach. Both teams were looking to stay healthy as they are small schools with lower numbers. There were several playmakers on both squads as they worked in their youngsters in the second half.

So, now you will ask me, “Why isn’t my school in your Preseason Top 10?”

Well as the football analyst for Central Jersey Sports Radio, I have had the honor to see all 59 teams during my stint as a sideline reporter/videographer.

It is not an exact science, nevertheless, I can say their are some teams who are perennially in the mix for the playoffs and post-season championships. (And, I’ll have additional county/regional Top Tens throughout the year.)

If I may, just let me remind you of this, it is not where you start the season, it is where you finish it!

Good luck to all 59 Big Central Conference football programs in 2026. Keep working hard!

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg starts 2026 where it ended 2025: Atop the Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten

Most seasons, in most sports – at least as far as we’re concerned – are a crap shoot when it comes to preseason rankings.

It is, of course, impossible to get to see all 59 teams we cover in the Big Central Conference. There are scrimmages, but no true preseason games like in the pros. Coaches are going to talk up their teams, whether they were 1-8, 5-5, or 14-0 and state champs. Sometimes that 1-8 team will have a big turnaround, sometimes a sectional champ will lose a lot of players.

We do our best to weigh who’s coming back, and who graduated, but more often than not, we’ll give the top teams from the year before the benefit of the doubt: a place in the Top Ten is theirs to lose.

And of course, it’s never where you start, but where you finish. And rankings based on opinion are just that: opinion – no matter how objective we try to be.

Nevertheless, there’s a little bit of both in the 2026 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football Preseason Top Ten, starting at the top.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

Phillipsburg opens the season at No. 1, coming off a 10-3 season a year ago in which they reached their fourth straight sectional final, and won their second straight North 2, Group 4 title. Though they’re expected (official classifications are not out yet) to bump up to Group 5 this year due to the “success formula” for open-enrollment and similar type schools, that doesn’t affect who they play in the regular season. They’ve got a bunch back, and should be solid again.

St. Joseph-Metuchen begins the year at No. 2, up one spot, coming off a very good 8-2 season in which they beat all eight of their Big Central Conference opponents before falling in their regular season finale to Donovan Catholic, and in the opening round of the playoffs to Bergen Catholic.

Old Bridge has lost some key talent, but the Knights are coming off a 10-2 season in which they were one of only two BCC schools in Group 3 or higher to win ten games. The Knights – who went to the Central Jersey Group 5 title game last year, will start the season at No. 3.

Right behind them at No. 4 is Piscataway, which was 8-3, and beat to Old Bridge in the regular season by a touchdown, but was knocked out of the playoffs in the sectional semis. The Chiefs, however, bring back an experienced group led by Landon Pernell at quarterback.

Checking in at No. 5 is Somerville. The Pioneers had a surprising early exit from the playoffs in the first round last year, but finished 8-2 and are expected to be right back in the mix for the division and a sectional title this year. At 20-3 over the past two seasons under Matt Bloom, with a Central Jersey Group 3 title in 2024, that’s the expectation every year, and they have the horses.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

Checking in at No. 6 is last year’s North Jersey, Section 2 Group 4 champion, Bridgewater-Raritan. The Panthers were 6-3 heading into the playoffs last year, but won all three games in their section – including a thriller in the final against Bayonne – to claim their first-ever sectional title. Still, they face some significant losses, and they’ll work to earn their way back up in ’26.

Sayreville will begin the year at No. 7, taking a huge blow in the loss of Shaun Jackson, who led the Big Central in rushing each of the last two seasons. Still, that’s a program, and alum Mark Poore has done a great job his first two years, and they will remain in the mix this season.

Woodbridge – which will start at No. 8 – finished out of the Top Ten at the end of 2025, but coming off an 8-3 season in Year two under veteran mentor Joe Goerge – after going 10-1 his first year – we know the Barrons are well-coached, and that Goerge can adapt his offensive system to the talent he has, and there certainly is talent in the cupboard.

Summit checks in at No. 9, coming off a 9-3 season and a trip to the North 2, Group 3 final last year, where they lost to West Morris. They dealt with all kinds of injury adversity last year, and this well-coached program will again be highly-competitive.

Bernards comes in at No. 10, and another tremendous regular season, despite a firs-round playoff loss. The numbers speak for itself: The Mountaineers haven’t lost to a Big Central opponent since September of 2022, a defeat at the hands of Hillside. Since then, they have won 32 straight BCC contests, three shy of the record 35 set by St. Thomas Aquinas, which came to an end last year. Since the start of 2022, Bernards has an overall record of 40-5, by far the best in the league over that stretch.

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