Category: Football

by Marcus Borden

Piscataway moves up; Rahway, Union join Marcus Borden’s Week 2 Top Ten… plus rankings for BCC West, Middlesex and Union Counties

We are fully underway in the Big Central, with every team playing in Week One, as ten teams who did not start the season in Week Zero made their debut.

This past Thursday, I was in Springfield for Jonathan Dayton’s home opener versus Bound Brook on their newly refurbished stadium turf field.

The Bulldogs scored early and often as Senior quarterback Adrian Bernknopf’s dominant first half passing performance of 11 completions in 14 attempts for 160 yards and five touchdowns to four different receivers made it an early night for the starters on offense and defense as Dayton’s 43-6 halftime lead meant the Junior Varsity would play the second half with a running clock.

Senior RB/LB Tyler Fuscaldo was a physically dominant performer on both sides of the ball as well as WR/DB Jackson Babiarz who had 2 receiving touchdowns while Junior Dominic Pintado who returned an interception 61 yards, led the defense with eight tackles.

Friday night I made my way to Hugh P. Walsh Field in Monroe as the Falcons hosted Governor Livingston in their new blackout uniforms before a raucous student section which was entirely blacked out as well.

Sophomore Xavier Wilson would break off an 85-yard touchdown run showing his shiftiness and speed late in the first quarter putting the home team up 7-0.

The Highlanders and Falcons traded punches with Monroe containing GL’s running game and and putting plenty of pressure on their sophomore quarterback. Neither team would score in the second quarter.

Monroe would punt on its first possession of the third quarter and then stop the visitors on 4th down. On their very next possession Senior Ghayoor Abbas finds fellow classmate Logan Richter on a 35-yard fourth down pass for a 14-0 lead heading into the final stanza.

“Mr. 4th down” would strike again as Richter would take the handoff from Abbas on a jet sweep barreling through defenders for a 3-yard TD and a 21-0 lead with 7:28 remaining in the game

The Highlanders would get to within 21-7 when Colin Hughes hit Parker Chatfield for a 6-yard TD at 3:44 remaining in the game.

Monroe’s Wilson would go 80-yards bouncing off would-be-tacklers down the home sideline making the final score 28-7 giving the Falcons their first win of the young season.

On Saturday, St. Joseph faced visiting Bridgewater in a much anticipated heavy-weight battle between two highly successful programs.

Both teams would shake off the jitters turning the ball over in their early possessions as two sophomore signal callers found out what it was like to be in a “playoff atmosphere” in just the 2nd week of the season!

The Falcons would strike first as Cole Seyler would find paydirt first late in the first quarter on a 13-yard run. Bridgewater end up punting with 15 seconds to end the quarter down 7-0.

Seyler would waste little time giving Joes a 14-0 at the 9:31 mark in the second quarter with a 39-yard pass to Maddox Mingucci down the middle of the field.

The Panthers would rely on the power of their 210 lb. feature back Jahmier Black who would score on a 1-yard plunge followed by a 2-point swinging gate conversion making it 14-8.

Joes would methodically march down the field and score on a 9-yard Seyler to Noonan corner route making it 21-8 as the first half came to a close.

Both teams would trade punts and turn the ball over before Dominic Rodriguez busted a 59-yard run down the home sideline for a 28-8 lead at 6:26 in the third quarter.

Bridgwater would follow that with their own drive as Jonathan Okolo would score on a 2-yard at 3:46 while drawing to within 28-15.

In the 4th quarter Bridgewater would put the ball into the hands of their powerful back as Black would score from 9-yards and 26-yards bringing the Panthers into the lead 29-28 with 9:59 remaining in the game.

Nick Trust would score on a 7-yard pass from Seyler at 8:05 in the 4th quarter regaining the lead at 35-29.

Both teams would turn the ball over before Seyler finds Dillon Diaz for a 28-yard score and a 43-29 lead with 5:39 remaining in the game.

Bridgewater would close the gap to 43-36 on a 1-yard Black touchdown with 2:47 remaining in the contest. The ensuing insides was recovered by the visitors, however the Falcons defense was able to put the finishing touches on a hard-fought battle between two teams that laid it all on the line in this early season matchup!

Here are my Week 2 Top Tens for the entire Big Central Conference, plus the BCC West, Middlesex County and Union County:

scientific calculator on wooden surface
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

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.

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

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.

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

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:

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.

Logo for Bellamy & Son Paving, promoting the Big Central Game of the Week, featuring bold text in red and yellow colors.

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
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

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!

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!

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:

by Nick Hart

Somerville is off to a good start, but now, a Top 5 matchup as No. 5 Pioneers visit No. 3 Piscataway

After an unceremonious end to the 2025-2026 campaign, Somerville got right back on track to start the new campaign with a convincing 40-21 victory over South Plainfield. But now things get even tougher.

Next up for the Pioneers is a matchup against Piscataway, a familiar foe or a brand-new one, depending on what year you went to high school.

The two squads matched up quite a bit over a 22-year stretch ranging from 1965 to 1987, playing every year. But since then, Somerville and the Chiefs (1-0) have not faced off on the gridiron.  

You can hear Friday night’s game – our Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week – live at 6 pm, with pregame at 5:45. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart are on the call; click here to listen.

While a lot has certainly changed since these two teams last met, not much has changed on the field for the Pioneers in the past season. Dylan Boehm returns as the signal caller in his sophomore season and is still producing at a high level for his offense. 

Boehm’s introduction to Somerville football was stellar, completing over 57 percent of his passes for 1,449 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Much to the delight of the Pioneers, Bohem showed no signs of slowing down to kick off this season, throwing for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week. 

Slowing down simply is not something that this Somerville team seems to do often, running a fast-paced offense every game. If it is not the pace of the offense and the passing threat of Boehm wasn’t enough to keep defensive coordinators on their toes, the Pioneers also sport a strong run game.

Senior Justin Bowen made his presence felt early this season, rushing for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Somerville’s opening contest. Last season, Bowen rushed for 446 yards and seven touchdowns while splitting carries with then-senior Aidan Vesuvio-Bush. 

With such a talented offense, it can be easy to overlook the Pioneers’ defense, unless they are your opponent for the upcoming week. Somerville surrendered 20 or more points in just three of its games last season and held opponents to an average of less than 15 points per game.

The Pioneers will have their work cut out for them on Friday, however, against a Piscataway team coming off of a seven-win season last year and an opening-week victory over East Orange last Saturday afternoon. Long-time head coach Dan Higgins, is no stranger to success with his program, sporting a 182-61 record in his 22 years with the team – along with seven state titles – and will surely have his squad ready to go against Somerville. 

With a talented Piscataway team waiting for the Pioneers, fourth-year head coach Matt Bloom knows that his team has to execute well in all three stages of the game in order to take home a victory on Friday.

Click below to hear Somerville head coach Matt Bloom talk about his team’s matchup against the Piscataway Chiefs with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart:

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!