Category: Football

by Mike Pavlichko

When was the last time?  This question has sent us down more than a few rabbit holes for teams like Highland Park, Elizabeth, Perth Amboy

You might be sick of hearing about some of the Big Central Conference teams that have been doing particularly well this year, after years (for some of them) of not doing so well.

But we’re not. 

While it’s always fun to follow the powerhouses like Phillipsburg, Piscataway, or Sayreville – football programs that are more often than not in contention for state titles – it’s always good to see some new blood.

Highland Park hasn’t had a season like this in ages.  Perth Amboy even longer.  Elizabeth has seen success a little more recently, and more consistently, but their story right now is that they are in another stratosphere completely than they have been since their last title.

All this has left us having to dig deeper, deeper and still deeper into not only our records, but also internet archives.

It’s easy to find team results over the last decade and a half; NJ.com has team results back to 2010, though details diminish as you work your way to the earlier years. MaxPreps has team results back to 2004, but some game results occasionally are missing.

And the Dr. Roger Saylor Collection at the Penn State Libraries has results from 2010 going back to the dawn of high school football in New Jersey – yes, even into the 1800s! – but they are chronological by year, and not within a given season.  We can tell, for example, how many .500 seasons a team had in a row, but not if they started the season 5-0, or so play alternated between wins and losses all year.

So, we’ve had to dig deep this year, perhaps more than in any other.

Elizabeth (5-0):

This was the easiest one, as the Minutemen always are competitive, and their last state title came not too long ago. The last time they were 5-0 was in 2014, back when John Quinn – who won two state titles at New Brunswick – was the head coach. Elizabeth beat Watchung Hills, Hunterdon Central, Franklin, Union and Bridgewater-Raritan, but then dropped back-to-back games against Phillipsburg (19-6) and Hillsborough (31-28), both at home. They won their last two regular season games against Plainfield and Linden, then beat Barringer and Piscataway at home in the North 2, Group 5 state tournament, before falling to Linden, 27-20, in the final at Met Life Stadium.

Ironically, they have Linden (2-2) on the road this week, as they look to 6-0. And when was the last time that happened?

It was 2012, and we’re not going to have to go any further back for the “last time” after this. That’s because the Minutemen went 11-0 that season and won the North 2, Group 5 title, as future Temple standout P.J. Walker engineered a last-minute scoring drive to beat Piscataway, 37-33, up at Kean University in Union.

Technically, they were 11-0-1, as that was the year Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey and wiped out a full weekend of action, which left their game with Plainfield deemed a “tie” for power points purposes. However, most – including us – don’t consider that a tie in the record since it was awarded, rather than played on the field.

Here are the 2012 schedule and results for Elizabeth:

  • Westfield: 45-6 W
  • Union: 42-7 W
  • at Hunterdon Central: 24-17 W
  • Hillsborough: 41-7 W
  • Franklin: 49-13 W
  • at Bridgewater-Raritan: 39-0 W
  • at Linden: 42-0 W
  • Phillipsburg: 54-26 W
  • Plainfield: declared tie for power points purposes
  • N2G5 1st Round – Edison: 41-18 W
  • N2G5 Semifinals – Franklin: 24-7 W
  • N2G5 Finals (at Kean Univ.) – Piscataway: 37-33 W

Highland Park (5-0):

We have a ways to go before we have to check the Owls again, even if they keep winning. That’s because they last time they started a season 5-0, they won their first seven games of 2007. Under Rich McGlynn, Highland Park didn’t lose that season until a late-October non-conference game against Robbinsville, then dropped another one to Brearley on Cutoff Weekend, the week before the playoffs.

While they won their first-round game at Freehold Township, 20-17, they lost at Keansburg in the Central Jersey Group 1 semifinals, 53-30, finishing the season at 8-3.

They actually had a better overall season two years later, in 2009. That year, the Owls went 8-4, but they split their first two games. They wound up reaching the Central Jersey Group 1 title game, where they lost 44-6 to Asbury Park – coached at that time by Don Sofilkanich, who had previously been on John Quinn’s staff for his two titles at New Brunswick – at Kean University in Union.

Here are the 2007 schedule and results for Highland Park:

  • at Dayton: 40-13 W
  • at Cardinal McCarrick: 35-21 W
  • Roselle Park: 27-7 W
  • Metuchen: 27-0 W
  • Dunellen: 21-6 W
  • at Middlesex: 25-14 W
  • at Pennington: 28-7 W
  • Robbinsville: 19-12 L
  • Brearley: 20-0 L
  • CJ1 First Round – at Freehold Twp.: 20-17 W
  • CJ1 Semifinals – at Keansburg: 53-30 W

Perth Amboy (4-1):

The Panthers aren’t undefeated, but they have been having one of their best seasons in ages. Last week, we knew if Amboy went to 4-1, it would have been a while since the last time. Our research got to 2004, and we held off to see how they would do this week.

Turns out they got there, winning their second straight road game, beating Metuchen 40-0. The Panthers have allowed just 13 points in the last three games: six against Roselle, seven against Spotswood, and a whitewash against the Bulldogs.

There haven’t been a lot of winning seasons in Perth Amboy’s recent history, so we had to dig deep, but not every year. In 1998, for example, they were 5-5, but started 2-1 before taking another loss. We found 1995 as the last time they started a season 4-1, but they would lose their next game, win another, then drop their last two and finished 5-4, without a trip to the playoffs, which were only four-team brackets at the time. (The eight-team field didn’t get introduced until 1998, a push championed by none other than CJSR analyst Marcus Borden, who was the coach at East Brunswick at the time.)

There were only four other possible seasons in the playoff era we could look at:

  • 1989: Amboy went 6-3, but was just 2-3 through their first five games, before winning their final four contests.
  • 1987: In another 6-3 season, the Panthers got off to a 3-0 start, but lost their next two games to go 3-2 through their first five.
  • 1985: Going 5-4, the Panthers began the year at 2-1, but lost their next two to go 2-3 through their first five.
  • 1979: In another 5-4 campaign, Amboy started 2-3 through their first five.

So, we dug a little further, and found a four-year stretch where the Panthers had done a lot of winning. That was the Brian Taylor era, where Perth Amboy Amboy went 27-5-4 over four seasons from 1964-1967, including an 8-0-1 campaign in 1965 where they didn’t win a state championship. But did secure their first undefeated season since going 8-0 in 1933. (They weren’t state champs that year either, but won the next year, in 1934, going 6-0-1.)

But we did find that the Panthers started 1967 with a 4-1 record, before bouncing back and not losing another game the rest of the year. So that would be the last time they went 6-1, going 6-1-1 before they beat Carteret at The Pit in their Thanksgiving Day game, played on the Saturday after due to bad weather on Turkey Day.

Here are the 1967 schedule and results for Perth Amboy:

  • Trenton: 37-6 W
  • at Sayreville: 25-13 W
  • Princeton: 21-0 W
  • Woodbridge: 28-13 W
  • at East Brunswick: 18-13 L
  • Madison Twp. (Old Bridge): 28-7 W
  • at New Brunswick: 26-14 W
  • South River: 14-14 T
  • at Carteret: 26-8 W

Meanwhile, Union (4-1) and Hillside (5-0) are having some big turnaround years, but they’ve also had some highly successful campaigns in recent seasons.

The last time the Farmers had a five-win season was in 2023, when they went 5-6, but the last time they started 5-1 was in 2021, a season that ended with tremendous disappointment. Union put together an 8-1 regular season, led by star Davison Igbinosun, and were 9-1 after a first round playoff win, heading into a sectional semifinal matchup with Paterson Eastside. But eight hours before kickoff, due to four positive COVID tests among team members, the district cancelled the game, effectively ending the season. They would officially finish 9-2 on the year.

The Comets, meanwhile, went all the way in 2019, going 12-0 under Barris Grant – ironically, now at Union. Hillside put together an 8-0 regular season, then won the South Jersey Group 2 title over West Deptford, 14-6. (We know, Hillside isn’t in South Jersey – go ask the NJSIAA why.) Then, they won the South Jersey Group 2 Regional Championship, defeating Central Jersey Group 2 champ (We know, we know, it makes no sense!) Cedar Creek, 25-3, at Rutgers.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY:  South Plainfield 14, Carteret 6

Jayden Brown scored on a 53-yard touchdown run just two plays into the game, then added a 13-yard scoring run in the third quarter for insurance, as South Plainfield won at Carteret, 14-6, in a Big Central Conference crossover game.

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 Walt Overholt Stadium in Carteret, NJ, on September 25, 2026:

1st Half
2nd Half

by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Big Central Roundup: No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan wins lone league game, with two others now on Monday; controversial ending at Cranford-Rahway tilt

The Saturday schedule in the Big Central Conference already was light, with just three games on tap, but the forecast for the big Nor’easter barreling up the East Coast slashed that number by two thirds.

That will leave two games – and four teams – playing on Monday, with all four having to come back on quick rest to play Friday. The lone game of the day say No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan pick up a shutout win at Westfield.

And an already wild Friday night around the league got even wilder following a controversial call at the final horn in the Cranford-Rahway game.

Panthers roll at Westfield, 20-0…

All in all, it’s very likely all three Big Central games could have been played Saturday, as the weather seemed to calm just in time for No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan to play its 1:00 game at Kehler Stadium in Westfield against the Blue Devils. (The others were North Brunswick at Franklin and Phillipsburg at St. Joseph, which have been moved to 6 pm and 3 pm Monday, respectively.)

And the wind wasn’t terribly bad either, which was good news for Panthers’ sophomore quarterback J.B. Baxter, who went 8-of-14 passing for 80 yards, while Jahmier Black led with 78 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a 20-0 road victory.

But perhaps more impressive was the Bridgewater defense. The Panthers (4-1) held Westfield (1-4) to just nine yards on the ground, and taking out their quarterback, two of the other three ball carriers in the game had negative yardage. Charlie Young was the leading rusher with seven carries for 31 yards.

Jon Okolo had just five carries for 17 yards for Bridgewater-Raritan, but made them count, scoring two touchdowns. Senior defensive lineman Trent Levash also had a fumble recovery off a blocked punt.

The win makes it victories in back-to-back games in back-to-back years over Westfield for the first time since 2009 and 2010, with a slight asterisk. They beat Westfield in the regular season in 2019, then lost to them in the playoffs, and won again in 2020. But that had a postseason loss in between, and the 2020 season was the COVID-year, in which Westfield only managed to play two games, both losses to the Panthers and St. Joseph-Metuchen.

Bridgewater visits Hunterdon Central (1-4) next Friday night, while the Blue Devils travel to Woodbridge (3-2).

Let’s go to the videotape…

There is no video review in high school football in New Jersey – at least, not anymore. (A short-lived attempt a few years ago was ditched when two video reviews in state finals were botched and the NJSIAA decided to do away with it.)

But there often are multiple photographers and cameras on site at every high school football game, and Friday’s game between Rahway and Cranford at Madden Field was no exception.

Rahway was down 14-7 and had a chance near the goal line with five seconds to play. Jaquan Robinson threw to Jaylen Eastman, who caught the ball in the air across the goal line, but he landed out of bounds. That much is not in dispute.

Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden was in the back of the end zone, shooting video of the play. His video appears to show anywhere between :00.5 and :00.7 seconds on the clock at the time Eastman’s cleats touch the turf, at which point the clock would stop.

Watch the video below, which also appears to show the clock stutter, never showing :00.6 or :00.5 but jumping right to :00.4, although it appears those are also the correct times. The clock may not display the missing two-tenths in between, but appears to be counting them nonetheless.

CJSR analyst Marcus Borden’s video of the ending of the Cranford-Rahway game at Madden Field on September 25, 2026. (Video: Marcus Borden)

Rahway argued there should still be time on the clock, and from this vantage point that makes sense.

However, NJ.com reporter Steven Bassin has video that shows the start of the play with the scoreboard on the other side of the field in the frame.

In Borden’s video, pre-snap, his play-by-play account indicates five seconds are on the clock. But from Bassin’s point of view, the video starts after the snap, the clock is still at :05, and a little over one full second into the video – with players already moving – the clock remains at five seconds even.

After the play, the clock appears frozen at :00.3, then after several seconds winds down to zero.

But remember, there is no video review in high school football in New Jersey. But officials can get together to discuss, and they did. After meeting on the field, the officials held up the football to show the game was over.

So what really happened?

That’s anyone’s guess, since no one besides the officials are privy to their conversation. But in any case, officials can meet to discuss what each person saw. It’s very likely they saw the three-tenths of a second on the clock after the play, but not at the time the catch was made and the ball was out of bounds. But if the officials did notice – and there’s a better chance of this – that the clock did not start on time, and was more than a second late in starting, that they decided time should have run out and the game was over.

What’s notable here is the scoreboard and clock locations at Madden Field – yes, plural. While many high school stadiums have one scoreboard in the back of one of the end zones, Madden has two scoreboards, one along each sideline. So it’s very possible the line judge and head linesman – who are stationed on opposite sidelines on the line of scrimmage, watching for false starts and off-sides penalties – saw the clock failed to start and relayed that to the group as they met to discuss.

Without having talked to the officials – who reportedly left the field with no explanation to either coach – we’ll never know, but based on the video evidence, this would seem to be the only explanation, and – we think – the right call.

SATURDAY SCOREBOARD

  • No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan 20, Westfield 0

FRIDAY SCOREBOARD

  • No. 4 Old Bridge 27, No. 2 Piscataway 26 (Game story with audio)
  • No. 3 Elizabeth 28, No. 10 Ridge 23
  • Montgomery 38, No. 7 Somerville 35
  • Cranford 14, No. 8 Rahway 7 (Recap with video via Marcus Borden)
  • Sayreville 37, No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 21
  • South Plainfield 14, Carteret 6 (Game story with audio)
  • Brearley 33, JP Stevens 0
  • Union 42, Hillsborough 13
  • Dayton 40, Roselle Park 35
  • New Providence 48, Roselle 0
  • East Brunswick 34, Voorhees 7
  • Woodbridge 28, Colonia 21
  • Perth Amboy 40, Metuchen 0
  • North Plainfield 41, JFK 7
  • Watchung Hills 21, Hunterdon Central 19
  • Johnson 21, Spotswood 6
  • Bernards 28, Delaware Valley 0
  • Middlesex 21, Dunellen 0
  • Highland Park 47, South River 0
  • Belvidere 35, Bound Brook 0
  • Scotch Plains-Fanwood 33, North Hunterdon 22
  • Plainfield 37, Linden 14
  • Manville 42, South Hunterdon 8
  • Hillside 44, New Brunswick 0
  • South Brunswick 38, Monroe 14

THURSDAY SCORES

MONDAY SCHEDULE

  • No. 1 Phillipsburg at No. 5 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 3 pm
  • North Brunswick at Franklin, 6 pm

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY:  Summit 20, Edison 0

Senior QB Matt McKeever threw for 115 yards and a touchdown while senior runningback Gavin Schnall ran for 103 yards and a score to help Summit beat Edison, 20-0, in a Big Central Conference crossover game. Jackson Marx matched a season-high with a 37-yard field goal, going two-for-two with another 30-yarder as well.

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 Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play live from Investors Bank Stadium at Tatlock Field in Summit, NJ, on September 24, 2026:

1st Half
2nd Half
by Mike Pavlichko

South Plainfield grinds one out, hangs on to beat Carteret on windy night at “The Pit”

South Plainfield got 114 yards rushing and a touchdown on just nine carries by Jayden Jones, but it helped make the difference as the Tigers ran the ball almost exclusively in a 14-6 road win over Carteret Friday night in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Tigers attempted just three passes in the game, all going incomplete, while Christian Brown ran it 17 times for 62 yards and a score.

When Jones broke free on the second play from scrimmage in the game to score a touchdown just 55-seconds in, it looked like a battle of two teams with solid ground games might turn into a foot race. But it was not to be, as that was the only score of the first half. Both squads could move the ball, but no one else seemed to be able to get into the end zone.

With 8:55 left in the third, South Plainfield (3-2) got a 13-yard run from Brown to make it 14-0. That was another short drive, too, taking just three plays to go 25 yards after Carteret had turned it over on downs following a failed fourth-down conversion attempt.

Truly, this game belonged to the defenses, both of whom played very well, though penalties and mistakes seemed to plague Carteret, who had at least three bad snaps that resulted in significant losses of yardage, three for 30 yards in the first half alone. Starting center Brandon Byron broke his leg on the second play of last week’s game loss to Scotch Plains-Fanwood, a repeat injury after doing the same against Hillside last year.

Carteret looked done for in the fourth quarter until the Ramblers (3-2) got on the board with 2:47 to play, on a 13-yard touchdown run by Al-Naiquan Boseman. An onside kick was expected, but a line drive kick went well over ten yards, pinning South Plainfield back inside its own five, but they were able to ice the game anyway.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart with South Plainfield head coach Bill Hamilton and senior running back Jayden Jones, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Cranford remains unbeaten as Worrell’s two TDs sink No. 10 Rahway, Cougars net 14-7 road win

A pair of touchdowns from senior runningback Gabe Worrell gave Cranford all the cushion it would need to survive a fourth quarter Rahway touchdown, keeping the Cougars undefeated with a 14-7 road win in a Big Central Conference crossover game at Madden Field Friday night.

Worrell scored on a 27-yard run in the opening quarter, and that was all anyone would get in the first half.

He added a five-yard touchdown on the ground in the third quarter to put his team up 14-0, and it was enough insurance to withstand a 16-yard touchdown pass from Rahway QB Jaquan Robinson to Anthony Robertson in the fourth quarter, giving the Cougars the win.

Worrell finished the night with 22 carries for 148 yards, with his first quarter TD the longest run by any player on the night.

No. 10 Rahway suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 4-1.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Marcus Borden, with head coach Erik Rosenmeier and senior RB Gabe Worrell, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Old Bridge uses mammoth rally to beat Piscataway, Montgomery takes second straight from Somerville; two Top Ten unbeatens go down

There was no calm before the storm Friday night in the Big Central Conference.

While a Nor’easter is set to hit the Garden State Saturday, with the worst effects expected to be at the Jersey Shore and in coastal communities – postponing two of three BCC games slated for Saturday until Monday – the results on the field were pure chaos.

Consider:

  • No. 4 Old Bridge scored 27 unanswered points to rally and beat No. 2 Piscataway at home, 27-26
  • No. 8 Rahway was stymied at home by Cranford, 14-7, to remain undefeated
  • Montgomery won a see-saw battle with No. 7 Somerville, 38-35, their second straight win over the Pioneers
  • Unranked Sayreville upset No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 37-21 in North Edison

It was a wild night, and we’ve got you covered as you scroll down through the Friday Night Big Central Roundup for Week Four.

Montgomery scores 22 unanswered to take down Somerville, again…

In their first seven meetings, from 2002 through 2008, Somerville owned Montgomery, winning five of those matchups. But since 2012, it’s been the other way around.

The Cougars won their second straight over the Pioneers Thursday night, 38-35 in a back-and-forth affair that saw Montgomery (3-2) score the last 22 points of the game, all on touchdown runs by Zach Mutton, who scored four in the game.

No. 7 Somerville (3-2) led 13-0 after one on a Justin Bowen 30-yard touchdown run (the PAT was blocked) and a nine-yard run by James Hampton. But Monty took a 16-13 lead into halftime on a six-yard run by Mutton and a three-yard run by Zach Furey, converting for two after each.

Then, it was back to Somerville, who got a 42-yard run by Shyheim Hobbs-Harris and a seven-yard jaunt by James Hampton, also completing a pair of two-point conversions, giving them a 29-16 lead in the third. Mutton scored from three-yards out, to get Montgomery within six heading into the fourth quarter.

But that’s where the defense held, and Mutton kept doing his thing. He scored on four- and five-yard runs in the fourth quarter – also booting the PAT on the first and running it in for two on the second – to give the Cougars a nine-point win.

Montgomery now leads the all-time series with Somerville, 8-7.

Click below for postgame reaction from Montgomery head coach Sean Carty with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Notes and Nuggets…

  • Saturday’s schedule in the Big Central is down to one game, but who knows if that will even happen. No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan is set to play at Westfield at 1 pm, and as of late Friday night, the game was still on. Blue Devils head coach Matt Andzel told CJSR that the situation will be assessed again in the morning. Already, two other Saturday games were moved to Monday: No. 1 Phillipsburg will plat at No. 5 St. Joseph-Metuchen at 3 pm, while Franklin will host North Brunswick at 6:00. For teams that play on Friday the next week, games must be played no later than Monday, and Monday’s weather is no guarantee right now, either. The Panthers host Hunterdon Central Friday night, while Westfield will travel to Woodbridge. No doubt both would prefer not to have such a quick turnaround.
  • After Friday’s games, there are XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX undefeated teams remaining in the Big Central, with only one of them ranked at the moment. Hillside, and Cranford may have the best shot to get in, after teams seven though ten (Somerville, Rahway, St. Thomas Aquinas and Ridge) all lost Friday night. But don’t forget about Sayreville, which beat No. 9 St. Thomas and visits current No. 4 Old Bridge next Friday night.
    • No. 3 Elizabeth (5-0)
    • Highland Park (5-0)
    • Hillside (5-0)
    • New Providence (4-0)
    • Cranford (4-0)
  • New Providence now has the longest active winning streak in Big Central play, up to 16 games after a 48-0 win over Roselle. They have allowed just 30 points in four games all season. Besides Friday night’s shutout, they allowed seven in a season-opening win at Voorhees, 20 in a win over Johnson the following week, and three points against Metuchen last week, outscoring their four foes 136-30. Old Bridge has the second longest league win streak, now at ten. Piscataway had a seven-game win streak against the BCC heading into their loss to the Knights Friday.
  • What a season debut for North Plainfield senior quarterback Zion Fairley. He scored six touchdowns in a 41-7 win over JFK, including three passing – two to Zyon Brown and one to Anthony Costello – two rushing, and one more on a blocked punt he returned for a touchdown. Fairley transferred in from Hudson Catholic during the off-season, but as a senior transfer, had to sit out per NJSIAA rules.

FRIDAY SCORES

  • No. 4 Old Bridge 27, No. 2 Piscataway 26 (Game story with audio)
  • No. 3 Elizabeth 28, No. 10 Ridge 23
  • Montgomery 38, No. 7 Somerville 35
  • Cranford 14, No. 8 Rahway 7 (Recap with video via Marcus Borden)
  • Sayreville 37, No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas 21
  • South Plainfield 14, Carteret 6 (Game story with audio)
  • Brearley 33, JP Stevens 0
  • Union 42, Hillsborough 13
  • Dayton 40, Roselle Park 35
  • New Providence 48, Roselle 0
  • East Brunswick 34, Voorhees 7
  • Woodbridge 28, Colonia 21
  • Perth Amboy 40, Metuchen 0
  • North Plainfield 41, JFK 7
  • Watchung Hills 21, Hunterdon Central 19
  • Johnson 21, Spotswood 6
  • Bernards 28, Delaware Valley 0
  • Middlesex 21, Dunellen 0
  • Highland Park 47, South River 0
  • Belvidere 35, Bound Brook 0
  • Scotch Plains-Fanwood 33, North Hunterdon 22
  • Plainfield 37, Linden 14
  • Manville 42, South Hunterdon 8
  • Hillside 44, New Brunswick 0
  • South Brunswick 38, Monroe 14

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

  • No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan at Westfield, 1 pm

MONDAY SCHEDULE

  • No. 1 Phillipsburg at No. 5 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 3 pm
  • North Brunswick at Franklin, 6 pm

THURSDAY SCORES

by Nick Hart

South Plainfield looks to improve road record with with trip to Carteret Friday

With four games already in the rearview mirror for South Plainfield, it has been an up-and-down start to the 2026 campaign. The Tigers (2-2, 1-1 BCC United Silver) sit at .500 on the season, and the story has been quite the same for each of their wins and for each of their losses.

South Plainfield has been stellar in its wins this season, with both victories coming in double-digit fashion: a 20-10 win over North Plainfield and a 35-0 win over JFK. Similarly to their wins, the Tigers’ losses have both been by double digits as well: a 40-21 loss to start the season against Somerville and a 34-14 loss to Bernards this past week.   

The Tigers look to change their fortunes on the road Friday night against Carteret in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy and Son Paving. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart are on the call with pregame at 6:45 pm and kickoff at 7. Click here to listen.

The Tigers handily won their last matchup in the series, 40-7, back in 2023. The Ramblers (2-2, 1-1 BCC United Gold) have had the slight upper hand in the matchup, being the victors in three of the last five contests against South Plainfield.

When it comes to the offense, sophomore signal caller Lucas Habe has led the way, sporting a 66.7% completion percentage for 414 yards and four touchdowns on the season. On the receiving end of Habe’s passes has been a slew of different receivers. 

Senior tight end Aiden Noblecilla leads South Plainfield with eight receptions for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Upperclassmen Micah Anderson, seven receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown, and Nick France, five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown, have also been big producers for the Tigers. 

As far as the running back room goes for South Plainfield, 10 different players have a rushing attempt this season, four of which have double-digit attempts on the year.

Senior Christian Brown has taken most of the workload, however, tallying 53 of the Tigers’ 112 rushing attempts on the year and accounting for 414 of 743 rushing yards for his squad. Jaydon Jones has been a nice complement to Brown in the backfield, tallying 20 carries, 13 yards and a touchdown on the season. 

Defensively, South Plainfield is anchored by its stout defensive front, which consists of a trio of seniors and an underclassman who are no strangers to getting off the line quickly. Aiden Noblecilla has had a standout start to the season, leading South Plainfield with five sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, and 46 total tackles. 

Karl Josephis the lone underclassman on the line and despite being in just his second year of high school football, has produced at the level of a seasoned veteran. Joseph is second on his squad with 2.5 sacks on the season and second in tackles for a loss with seven so far. 

Click below to hear South Plainfield head coach Bill Hamilton talk about the Tigers’ season so far and Friday night’s matchup at Carteret with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart:

by Mike Pavlichko

McKeever, Marx, Schnall power Summit to 20-0 home win over Edison

On the field before Thursday night’s home game against Edison, Summit head coach Kevin Kostibos was asked about his defense, which has bee giving up just over 19 points a game through the first four this year.

His response was that they’ve played well, but big plays had been the difference.

Well, they didn’t give up many against the Eagles, and the ones they did didn’t matter, as they shutout Edison 20-0 at Tatlock Field in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, and heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

In fact, they held Edison to turnovers on downs on the Eagles’ first two possessions, the first of which stopped then on the Hilltopper 15 yard line.

Offensively, Summit did enough to win against an Edison defense that was, in the main, up to the task – if only they could have put some points on the board.

Gavin Schnall rushed 17 times for 100 yard and a six-yard score in the fourth quarter. QB Matt McKeever threw for 115 and a 33-yard touchdown to Will Heil in the first quarter. And Jackson Mark went 2-for-2 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals, matching his season high of 37 yards late in the third.

Summit moves to 3-2 with the win ahead of a trip to Watchung Hills next week. Edison drops to 1-4 but has the first of three home games coming up next week as East Brunswick rolls into town.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas with Summit QB Matt McKeever, RB Gavin Schnall, head coach Kevin Kostibos and Athletic Director Allison Flockhar, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Governor Livingston 28, Lyndhurst 20

Junior runningback Elijah Garcia ran for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass as the Highlanders one back-to-back games for the first time this season, taking a road win at Lyndhurst in Bergen County.

Sophomore QB Colin Hughes also threw a pair of touchdown passes in the win, which gets the Highlanders to 3-2 on the year, heading into a Saturday home game next week against Johnson, the first of three straight home games the next few weeks for Governor Livingston.

by Mike Pavlichko

No excuses for dinged up Carteret, as run-first Ramblers host South Plainfield in traditional GMC matchup

Carteret and South Plainfield have been playing each other for years, whether it’s in the Big Central Conference or the GMC.

Both are blue-collar, grind-it-out, run-the-rock football teams. And when they meet again this Friday night at the newly-renovated Walt Overholt Stadium – affectionately known as “The Pit,” don’t expect much different.

It’s our Friday night Big Central Game of the Week on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with kickoff set for 7 pm, and pregame at 6:45. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart have the call; click here to listen.

The Ramblers come in at 2-2, but have split their first four games, alternating between wins and losses. Throw out a 53-6 loss to the largest public school in the state, Elizabeth, in the opening week – and the Minutemen are off to a fantastic start – and the Ramblers are 2-1 the rest of the way, and have allowed just 25 points in their last two games, including a 13-6 loss at Summit two weeks ago, and a 16-12 win at Scotch Plains-Fanwood last Friday.

Senior Danyun McKill runs the offense, but it’s Al-Naiquan Boseman who powers it, taking 75 carries this season and going for 591 yards and five touchdowns, while the mobile McKill is next on the list at 130 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He can run it if he has to, but Boseman is the No. 1 option most plays.

Defensively, Carteret is a bit thin in the secondary due to some injuries, but they do get after the ball, and get behind the line of scrimmage. To wit, they have six sacks and 25 TFLs on the season, with linebacker Nick Gomm leading the way at eight hits behind the line.

Click below to hear Carteret football coach Kevin Freeman talk about the Ramblers and their matchup against South Plainfield with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: