Category: Football

by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills gets a big QB transfer as Aleks Sitkowski moves from Piscataway

Every year, dozens of high school kids move to a new town for one reason or another, but one of the biggest in Big Central high school football in the off-season is the move of Aleks Sitkowski to the Watchung Hills Regional School District.

The younger brother of Art Sitkowski – the former Old Bridge star who played for a couple of seasons for Rutgers before transferring to Illinois – Aleks played the last two seasons for Piscataway, but transferred out just before Christmas, Central Jersey Sports Radio has learned.

An Internet search shows an address for the Sitkowski family in Watchung.

The Twitter bio for Aleks Sitkowski says he’s now a member of the Watchung Hills football team. (Source: Twitter screenshot)

Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert says Sitkowski would have been eligible to play basketball, but decided not to play this winter. That apparently means Sitkowski would not have to sit out 30 days per NJSIAA rules since he would have a bonafide change of address. The NJSIAA is considering updated transfer rules in the near future, but they have not won final approval yet.

As a junior last year for the Chiefs, Sitkowski was 57-of-117 passing for 752 yards and six touchdowns and six interceptions on a team that primarily ran the ball, rushing for over 1,600 yards.

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Two years ago – as a sophomore – playing all eight games in an 0-8 season following a full fall athletic department COVID shutdown in 2020, Sitkowski went 31-75 for 294 yards, two touchdowns and three picks.

Assuming he remains at Watchung – Sitkowski’s Twitter bio says he is a “Quarterback Class of 2024 at Watching Hills Regional High School” – he would figure to compete for a starting job after the graduation of senior Dylan Kelley and his 1,117 passing yards and seven TDs. The Warriors’ lone returning QB is Brendan Fenton, a full-time varsity player who only attempted one pass last year as a junior.

That means, at the moment, Sitkowski is the only varsity QB on the roster with any meaningful action under his belt.

by Mike Pavlichko

Edison community and beyond comes together to “Fight For Allie,” help local 11-year old girl beat brain tumor

Much has been written and talked about on this website regarding the sense of community fostered by sports in Edison, whether it’s a beloved baseball coach and mentor passing away, or the youth football programs that helped bring the Edison High Eagles their first state championship in more than three decades.

Now, that community is coming together again, to rally behind Alexandra “Allie” Ewing.

She’s just eleven, and not long after the New Year, she was having some stomach issues. Probably nothing major, her family thought.

She was out of school for a few weeks, but couldn’t seem to get over it. She’d been tired, and took a nap. But when she woke up Monday night, she was exhibiting tell-tale signs of a possible stroke. Facial drooping, lack of mobility.

Off they went to the hospital, and an immediate CAT scan discovered what turned out to be a golf ball-sized mass on her brain. Emergency surgery was successful, for now, and she’s spent the last few days recovering, and waiting for results of a biopsy.

A bright, full-of-life pre-teen, Allie and her parents have been active in the local youth sports scene, playing softball, soccer, and even football with the boys of the Edison Jets. She started with Edison boys’ baseball when she was four.

  • Alexandra “Allie” Ewing of Edison playing the field in baseball. (Submitted photo)
  • Alexandra “Allie” Ewing of Edison at football practice. (Submitted photo)
  • Alexandra “Allie” Ewing of Edison on the football field. (Submitted photo)
  • Alexandra “Allie” Ewing of Edison on her Midtown softball team. (Submitted photo)
  • Alexandra “Allie” Ewing of Edison on her Royals’ EBBL softball team. (Submitted photo)

“Since the first day I met her, she had a ‘Never quit” and ‘Don’t tell me I can’t do it’ attitude,” says Edison Boys Baseball League President Brian Calantoni. “Our athletes are always taught to use what they learn on the field and at practice and utilize it in real life situations. We know she won’t ever give up. She will fight and she will win.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Allie, which has received over 500 donations totaling over $46,000 as of 10 pm Sunday. The family is in need of funds to cover medical costs and seek multiple opinions, so they can get the best care for Allie.

Her father, Keith, told Central Jersey Sports Radio on Sunday afternoon that they still have a potentially long road to go, and have no idea what the immediate future holds.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Allie’s father, Keith Ewing, about how she’s doing, what little they know of her prognosis, and the tremendous support of the community in Edison and beyond:

by Mike Pavlichko

NJFCA honors 20 Big Central student-athletes on its Super 100 All-State team

The New Jersey Football Coaches’ Association is out with its “Super 100” All-State team, and 20 players from the Big Central Conference – representing 16 different schools were on the list.

They’ll be honored at the organization’s annual banquet in March.

Each of the four traditional sections of the state – Central, South and North 1 and 2 – have 25 representatives. The Big Central landed eleven players on the North 2 list, nine in Central.

Three teams – North Brunswick, Hillside and North Hunterdon – had two representatives each.

Of the two teams to win sectional titles in 2023, Edison had quarterback Matt Yascko named to the team, while North hunterdon had runningbacks Kente Edwards and Alex Uryniak on the list.

Here are all the Big Central honorees, by section:

Central:

  • Edison: Matt Yascko
  • Hillsborough: Shane Donoghue
  • Manville: Shawn Purcell
  • Montgomery: Gavin Guidette
  • North Brunswick: Zahmir Dawud, Frankie Garbolino
  • South Plainfield: Jason Greer
  • St. Thomas Aquinas: Jayden Young, Israel Bey

North 2:

  • Bridgewater-Raritan: Colin Kurdyla
  • Hillside: Kyon Simonson, Zaimir Hawk
  • North Hunterdon: Kente Edwards, Alex Uryniak
  • Rahway: Kyle Hall
  • Ridge: Adam Meiner
  • Summit: Jake Lowry
  • Union: Omar Ibrahim
  • Watchung Hills: Hunter Seubert
  • Westfield: Trey Brown
by Mike Pavlichko

Edison’s Fulham goes out a champion, stepping down from football program after nearly two decades

He’s almost been the head coach of the Edison Eagles for 20 years. He an even 80 wins. He has an even 100 losses.

And he has a championship. And that’s where it comes to an end.

Edison head football coach Matt Fulham is stepping aside, after a an-18-year tenure, an 80-100-1 coaching record, and a state championship that brought the entire community such immense pride this fall.

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Fulham informed the team of his decision Tuesday, and sat down with Central Jersey Sports Radio to talk about it; scroll down to listen to Mike Pavlichko’s interview with him.

The pinnacle of his tenure was this past season’s 2023 state championship, one that was pretty much a full four years in the making.

It began in 2019 with a core of young players who were starters as freshmen: defensive end Adekunle Shittu, offensive tackle/tight end Israel Rodriguez, wide receiver/cornerback Malcolm Stansbury, and quarterback Matt Yascko.

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The run picked up in 2020 when Yascko’s father, Matt – then the head coach for Carteret for 14 seasons – left the Ramblers to become Fulham’s offensive coordinator, but more importantly, to come back to his alma mater and coach his son in the process.

In their third year together, the Eagles brought home their first state title in 31 years, but it wasn’t the easiest path. They were a No. 6 seed in Central Jersey Group 5, and in the semifinals – in a rematch of a regular season loss to North Brunswick – stunned the Raiders on the road when they rallied from a two touchdown deficit to score, convert an onside kick, score again, and again convert an onside kick, then go ahead on a field goal, and hang on to win and advance to the finals.

Edison coach Matt Fulham talks to his team after a 42-23 win at St. Joseph-Metuchen on October 7, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

It was there they beat top-seed Lenape on the road in the leftover wind and rain from Hurricane Nicole to win their first state title since 1991. And they would do it against the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs in the first round three years prior by 33 points, bringing it all full circle.

Fulham helped rebuild a program that had been dominated by in-town rival JP Stevens for years, and only scored four touchdowns the entire season before his arrival in 2005, which he says the Eagles began riding a 31-game losing streak. That would extend to 39 before beating Spotswood in a consolation game in double overtime, 26-20.

By 2007, the program would go 6-4 for its first winning season under Fulahm, and first for the program since 2000. It was also only its third since 1991, when they won the Central Jersey Group 4 title.

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Fulham is a Sayreville graduate, then played at Juniata College before picking up his first assistant coaching job at his alma mater. After a few more stops, in 1992 he landed the job at Edison, where he’s also been a special education mathematics teacher.

And though the Sayreville head coaching job is now open, with Chris Beagan announcing he was stepping down from the Bombers’ program last week, Fulham says he has no plans to apply for the job.

The Eagles’ football program has a number of alums on staff, including Yascko and wide receivers’ coach Brian Calantoni. Yascko would be a natural fit as the program’s next head coach, should the administration choose to go that route. He was 82-67 at Carteret, making three state finals and winning two, in 2007 and 2012.

But he’s not the only former head coach on the staff. Runningbacks coach Bob Molarz had Yascko on his staff when he was head coach at Carteret. Molarz also began the football program at St. Joseph-Metuchen and coached their first two varsity seasons in 2011 and 2012 before going to East Brunswick for six seasons.

And Mike Ryan was the head coach at in-town rival JP Stevens from 2010 through 2012.

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Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with longtime Edison head coach Matt Fulham:

Davison Igbinosun
by Mike Pavlichko

Former Union standout Davison Igbinosun enters transfer portal

Following a freshman campaign in which he played in all 13 games for Ole Miss, former Union star Davison Igbonisun has entered the transfer portal.

Igbinosun announced his decision via Twitter Saturday.

The move came a day after Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin hired Pete Golding away from Alabama to be the Rebels’ new defensive coordinator. Golding had been with the Tide since 2018 and was DC the last four seasons.

More importantly, he replaces Chris Partridge in that job, the same Chris Partridge who once coached Paramus Catholic in New Jersey, and had been promoted to defensive play caller this past season.

Igbinosun’s tweet announcing his decision to enter the transfer portal cited “uncertainty in the coaching staff.”

The $64,000 question now is: Where does he land?

The former No. 1 recruit out of New Jersey, Igbinosun originally committed to Rutgers, where he would have been a freshman along with his older brother Desmond, who just wrapped up his second year with the Scarlet Knights. But he decommitted in October 2021, and eventually landed in Oxford, saying he’d always wanted to play in the SEC, calling it “big boy football.”

Igbinosun had offers from nearly two dozen schools, Rutgers among them, as wells the likes of Tennesee, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. RU was still considered a longshot after he re-opened his recruitment.

One interesting wrinkle is that Red Cup Rebellion on the SB Nation network reported that The Grove Collective NIL – which supports Ole Miss – had just announced Friday Igbinosun had signed on with them. So, it’s also possible Igbinosun could remain with the Rebels.

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville’s Chris Beagan stepping down from Bombers football program after eight years, two state titles

Maybe he’s not that age yet, but retirement is calling Sayreville football coach Chris Beagan.

The man who brought the Bombers back after a hazing scandal rocked the program in 2014 – and won two state championships in the process – told his team just before the holidays that he would be stepping down.

The Sayreville school district posted for the job on January second.

A Sayreville alum, Beagan just wrapped up his eighth season as the head coach at his alma mater, going 51-31 in that span, and winning state titles in 2016 and 2018.

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The first of the two was quite special – and to some degree, amazing even – considering the 2014 team got shut down the day before its fourth game of the season against South Brunswick, after allegations of hazing came to light and law enforcement became involved. The 2016 senior class essentially had played as freshman, but missed almost all of their sophomore seasons.

Sayreville beat Middletown North in the 2016 North 2, Group 4 title game at Rutgers and finished the year 10-2, their lone losses to South Brunswick and fellow state champ Piscataway. It was a grand renaissance for a program which has always had immense support in the town, and continues to draw some of the largest and most passionate crowds in Middlesex County.

In 2018, the Bombers won an instant classic Central Jersey Group 5 final, defeating North Brunswick 6-0 in the first year of regularly scheduled sectional finals at local high schools since the 1990s. They went on to win the South Group 5 “Bowl Championship” at MetLife Stadium, defeating Williamstown 14-7 in their own version of the “Miracle at the Meadowlands,” when Connor Holmes fell on a Williamstown fumble in the end zone to put the team ahead.

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That team finished 11-1, Beagan’s best at Sayreville. And that despite a battle with a kidney disease which he had been waging for years, but had gotten worse by 2018 enough that he missed several practices, and eventually received a kidney donation from his wife, Laurie.

Beagan came to the Bombers – well, back to the Bombers, since he had played there and graduated in 1990 – from Monroe, where he also had a highly successful seven-year run as head coach. He won a GMC White Division title in his first season, in 2008, then delivered the school’s first-ever state title in 2009 – in just his second season – by way of a 30-10 victory over Middletown South at The College of New Jersey that left them 11-1 by the time all was said and done.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with retiring Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rounding out the Top Ten stories of 2022 on Central Jersey Sports Radio: We’ve got the Final Five!

Back on Tuesday, we began taking a look at the Top Ten most-read stories on Central Jersey Sports Radio. We began our countdown with Numbers 10 through 6 (and if you missed any of it – you can find the first five here.

And now, let’s count you down from No. 5 all the way to the top!

Click on each headline for the complete, original story.

5. Legendary football coach Joe Goerge returns to South Brunswick, where he led Vikings to unprecedented success, and three state titles

Just under a year ago, in early January, South Brunswick brought Joe Goerge back for a second tour of duty. He had stepped down after the 2018 season, and said he wasn’t retiring; he spent a couple of years on Staten Island, where he’d begun his coaching career, but this time at St. Joseph-by-the-Sea.

It would be hard for Goerge to top his first run with the Vikings, where he was 63-17, winning a title in his debut season of 2012, plus two more in 2015 and 2017.

Joe Goerge celebrates with his players after South Brunswick’s 2015 sectional championship over Manalapan at Rutgers University. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

4. Old Bridge’s Lanzafama stepping down after 12 seasons with Knights

Coaching news is always big, and this was was huge: Old Bridge head coach Anthony Lanzafama stepping away from the Knights’ program with a 72-47-1 record in a dozen years at the helm.

Post the merger of Cedar Ridge and Madison Central in the 1990s, he’s just the second coach of “Old Bridge” high school, succeeding Bob DeMarco, for whom Lanzafama was an assistant in his younger years. DeMarco, of course, had coached Madison Central and took over the merged program.

And true to the tradition of keeping it in the Old Bridge family, eventually, Matt Donaghue – the team’s defensive coordinator and also the baseball coach – took over for Lanzafama.

They like their Old Bridge in Old Bridge.

Old Bridge head coach Anthomy Lanzafama addresses his team after winning the 2020 edition of the “Battle of Route 18” against East Brunswick, with the trophy sitting at his feet. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

3. Remembering Ron Mazzola, Mr. Old Bridge

Nothing stunned the high school sports world in Central Jersey and beyond like the sudden passing of Ron Mazzola, the man known as Mr. Old Bridge. But he was also Mr. Wrestling, Mr. Gymnastics, Mr. Trophy, Mr. Anything-You-Need-You-Got-It-With-A-Smile.

Mazzola died in late February at the age of 61, and his passing touched everyone so that the line was out the door for hours at his wake, where those coming to pay their respects were urged to wear their favorite team jersey – and many did – and the background behind the casket was a projection of a Mets baseball game. Yes, you could have also called Ron “Mr. Met.”

This story was a tribute that included comments from former Old Bridge football coach Anthony Lanzafama, Old Bridge Athletic Director Dan DiMino, Old Bridge wrestling coach John Post, longtime friends Kevn Brady and Luca Rispoli, and former East BRunswick Athletic Director and GMC President Frank Noppenberger.

We also shared this story, a long, wide-ranging chat with Ron from five months prior: “Mr. Old Bridge,” Ron Mazzola, does a little bit of everything for Knights, Chargers, GMC.

By the following September, Old Bridge held a ceremony to name its football press box after Ron, and we also provided a video recap of the touching ceremony: A fitting tribute for Mr. Old Bridge, as Knights’ football press box is named for the late Ron Mazzola.

The press box at Old Bridge’s Bob DeMarco Field is unveiled in honor of late P.A. man Ron Mazzola on Thursday, September 1, 2022 (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

2. Edison-North Brunswick lives up to the hype, as Eagles win a wild one to clinch a finals berth for the first time since 1991

The last few years, every Edison-North Brunswick football game seemed like a wacky one. And the Raiders had continuously come out on top. But, in their second meeting of the 2022 season – in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals – the Eagles finally soared, although they looked like they’d been shot down for good with under five minutes to go in the game.

It took two touchdowns with two on-side kick recoveries, and then a field goal to win the game – all in the final four-plus minutes of regulation.

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It was so stunning, that after our live broadcast that night from North Hunterdon, we sent a text to our reporter covering the game to see if it was over. The response from Chris Tsakonas: “All hell has broken loose here. I’ll explain later.”

Well, we let him get his postgame interviews, and then let him actually explain what type of hell had indeed broken loose at Steve Libro Field, along with reaction from head coach Matt Fulham, quarterback Matt Yascko, and linebacker/kicker Selbin Sabio, who converted the two on-side kicks and booted the game-winning field goal.

Edison, of course, would go on to win the CJ5 title, its first state sectional title in 31 years, and its third overall.

North Brunswick and Edison play in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals at Steve Libro Field in North Brunswick on November 4, 2022. (Photo: Chris Tsakonas)

1. Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue on one of the wildest finishes you’ll ever see in 27-22 win at South Brunswick

This might be the only ending that could top Edison’s, and we’ll let you debate that if you wish, especially because the end of this story doesn’t end with the end of this story.

Old Bridge missed a chance to take a late lead at South Brunswick when a field goal attempt failed in an early-season game, so first-year head coach Matt Donaghue was consoling his kicker when he was disrupted by screams saying his team had the ball. How was that possible?

After all, South Brunswick needed a first down to take a knee and run out the clock. They got the first down, took a knee, and needed to take one more. But they fumbled the snap, defensive lineman Robert Orzol jumped on it, the Knights scored to go ahead and held off the Vikings.

We caught up with Donaghue, who told us the wild story

Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue. (Source: @mattdonaghue23 on Twitter)

That would be a dramatic story on its own, if it wasn’t for the fact that it still wasn’t over yet.

About a month-and-a-half later, on Cutoff Weekend, Old Bridge finished 17th in the South Group 5 supersection, one spot out of the playoffs – right behind South Brunswick.

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But once all the ties are broken, the NJSIAA uses a top-down head-to-head tiebreaker. That is, a team cannot finish behind a team it beat in the regular season. The tiebreaker goes from No. 2 (if it beat No. 1, it jumps them) all the way down to 17. And Old Bridge, at 17, beat South Brunswick, which was 16. That put the Knights in the playoffs, and left the Vikings out.

In our 2022 postseason awards, we honored Orzol with the “Full 48” Award – as in, playing the full 48 minutes, like the cliche goes – and got his side of the story. Click here to read about and hear Robert Orzol talk about the win, and how he and his teammates later found out they’d made the playoffs.

by Mike Pavlichko

What were the Top Ten stories of 2022 on Central Jersey Sports Radio? Here’s a look at the first five:

End-of-the-year lists are always popular, so we figured what better time to look at the most-read stories on Central Jersey Sports Radio this past year, one in which we had – yet again – a record number of visitors to the site? So, we compiled the top ten feature and game stories of the past year, and present them to you now.

We start today with stories 10 through 6, and will have the top five later this week.

Click on each headline for the complete, original story.

10. Yascko, Edison defense help knock off top-seed Lenape, bring home trophy for first time in 31 years

Edison’s Matt Yascko – shown here as a freshman against South Plainfield on October 18, 2019 – helped lead the Eagles to their first title since 1991. (Photo submitted by coach Matt Yascko)

It had been a long time coming, but Edison finally got its championship. With a group that had several key four-year starters, the Eagles brought home the big one. But they’d have to travel through wind and rain to do it.

With the remnants of Hurricane Nicole buffeting the state, Edison and some of the Eagles’ heartiest fans had to make the hour-plus-long trek down to to-seed Lenape in Medford, NJ (Burlington County) to see their beloved team. But it paid off, as they won the Central Jersey Group 5 championship, their first since the CJ4 trophy they won in 1991.

FULL GAME AUDIO: Central Jersey Group 5 Final: (6) Edison 28, (1) Lenape 14

9. Sayreville looking for more of the Wright stuff

Zaimer Wright (left) with his Bellamy & Son Player of the Week Award from Week 3, poses alongside head coach Chris Beagan. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Zaimer Wright was just a sophomore in 2021, but with him leading the way on the ground, Sayreville had its best season since they won the Central Jersey Group 5 title in 2018. His 1,403 yards and 25 touchdowns made him the to returning runningback in the Big Central Conference in 2022.

Injuries, however – both to Wright and others – slowed the Bombers a bit in 2022. They finished 4-5 as Wright only managed to play in seven of the team’s nine games and rushed for 644 yards and three touchdowns on 103 carries, fewer than half as many touches as he had in 2021.

Should he be healthy in 2023, expect more big things from Wright and the Bombers in his senior season.

8. Edison, Lenape to face off for Central Jersey Group 5 title tonight in Medford

Edison coach Matt Fulham talks to his team after a 42-23 win at St. Joseph-Metuchen on October 7, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Excitement was at a fever pitch for Edison fans heading into the Central Jersey Group 5 title game. Not only had it been a long time since they’d won a title – 31 years, to be exact – they had not been to a final since they last won it in 1991.

And with Eagles’ fans not knowing much about Lenape other than they were a top seed in the section despite a middling record of 4-4 at the cutoff, our interviews with Edison head coach Matt Fulham and Indians’ head coach Joe Wojceichowski drew a great number of fans to check it out.

It probably didn’t hurt that Lenape fans didn’t know much about Edison either.

7. Entire Edison community mourns the loss of much-beloved youth sports leader “Mr. G”

The man Edison children knew for years as “Mr G.”

People in Edison love their school sports, as you’ll notice from this bottom five of our Top Ten list. But they also loved “Mr. G.”

Beloved youth sports mentor William Giampolo passed away in January of 2022, and the news affected everyone who’d ever played rec baseball or football dating all the way back to the 1970s. He led the Edison Boys’ Baseball League from 1973 to 1998, and was instrumental in the Edison Youth Sports Council.

We talked with Edison Boys’ Baseball League President Brian Calantoni for his memories of Mr. G for this story, which also includes a photo gallery.

6. Yascko & Yascko: How the father-son QB-OC tandem united to help bring Edison its first title in 31 years

Edison’s Matt Yascko (the QB/son, left) and Matt Yascko (the offensive coordinator/father, right) have helped lead Edison to its first sectional title since 1991. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

One more Edison story today, and this one’s a keeper. (Hey, we can’t help it if Eagles fans turn out on CJSR!)

Matt Yascko was a freshman in 2019 when the Eagles’ starter went down to injury, and he was elevated to starting quarterback for the final six games of the season. But before head coach Matt Fulham made the call, he made a call: to Yascko’s father, Matt, then the head coach at Carteret. Yascko, the dad, had played at Edison and was on the 1991 team that was the last one – until this year – to win a sectional championship for the Eagles.

With his blessing (though he might have done it anyway) Yascko, the son, became the starter.

And the next year, despite uncertainty about the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Yascko the dad joined Fulham’s staff at his alma mater as offensive coordinator, bringing father and son together for what would be an immensely successful three-year run: a record of 20-10 over that span, culminating with the Central Jersey Group 5 title this past season.

Check back later this week for the remaining five stories in our Top Ten of 2022 on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early Signing Day: Here’s where Big Central football players will be playing at the next level

Wednesday begins the Early Signing period for football players across the country to sign their National Letter of Intent. They have until Friday, or can wait for the Spring period. Here is a team-by-team look at who signed were, with information submitted by their coaches and/or announced on social media.

This list will be updated throughout the day. Please check back often for additions as they come in.

Hillside: The Comets are sending off four players to play Division 1. Out of the offensive backfield, Muwaffaq Parkman has signed to play for Syracuse, racking up 630 yards and seven touchdowns this season, totalling 2,017 yards and 21 TDs in his career. The three others to sign are defensive standouts. They include nose tackle Zamir Hawk, the CJSR “Walk-Off Defender” award winner, who will be going to play at Iowa State; offensive tackle Charles Allen III, who’s off to Stony Brook; and libeacker Darson Jeanty, who’s going to Lafayette. All are going on full scholarships.

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Trojans had two players sign on the Early Signing Day for full rides. Defensive lineman Jeremiah Derilhomme will be going to Sacred Heart. He registered 48 tackles this season, with 6 1/2 sacks and 14 TFLs. Wide reciever Benjamin Bussierre is headed to Lafayette after a senior season that saw him make 47 catches for 759 yards, scoring eight touchdowns.

Jeremiah Derolhomme (left) and Bejnamin Bussierre (right) – with head coach Tarig Holman in the middle – sign their National Letters of Intent on the early signing day, December 21, 2022. (submitted photo)

North Hunterdon: Runningback Kente Edwards – who’s also a track standout – signed on for a full scholarship at Lafayette. After a junior year rushing for 712 yards and eight scores in 2021, Edwards – despite missing most or all of four games late in the season and in the playoffs – rushed for 1,442 yards and 15 touchdowns this year for the North 2, Group 4 champion Lions, and was named part of CJSR’s “Best Backfield Duo” with fellow runningback Alex Uryniak.

Cranford: Kyle Fay – a 6-6, 285 pound offensive lineman – has signed on for a full ride on the Main Line down at Villanova. Coming off a state sectional championship won by a senior-laden team in 2021, the Cougars went 7-3 this year, as he and the O-line paved the way for the team to rush for 2,528 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2022.

North Brunswick: Three Raiders will be getting a full ride to play at the next level. Linebacker Jared Tynes will be going to Maine, after a senior season that saw him register 9 1/2 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery, while the team’s defense pitched three shutouts and allowed just 13.9 points per game in an 8-2 season. Athlete Zahmir Dawud is headed to Villanova. He rushed for 385 yards and 11 touchdowns this year, adding 41 catches for 722 yards and five scores on the receiving end. And Alani Ajigbotosho has signed on to play at Davidson. The wide receiver/cornerback had 14 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown on offense, while registering two INTs on defense.

Piscataway: Malik Wilson has signed on to continue his college career at Wagner. Wilson was a two-way lineman for the Chiefs, who rebounded off an 0-8 year following a COVID shutdown in 2020 to go 6-3 this year, qualifying for the playoffs. On defense, he registered eight tackles for loss and a half a sack this year. On offense he helped pave the way for a ground game that rolled up 1,615 yards and scored 21 touchdowns.

Somerville: Hashym Hobbs-Harris rushed for 568 yards on 95 carries, with seven touchdowns this season, and will take his talents to Sacred Heart. On defense, he had one interception and a fumble recovery for the Pioneers

Rahway: Wide receiver, safety, and outside linebacker Kyle Hall signed on the dotted line Wednesday afternoon to attend Sacred Heart. He had 22 catches for 361 yards and a half-dozen touchdowns this season for the Indians, capping his career with 1,083 receiving yards and 13 TDs. On defense this year, he logged seven tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception.

Other area players:

Jack Bill signed on with Rutgers, coming to The Banks from the Hun School, via Delaware Valley, where he was a wide receiver/linebacker. Bill totalled 1,477 yards receiving on 110 catches with 24 touchdowns in a three-year varsity career at Del Val.

Cameron Chadwick, an Athlete from Immaculata has signed on to play up at UConn. On offense, Chadwick had 30 receptions for 579 yards and eight touchdowns, while carrying 59 times for 216 yards and four scores. He also had an interception on defense.

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerville’s Bloom officially appointed full-time football coach

“You learn a lot about what to do from the people before you.”

That thought from Matt Bloom may best sum up the reason the Somerville Board of Education officially appointed him as the full-time football coach at the high school at its meeting Tuesday night, after he took over with just two games to go in the season from first-year head coach Ian Pace.

Though the move was not disclosed publicly and inspired a bit of a sense of mystery around the Big Central Conference, there’s no mystery as to why Bloom now has the job. He was the lone holdover from the highly successful Jeff Vanderbeek/Dallas Whitaker era, which saw the program go 57-8 under the two head coaches – winning a state title in 2017 and reaching two other sectional finals – after losing 25 straight from 2012 through 2015.

Bloom went 2-1 after being elevated from offensive line coach to head coach in time for the Pioneers’ October 14th home game against Hillsborough. With a 2-5 record at that point – in part due to a forfeit against Mastery Charter of Camden for using an ineligible transfer – and needing to likely win two games to clinch a playoff berth, Somerville did just that.

They beat the Raiders 35-14 at Brooks Field, then came up with an equally as critical and convincing 41-28 road win at South Brunswick on the Friday night of Cutoff Weekend to make the postseason at 4-5, though they eventually dropped a first-round game at Seneca.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s exclusive interview with Matt Bloom upon being approved by the Board of Education as Somerville’s full-time head football coach: