Category: Football

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg heads to East Orange seeking Big Central record 5th straight trip to a trophy game

There can be no doubt, and no denying: the Phillipsburg football program has been the most successful and consistent of all 59 Big Central Conference football teams over the past five seasons.

In 2022 and 2023, the Stateliners reached sectional finals in Group 5, but lost both times. They followed that up by winning the next two – in 2024 over Northern Highlands and in 2025 over Montgomery – while playing in Group 5. And they even went all the way to the Group 4 state championship game at Rutgers in 2024 – the only BCC team to do so since state finals were introduced in 2022 where they fell to Winslow

This season, Phillipsburg is back up in Group 5, and just 48 minutes away from a fifth straight sectional finals appearance, something no other Big Central team has done since the league’s inception, and the first year back for playoffs in 2021 after the COVID-shortened year of 2020.

Saturday afternoon, the third-seeded Stateliners (7-2) play in the North 2, Group 5 semifinals at second-seed East Orange (7-2) in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, beginning with pregame at 12:40 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart have the call with kickoff at 1:00; click here to listen.

The winner will play in the title game next weekend, either at home against fourth-seed Passaic Tech or on the road at top-seed Elizabeth; those two play their semifinal game at 6 pm Friday night.

Phillipsburg has only played six games against New Jersey competition this year, adding three against Pennsylvania opponents in the early season. Their biggest wins came at St. Joseph of Metuchen in late September, 42-31, and at home against Bridgewater-Raritan in mid-October, 35-14, allowing them to claim a share of the American Silver Division title with the Panthers and Ridge.

They’re coming in off a 38-27 home win over seventh-seed Ridgewood last Friday night.

After a few years where the passing game mixed in more when the Stateliners had record-setting receiver Matthew Scerbo, Jr., Phillipsburg returned last year to a more run-heavy offense with sophomore QB Dominic Bracco running the show. He’s now a junior, but the game plan remains the same. The ‘Liners have thrown just 93 passes all season – averaging fewer than ten per game – while running it for over 2,000 yards, with 1,155 of those – and 11 touchdowns – coming from senior runningback Shane Moore. Three others have at least 38 carries apiece, including juniors Vincent Berger and Xavier Campbell-Graham, along with Bracco himself.

And the defense has been its regular stout self. While they gave up 32 points to Freedom (PA) in a loss on September 11, they allowed 31 points in a win over St. Joe’s and 21 to Parkland (PA) in their opener, in six other games they never allowed more than 14 points, until giving up 27 last week in a win over Ridgewood.

As for East Orange, they have a lot of offensive weapons, starting with senior QB Zach Concepcion, who has thrown for 2,315 yards and 24 touchdowns, with multiple targets to choose from. Top receiver Je’zi Lewis has 30 catches for 728 yards and nine touchdowns, and three others – Donovon Ottey-Campbell, Eric Wilkins and Musa Wittingburg – all have at least 18 catches, 435 yards receiving, and four TDs (Wittingburg has five).

And they will try to pester the heck out of Bracco on defense. The Jaguars have registered a whopping 31 sacks this year and 96 tackles for loss, while recovering eight fumbles and snaring nine interceptions, two of which have gone for touchdowns.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches:

Phillipsburg head coach Frank Duffy with Nick Hart
East Orange head coach John Jacob with Mike Pavlichko

by Alec Crouthamel

Delaware Valley seeks first sectional final appearance since 2014 in South Group 1 semifinal bout with Pennsville

New Group? No problem for Delaware Valley.

The Terriers (8-2) moved from Group 2 to Group 1 after the latest enrollment numbers for the 2026 season, and even with the new crop of competition, are finding postseason success. Now second seed in the South Jersey Group 1 semifinals, Delaware Valley is looking to make their way back to the sectional final since 2014, when the fifth-seeded Terriers made a run before falling to second-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven.

Delaware Valley won its first postseason game since 2015 last weekend, a 28-6 victory over seventh-seeded Gateway Regional, and face another tough test from way down I-295 in the form of Pennsville.

In his fourth season at the helm, Terriers’ head coach Ben Ibach has built up a core ready to compete after solid regular season results, and now face their biggest test of the last few years.

Heading into the season, Delaware Valley had some pieces to replace — including Ibach’s son, Kelton, at quarterback — but much of the nucleus remained from what was a young team in 2025 that finished outside of the North 2 playoff picture in a 5-4 season.

Junior Chase Kraucheunas shifted from wide receiver to quarterback in place of the younger Ibach, and the transition has been as close to seamless as any could expect. Kraucheunas leads the Terriers in passing (1,638 yards, 17 touchdowns) and rushing (734 yards, 13 touchdowns) while continuing a standout career as a do-it-all defensive back.

His efforts over the last calendar year have turned some heads across the next level, as well. He earned an offer from Syracuse after a strong camp showing over the summer, and has taken gameday visits to the Orange and Virginia in the ACC, as well as Cornell in the Ivy League.

Alongside Kraucheunas, senior running back Ben Culberson returns to complement the quarterback in the run game. Receiving standouts standouts Tyler Small, Lhiam Murphy, Brayden Costello, and tight end Brayden Picardo-Leask (who’s earned some Division III offers) all return after seeing plenty of playing time last season, and have all taken steps forward a year later.

The Terriers battled through a tough opening stretch of the season, but have found their stride of late with five straight victories, all by at least 20 points. After blanking North Hunterdon 17-0 in the season opener, Delaware Valley won a 34-33 shootout over A.L. Johnson and lost two of three games to Hillside and Bernards, with a hard-fought 24-21 victory over Warren Hills in the middle.

Since that stretch, the Terriers have big victories over Voorhees, New Brunswick, North Plainfield, Belvidere, and Gateway. Both sides are firing on all cylinders, scoring an average of 31.8 points per game and allowing just 14 total points (2.8 per game).

On the other side, Pennsville comes into this matchup battle-tested and working on some history of its own. All five of the Eagles’ (5-5) losses came to playoff teams: Overbrook (lost to No. 1 seed Glassboro in CJ2 quarterfinals), Paulsboro (No. 1 seed playing in CJ1 semifinals), Burlington City (who Pennsville beat in the quarterfinals), Schalick (No. 1 seed on the other side of the bracket in SJ1), and Salem (No. 2 seed playing in CJ1 semifinals).

The Eagles are also looking for their first sectional final appearance since 2015, when they went 11-1, earned the second seed, and defeated Clayton in the final.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Dayton-Collision-2026-Banner-Ad-600-x-100-1024x171.png

They feature a pass-heavy attack led by senior quarterback Jake Layfield (2,061 passing yards, 18 touchdowns) and breakout sophomore wideout Chase Johnson (60 receptions, 909 yards, seven touchdowns). The two connected six times for 56 yards in the quarterfinal win over the Blue Devils, and Layfield fired a game-winning 23-yard score to senior wideout Danny Knight with 23 seconds left.

Pennsville also sports an opportunistic defense with 14 interceptions on the year (led by six from senior Jacob Kimani) and ten forced fumbles. That defense has been the key to the Eagles’ success this season, with an average of 12.8 points allowed in their five wins and 31.2 in their five losses.

Both teams will have to focus on winning the turnover battle and converting through the air in tough circumstances in order to snap their respective decade-long sectional final droughts. It’ll all get going on Friday at 7 PM with the beautiful fall backdrop in Frenchtown to bring it all together.

Click below to hear Delaware Valley head coach Ben Ibach talk about the Terriers’ season and upcoming semifinal game against Pennsville with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

After surviving Vineland, Sayreville heads down to unbeaten Rancocas Valley in Central 5 semis

There’s little to no history between the Sayreville and Rancocas Valley football teams.

The last – and only – time they ever met was in 2010, when the Bombers won the Central Jersey Group 5 title behind standout runningback Delon Stephenson, and beat the Red Devils in the opening round of the playoffs, en route to a title win over Brick Memorial and an 11-1 finish.

This year’s club is 8-2 – with losses to solid squads in Ridge and at Old Bridge – and as the third-seed in Central 5, will travel down to second seed Rancocas Valley (10-0) Friday for a 6 pm kickoff in the sectional semifinals, with the victor to take on the winner of the other semifinal, featuring fourth-seed Williamstown at top-seed Old Bridge, a game you can hear live Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Bombers have had a solid season, winners of four straight as they head down to Burlington County. They’ve been a solid defensive group, and may have saved one of their best efforts for one of their arch-rivals, Piscataway, beating the Chiefs 16-7 on Cutoff Weekend, preventing Piscataway from getting a top-seed in the playoffs, while also improving their own standing.

In that game, their wealth of skill players showed, and the Bombers got offensive players all over the field, a scenario for which the Chiefs had no apparent answer. Last week, Sayreville led Vineland at halftime, but the game went back and forth the rest of the way. Dion Osae – who along with Sherwin Appiah had two rushing touchdowns – scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning touchdown from 52 yards out with 1:36 to go, and they only ended up winning by two after the PAT was blocked.

That’s the kind of game it was.

This week, head coach Mark Poore may want to bring a case of Rolaids with him, because his Bombers are in for another battle.

Rancocas Valley won the West Jersey Football League’s Colonia Division, sweeping all five games. And while their schedule hasn’t been a they own some impressive wins: 36-6 over Shawnee, and 21-20 over an always tough Millville squad.

Among the players to watch are junior quarterback Zach Merhar (1,776 yards passing, 33 TD, 8 INTs) and three wide receivers who have at least 22 catches apiece: junior Andrew Byrdsong and juniors Mike McQueen and Malcolm Harrison. While their leading rusher, Hakim Theresa, Jr., has just 653 yards and six scores on the season, as a team, they’ve rushed for 1,653 and 14 touchdowns, showing a balanced attack.

On the other side of the ball, they have been nearly impossible to score on. In nine regular season games, only Shawnee, Millville and Pleasantville have avoided a goose egg. And in the opening round, eight-seed Jackson Twp. only managed a single touchdown in a 42-7 loss.

But the Bombers have weapons, and though they don’t throw the ball much – just an average of 7.6 attempts per game – sophomore QB Marcus Butka is a distributor, who runs the offense well. Factor in direct snaps to Osae and or Appiah, and it’s enough to give even the best defensive eleven nightmares.

Click below to hear Sayreville football coach Mark Poore talk about Friday’s Central Jersey Group 5 semifinal at Rancocas Valley with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Alec Crouthamel

Top-seeded Elizabeth hosts Passaic Tech with first sectional final appearance since 2014 on the line

It’s been a magical year for Elizabeth Football, but the Minutemen (10-0) aren’t interested in any final conclusions just yet.

The North 2, Group 5 section’s top seed is ready for more, still unbeaten through ten games for the first time since the 2012 championship-winning campaign.

Up next is another familiar face, as Elizabeth will host fourth-seeded Passaic Tech in the sectional semifinals, with a trip to the final on the line for the first time in 12 years, when it fell to top-seeded Linden in the North 2, Group .

The last time the Minutemen reached the sectional semifinal, in 2024, these two teams faced off again, also at Williams Field in Elizabeth. The second-seeded Minutemen fell at home to the third-seeded Bulldogs, before Passaic Tech ultimately fell to top seed Union City in the final.

Armed with a dynamic offense and stout defense, Elizabeth looks to keep the good times rolling into a chance at a trophy.

The Minutemen completed the first task last weekend, taking down eighth-seeded Linden for the second time this season, 35-12.

The biggest key to victory came with a fast start, taking a two-score lead early in the second quarter. Even after Linden got on the board, seniors A’rique Fleming and Erick Cespedes connected for another touchdown to head into halftime back up two scores. Two third-quarter rushing touchdowns from sophomore running back Jha’ki Williams put the game away.

On the other side, the Bulldogs (7-3) routed fifth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan, 35-0, in the quarterfinals to stretch their winning streak to five straight games.

It felt like a constant avalanche falling on the Panthers, with a blocked field goal on the opening drive turning into a Passaic Tech touchdown minutes later. A recovered fumble on the ensuing kickoff turned into a 31-yard passing score seconds later.

Down 14-0 in the blink of an eye, Bridgewater-Raritan worked its way back into Passaic Tech territory on the next drive, but a four-down defensive stand resulted in no points, and Bulldogs juinor quarterback Bryce Longo sprinted down the field for a 71-yard touchdown run less than a minute later, putting Passaic Tech up 20 after less than ten minutes of game action.

The addition of Longo to the lineup has flipped the Bulldogs’ fortunes in 2026. A transfer from St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, he made his season debut on September 25th, a 17-14 double-overtime loss to Ramapo, and Passaic Tech hasn’t lost since.

Longo, a left-handed signal-caller, has racked up 1,163 yards and 16 touchdowns (with just three interceptions), along with 271 rushing yards, in only five starts. That includes an efficient 148 yards on 10-for-15 passing with three scores through the air (and the aforementioned long rushing touchdown) against the Panthers. The Bulldogs have scored at least 34 points in all five wins in this current stretch.

It should be a whale of a quarterback battle between Longo and Fleming, and two offenses that have found their stride at the right time. Passaic Tech, last year’s North 1, Group 5 champion and Group 5 runner-up, looks to further its championship reputation, while Elizabeth seeks another chance at the mountaintop for the first time in over a decade.

Click below to hear Elizabeth football head coach Eugene Kline talk about the Minutemen’s upcoming North 2, Group 5 semifinal against Passaic Tech with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge guns for second straight CJ5 finals berth when Knights host Williamstown Friday on Central Jersey Sports Radio

Call the Old Bridge football team the Cardiac Kids.

After a season-opening loss to a very good Shawnee club down at the Battle at the Beach on Ocean City, the Knights have won nine straight. But it hasn’t been easy.

It’s not easy for most teams, but Old Bridge has been on the bring a few times this year.

With a 23-8 lead on St. Thomas Aquinas at halftime on September 18th, a third-quarter field goal helped the Knights withstand a furious Trojan rally for a 26-24 win.

The next week, they trailed Piscataway at home, 26-0 at the half, before scoring 27 unanswered points to stun the Chiefs and win by one.

And last week, in the opening round of the playoffs for the top-seeded Knights, they needed a five-yard touchdown pass from Aiden Rios to Jordan Mercado with 15 seconds to go to survive and advance, 20-15, over the eighth-seed Lenape.

Now, it’s the sectional semifinals, as Old Bridge (9-1) looks to return to the Central Jersey Group 5 title tilt, where they lost last season to Washington Twp. out of deep South Jersey. Their opponent: fourth-seed Williamstown (7-3), and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio Friday night at 6 pm, with pregame at 5:40. Mike Pavlichko and Nick hart have the call; click here to listen.

The Braves’ program has struggled the last few seasons, as this year will be its first time finishing over .500 since the COVID-shortened 2020 season. They won titles in 2012, 2018 and 2019, winning the South Jersey Group 5 regional championship in ’19, after falling in dramatic fashion to Sayreville in that very same game in 2018.

The winner will face either the third-seed Bombers (8-2) or second-seed Rancocas Valley (10-0). That game also kicks off at 6 pm, but down in Burlington County.

Williamstown has some tough losses to Pennsauken and defending “Central Jersey” Group 5 champion Washington Twp, as well as Northern Burlington. But, like Old Bridge, they’ve won some close games, and maybe more of them. Of their six regular season wins, four came by a touchdown or less, two – against Kingsway and Eastern – came by just a single point.

Senior QB Kristopher Foster thrown for 1,537 yards and 13 touchdowns, but also ten interceptions, while as a group they have rushed for just only 15 more yards than they’re passing, led by sophomore Sincere Ebanks, with 167 carries for 917 yards and nine scores.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches:

Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue with Mike Pavlichko
Williamstown head coach Brian Leary with Nick Hart
by Mike Pavlichko

Bernards to face high-flying Red Wings in trip to Hoboken, for spot in North 2, Group 2 final

There’s good news, good news and bad news for the Bernards football team this weekend.

First, the good: Top receiver and senior Sean Arcelay is expected to be back in the lineup for this Friday night’s North 2, Group 2 semifinal game, after leaving the Mountaineers’ opening round game last week late int he first half with an undisclosed injury.

Now, more good: the second-seeded Hoboken team they will face doesn’t nearly play at the pace Hanover Park did last week at Olcott Field, going no-huddle and barely giving the defense a chance to catch its breath. (Though they did, and came out with a 21-20 win.)

Now, the bad: Bernards head coach Jon Simoneau knows what his Mountaineers (8-2) are up against: a very talented team with skill all over the field that has allowed them to throw for well over a thousand yards and rush for double that.

Friday night, the two will face off for the first-time ever at Hoboken’s Louis M. Taglieri Jr. Stadium at 6:30 pm, as Bernards looks to get back to a sectional final for the second time in four seasons, after winning North 1, Group 2.

The Red Wings (9-1) haven’t lost to a New Jersey school all season long, their lone loss coming to Dunbar (DC) in mid-September. They are scoring at a 33.4 point per game clip, have held their last four regular season opponents to single digits, have pitched two shutouts, and are allowing just 12.1 points per game all season.

Bernards is coming off a 21-20 win over six-seed Hanover Park in the first round, a Hornet team that played at a frenetic pace. And that after playing a brutally punishing game against Summit on Cutoff Weekend. But all the dings are healed – at least, as much as they can be this time of year – and the Mountaineers are all ready to go.

And they will need a total effort – especially on the defensive end – to have success against the Red Wings. That could be guys up front like Victor Nina, who has two fumble recoveries, and one for a touchdown earlier this year against JFK.

Or Tyce Hanratty, the senior middle linebacker who leads the team with 102 tackles, 32 solo, along with nine TFLs. Or guys in the secondary like Luke Bubnowski – who has 2 1/2 sacks and a pick-six against Cranford – or Zach Favreau, who has a team-best six interceptions, including one near the goal line last week against Hanover Park.

Click below to hear Bernards head coach Jon Simoneau talk about the Mountaineers’ sectional semifinal game at Hoboken with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Chris Tsakonas

After rebound win over Bayonne in opening round, Piscataway seeks first title game berth since 2018 when Chiefs visit West Orange

When Piscataway opened up the North 1, Group 5 tournament against Bayonne last Saturday afternoon, there were two other goals besides getting a playoff win in mind.

First, it was a rematch against a Bees team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year, and Piscataway got its revenge, defeating the Bees 20-7 at home to keep their season alive for another week.

Second, they were coming off a regular season Cutoff Weekend loss at Sayreville in which they admittedly did not play well. Check that box as well, as Piscataway played well in all three phases against Bayonne.

Now, the third-seeded Chiefs (8-2) will face another difficult matchup with a trip up Route 287 to face second-seeded West Orange (8-1) Mountaineers in the sectional semifinals, in a game that kicks off at 7 pm in Essex County.

The Chiefs have a veteran-heavy offense, led by senior running back Zaire Young (224 carries for 1,476 yards and 14 touchdowns) and senior quarterback Landon Pernell (103 of 160 passing for 1,506 passing yards for 15 touchdowns, with just four interceptions). Young alone is responsible for 46.7 percent of Piscataway’s total offensive yardage this season.

On the defensive side, the Chiefs have been highly effective, allowing only 12.5 points per game with less than 10 points allowed in half of their games. Defensive lineman Donald Young has 64 tackles and 17 tackles-for-loss to lead the Chiefs in both categories, while senior linebacker Xavian Ali has 63 tackles and eight tackles-for-loss.

Another key contributor in Piscataway’s first round win over Bayonne was Myles Elliott, who had an interception and nearly blocked a field goal against the Bees.

West Orange was the Freedom White Division champion in the Super Football Conference, going 5-0 in divisional play. Since a season-opening 13-12 loss to Ramapo, the Mountaineers have won eight straight, five by shutout.

And they’ve beaten three teams still alive in the playoffs: Irvington, Shabazz and East Orange. And the Blue Knights are the fourth-seed in the very same section; they play top-seed Ramapo – which beat West Orange 13-12 in the season opener – in the other semifinal in North 1, Group 5.

Click below to hear Piscataway head coach Dan Higgins talk about Piscataway’s sectional semifinal against West Orange with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas:

by Mike Pavlichko

“Gameday with Marcus Borden” presented by NEXUS: Playoff Edition (Sectional Semifinals)

The NJSIAA high school football playoffs are in full swing, with 12 teams remaining – ten public and two non-public – and it’s time to talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden!

In the show’s opening segment, Mike Pavlichko and Coach Borden look at the weekend’s smaller school playoff matchups, beginning with the parochial schools, as St. Joseph of Metuchen travels to top-seed Don Bosco Prep in the Group A first round, and St. Thomas Aquinas visits Holy Spirit of Absecon in Group B’s opening round.

Then, it’s on to South Group 1, where Delaware Valley entertains Pennsville; North 2, Group 2, which has Bernards at Bayonne and New Providence at Waldwick/Midland Park; North 1 Group 3, which has Cranford hosting Shabazz, and North 2, Group 3, featuring Somerville at Wayne Hills.

After the break, it’s time to look at Group 5 sections, where half the remaining Big Central public schools reside. That includes Old Bridge and Williamstown facing off in Central 5, along with Sayreville travelling down to Rancocas Valley. In North 1, Piscataway visits West Orange. And in North 2, it’s Elizabeth hosting Passaic Tech to round out the Friday slate, and Phillipsburg at East Orange in the only Saturday playoff game involving a Big Central team.

Click below to listen to the sectional semifinal round Playoff Edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

by Mike Pavlichko

Battle-tested Cranford entertains Shabazz, with trip to North 1, Group 3 title game on the line

When an offense can find balance, it’s a beautiful thing.

When they can keep that balance with one of their top runningbacks out with an injury since September like Gabe Worrell has been, well that’s extra special.

That’s the scenario facing Cranford Friday night when the second-seeded Cougars host third-seed Shabazz for the North 1, Group 3 semifinals and a 7 pm kickoff.

Shabazz is a Group 2-size school that made it to the state final last year, only to lose to Camden. But they are playing up in Group 3 this year based on the NJSIAA’s competitive balance and success formula, which moves teams up when their school is open enrollment (Shabazz can draw from all of Newark) and they advance past a certain point in the playoffs.

Of course, the move to Group 3 didn’t affect the Bulldogs’ regular season schedule. They are 8-1, with their lone loss coming to West Orange, 13-6, back on September 18th. Otherwise, they have five shutouts, including over Passaic Tech in Week One, 13-0. And the Bulldogs just beat defending North 2, Group 5 champion Bridgewater-Raritan in the opening round last week.

Cranford has had a solid season, too, also 8-1. They play a number of Group 4 schools, and beat them all, including Summit 29-0, Rahway 14-7 on the road, Montgomery 13-12 at home, and at Carteret, 24-12.

Senior quarterback Aidan Capizzi has thrown for 1,340 yards and 11 touchdowns, while junior runningback Logan Murray has shouldered the load on the ground, with 152 carries for 863 yards and seven scores.

The lone blemish on the resume was a Cutoff Weekend 14-3 home loss to Hillside. But sometimes, getting that loss out of the way before the playoffs can help a team refocus. And the Cougars did, as they beat seven-seed Matawan last week, 34-27.

And Cranford can get after it on defense as well. The unit this year has 22 sacks and 65 tackles for loss, along with eight forced fumbles and seven interceptions. They’ve pitched a pair of shutouts for their part, but also didn’t allow a single team to score more than 14 points on them for seven straight weeks, between a 31-24 season-opening win at Bernards, and last Friday’s victory over Matawan.

Click below to hear Cranford head coach Erik Rosenmeir talk about the Cougars’ sectional semifinal playoff game against Shabazz with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Conzentino helps keep it going at New Providence, where Pioneers are on the verge of third straight sectional finals berth

Could the third time be the charm?

If the New Providence football team wins one more game, they’ll get the chance to find out.

But the fourth-seeded Pioneers – who won their opening round game over fifth-seed Becton in the North 2, Group 2 playoff section, 48-27 last week – will have to go on the road this week, where they’ll face the top-seed, the Waldwick/Midland Park Co-Op out of the NJIC at 7 pm.

A win, and they’ll be in a sectional final for the third straight year, seeking to win their first title since 2010.

Both teams come into Friday’s sectional semifinal at 8-1. New Providence was a three-way co-champ with A.J. Johnson and Perth Amboy in the Big Central’s Patriot Silver Division. The Warriors were the NJIC Liberty Division champs, and then won the league’s two-game playoffs, beating Garfield 35-34 in the title game on Cutoff Weekend.

New Providence, of course, has a first-year head coach, but it’s not his first year with the program. He spent five years under Chet Parlevecchio, Jr., as an assistant, so he already was well-familiar with the program and the personnel, and he has subscribed to most of the theory “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

To that end, the Pioneers have great balance on offense, throwing for 1,641 yards behind senior QB Kevin Reilly, but running as a team for 1,439 yards. And Reilly has 460 of those, while senior Charles Maneely leads the group with 788 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Defensively, they feats on turnovers, with eight forced fumbles and recoveries – including one four a touchdown – and nine interceptions. When your own QB has thrown just three picks all year – compared with 28 touchdowns – that means you’re winning the turnover battle.

That same balance cannot be found with Waldwick, which runs the rock to the nth degree. The Warriors have passed for barely 1,000 yards, but have run for an eye-popping 2,869 yards and 43 touchdowns. Junior Luciano Mayer leads the way with 270 carries for 1,734 yards and 24 touchdowns; he’s one of the top ten rushers in the state.

Click below to hear New Providence first-year head coach Anthony Conzentino talk about the Pioneers’ second-round playoff game against Waldwick/Midland Park with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: