Category: Football

August 31, 2026August 31, 2026 by Marcus Borden

Marcus Borden unveils Big Central Week 1 Top Ten, debuts Union, Middlesex and BCC West Rankings

Thursday’s opening slate of games had to be rescheduled as Mother Nature did not cooperate with severe thunderstorms ravaging the Garden State.

This forced me to adjust my coverage plans which meant I would head west to Delaware Valley who was hosting neighboring North Hunterdon at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

Unfortunately I would not be able to attend Old Bridge’s game in Ocean City as they were taking on Shawnee H.S. in the Battle at the Beach. Their game was delayed over an hour as the Southern half of the state was under a severe weather alert.

The Terriers led by QB/LB Junior Chase Kraucheunas, WR/LB Brayden Picardo-Leask, RB/LB Ben Culberson, G/LB Marcus Gary, Brayden Costello WR/DB/PK and a host of underclassmen blanked the visiting Lions 17-0 in front of a raucous and packed Stadium on Senator Stout Rd. in Frenchtown, NJ.

If you have never been at Delaware Valley H.S. for a football game, I recommend you take the trip in October when the fall foliage is in full bloom!

Here are my Week 1 Top Tens for the entire BCC, BCC West, BCC Middlesex and BCC Union.

August 31, 2026September 6, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

No change atop the Week 1 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, but two new teams join the list

There was little change from the preseason in the latest Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with Phillipsburg remaining atop the rankings, while two other teams flip-flopped and two others near the bottom dropped out with losses in their opening games.

Phillipsburg remained at No. 1 after a season-opening 28-21 win over Parkland (PA) at Maloney Stadium. The Stateliners open the season with three straight Pennsylvania opponents, and this week, they cross the “state line” to go play Emmaus (PA) Friday night at 7.

St. Joseph-Metuchen was idle, and remains in the No. 2 spot. The Falcons will welcome in No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan (1-0) Saturday for a 1 pm matinee to kick off their 2026 campaign.

Piscataway won its opener, hanging on with a goal line stand to win 26-20 at East Orange, moving them up one spot to No. 3 in the rankings. They’ll play host to No. 5 Somerville – their first meeting since 1987 – Friday night at 6 in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Old Bridge dropped a tough 43-35 decision to Shawnee out of the West Jersey Football League Friday down at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City. The drops them one spot to fourth this week. Friday night at 6, they visit Montgomery.

Rounding out the top five is Somerville. The Pioneers beat South Plainfield in their opener at Brooks Field, 40-21, on Friday night, and this week, travel to No. 3 Piscataway. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 6 pm.

Bridgewater-Raritan holds in the No. 6 position after opening the season with a dominating 28-7 win at then-No. 8 Woodbridge Friday night, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. This week, it’s a tough test at No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, Saturday at 1 pm at Brenner Family Field.

Sayreville also won its opener, beating Plainfield 23-19 Friday night. That lets them keep the seventh position. The Bombers will host Ridge this Friday at 6:30 pm.

Summit moves up a spot to No. 8 after beating Colonia at home Friday afternoon, 23-21, with Jackson Marx intercepting a two-point conversion just outside the goal line late in the fourth-quarter to help preserve a lead that ended up being the final margin. This week, they visit Rahway for a 6:00 start Friday night.

Jumping in at nine is Elizabeth, one of two new teams in this week’s rankings. The Minutemen were 53-6 winners at Carteret on Friday night, and will visit Plainfield this Friday for a 6 pm kickoff.

The other new team is St. Thomas Aquinas, which won its opener out in Sheepshead Bay over Frank J. Macchiarola (NY), 36-12. The Trojans are back in action Friday, when Westfield visits North Edison for a 6 pm kickoff.

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

Dropping out this week are previous No. 8 Woodbridge and previous No. 10 Bernards. The Barrons lost to Bridgewater-Raritan, 28-7, Friday night, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, while the Mountaineers fell 26-20 at Rutherford Friday night.

August 30, 2026August 30, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Highland Park 29, New Brunswick 0

Highland Park QB Marcus Smith ran for two touchdowns, while going 8-of-97 passing for 97 yards, and the Owls defense registered its first shutout in 15 years with a 29-0 season-opening win over visiting New Brunswick.

Click below to listen to Alec Crouthamel and Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play live from Jay Dakelman Field in Highland Park, NJ, on August 28, 2026:

1st Half

2nd Half

August 30, 2026August 30, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan 28, No. 8 Woodbridge 7

Sophomore J.B. Baxter threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns in his varsity debut, helping No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan to a 28-7 road win at No. 8 Woodbridge in the season opener for both schools.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the play-by-play live from Nicholas A. Priscoe Stadium in Woodbridge, NJ, on August 28, 2026:

1st Half

2nd Half

August 30, 2026August 29, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Ten straight season-opening wins for Delaware Valley is best streak in New Jersey. Who else is close? Not many

When the Delaware Valley football team opened its 2026 season with a 17-0 win over North Hunterdon Friday night, it extended a pretty significant streak.

The Terriers now have won ten straight season-openers, dating all the way back to 2017, and that’s the longest streak of its kind in the state. But not only that, it’s a very rare feat.

It’s something that hasn’t been done – at least recently – by the likes of Winslow, Washington Twp., Glassboro, or even the Don Boscos or Bergen Catholics of the world.

We went back to look at every team in the state. (Well, not every team, since anyone who lost their opener this week was automatically out of the picture.) And we found only four out of over 300 teams even have a streak that goes back to before the COVID-shortened season of 2020.

The next three – including one other team from the Big Central Conference – have all won between seven and nine straight season openers. The Super Football and Shore Conferences have the other two. Here’s the list:

West Morris (SFC), 9 straight: The Wolfpack’s run goes back to 2018, after a 41-20 win over district rival Mendham this past Friday night. Their last season-opening loss came back in 2017, dropping a 31-27 decision to Parsippany Hills.
New Providence (BCC), 8 straight: Idle this week, the Pioneers will put that on the line next Thursday at home against Voorhees in the debut of new head coach Anthony Conzentino. Their streak dates back to 2018 as well, and would match West Morris with a win this week. Their last loss came in a rough season, 2017, when the Pioneers went 1-9, and opened with a 41-3 loss to Johnson.
Southern (Shore), 7 straight: Yet to open their season – they’ll do that next Friday against Belmont Charter (PA) – the Rams last loss came in 2018, a 14-0 defeat at the hands of Jackson Memorial, which last year merged with Jackson Liberty to form Jackson Twp. High School.

There’s one little caveat to all this: Somerville. Those Pioneers. Technically, their last season-opening loss “on the field” came in 2015, when Jeff Vanderbeek and Chris Casamento were co-head coaches for a season before Vanderbeek took over on his own the next season and the Pioneers went undefeated in the regular season, falling 21-13 at home in the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals to Rumson Fair-Haven, which they would beat the next year for a state title at Rutgers.

But in 2022, though they beat Mastery HS of Camden in their season-opener, 31-7, Somerville self-reported a violation – using an ineligible player in that game – and it was declared a forfeit loss. Since it’s an official loss, we can’t count that toward the streak.

Here’s a closer look at Del Val’s season-opening wins on their current streak, and their final record each season:

2026: North Hunterdon, 17-0 (??)
2025: at Metuchen, 27-13 (6-4)
2024: at South Plainfield, 21-0 (6-3)
2023: Roselle, 27-9 (5-4)
2022: at Roselle, 20-17 (6-3)
2021: Middlesex, 48-14 (7-3)
2020: at Voorhees, 24-2 (6-1)
2019: St. Thomas Aquinas, 41-0 (6-3)
2018: at North Plainfield, 37-7 (5-5)
2017: North Plainfield, 21-6 (5-5)

Delaware Valley’s last season opening loss came at North Plainfield, 28-7, in 2016. That Terrier team finished 5-5 on the season. Their overall record on their streak is 53-41.

August 29, 2026August 29, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Big Central Roundup: No. 4 Piscataway hangs on with goal line stand at East Orange; Manville thumps Keansburg in “Battle of The Bridge”; Aquinas wins in Sheepshead Bay

The schedule might have been light Saturday afternoon, but there was plenty of action for the four Big Central Conference teams in action on the final day of Week Zero play in New Jersey high school football.

The biggest win went to No. 4 Piscataway in a battle of electrifying teams, as the Chiefs nearly gave up a two-score lead late, and hung on for a 26-20 victory at East Orange.

Meanwhile, Manville pummeled their hosts in the opening game of the “Battle of the Bridge” at Keansburg, while South River dropped the second game, 43-7, to Point Pleasant Beach.

Scroll through for recaps, audio and Saturday scores.

Chiefs hang on in a wild finish…

Fourth-ranked Piscataway needed a goal line stand to come away with a 26-20 win, one that nearly – and quite literally – almost slipped through their hands.

The Chiefs scored on their opening possession, with a 29-yard touchdown run by Zaire Young, but missed the extra point left. And they fell behind 7-6 when the Jaguars answered on a 35-yard TD scamper by Jaleel Halsey early in the second quarter. But Piscataway got one back with 4:15 left, when Cody Hardy jumped a route on the right sideline on an East Orange second-and-eight from the three, taking the interception into the end zone to go up 13-7 with the PAT.

Late in the third quarter, a bad snap on a punt went over kicker Patrick Novak’s head. He was able to get it off, but the Jags got good field position and scored to make it 14-13 East Orange. But the Chiefs would answer with another Zaire Young touchdown, leaping over a defender at the goal line to reach the end zone, making it 19-14 Piscataway with the point after. Another score by Jason Harrison put them up 26-14 with 3:32 left, and it looked like the Chiefs would come back home with a win.

And they did, but they had to sweat it out. East Orange completed a bomb of a pass to Eric Williams down the left side, who looked like he would score, but his momentum took him out at the one. Jaleel Halsey punched it in for the score, but going for the PAT, a bobbled snap resulted in a botched play, and a frantic attempt to toss the ball to the end zone for two failed.

Piscataway got its hands team out for the expected onside kick, but it bounced high off the finger tips of a Piscataway player and East Orange recovered at the Piscataway 47 with two time outs left. They used one as they got it down to the one-yard line for a first down with 22 seconds left, and got stuffed on a run with 13-seconds remaining before calling their final time out.

The Chiefs then stuffed the next run into the backfield, and with only three seconds left, East Orange tried to spike the ball, but couldn’t get the play off in time, leaving Piscataway with a wild 26-20 victory.

Next week, Piscataway gets Somerville (1-0) at home, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart on the call.

Click here to listen to Piscataway head coach Dan Higgins talk about the Chiefs’ season-opening win at East Orange with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

Manville wins 15th straight…

The Mustangs left little to doubt in their season opener, as Manville won its 15th straight regular season game – dating back to 2024 – picking up a 56-15 victory over host Keansburg in the “Battle of The Bridge” showcase down along the Bayshore.

Five different players scored rushing touchdowns for Manville: Matthew Gorbatuk and Aidan Johnson each scored twice, while Cassius Carter, Jovani Maldonado and Kevin Camacho each scored once. And QB Jonathan Gosk connected with Elijah Bennett for a passing TD.

Johnson also added a pick on defense, while Gorbatuk had a fumble recovery. The Mustangs visit Brearley (1-0) in Kenilworth next Friday night.

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

Manville 56, Keansburg 17 (Battle of the Bridge at Keansburg HS)
Point Pleasant Beach 43, South River 7 (Battle of the Bridge at Keansburg HS)
#4 Piscataway 26, East Orange 20
St. Thomas Aquinas 36, Frank J. Macchiarola (NY) 12

FRIDAY SCOREBOARD

#1 Phillipsburg 28, Parkland (PA) 21
Shawnee 43, #3 Old Bridge 35 (Battle at the Beach, Ocean City)
#5 Somerville 40, South Plainfield 21
#6 Bridgewater-Raritan 28, #8 Woodbridge 7 (GAME RECAP)
#7 Sayreville 23, Plainfield 19
#9 Summit 23, Colonia 21
Rutherford 26, #10 Bernards 20
Warren Hills 36, Voorhees 0
Westfield 33, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 28
Ewing 33, Franklin 21
Manalapan 41, Hillsborough 25
Union 35, Edison 0
Hillside 41, Columbia 0
Eastern 17, Hunterdon Central 14
Perth Amboy 33, Monroe 28
North Warren 32, Bound Brook 0
Hopewell Valley 34, Montgomery 0
North Brunswick 39, Snyder 8
Watchung Hills 14, South Brunswick 0
East Brunswick 41, JFK 0
Wood-Ridge 41, Roselle Park 6
Delaware Valley 17, North Hunterdon 0 (Game Coverage from Marcus Borden)
New Hope-Solebury (PA) 23, South Hunterdon 14
North Plainfield 7, Orange 0
Elizabeth 53, Carteret 6
Highland Park 29, New Brunswick 0 (GAME RECAP)
Hackettstown 27, Belvidere 8
Monmouth 21, Spotswood 7

THURSDAY SCOREBOARD

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

August 29, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Delaware Valley makes second half adjustments, blanks North Hunterdon, 17-0, in season opener

Against a beautiful sunset out at Tapp Webb Field in Alexandria, the Delaware Valley football team may not have been perfect, but by the time the final horn sounded, it sure looked like it.

The Terriers led 7-0 in the first quarter, then scored twice more in the second half after making some adjustments to come out with a 17-0 home win over visiting North Hunterdon.

Junior QB Chase Kraucheunas got the scoring started with just 29 seconds left in the first quarter, connecting with fellow junior Tyler Small for a 29-yard touchdown pass.

That was the way the first half would end, but the Terriers tacked on another score with 7:30 to go in the third, on a ten-yard touchdown run by Brayden Picardo-Leask, while Brayden Costello booted a 30-yard field goal with 7:22 to play in the game that put the contest out of reach.

It was Delaware Valley’s tenth straight season-opening win, a streak that dates back to 2017. It’s the longest such streak in the Big Central Conference. (Somerville, which last lost a season-opener on the field in 2015, beat Mastery HS of Camden in the 2022 season opener, but took a forfeit after self-reporting the use of an ineligible player.)

New Providence has won eight straight openers going back to 2018, but is idle in Week Zero, and opens next Thursday at home against Voorhees in the debut of new head coach Anthony Conzentino.

Del Val will host Johnson next week, while the Lions will travel to East Brunswick.

Watch CJSR analyst Marcus Borden’s postgame reaction with Delaware Valley head coach Ben Ibach and junior QB/LB Chase Kraucheunas:

August 28, 2026August 31, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Governor Livingston puts up big numbers in matinee; North Brunswick snaps skid; Summit survives Colonia; plus scores and Saturday slate

The storm threat that wiped out much of Thursday night’s schedule in the Big Central Conference and across New Jersey meant a busy Friday in the league, with plenty of coverage from our Central Jersey Sports Radio team.

No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan dominated No. 8 Woodbridge up front on both sides of the ball in a 28-7 road win heard on CJSR, while Highland Park blanked New Brunswick 29-0 in another live broadcast heard on CJSR; it was the Owls’ first shutout win in 15 years, since a 37-0 victory at now-shuttered Cardinal McCarrick in South Amboy on Halloween 2011.

Meanwhile, Delaware Valley blanked North Hunterdon at home, 17-0, in a game covered by CJSR football analyst Marcus Borden.

Scroll through for other game recaps and interviews, plus all Friday night (and Thursday) scores, as well as the schedule for Saturday afternoon.

Highlanders score big in season opener over Dayton…

Coming off a 5-5 season, expectations are high for Governor Livingston, which returns a tremendous amount of talent. And nearly everyone got into the act Friday afternoon in a BCC crossover matinee against Dayton.

Five different players scored in a 40-27 win over visiting the Bulldogs, including a pair of touchdown runs for 38- and 16-yards from junior Mateo Liloia.

*Governor Livingston hosts Dayton in the first Big Central Conference game of many on Friday, August 27, 2026. (Source: GLTV on YouTube)*

Junior Connor Jakubowski opened the scoring with a ten-yard touchdown catch courtesy of sophomore QB Colin Hughes, who was 7-of-11 for 122 yards and two touchdown passes. Elijah Garcia added 195 yards and a score on 30 carries.

The Highlanders led 13-7 after one quarter, 27-13 at halftime, and never trailed in the game.

Click here to listen to Governor Livingston head coach Pete Ramiccio talk about the Highlanders’ season-opening win over Dayton with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

Raiders pick up win in Game One after winless ’25…

Coming off a winless campaign in 2025, North Brunswick was all business in the preseason, and at least for the Raiders’ opener, everything clicked on all cylinders.

They beat Snyder out of Jersey City Friday night at home, 39-8, the Raiders’ largest margin of victory since a 43-7 win at East Brunswick in mid-October 2023. They finished 8-1 that year.

Senior Sal Fama-Linn scored three times, all in the first half, after Josh Jeanty scored the opening touchdown of the game on a run. Fama-Linn caught a 94-yard pass from QB Jasiah Hogans to make it 13-0, and added another TD run and a catch in the second quarter to give the Raiders a 27-0 lead at the break. They also got a TD run from Hogans, a field goal from Engels Coello, and recorded a safety.

Click here to listen to North Brunswick head coach Mike Cipot talk about the Raiders’ season-opening win over Snyder with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

Other Notes…

Top-ranked Phillipsburg’s win over Parkland, 28-21, was a tight game all the way, but the Stateliners may have to get used to that. It was their first of four matchups this season against Pennsylvania teams, harkening back to when P’burg’ played in the ‘s East Penn League days. They’ll get Emmaus next week and Freedom the week after, both on the road, as well as their usual Thanksgiving affair with Easton.
While No. 10 Bernards took a season-opening loss against Rutherford, it was, of course, a non-conference game, which means their 32-game Big Central Conference win streak is still intact. But they’ll put that on the line next Friday night at Olcott Field when they welcome in Cranford, which will be playing its season opener, sitting idle this week.
No. 9 Summit got its season off on the right foot, with Jackson Marx returning the opening kick against Colonia 96 yards for a score to go up 7-0 with the PAT. And they built up a 23-0 lead late in the second quarter, before Colonia roared back with three unanswered touchdowns. But the Hilltoppers held on for the win, 23-21. Colonia’s final score, a 10-yard run by Kyle Bell late in the fourth quarter, got them to within two, but a two-point conversion attempt for the tie failed, with Marx again playing the hero, picking off the pass. Summit punted on its next possession and Colonia couldn’t get past midfield before time expired.

Colonia’s Kyle Bell scored on a ten-yard touchdown run late to pull to within two at Summit, but Jackson Marx picked off the ensuing two-point conversion to help seal the win for the Hilltoppers. (Source: Hudl)

After the Big Central went 3-0 in all non-conference games Thursday, the league went just 4-12 in non-league games Friday evening. The only winners were No. 1 Phillipsburg, North Brunswick, Hillside and North Plainfield.

FRIDAY SCOREBOARD

#1 Phillipsburg 28, Parkland (PA) 21
Shawnee 43, #3 Old Bridge 35 (Battle at the Beach, Ocean City)
#5 Somerville 40, South Plainfield 21
#6 Bridgewater-Raritan 28, #8 Woodbridge 7 (GAME RECAP)
#7 Sayreville 23, Plainfield 19
#9 Summit 23, Colonia 21
Rutherford 26, #10 Bernards 20
Warren Hills 36, Voorhees 0
Westfield 33, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 28
Ewing 33, Franklin 21
Manalapan 41, Hillsborough 25
Union 35, Edison 0
Hillside 41, Columbia 0
Eastern 17, Hunterdon Central 14
Perth Amboy 33, Monroe 28
North Warren 32, Bound Brook 0
Hopewell Valley 34, Montgomery 0
North Brunswick 39, Snyder 8
Watchung Hills 14, South Brunswick 0
East Brunswick 41, JFK 0
Wood-Ridge 41, Roselle Park 6
Delaware Valley 17, North Hunterdon 0 (Game Coverage from Marcus Borden)
New Hope-Solebury (PA) 23, South Hunterdon 14
North Plainfield 7, Orange 0
Elizabeth 53, Carteret 6
Highland Park 29, New Brunswick 0 (GAME RECAP)
Hackettstown 27, Belvidere 8
Monmouth 21, Spotswood 7

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

Manville at Keansburg (Battle of the Bridge), 11 am
#4 Piscataway at East Orange 1 pm
St. Thomas Aquinas at Frank J. Macchiarola (NY), 1 pm
South River at Point Pleasant Beach, 2 pm

THURSDAY SCOREBOARD

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

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 by Chris Tsakonas

Highland Park kicks off 2026 with 29-0 win over New Brunswick, first whitewash in 15 years

Highland Park opened the 2026 season in emphatic fashion as the Owls defeated New Brunswick 29-0 at Joseph Policastro Stadium Friday night.

In the process, Highland Park picked up its first shutout win in 15 years, when they won 37-0 at now-shuttered Cardinal McCarrick on Halloween 2011.

Highland Park totaled 240 yards of offense, with 143 of those yards coming on the ground. Jacob Quiros led the way with 11 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Marcus Smith completed eight of nine passes for 97 yards through the air and had eight carries and 38 yards for two touchdowns on the ground.

Highland Park received the opening kickoff in this game, and the offense wasted no time setting the tone. Led by a rushing attack of Jacob Quiros and quarterback Marcus Smith, the Owls scored first on an eight-play, 65-yard drive that was capped off by a 14-yard touchdown run from Smith with 6:42 to play in the first quarter.

After forcing a three-and-out on the Zebras’ opening drive, Highland Park turned the ensuing punt into a safety. Three tacklers teamed up to make it an 8-0 Owl lead with 4:07 to go in the opening quarter.

Highland Park caught another break when the ensuing kickoff was muffed, and the Owls recovered to immediately go back on offense. Highland Park made it count with a seven-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a seven-yard touchdown run from Ziquan Grier with three seconds left in the first quarter.

New Brunswick finally put a promising drive together, going 60 yards in seven plays to set up a 4th and 12 from the Owls’ 11-yard line. The pass from Jo Jo Morfa was broken up to end the first half.

The Zebras got the ball back to start the second half, and traded a pair of empty possessions before another promising scoring drive ended in an interception.

Highland Park got the ball back on their own 15 with 3:19 to play in the third quarter, and methodically led the ball down the field in an eight-play, 85-yard scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak from Marcus Smith.

New Brunswick went three-and-out twice in the fourth quarter, with Highland Park getting the ball back with 1:25 to play. The Owls kneeled the game out to seal the first win of 2026.

Offensively, the Zebras finished with 100 total yards of offense. Quarterback Jo Jo Morfa completed six of 10 for 64 yards, while Arisnel Mota-Sanchez had eight carries for 32 yards on the ground.

Click below to hear postgame reaction with Highland Park seniors Marcus Smith and Jacob Quiros, and junior Du’an Fleming, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel, presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 by Mike Pavlichko

Sophomore QB Baxter shines as No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan opens ’26 with 28-7 win at No. 8 Woodbridge

Bridgewater-Raitan head coach D.J. Catalano said before the game that if the QB battle with sophomore J.B. Baxter and senior Evan Woodring was close, he’d probably go with Baxter, because he wanted to get Woodring on the field everywhere else.

“It wasn’t even close,” Catalano said, and Baxter was going to get the keys to the bus.

Well, he drove it and then some, opening the scoring with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Woodring – QB to QB – to give the No. 6 Panthers a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

And though Woodbridge would tie it on a 28-yard touchdown run by junior QB Dylan Stephen, that’s as close as the No. 8 Barrons would get, as Bridgewater responded with three unanswered scores – one each in the second, third and fourth quarters, to head back to Somerset County with a 28-7 win, and a 1-0 record.

Baxter unofficially finished 13-for-20 for 253 yards, with three touchdown passes and one interception, for which senior Woodbridge safety Kyle Campos made a feet-first sliding grab, a highlight reel play.

But Bridgewater dominated the line of scrimmage with its excessive size advantage, and rolled off 448 yards of offense, 118 of which came on the ground from senior running back Jahmier Black, who had a third-quarter touchdown run of three yards.

Click below for postgame reaction from Bridgewater-Raritan sophomore QB J.B. Baxter, senior RB Jahmier Black and head coach D.J. Catalano with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe: