Category: Notebook

scientific calculator on wooden surface
by Mike Pavlichko

OFFICIAL NJ Football Strength Index numbers for all teams following Week Five action

It’s the home stretch of the high school football regular season: two more weeks, and we will be at Cutoff Weekend.

Over the next two weeks, SI values will continue to change. Strength Index is how a team’s OSI is determined, and OSI is 60 percent of the NJ UPR playoff formula, with power points the other 40 percent.

To calculate OSI, teams get 100 percent of an opponent’s Strength Index (SI) value for a win, and 50 percent for a loss, with defeats at the hands of some non-public teams (multipliers) worth more, anywhere from 70 to 80 percent.

One key point to note: heading into Cutoff Weekend, the SI values are locked – but only for playoff calculation. They will continue to be tracked until a team’s season is completely over. But for Week 8, Cutoff Weekend, the numbers after Week 7 will be the set numbers to use for Week 8 calculations so that all that matters is who won and who lost. The numbers won’t change in the formula after Week 8 games are played.

With all of it based on the Strength Index value of teams, once again this week, we’re the only place you can find all of the numbers in one, handy location.

The values below are all Central Jersey Sports Radio’s calculations through games played in Week Five, confirmed with the numbers for every single team in the state on NJ.com, which performs the official calculations for the NJSIAA.

Each week, SI values change based on the final score and the rating of the two teams that played. Here’s an example. SI goes up or down depending on how a team did compared to the difference between the two teams. If Team A (80 SI) plays Team B (60 SI) and Team A wins by 20, there’s no change. If Team A wins by 10, they underperformed by 10 points, and Team B overperformed by 10 points. Team B increases by 2 points to become a 62, and Team A drops to a 78. Team A then gets the full value of Team B for its OSI (62) while Team B gets half the value of Team A (39).

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio’s UNOFFICIAL Strength Index values after Week Four play:

2026 Strength Index (Official) through Week 5Download

Note: The NJ.com standings also revealed the SI values of out-of-state opponents for games already played. You can find them by going to a team’s power point calculation page.

Changes? NJ.com says that updates will push every morning at 6 am, if there are any. If an incorrect score has been confirmed and changed, that could affect the SI and OSI of multiple teams, depending on how many games have been played, if any, since the error.

by Mike Pavlichko

Piscataway pulls ahead of Phillipsburg to take top spot in Week 6 Big Central Power Rankings

Ridge’s upset of Phillipsburg and Piscataway’s win over Franklin has pushed the Chiefs to the top of the Big Central Conference Power Rankings after Week Six. That’s the first change at the top this season.

Since Piscataway moved up from No. 5, and the Stateliners only dropped to No. 2, that moves Elizabeth down one spot to third, while New Providence – thanks to a big win over Dayton – climbed from six to four, while Bridgewater-Raritan dipped one spot to five.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.

Rounding out the top ten, Sayreville fell from third to six after a loss at Old Bridge, Somerville rose from eleven to seven. Old Bridge held in eighth with the win over the Bombers, while Rahway fell to ninth – down two spots – and Bernards held in 10th with a comeback victory at Hillside.

Statewide, there’s a new No. 1, and it’s undefeated Donovan Catholic (6-0) out of the Shore Conference, taking over the top spot by nearly three points from Don Bosco Prep, the victim of a wild comeback by Bergen Catholic, which recovered from a 24-0 deficit. Yet, the Crusaders remain below Bosco in the standings, checking in at No. 5. (Remember, SI is the overall body of work, and carries over from the previous year, too.) Glassboro dropped from two to three, and Red Bank Catholic’s loss to Winslow left room for St. Augustine to power its way from 13 to four after a blowout win over Burlington Twp.

Here are other Big Central teams in the state Top 50:

  • Piscataway rose 17 places from 47 to 30.
  • Phillipsburg dropped from 28 to 33.
  • Elizabeth dropped from 34 to 44.
  • New Providence pulled up from outside the Top 50 at 51 to 48 this week.
  • Bridgewater-Raritan dropped six places to 48.

Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.

Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).

Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.

Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.

Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

Mike says Elizabeth, Marcus says Old Bridge: Who do the fans think is the No. 1 team in the Big Central Conference after Week Five?

Well, well, well.

Top-ranked Phillipsburg’s loss to No. 10 Ridge back on Friday night – a 14-3 Red Devil win in Basking Ridge – left a void at the top of the Week Six Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, and an opening for someone else to claim the top spot for the first time this season.

Our very own Mike Pavlichko opted to elevate previous No. 2 Elizabeth (6-0) to the top spot, while moving Old Bridge (5-1) up to No. 2 after a 14-12 home win over then-No. 8 Sayreville, a game heard live Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

But CJSR analyst Marcus Borden had the top three as Phillipsburg, Old Bridge and Elizabeth heading into Week Five, so when the Stateliners lost this past weekend, he put the Knights at No. 1, followed by Elizabeth.

Certainly, a case could be made for either school, but it got us thinking: Who would YOU have chosen for No. 1 this week?

Would you have gone with Old Bridge? Their only loss is out-of-conference to Shawnee, 43-35, down at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, and they’ve beaten three ranked teams – St. Thomas Aquinas, Piscataway, and Sayreville in the last three weeks.

Or would you go with Elizabeth? The Minutemen are 6-0 for the first time since their undefeated 2012, state championship season, and scoring an average 41 points per game, only once scoring fewer than 28 points in a game – that coming in a 19-7 win at Union.

Or, would you have gone with someone else?

This is your chance to vote: Who do you think is the top team in the Big Central Conference after six weeks of play (Weeks 0 through 5)?

Vote below now through noon on Wednesday, October 7. We’ll have the results later that night!

Who do you think is the No. 1 team in the Big Central Conference through Week 5?

The poll has expired!  Thanks for voting, we’ll have the results out soon!

by Marcus Borden

Old Bridge is the new No. 1 in Marcus Borden’s Week 6 Big Central Top Ten; plus rankings for BCC West, Middlesex and Union Counties

My Friday night game in South Plainfield on Senior Night for the Marching Band, Cheerleaders and the Football Team was full of big plays as the visiting Raiders of Scotch Plains Fanwood let everyone know they were better than their 1-4 record entering the contest.

The visitors would win the toss and elected to receive. They would find themselves forced to punt on their first series as the kick was slightly blocked by the Tigers Aiden Noblecilla and Michael Fiore.

South Plainfield would waste little time scoring on their third offensive play which was a play action pass to a dragging Noblecilla off the sweep action for a 19-yard touchdown and the early lead at the 9:41 mark of the 1st quarter.

Both teams would trade possessions with the Raiders moving towards midfield as the first quarter ended with the Tigers having a 7-0 advantage. Scotch Plains QB Junior Marcus Schomberg would launch a bomb to his receiver who was running a corner route but the pass went through his hands and into the arms of South Plainfield’s Nick France who raced down the home sideline on what many thought was a defensive score. He was ruled out of bounds at about midfield.

Sophomore QB Lucas Habe would execute a perfect waggle screen pass rolling to his right, pulling up and throwing back to the left to his senior TE Noblecilla and a convoy of lineman for a 33-yard score and a 14-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the second quarter.

The Raiders would mix the run and pass on their next possession with Senior wide receiver Yasir Oates putting the pressure on the Tigers defense and getting a pass interference call setting up fellow classmate Avery Snow for a 7-yard scamper to pay dirt closing the gap to 14-7.

The visitors would thwart a South Plainfield scoring threat at 29 seconds before intermission as both teams headed to the locker room with the hosts leading 14-7.

Both South Plainfield and Scotch Plains would try to establish the run and mix in the play action pass in the 3rd quarter but both turned the ball over on downs while going for it on 4th down entering the final quarter with the home team having a 14-7 advantage.

The Tigers would put the ball in the hands of a bevy of backs moving in to scoring position when Senior Micah Anderson scored on a 2-yard plunge up the middle of the Raiders defense at 7:08 remaining in the game for a 21-7 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff Raiders Senior WR/DB Jayden Sanders took the bouncing kick to the house from around the 15-yard line weaving his way avoiding would-be-tacklers at 6:53 remaining in the game making it a seven point game again at 21-14.

The fireworks were not over as South Plainfield’s true freshman Mason Smith would show his track speed as he made one cut upfield while bursting for a 70-yard touchdown a 6:11 in the fourth quarter and a 28-14 lead.

Schomberg and Oates would not give up but the Raiders would turn it over on downs as South Plainfield would run out the clock improving to 4-2 on the season.

Saturday’s game between South River and Dunellen was a 2:00 p.m. Homecoming event which featured both teams seeking their first win of the season. Dunellen would win the toss and defer to the second half.

Both teams would try to feel each other out with the Rams punting three times and the Destroyers fumbling on their first possession, punting once and driving as the 1st quarter came to an end with no score.

Dunellen would get close to the Red Zone and call a time out to decide if they would go for it on 4th down or punt. They decided to line up in punt formation as the punter faked the ball being snapped over his head while Colin DaSilva took the short snap and hit Geramiah Burgess for a first down at the Rams 26-yard line.

On the ensuing play Sophomore QB Kayson Boyd would roll left and pull up and throw a dart to Junior WR Jermal Goodridge who was dragging to the right for a 26-yard touchdown pass. Boyd would score on a 1 and a half yard 2-point conversion up the middle of the South River defense as the Rams were offsides on the PAT attempt making it 8-0 at the 8:45 mark of the 2nd quarter.

South River would drive to the Destroyers 4 yard line behind the running of Dominic Harris and Ethan Chamberlain. They would turn it over on downs as Dunellen would run out the clock and go into the locker room up 8-0 at halftime.

The visitors would take the 2nd half kickoff and be forced to punt at 9:06 in the 3rd quarter up 8-0. The punt was shanked as the Rams were pressuring the kicker. South River would get a big run on their first play but it was called back. They would be forced to punt and tried to run for the first down coming up short at 7:15 in the 3rd quarter down 8-0.

The Rams would drive to the Destroyers 31-yard line and attempt their own punt fake but their punter was swallowed up by the Dunellen defense.

South River would force Dunellen to punt again on their next series and they received the short kick around midfield. Ethan Chamberlain would take the toss down the visitors sideline for a 48-yard score with 3:24 remaining in the 3rd quarter but the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game failed making the score 8-6 late in the 3rd quarter.

The Rams would have multiple chances to take the lead as their defense would recover two fumbles but the Destroyers were up to the challenge intercepting a Rams pass as well as forcing them to turn it over on downs multiple times in the 4th quarter.

Dunellen would stop South River one more time with 2:09 remaining in the game up 8-6. The Rams would use their timeouts and force Dunellen to either punt on 4th and 4 or go for it.

Boyd would break the huddle and look to run for the the first down marker being chased by the Rams defense while casually tossing to Goodridge who a was wide-open in the flat for the first down.

The celebration was on as there were loud cheers from the Dunellen fans and players as they rushed to the end zone opposite the scoreboard shedding tears of joy as they washed away the stigma of a 24-game losing streak for this young team under their new head coach.

Here are my Week 6 Top Tens for the entire Big Central Conference, plus the BCC West, Middlesex County and Union County:

by Mike Pavlichko

There’s a new team atop the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten after Phillipsburg falls at Ridge, and it’s their first No. 1 ranking in BCC history

For the first time since the formation of the Big Central Conference in 2020, Elizabeth has reached the top of the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week Six.

The Minutemen are 6-0 for the first time since 2012, when they went undefeated, 11-0, and won the first-ever North 2, Group 5 championship, beating Piscataway in the final at Kean University in Union.

Phillipsburg had been No. 1, with their only prior loss coming out of state, to Freedom (PA) out of Bethlehem. But they were knocked off by No. 1 Ridge on the final play of the game Friday, and Elizabeth’s win helped cement the change. All in all, only two teams are in the same positions they were last week.

Elizabeth stayed unbeaten with a 39-18 home win against Linden Friday night, and the Minutemen will put that perfect mark on the line again this Friday when they host Hillsborough (1-4) in a crossover game.

Old Bridge (5-1) edged up a spot to No. 2 after a thrilling 14-12 home victory over then-No. 8 Sayreville Friday night, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. This week, the Knights visit much-improved Monroe (4-2) in a National Gold Division contest.

Ridge (3-2) – which has played four ranked opponents, three of which have been in the top three at one point or another – moved all the way up to No. 3 after knocking off Phillipsburg at home Friday, winning on a touchdown catch off a tipped ball at the goal line on the game’s final play. This week, the Red Devils host Westfield Friday night in a BCC crossover. Phillipsburg (4-2) dropped down to four, and is off this week.

Piscataway (5-1) was a 46-6 winner over Franklin Saturday afternoon in the first meeting of the former Thanksgiving Day rivals in three years. The Chiefs are back at it Friday night at home in a crossover game against No. 8 St. Joseph-Metuchen.

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

Holding at six and seven are Bridgewater-Raritan (5-1) and Cranford (5-0). The Falcons were 5-18 winners at Hunterdon Central Friday, and visit Piscataway this Friday. The Cougars remained undefeated with a 13-12 home win over Montgomery Friday, and this Friday night are at South Plainfield for a crossover game.

Down three spots to eight is St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-3), which has dropped three straight after starting 2-0, including an impressive win over Bridgewater-Raritan. Saturday, they lost a non-conference matinee at Delbarton, 56-24. They visit No. 5 Piscataway Friday night in a crossover game.

Making its debut this season is Union (5-1), which already has topped last year’s win total by two. The Farmers won their third strai9ght on Saturday afternoon at Cooke Field, blanking Plainfield, 24-0. This week, they play a home crossover against No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan.

And down two spots to the final position at ten is Sayreville (4-2), which lost 14-12 at Old Bridge Friday night, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The Bombers are back at it again this with a crossover matchup Friday, visiting previously-ranked Somerville.

Previous No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas dropped out of the rankings this week, dropping its third straight game – 42-26 at Somerville – after starting the season 3-0. They host North Brunswick in a BCC National Silver Division game Friday night in North Edison.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY:  No. 3 Old Bridge 14, No. 8 Sayreville 12

Quarterback Aiden Rios ran for a touchdown and threw one to Amari Alsbrook, and that was enough for third-ranked Old Bridge to beat No. 8 Sayreville 14-12 in a Big Central Conference crossover game. The Bombers got two field goals from Philip Sayouwah and a 52-yard touchdown run by Sherwin Appiah.

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 Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play live from Lombardi Field in Old Bridge, NJ, on October 2, 2026:

1st Half
2nd Half
by Mike Pavlichko

With Taylor gone from St. Joseph, Corrigan leaving Aquinas, where does it leave them, and GMC boys’ and girls’ basketball? 

The first announcement was enough to send some shockwaves through the girls’ basketball community in Middlesex county, and came out on a football Friday in the fall, rather than in the Spring or Summer:  third-year St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball coach Tim Corrigan was leaving to become as assistant at his alma mater, St. Joseph of Metuchen, in the boys’ side.

This is the same Trojan program that has won seven straight GMC Tournament championships with very talented players, over three coaches and two school names: the first under Brittney Griffin as Bishop Ahr, the next three under Joe Whalen under original name St. Thomas Aquinas, and the last three under Corrigan.  All have been characterized as a physical, dominating style of play that has led them to unprecedented heights, winning GMC Red Division games by an average 40-plus points.

When the news broke last week via Simeon Pincus of MyCentralJersey.com, the move was a surprise to many, even though Corrigan had taken that track before.  He left his post as head girls’ basketball coach at Watching Hills to join Whalen’s staff at STA, then eventually took over once Whalen stepped down as he dealt with MS.

St. Thomas Aquinas and East Brunswick play in the 40th GMC Tournament Championship Game at Monroe Twp. H.S. on February 20, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The first question became: what would happen at St. Thomas, where two of their top returning players had transferred out – guards Lauryn Downing to Blair Academy and bug Leah Kearney to CAPS a ademy of Boston, where she’ll be joined by Aleah Sunkins of Franklin, another big loss of star power in New Jersey – and Jordan Barnes graduated and is now playing at Rider.  Numbers have been an issue, and the program had no JV team last season.

St. Thomas has been the dominant program in GMC girls’ hoops for the better part of a decade.  They have not lost a league game since January of 2022 at Monroe, winning 80 straight since, including the regular season and GMCT.  Will there be a vacuum?

At first glance: yes. And every single one of those opponents wants the first crack at them.

Or will they find someone internally or look outside to boost the numbers and keep the streak and dominance alive? Time will tell, but there’s not much time at all, with the season’s first practice less than two months away.

Meanwhile, Corrigan has wanted to coach on the boys’ side for some time now.  He was put his name in the hat, and was very much in the running for the St. Joe’s job the first time around, two years ago, when the Falcons unceremoniously dumped Jan Cocoziello, whose only crime appeared to be not being a part of a decade-long GMC tournament run where the Falcons and won nine of ten championships under Dave Turco and Mike Thompson.

But they were a solid contender year after year, and there was stability.

Enter Karl Towns, the father of one of the school’s most celebrated student-athletes of all-time, Karl-Anthony Towns, who won a Tournament of Champions in 2014, played a year at Kentucky under John Calipari then went to the NBA.  It was a big splash and also brought KAT back into the fold, after he’d all bust disowned the place when they let go of his head coach, Dave Turco in 2017.

But when Karl-Anthony was traded to the Knicks in September 2024, things changed.  His father would be seen often courtside at Madison Square Garden, and St. Joe’s seemed to take a backseat.  His assistants not only were running practices but taking the lead in games.  Eventually, the school and Towns parted ways as the program foundered, punctuated by an early exit from the GMC Tournament.

And so, the school was looking for a new coach again, and again, Corrigan was in the mix.  But when they looked back to the past glories 1983 alum Mark Taylor brought them, both as a player and coach, he became the home run choice.  He mentored Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum, among a host of other major D1 recruits.  He later did the same at St. Benedict’s and even turned around Ridge in Somerset County.  The move seemed like a great fit.  No way Taylor was coming here to lose.

He brought in three high-profile transfers, raising eyebrows across the state.  Aiden Carter was coming in from right down the road at St. Thomas, big man Andrew Kretkowski shuffled over from Rutgers Prep, and Ghana native Joel Patrick signed on as well.  The three helped lead the Falcons to the 2026 GMC Tournament championship – its first in seven years since that nine-in-ten run from 2010 to 2019 – and a 29-2 record.  They were the Central Jersey Sports Radio Boys’ Basketball Team of the Year, too.

St. Joseph’s Andrew Kretkowski (in white) plays defense on Piscataway’s Josh Lima in a GMC Red American Division game in Piscataway on January 3, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

But then, one by one, they transferred out during the summer: Carter to an academy in Kansas, Kretkowski to a brand-new one in Massachusetts, and Patrick to Montverde in Florida.

And now, whatever brought it about, Taylor is gone, too.

So where does that leave St. Joe’s, besides entering its third coaching search in as many years, and being a program now that will have had four different head coaches in four seasons once 2026-27 tips off?

Again, it’s getting late early to find a new coach. They’ve got one if they want one, in Tim Corrigan, who’s currently in a state of not-his-fault limbo.

To add to it, leadership at the Metuchen school changed over the summer.  President John Nolan retired, and Stephen Balog (Class of ’73) is the interim president.  Football coach Bill Tracy is no longer doubling as Athletic Director, the school also confirmed this week, though he is still listed on the St. Joseph website as such.  (But one can also be relatively certain the Towns and Taylor hirings were not his doing; at least Towns very likely came from above, as the school long wanted to heal the wounds left with his son.) 

One would not have assumed Taylor was going to stay at St. Joseph forever.  Many, when they heard the Corrigan story, figured he might be in line for the job some day (though not today) and it probably sounded like a great opportunity to at least get back in the door of the school he once attended, after coming oh-so-close to landing the head job in 2024 and 2025.  How could it hurt?

At the end of the day, the best course of action very well might be for St. joseph to hand the keys to Corrigan after all. And not just because of the time crunch, and certainly not to settle. In fact, maybe he should have gotten the job three years ago?

Jan Cocoziello’s tenure was the last time St. Joseph had stability.  The Towns hire made headlines, and the kids were surely excited figuring they’d see KAT around more, but the year was pure chaos.  Taylor brought instant success, but even if he’d stayed as coach, he’d have to replace his three biggest stars; would he be able to turn the same trick again so quickly?  The point is moot, though, and now, he’s gone, too.

Then-St. Joseph-Metuchen head coach Jan Cocozziello talks to Central Jersey Sports Radio after a 46-42 win at Montgomery on February 22, 2021. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Corrigan has proven to be a very good coach.  He’s an alum.  He has connections that can bring in and develop freshmen.  St. Joe’s has an academic eighth grade “Bridge Program” that can work as a feeder.  They’ve got the infrastructure and the history, and Corrigan is a part of that history.  He was on the very first St. Joe’s team to win the GMC Tournament, in 1993, with Joe Koslick as head coach and one of the greats in John Somogyi also on the staff.

But most importantly, Corrigan’s even-keeled demeanor, the way he runs a program?  He’d be the ideal fit and bring much-needed stability to a program that has always been a winner.  He’s been in the running before, now should be his chance.

Despite a GMC championship last year, the way it all ended, that’s a swing and a miss on the last two hires. St. Joe’s isn’t looking to strike out.

As for the rest of the league, the boys’ coaches wait with baited breath, too. Joe’s may not dominate, at least right away, but they will compete. Face it, the Falcons would have been the odds on favorite to repeat as GMC champions had Taylor, Carter, Kretkowski and Patrick stayed on. But now none are there, and GMC boys’ hoops this year could look more like 2024-25, when it was a wide-open tournament.

You don’t always need a home run to win the game.

by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Big Central Roundup:  Dunellen ends long losing streak, Bernards rallies late to hand Hillside its first loss, No. 5 St. Joseph falls at Delbarton, No. 4 Piscataway handles Franklin

It was a fairly busy Saturday afternoon in the Big Central Conference, with a half-dozen games on tap.

Only two were truly competitive and both came down to the wire, as Dunellen snapped a 24-game skid with an 8-6 win at South River where the Destroyers had to keep the Rams at bay, while Bernards scored two unanswered touchdowns in the second half to hand Hillside its first loss of the season.

Read on for recaps, audio, scores, Notes and Nuggets, and all scores from Week Five in the Big Central.

Down 19-7?  No problem for Bernards…

Well, let’s dial that headline back a moment.

It sure wasn’t easy, but Bernards – which led after scoring on the game’s first possession – trailed 19-7 in the third quarter Saturday afternoon against Hillside at Conant Street Park before rallying late to win it, 20-19. It was their fourth straight victory after starting the season 0-2, while Hillside took its first loss and fell to 5-1.

It wasn’t easy, but they might have made it look that way

Behind by a dozen, the comeback started with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Walsh to Zach Favreau with 2:47 to play. Favreau then recovered a fumble on Hillside’s next possession, and Walsh then ran in a score to cap to give his team the lead for good, before Favreau again came up big. This time it was an interception that gave his team the ball back, allowing the Mountaineers to run out the clock in victory formation.

Bernards is now 4-2 on the season, while Hillside drops to 5-1.

Click below to hear Bernards head coach Jon Simoneau talk about Saturday’s win over the Comets with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Notes and Nuggets…

  • Not only was Dunellen’s victory the first for new coach Kyle Baach, it snapped a 24-game losing streak, which was the longest active streak in the state. Their last win gad come on October 19, 2023, a 34-28 win over Brearley at home. It was their first road win since September 29th of that year, a 28-0 shutout over Manville. That leaves Gloucester Catholic – the school that almost had Jalen Parker, or did, for a hot minute – with the longest active losing streak in New Jersey – now at 17 games – as the Rams (0-5) lost at home to Pitman Saturday afternoon, 48-8. Morristown is next up at eleven losses in a row, heading into Saturday’s 2:30 game at Bayonne.
  • Back to Bernards for a moment, it was somewhat ironic that the Mountaineers were the first team to beat Hillside this season.  Bernards had a 32-game Big Central win streak snapped – the second longest in league history, behind St. Thomas Aquinas’ 35 – in Week One when they lost to still-unbeaten Cranford.  The last BCC team Bernards had lost to, all the way back in 2022, was Hillside.
  • All that being said, there are now just four undefeated teams left in the Big Central. Elizabeth and Highland Park are both 6-0, while Cranford and New Providence are both 5-0. All have three games remaining to run the table in the regular season. Here’s who they all have left
    • The Minutemen host Hillsborough (1-5) this Friday, then travel to Westfield next Saturday (1-5), before closing out on the Friday night of Cutoff Weekend at home against Somerville (4-2).
    • The Owls’ next two games may be their toughest stretch all season, both Freedom Gold Division contests that will determine the division. First up is Brearley (5-1) at home this Friday, whose only loss is to Dayton (4-2), which is Highland Park’s next game after the Bears, on the road. A win could set up a winner-take-all scenario in that game on October 16th. (Dayton is at South River this coming Saturday.) Highland Park closes at home against Metuchen (2-3), their longtime former Thanksgiving rival.
    • The Pioneers are home next week against Perth Amboy (5-1), but New Providence may be the toughest team they’ll play all year. Then they travel to Spotswood (2-4) before closing out at home against Governor Livingston (3-3).
    • The Cougars may have the toughest three-game closing stretch to the season of them all. First up is a Friday night trip to South Plainfield (4-2), which they’ve beaten each of the last two seasons. Then they have to go to Carteret (3-3) before closing on the Friday of Cutoff Weekend at home against Hillside (5-1).

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

  • Delbarton 56, #5 St. Joseph-Metuchen 24
  • Dunellen 8, South River 6 (Recap and Video via Marcus Borden)
  • Union 24, Plainfield 0
  • Johnson 26, Governor Livingston 0
  • #4 Piscataway 46, Franklin 6
  • Bernards 20, Hillside 19

FRIDAY SCORES

  • #10 Ridge 14, #1 Phillipsburg 13 (Recap with Audio)
  • #2 Elizabeth 39, Linden 18
  • #3 Old Bridge 14, #8 Sayreville 12 (Recap with Audio)
  • #6 Bridgewater-Raritan 35, Hunterdon Central 18
  • #7 Cranford 13, Montgomery 12
  • Somerville 42, #9 St. Thomas Aquinas 26
  • Highland Park 35, Bound Brook 7
  • Woodbridge 13, Westfield 7
  • New Providence 41, Dayton 21
  • Colonia 31, Hillsborough 13
  • South Hunterdon 30, JP Stevens 14
  • Perth Amboy 42, New Brunswick 14
  • South Plainfield 28, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14 (Recap and video via Marcus Borden)
  • Brearley 48, Roselle 13
  • Carteret 33, North Brunswick 14
  • Summit 21, Watchung Hills 0
  • North Plainfield 28, Spotswood 27 (OT)
  • Belvidere 34, Manville 28
  • Edison 21, East Brunswick 0
  • Monroe 28, North Hunterdon 20
  • Metuchen 35, JFK 28
  • Delaware Valley 35, Voorhees 0

THURSDAY SCORES

  • Roselle Park 29, Middlesex 28 (OT)
  • Rahway 38, South Brunswick 20

by Mike Pavlichko

Dunellen ekes out 8-6 road win at South River, gets new head coach Kyle Baach his first victory, and snaps NJ’s longest active losing streak at 24

It may not have been pretty, and it certainly was low scoring, but the Dunellen football team will take it.

The Destroyers (1-4) got a lone first half touchdown and made it stand, in an 8-6 road victory at South River (0-5) in a Big Central Conference crossover game between two winless schools, one of who – Dunellen – no longer has that destination.

What turned out to be the decisive score came at the 8:45 mark of the second quarter, when sophomore quarterback Kayson Boyd hit junior wideout Jermal Goodridge for a touchdown pass, then Boyd – after an off-side by South River – ran it in from the one for a two-point conversion to make it 8-0 Destroyers.

That’s the way things stayed until late in the third quarter, when South River got a 48-yard touchdown run from Ethan Chamberlain to cut the deficit to 8-6. But the Rams failed on the two-point try, and Dunellen kept the lead.

South River would threaten again, moving the ball late in the third quarter, but sophomore defensive back Jowell Morales jumped the route in front of the intended receiver, Jordyn Ramos, and picked off the pass.

And in another general display of how the afternoon went, after that interception, Dunellen got a big run to get to the Ram 25 yard line, but fumbled, with Ramos recovering the ball. They failed to score, got the ball back on another fumble recovery by the Rams, but again, they were stopped, turning it over on downs with 5:14 to go.

At that point, Dunellen controlled the football and ate the clock, for an 8-6 road win, their first of the season, and the first for first-year head coach Kyle Baach. It also snapped the state’s longest active losing streak at 24 games, leaving that distinction now to Gloucester Catholic at 17, after a loss Saturday to Pitman.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden with Dunellen head coach Kyle Baach, junior WR/DB Jermal Goodridge, and sophomore quarterback Kayson Boyd, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Elizabeth, three others stay undefeated, Ridge stuns No. 1 at the horn, Old Bridge heroics save the day, and much, much more

It doesn’t get much better than the home stretch of the regular season in high school football, where the games are bigger and seemingly anything can happen. And on Friday night in the Big Central Conference alone, just about anything did.

Start with a stunner in Basking Ridge, where No. 10 Ridge got a touchdown as time expired to knock off No. 1 Phillipsburg, 14-13. In the other top ten game of the night, No. 3 Old Bridge got an interception from Chase Rizzo to seal a 14-12 victory over visiting No. 8 Sayreville.

That’s two top ten matchups decided by a combined three points.

And all four unbeaten teams remained so after Friday, with one more to play Saturday. Elizabeth made a strong case for being the top team in the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings come out for Week Six with a 29-18 win over Linden, improving to 6-0 on the year.

Highland Park’s amazing season continues, improving to 6-0 with a 35-7 win at Bound Brook. Cranford edged Montgomery 13-12 at home, and New Providence beat Dayton 41-21, as the Cougars and Pioneers both moved to 5-0.

Read on more more recaps, scores, Notes and Nuggets, and the rest of the weekend schedule.

Can Middlesex surge late?

Going back to Thursday night for a moment, while Middlesex is just 1-4 after a 29-28 overtime home loss to Roselle Park, they started the year with a homegrown talent missing the first four games of the year.

Brian Cilento had been at Immaculata, where as a sophomore last season he was the team’s second-leading rusher with 818 yards and 15 touchdowns. (He also was a starting outfielder for the Spartans’ Somerset County Tournament runner-up baseball team.)

But after the coaching change with Dallas Whitaker replacing Mike Columbo, and an influx of transfers, he decided to make a move himself and go back home, according to Middlesex Athletic Director Mike O’Donnell.

Since he transferred after pre-season practice had already started, that meant he would have to sit four games, even though it was his first transfer. But had he waited the year, he’d have to sit out three next year as a senior transfer. Cilento could be a difference-maker down the stretch for the Blue Jays, who ran the ball for 192 yards Thursday night against the Panthers; that’s almost half their total over the previous four games combined.

Middlesex might be too far gone to make the playoffs this season, but perhaps the addition will lead to a stronger finish in 2026 and some positive vibes to build off of heading into next year, when Cilento will get a full senior season, a reason to feel optimistic about 2027, when the rest of an inexperienced squad will have another year under its collective belt..

Notes and Nuggets…

  • Highland Park is slipping! We jest, but the Owls were allowing a Big Central best 1.2 points per game through their first five, and still are allowing just 2.2 a game after their 35-7 win at Bound Brook. (Oh, and the TD they allowed Friday night was a pick-six, so the defense is has let up just six points all year, just one point per game on average now.) They have allowed just 13 points on two TDs all season – allowing 2.2 points a game. Marcus Smith was an efficient 7-of-9 passing for 163 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing four times for 43 yards and a TD. Jacob Quiros also carried 20 times for 102 yards and a score, while Ziquan Grier had 140 yards receiving and two scores. But things get tougher the next couple of weeks. They host Brearley (5-1) next week and visit Dayton (4-2) the Friday after before closing at home against longtime Thanksgiving Day rival Metuchen on Cutoff Weekend.
  • Edison’s 21-0 win over East Brunswick was the Eagles’ first shutout since its opening game of the 2024 season. That also came against the Bears, 27-0. Their last whitewash against a team other than East Brunswick came in Game Two of the 2023 season – Matt Yascko’s first at the helm of his alma mater, and his first win there – a 57-0 blowout of in-town rival JP Stevens.
  • Elizabeth continues to put up huge numbers, as the Minutemen beat Linden, 39-18. It’s the fourth time in their first six games they’ve scored more than 30 points. They also scored 53 in their opener against Carteret, 43 at Plainfield the next week, and 62 against St. Joseph-Metuchen two weeks ago.
  • Belvidere is now 5-1 for the second time in three years after a 34-28 win against Manville one of the two toughest games of their four remaining heading into this week, including Delaware Valley at home on Cutoff Weekend. In 2024, the County Seaters lost their opener at Boonton, but reeled off eight straight – all in Big Central play – before taking a 20-0 loss at Veronia in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 opening round.
  • The New Providence offense continues to thrive, as they rolled up 357 total yards in a 41-21 win over Dayton in Springfield Friday night. Kevin Reilly was 10-of-14 passing for 162 yards and three scores, while four different backs and Reilly combined for 280 yards and three scores on the ground, including 192 from Charles Maneely. And it was only the second game this year in which the Pioneer defense has allowed more than a touchdown, allowing seven to Voorhees in their opener, and three to Metuchen in Week Two, before blanking Roselle on the road last week. The 21 points they allowed Friday night was a season high.

FRIDAY SCORES

  • #10 Ridge 14, #1 Phillipsburg 13 (Recap with Audio)
  • #2 Elizabeth 39, Linden 18
  • #3 Old Bridge 14, #8 Sayreville 12 (Recap with Audio)
  • #6 Bridgewater-Raritan 35, Hunterdon Central 18
  • #7 Cranford 13, Montgomery 12 (OT)
  • Somerville 42, #9 St. Thomas Aquinas 26
  • Highland Park 35, Bound Brook 7
  • Woodbridge 13, Westfield 7
  • New Providence 41, Dayton 21
  • Colonia 31, Hillsborough 13
  • South Hunterdon 30, JP Stevens 14
  • Perth Amboy 42, New Brunswick 14
  • South Plainfield 28, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14 (Recap and video via Marcus Borden)
  • Brearley 48, Roselle 13
  • Carteret 33, North Brunswick 14
  • Summit 21, Watchung Hills 0
  • North Plainfield 28, Spotswood 27 (OT)
  • Belvidere 34, Manville 28
  • Edison 21, East Brunswick 0
  • Monroe 28, North Hunterdon 20
  • Metuchen 35, JFK 28
  • Delaware Valley 35, Voorhees 0

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

  • #5 St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-2) at Delbarton (2-3), 1 pm
  • Plainfield (2-3) at Union (4-1), 1 pm
  • Franklin (1-4) at #4 Piscataway (4-1), 2 pm
  • Johnson (2-2) at Governor Livingston (3-2), 2 pm
  • Dunellen (0-4) at South River (0-5), 2 pm
  • Bernards (3-2) at Hillside (5-0), 2 pm

THURSDAY SCORES

  • Roselle Park 29, Middlesex 28 (OT)
  • Rahway 38, South Brunswick 20