Everyone knows the nature of high school sports – moreso at public schools – is cyclical. You get who you get, and you don’t get upset: that’s how it works.

Some teams are up longer than others, some are down longer than others, but one notable characteristic of this 2026 high school football season is that several area teams are on the upswing for the first time in a while.

There are seven undefeated teams remaining in the Big Central Conference, with three other one-loss teams also getting back to their winning ways, whether it’s an influx of talent, a bit of a break in their schedule, or all of the above and everything in between.

Here’s a closer look at some Big Central success stories in 2026, starting with the “Perfect Seven.”

THE UNDEFEATED

Elizabeth (4-0, ranked No. 3):

For the first time since 2015, the Minutemen have won their first four games, and just got their biggest win of the season to date on Friday night, a 62-35 victory over then-No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, in which they rolled off well over 500 yards of total offense. Senior Qua’Yon Williams was the Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week in a four touchdown effort: two through the air, one on the ground, and a punt return to paydirt.

They haven’t exactly been down of late, as head coach Eugene Klein took a team that had mostly been sub-.500 for a while and gotten them back to that mark or just above the last couple of seasons. But this year has a distinctly special feel around town.

With A’rique Fleming at quarterback – a fourth-year starter who we saw play against Linden in his very first game as a freshman, and who was the Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week two weeks ago – this team is bringing back John Quinn-era vibes. They last started 4-0 in 2015, 5-0 in 2014, and are really looking like the 2012 club that went 11-0 and won the first-ever North 2, Group 5 title, rallying late behind Temple-bound P.J. Walker to beat Piscataway on a rainy Friday night at Kean University in Union.

Next up: a 6:30 kickoff Friday night at No. 10 Ridge (2-1).

Rahway (4-0, Ranked No. 8):

To be completely fair, Rahway has not been down. But, in the face of a very tough schedule that has improved, the Indians have turned in their best start since 2019, when they started 5-0, but finished 6-3 with a first-round playoff loss to Garfield. And who’d have thunk it, doing it without three-way standout Andrew Avent, who played his senior season in 2025.

They got things started with a two-point win at Willingboro to open the season, and in their last two games have scored 42 points each against Woodbridge and Linden – and both were on the road! They’re also averaging over 250 yards a game rushing on the strength of the three-headed monster known as junior Cimair Tate (353 yards, 4 TD) and seniors Jyvon Cooper (318 yards, 3 TD) and Jaquan Robertson (278 yards, 6 TD). Cranford is probably their toughest test from here on out; the Cougars are 3-0 and come to Madden Field this Friday night.

Highland Park (4-0):

The Owls are an amazing story, but it started right around the time of COVID. Already mired in a long losing streak, it got to 52 games – the longest in the state at the time – before they snapped it a late addition to the 2023 schedule, a one-off at Point Pleasant Beach to wrap up the season. The next year, they started 3-0 and finished with six wins. After a dip in 2025, the Owls look strong at 4-0 with two really tough – but not impossible – tests ahead.

Pre-dating the streak, alum Shawn Harrison took the reins, with legend Joe Policastro still on staff, and with no feeder program in town, developed flag football for local kids. Even if they couldn’t tackle, he reasoned, it would at least teach them some of the football fundamentals and concepts. Now, his grass roots efforts are paying off, and it’s a model for how small schools struggling with football can get it done. The job this man has done is unspeakable, but players still need to execute. All he’s done is put them in a position to succeed, and that’s exactly what they are doing.

QB Marcus Smith directs the offense, and has thrown for 415 yards, four touchdowns and no picks through four games, while the team has rushed for 831, led by senior Jacob Quiros (359 yards, 4 TD). And don’t forget about the defense, which allowed its first points last week, shutout its first three opponents, and has blanked teams in 15 of the 16 quarters they’ve played so far.

Their latest win – a 31-road 6 triumph over Roselle Park – avenged a 35-12 loss to the Panthers on their home turf last season. Their biggest two games down the stretch are Brearley and Dayton. Win those, and this team has a legitimate shot at an undefeated regular season. But here’s the kicker: They’re currently tenth in the playoff standings in South Group 1. Not only is it likely they won’t need to go undefeated to make the playoffs, but they very well could be in play for a home game down the stretch.

Hillside (4-0):

After Barris Grant left for nearby Union in the Spring of 2024, Isa Abdul-Quddus took over as head coach and went 5-5 his first season, but saw the Comets dip to 3-6 last season. Any inkling that the program was heading in the wrong direction would prove to be misguided, however; Hillside has it going on right now.

In just four games, QB Justin Ashford has thrown for 899 yards and seven touchdowns, while Kamari Robinson (559 yards, 6 TD) leads a ground game that has totaled 928 yards on the ground so far. And defensively, they have not allowed more than a touchdown in any game this season, shutting out Columbia (Maplewood/South Orange) in their opener, and allowing seven points each to Roselle and Voorhees, sandwiched around a single field goal allowed against Delaware Valley.

Bernards is likely their toughest opponent the rest of the way. This week, the Comets visit New Brunswick for a 6:00 kickoff at Memorial Stadium this Friday night.

Piscataway (4-0, ranked No. 2):

The Chiefs, like Rahway, haven’t exactly been down that recently, but we’ve also got a good feeling about this club. But don’t forget, the football program – and all fall sports – were shut down during COVID, and the effects of that took a while to shake off; they went winless in 2021 for just the second time in school history (dating back to 1959) and for the first time since going 0-9 in 1968 under Anthony Orsini, the program’s first head coach.

This is Piscataway’s best start since the magical 2018 season, when they finished 13-0 to set a Middlesex County record for wins in a season, winning the North 2, Group 5 title over Union City, and then beating Ridgewood, 31-21, in the North Group 5 “Bowl Championship” at MetLife Stadium.

It all started with a thrilling goal-line stand at East Orange in Week Zero to pull out their biggest win of the season, a 26-20 victory, and their toughest opponent since then awaits this weekend, as the Chiefs visit No. 4 Old Bridge (3-1) Friday night at 6. St. Joseph-Metuchen comes to Piscataway two weeks later before they close out at Sayreville on the last Friday of the regular season before the playoffs.

Senior QB Landon Pernell – with his father, Mike, who played in the late 1990s/early 2000s, on the staff as an assistant – had led the offense, throwing for 543 yards and 8 touchdowns, while senior runningback Zaire Young has run for 624 on 88 carries, and has seven touchdowns on the season. And they are connecting on half their fourth-down tries, going 3-for-6, and refuse to leave points on the board: they are 12-for-13 in the red zone, a whopping 92-percent success rate. The Chiefs also are plus-4 in turnover margin, and are winning the field position battle (thanks, John Thompson for your in-depth stats!) starting, on average, at their own 39, while pinning opponents back to their own 27.

Other unbeatens:

New Providence and Cranford are both 3-0, but we’d hardly call them resurgent, simply because of the recent success they’ve had. Nonetheless, they are having excellent seasons.

The Pioneers, for example, have made sectional finals each of the last two seasons. Under first-year head coach Anthony Conzentino, they’re allowing just ten points a game on defense, holding two of their first three opponents to single digits. And senior QB Kevin Reilly has thrown for 475 yards in just three games, well on his way to his second straight 1,000-yard passing season. Before he threw for 1,115 last season, the last New Providence player to hit that single-season milestone was Jack Cole, who threw for 1,184 in 2010 under the legendary late Frank Bottone, his final season before retiring, and passed away in 2017.

Cranford, meanwhile, had an undefeated regular season in 2021, won the North 2, Group 3 title with a home win over Sparta, 45-21, and finished 11-1, falling to West Morris in the North 3 Regional Championship game at MetLife Stadium. And they went 7-3 the following year, as well as in 2024. Coming off a 4-6 campaign a year ago, Cranford – under Erik Rosenmeir, the longest-tenured coach in Union County, now at 22 seasons, sitting at 143-74 – are coming off a 29-0 shutout of a very solid Summit program, and beat Bernards, 31-24, in Week One. This week is a tough trip to red-hot Rahway.

OTHER TURNAROUNDS IN THE BIG CENTRAL

Union (3-1):

After a 5-6 campaign in 2023, Lou Grasso left to become the athletic director at Colonia, replacing Ben LaSala. They went 2-8 under Justin Simpson, who lasted just one season, and Barris Grant came in after nine tremendous seasons at Hillside – producing some major D1 talent – and proceeded to go 3-8 that first season. But they’ve already equaled that win total, with their lone loss coming against now-No. 3 Elizabeth two weeks ago. Their two toughest tests come in Weeks Six and Seven, with a home game against high-powered Bridgewater-Raritan on October 9th, and a trip to St. Joseph-Metuchen the following week. Junior QB Elijah Bryant – who threw for 1,259 yards and five touchdowns last season, plus seven picks – is at 595 yards and four TDs already, with the interceptions down to two. And senior Jamir Hall has been a beast on the ground, rushing for 604 yards on 91 carries and five scores.

Monroe (3-1): The Falcons dropped their season opener at Perth Amboy, 33-28, and in any other year that might be a bad loss, but not this year; the Panthers are 3-1 as well. (We’ll get to them next.) Since, they have beaten Governor Livingston, North Brunswick, and shutout East Brunswick, allowing just 14 points in those three games: seven each to the Highlanders and Raiders. It’s their first 3-1 start since winning their first three games of 2021 under Dan Lee. They finished the COVID-shortened 2020 season 5-1, but the last time they did that in a regular season was 2013, a year they finished 6-4. Senior QB Ghayoor Abbas has is 46-of-74 for 601 yards and nine touchdowns, while Thomas DeMetrio has four sacks, and seven TFLs, and senior Jayden Badillo has 3 1/2 sacks. Their two toughest challenges looking ahead are back-to-back home games with Old Bridge (October 9th) and Piscataway (October 16th).

Perth Amboy (3-1): First-year head coach Evan Baubles has orchestrated a really nice turnaround in the Bay City, a year after the basketball program also experienced a resurgence. A little more research is needed to find the last time the Panthers started a year 4-1; from what we could find online it was maybe in the 1990s, but more likely possible in the 1980s. Their lone loss coming to longtime rival Carteret, they’ve beaten Monroe, Roselle and Spotswood, and have winnable games the next two weeks at Metuchen and New Brunswick before facing New Providence on October 9th. Then they get Johnson, and close with another toughie: at South Plainfield on Friday of Cutoff Weekend.