Category: Wrestling

by Mike Pavlichko

Shot clock is coming to New Jersey high school basketball, as NJSIAA measure for HS basketball passes narrowly

A well-coordinated effort to bring the shot clock to high school basketball in New Jersey just barely made it to the finish line Monday, winning approval by a slim margin in a vote of the full NJSIAA membership during a meeting at the Pines Manor in Edison.

The basketball proposal passed 170-166, and the shot clock will begin when the 2027-28 season tips off.

Use of the shot clock will be mandatory for all varsity games, but optional for JV and freshman contests.

A similar shot clock measure in lacrosse was defeated however, by a 166-149 margin, with 21 abstentions, according to Darren Cooper of the Bergen Record, and Varsity Aces on Twitter.

While many high school basketball coaches appeared to support the measure, saying it would be better for the game, and better prepare basketball players for college, there seemed to be less support among athletic directors. Mainly, the concerns have been about the cost on two different levels. The first of those was the initial purchase and installation of equipment, albeit a one-time cost.

What also has concerned them is the need to have an extra person at each game to run the clock, which is entirely separate from the game clock.

That person would also have to get paid, and trained – as it’s not as “simple” as running a game clock, which stops on an official’s whistle. (A shot clock operator and/or official would have to determine, for example, if a missed shot hit the rim, which resets the shot clock, but not always to the full amount.)

And with many schools squeezed from the latest rounds of budget cuts, the measure’s chances appeared to be tenuous, at best.

But, at the end of the day, enough ADs voted in favor of the basketball measure to get it passed by a scant four votes.

Montgomery Athletic Director and boys’ basketball coach Kris Grundy championed the measure along with Christian Brothers’ AD and former Hudson Catholic basketball coach Nick Mariniello. The two presented the measure to the NJSIAA’s Executive Committee, which passed it, leading to Monday’s vote.

Please check back later for an interview with Kris Grundy.

According to Cooper, additional concerns about lacrosse also included moving equipment to different parks if games had to be moved for any reason, such as field conditions, weather and the like.

In other news, the membership voted by a large majority – 318-13 with three abstentions, according to Cooper – to add girls’ flag football as a varsity sport. The “yes” vote means the NJSIAA will sanction the sport and hold state championships, starting next Spring, in 2026-27.

Tri-ops – a combination of three schools, rather than two for a co-op – also were approved for girls’ wrestling.

by Mike Pavlichko

Edison native, JP Stevens alum Dylan Brett gets call of a lifetime with Hofstra basketball’s run to the Big Dance

It all started for Dylan Brett when he was nine years old.

Edison Pop Warner couldn’t find anyone to do the public address during a game. Someone asked him.

He wound up calling every play, like it was on the radio, not just announcing who carried the ball or made the tackle.

It wasn’t quite the assignment, but the parents loved it, and it stuck.

Fast forward more than a decade, and the JP Stevens grad is at Hofstra University’s student radio station WRHU, one of the top college radio stations in the nation.

How it started, and how it’s going, as they say.

Brett was at the microphone just a few weeks ago, as the Flying Dutchmen won the CAA Tourney, on the call as they beat Monmouth in the final to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was Hofstra’s first trip to March Madness in 25 years.

Now a senior, he recently called his final college basketball game, a loss to Alabama in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

But there could be plenty of college basketball games in his future. His Twitter post of the overtime game winner by Preston Edmead with just tenths of a second left has gone viral, leading to many connections he hopes will bear fruit soon after graduation.

An improbable run for a kid from Edison, remember that name Dylan Brett. Next time you hear him, it might be on ESPN.

Click below to hear Edison native Dylan Brett talk about getting his start behind a microphone, and his wild ride with the Hofstra men’s basketball team on campus radio station WRHU, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Edison native and JP Stevens grad Dylan Brett of WRHU Radio at Hofstra at the NCAA Tournament, as the team made its first appearance in 25 years. (Source: @DylanBrxtt on Twitter)
by Mike Pavlichko

Smooth sailing in winter championships welcome for NJSIAA, with more experiences at Rutgers to come

Someone will always complain about something – a seed, a snow day – but on the whole, things seemed to go quite swimmingly these last few weeks in the state tournaments for the NJSIAA.

After some hot controversies over the last couple of years, it’s welcome news.

There was Manasquan-Camden’s controversial ending in basketball two seasons ago, then the Anthony Knox wrestling saga last season. But the best news to come out of this week’s state championships – whether it was wrestling at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, or 12 state title basketball games at Rutgers – was that it was all about the champions.

NJSIAA Executive Director Collen Maguire was at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway Sunday for the last day of championships, after spending the last few days down in Atlantic City with the wrestling tournament. And nearly every official with the NJSIAA was nearly all smiles all weekend.

No pointed questions from reporters, no challenges working its way through the courts. The way it should be.

About the biggest challenge for the NJSIAA was dealing with a massive winter snowstorm a couple of weeks ago as the basketball tournament got underway. Originally slated to begin on Tuesday, February 24th with the opening round for public schools in Groups 2 and 4, the blizzard not only postponed those games, but also the opening round for Group 1 and 3 publics on Wednesday.

The NJSIAA smartly had enough breaks baked into the schedule, and it simply moved those days – and the sectional quarterfinal rounds – back two days. Some didn’t like it, and would have preferred to play on time, but the move essentially allowed referee assignments to stay the same, and keep everyone on the same track, rather than having some teams play earlier and have more of a break before the next round. It was the most fair and equitable decision it could make.

And the state athletic association even adjusted is non-public game sites on the fly when some teams – like St. Joseph-Metuchen and St. Peter’s Prep, which are designated Non-Public “South A” schools – had quite the distance to travel. St. Peter’s is in Jersey City, for example, and was faced with traveling far past the home court of its lower-seeded opponent.

Add to all that, a few years into Maguire’s tenure leading the state athletic association, the NJSIAA isn’t sitting still on its championships. A few years ago, she brokered a deal to keep all the state championships in basketball at Rutgers, a central location in the state, rather than have some there, and others down at the RWJBarnabas Arena in Toms River.

It’s a great facility, but it’s not Rutgers, and it just doesn’t have the same cachet. The NJSIAA says it wants a world-class experience for its student-athletes, and Rutgers is it. Plus, it’s as Central a location as you could get.

Sure, some will complain about the price of parking. But those things come with having such a big event. Is $20 really that bad when you can stay and watch four great high school basketball games over eight hours? That’s about $2.50 an hour, maybe a bit more than your average parking meter.

Back in late January, the NJSIAA announced it would move its baseball finals from picturesque Veterans’ Park in Hamilton to Bainton Field at Rutgers, right across from Jersey Mike’s Arena. The park was beautiful, but as the NJSIAA has said, it simply outgrew the park, which had limited parking, a curfew (that provided a controversy of its own last year over a long-running game that had to be suspended and picked up the next day, no tarp (which led to games frequently being rescheduled), and scant cell service that often forced reporters to file stories from their cars, where there could maybe get one more bar – or one at all – on their mobile hotspots.

On Saturday, after the state Group 4 final, we ventured over to see the new facility, which actually is more impressive than any picture released online has even shown.

Brand-new elevated bleachers wrap around from beyond both dugouts, with 400 seat-back chairs directly behind the plate, and a new press-box replaces the antiquated one that used to sit at field level behind home plate, now with plenty of room inside and out for media.

Some of the credit goes to Rutgers here, too. The baseball move happened on the watch of new Athletic Director Keli Zinn, who only began the job last summer, and was hired by similarly-new University President William Tate. They seem to understand the value of having such events on campus.

Even the Greater Middlesex Conference has had discussions with Zinn, and we hear at least one of the topics was to bring the basketball championship doubleheader back to RU. The county finals had been held there for decades, predating the formation of the GMC for the 1985-86 season. (In fact, the first live basketball game this reporter ever attended was the 1984 Middlesex County Tournament final, at age six, when St. Peter’s of New Brunswick beat St. Joe’s-Metuchen in the final.

But the GMC moved to Middlesex County College in 2019 and 2020, citing cost issues at Rutgers. And after COVID, the league began holding the semifinals and finals all at Monroe Township High School, where it has remained since.

But with all due respect, what sounds better as a preseason mantra? “We want to make it to Monroe” or “We want to make it to Rutgers?”

by Mike Pavlichko

Services announced for Middlesex baseball senior James Matula

Services for James Matula – the 17-year-old Middlesex High School baseball player who died on November 22 as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in North Jersey a week earlier – have been announced.

There will be a visitation at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Roman Catholic Church on Harris Avenue from 4-8 pm, with a funeral mass there the next day at 10 am. He’ll be laid to rest immediately following the mass, at Hillside Cemetery at 1401 Woodland Avenue in in Scotch Plains.

The services were announced in an obituary posted by McCriskin Funeral Home.

Matula – who was born in Brooklyn – grew up in Middlesex and was a key member of the 2025 Group 1 state championship baseball team.

Middlesex celebrates with the NJSIAA Group 1 championship trophy after a 3-1 win over Midland Park at the Wood-Ridge Athletic Complex on June 16, 2025. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)

“James lived life with a passion that was unmistakable,” the obit said. “Determined, adventurous, and always on the move, he embraced every opportunity—eager to try new things, go new places, and experience life fully. He was excited for the future and had even begun considering service in the United States Air Force.

“James deeply loved his family, his friends, and his teammates. He showed kindness to strangers, cared genuinely for others, and made everyone feel valued. People often told his family that James was special—because he was. He carried a heart of gold and radiated love wherever he went.

“He enjoyed baseball, hunting, fishing, camping, snowboarding, golf, music, dirt bikes, and, most recently, lifting at the gym.”

christmas gifts under the christmas tree
by Mike Pavlichko

It’s Black Friday, so here’s our Wish List for High School sports in 2026 and beyond

We’re not greedy.  This isn’t a long list. 

Granted they might be some big ticket items, but that’s why we’re keeping this list short.

Still, as much as we love high school sports, there’s always room for change.

Many of you will be headed out to the malls today.  Some of you probably already have been and are headed home, shopping bags in hand.  You might even be headed back out after lunch for Round Two.

But here are a fewal things we’d like to throw in the proverbial cart for 2026, and even the 2026-27 school year, in chronological order.

Shot Clock in Basketball…

The NJSIAA this fall made it official, instituting a running clock in high school basketball.  A few leagues had already done it, with the Skyland Conference adopting it two seasons ago, and the Greater Middlesex Conference adopting it for this year, but now all that has been trumped by the state’s version.

Similar to what has been used for years in high school football, a running clock will automatically kick in during any game where the margin is 35 points or more in the second half, only to return to normal if the game goes to overtime.

The clock would only stop for time outs, technical fouls, injuries, or when requested by the officials, such as a scorebook discrepancy.

A shot clock at that point might seem counterintuitive, as it would encourage more shooting, and could lead to more scoring and even bigger blowouts.

But one of the complaints about the mercy rule clock is less time for development of players.  We think a shot clock will at least help that by discouraging teams from standing around just to run the clock down.  Rather, it would force the play to some degree, and encourage teams to run specific sets or plays.

And, it could keep the games entertaining for fans, who came out hoping to see a game, but might instead see the contest over so fast they might miss it if they blinked.

But it would be even more valuable in games that don’t have a running clock, which would be the majority of games.

No one likes watching a team up by ten kill time by holding onto the ball.  Consider than even in football, when a team “eats the clock” by taking their time and keeping the ball on the ground, running it up the gut, there’s still a play clock.  Imagine if there wasn’t?

According to the NFHS, which makes rules for high school sports – some of which are optional for states to adopt, like the basketball shot clock – 32 of 50 states use some form of a shot clock.

It’s time for New Jersey to become the 33rd.

Professional Baseball Championship Venues…

Very few high school sports have the ability to hold championships at professional stadiums.  After all, there is no “professional” track and field in New Jersey, no bowling arena per se.

High school football, of course, has Rutgers (college) and MetLife (home of the NFL’s Jets and Giants), while basketball plays the state finals all at Rutgers now, ditching Toms River North (nice arena) in the name of equality for the boys and girls (we agree).  And ice hockey’s state finals are at the Prudential Center in Newark, home of the NHL’s Devils.

Know what other sport Jersey has plenty of professional venues for?  Baseball!

Mercer County’s Veterans Park and Bob DeMeo Field is a picturesque setting, we’ll grant you.  But parking is limited.  Internet – especially for media – is spotty.  (Electronic parking ticket takers even had issue last season.) 

What’s more, if it rains, the fields are often unplayable for at least 24 hours.  A quick, half-hour deluge suspended the Non-Public A final two seasons ago and postponed the B final between St. Thomas Aquinas and Gloucester Catholic, which was decided just as the STA bus pulled into the lot, a wasted trip.  Then there’s the issue of the late night curfew, which reared it’s head last season

Admittedly, the NJSIAA likely either gets to use the park for free (the association is headquartered in Mercer County, in nearby Robbinsville) or a reduced rate, and it’s convenient for staff either coming from their offices or who live close to work, but there are so many minor league parks in the state.

Imagine if they rotated each year:  once at Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair, the next year at TD Bank Park in Somerset, then at the Trenton Thunder ballpark on the waterfront.  All three are beautiful, capable facilities – with full infield tarps, by the way – with plenty of parking, cell service, scoreboards with video, and food options for fans.  There are locker rooms in which to get ready.

Sure, there’s the cost, but keep in mind many high school teams rent these facilities for individual games.  TD Bank hosts dozens of high school games every year.  If Manville and Montgomery can afford a single game at the home of the AA Yankee-affiliated Somerset Patriots can’t the NJSIAA afford a few?

And how cool would a team photo look with an NJSIAA trophy and Sparkee the mascot?

Scheduling could be tricky, but with three to choose from – not to mention the new Middlesex College facility being built in Edison, which will be a bit smaller but also have a full press box and be shared with Rutgers, allowing for Big Ten Network broadcasts – this could work out well.

Replay in Football…

Granted, this has been tried before, and it failed, as officials literally blew two replay calls in one playoff season before the NJSIAA ended it, but we think it’s time for a “review.”

The technology has gotten better.  Nearly everyone has a video replay system.  State finals will have multiple angles on the game broadcasts by NJ.com at both Rutgers and MetLife Stadiums this weekend.  They even show plays on the video board in the stadiums.

So why can’t we get video replay right?

Study what went wrong, figure out how to fix it, and maybe even have someone in the booth there whose some job it is to conduct a review.

Times have changed.  Everyone has a cell phone now, there’s a lot of media taking video, and when the common person can tell a call was wrong by calling it up on YouTube, but the officials have no recourse to overrule, we’re doing the game a disservice.

Remember the Camden-Manasquan basketball fiasco two years ago?  Know what the NJSIAA did in response?  They paid themselves to have backboard lights installed at each of the high school venues that host neutral site state tournament rounds, whether it’s the Non-Public sectional finals or the Public state semifinals.  And, of course, Rutgers has those lights for the state finals.

A problem occurred, and the NJSIAA made the perfect call in doing something about it.

For football, let’s start with the state finals, and hopefully work out way back to other rounds, and maybe the regular season.  That part may be the most difficult of the bunch, but at least for the finals, we owe that much to teams that are playing longer than anyone else, and for the biggest trophy the NJSIAA hands out.

by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex baseball senior James Matula succumbs to injuries after car crash; outpouring of support in fundraiser for family

Less than a week after suffering serious injuries in a car crash in North Jersey on the way home from a family trip, Middlesex High School senior James Matula – a member of the Blue Jays’ 2025 state championship baseball team – has passed away. He was 17 years old.

The news came out Sunday as his teammates, friends, family, and many from the Middlesex community and beyond attended a somber prayer mass Saturday evening at Our Lady of Mount Virgin church on Harris Avenue in the borough.

Teammates Chris Kozak – a pitcher who played centerfield next to Matula, who was often in left field – and Marcus Lavornia, also seniors who would have graduated with Matula this June, were among the first to post tributes Saturday night on Instagram. You can click on the images below to be brought directly to their Instagram posts.

While an official account of the accident has not been publicly made available, after the crash, Matula was flown to a North Jersey hospital, where those close to the team say he died Saturday as a result of his injuries.

Capital Craft – a restaurant and brewpub on Route 22 in Green Brook, which borders Middlesex, and has a connection to the family – has an active GoFundMe fundraiser for the family. As of late Friday night, it had raised over $13,000 toward a goal of $25,000. That number grew to well over $38,000 as of 10 pm Saturday.

Middlesex celebrates with the NJSIAA Group 1 championship trophy after a 3-1 win over Midland Park at the Wood-Ridge Athletic Complex on June 16, 2025. (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)

“The Matula family has been a part of the Capital Craft family for 5 years,” writes Brielle Cooper, who started the fundraiser. “We have watched them grow into beautiful young adults and are so grateful to be a part of their lives.”

Matula played the outfield and hit .263 last season as a junior on the Group 1 champion baseball team, with six runs batted in 44 plate appearances and a couple of stolen bases.

Note:  This story will be updated with information on services once it becomes available.

by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex teammates, classmates, community rallying behind Blue Jay baseball standout in serious car crash

The entire Middlesex community is pulling for one of their own: a member of the Group 1 state champion Blue Jays baseball team who was in a serious car crash.

Social media posts hit the Internet Wednesday praying for outfielder James Matula, who was seriously injured this week in an accident while heading back to New Jersey on a trip out of state, head coach Blaze Iannetti confirmed to Central Jersey Sports Radio Thursday morning.

Other details are sparse, but Iannetti says Matula was airlifted to a hospital in North Jersey, where his teammates went to see him Wednesday. The coach also is planning to visit.

READ MORE:  Fundraiser set up for James Matula, Middlesex senior seriously injured in car crash; prayer mass Saturday evening

“The entire Blue Jay community is praying for James and the Matula Family,” Iannetti told CJSR Thursday morning. “We will continue to do everything we need to do to support our brother as he recovers.”

According to a post on Instagram from @anthonylong9668, who Ianneti says is standout pitcher Dominic Long’s father, the Middlesex baseball team was supposed to have its ring ceremony soon, marking its latest state championship, the Group 1 title the Blue Jays won in June over Midland Park.

Matula was a junior last year and hit .278 with six runs batted in last season on a team that won its GMC-record seventh state title.

We’ll continue to update this story with further information as it becomes available.

by Mike Pavlichko

Sponsor Higgins Speed Lab trains athletes in all sports, all levels in quickness, strength, mechanics and more in South Brunswick facility

For Kyle Higgins, the son of longtime Piscataway head coach Dan Higgins, whose father Tom was an early Chiefs’ head coach from 1970 to 1989, playing multiple sports was just the way it was done.

He was at Hopewell Valley High School, playing football and lacrosse, excelling at both. He went on to Castleton University in Vermont, and then into coaching. He’s an assistant working under his dad with the Chiefs, and saw the need for helping student-athletes improve beyond just the Xs and Os.

He worked at various facilities, and then decided to open his own: Higgins Speed Lab in South Brunswick.

It’s a simple facility. No flashy signs. This is where all the work goes in that people don’t see.

Working on things like proper running mechanics, acceleration/deceleration, multi-directional speed, first step quickness, mobility, plyometrics and more.

They get kids from all kinds of sports, not just football or lacrosse. And Kyle can tailor training to that specific sport. Soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, track, gymnastics, tennis, and yes, even golf!

Logo of Higgins Speed Lab featured in bold text.
Click above to find out all Higgins Speed Lab has to offer!

We got to visit one day back in January – when the off-season work nobody notices until they take the field – as a trio of college football player trainees were going through workouts, getting ready for the NFL’s Pro Day. They included grad student K-Shawn Schulters of Monmouth – a St. Joseph-Metuchen alum who began his college career at Villanova – as well as Tolu Olajide and Jacoby Sherard of New Hampshire, who both went to Lawrenceville High.

Watch the video of their workout above, and click below to hear Kyle Higgins talk about Higgins Speed Lab with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

Of course, Higgins Speed Lab is the sponsor of the “Speedster of the Week” segment on Central Jersey Sports Radio, honoring the top rushers each week in the Big Central Conference! Click below to read about Week Five winner Andrew Avent of Rahway, and listen to the top ten Speedsters of the Week!

Banner for Higgins Speed Lab featuring a football on a field with the text 'Speedster of the Week' and 'Honoring the top rushing performances each week in the Big Central Conference! Week Five'.
by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA adds another tweak to power points, affecting all sports in 2025-26, except football

More changes are coming to the state’s power point system, under a change recently announced by the NJSIAA.

According to an email sent to athletic directors and coaches across New Jersey that was obtained by Central Jersey Sports Radio, the NJSIAA made the changes based on two “areas of concern” it says emerged after seeking feedback from member schools: how out-of-state opponents factor into calculations, and whether all games should be averaged, or if instead a only the best results should count.

Based on the feedback, the NJSIAA is making changes in both areas that will immediately go into effect this school year in all sports that use power points, with the exception of football. In football, power points are just part of the New Jersey UPR formula, which also uses the Strength Index component.

For out-of-state opponents, the NJSIAA’s had been assigning a .500 win percentage to all teams, but that rule has now been eliminated. Instead, the formula will use the team’s actual record when calculating residual points, based the first “N” number of games played by the opponent, with that number potentially varying by sport.

For example, if the basketball “N” number were hypothetically set at 14, a basketball team that plays an out-of-state opponent – such as at a showcase or other more regional event – would only get residuals based on that out-of-state opponent’s first 14 games. A team that was 20-5 overall, but 12-2 through its first 14 games would be considered 12-2 for the purposes of calculating power points.

The second change would no longer calculate the average of all games for power points. Instead, it would use only the top “N” number of games. This is different from the out-of-state rule, which would count the “first” “N” number of games. Essentially, it would drop the lowest scores.

Again, choosing basketball as an example, with a hypothetical “N” number of 14, a team that has played 16 games would have its power points average only calculate its highest 14 game values. Put another way, it would drop the two lowest scores.

This might be helpful for some schools that are forced to play teams in their division our county tournament that don’t have many wins. For example, a team that has played 18 games, but five of them have come against one-, two- or three-win teams – while others might have come against 12- or 13-win teams – would have its lowest four scores dropped. In that case, only one of the games against those weaker teams would count; the lowest four would be dropped.

by Mike Pavlichko

Legislature approves pension bill to cover New Jersey H.S. coaches; Murphy’s signature awaits as second bill on job security sits in committee

All that’s left is for Governor Murphy to put pen to paper and New Jersey high school coaches will have their pay count toward their pensions, under a bill recently approved by both houses of the legislature.

Currently, stipend pay for coaches – and any other teachers who are paid additionally for extracurricular activities – does not count toward the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund (also known as TPAF). The typical high school football coach makes about $10,000 a year for that job, and over the course of a long career, that could be a significant amount of money.

The measure – co-sponsored by Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), a former high school football coach himself at Paterson Catholic and Hackensack – would apply to anyone paid extra for extracurricular activities.

A second measure that would require head coaches to be offered three-year contracts, and assistants two-year deals, still hasn’t made it out of committee in either house in Trenton. That bill’s goal is to offer some sort of job security, since all coaches are appointed on a year-to-year basis, there is no “tenure” option as there is for teachers, and districts have the option to not bring them back for any reason, including pressure from parents concerned about their child’s playing time.

CLICK HERE to hear Assemblyman Wimberly discuss both bills with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.