Category: Wrestling

December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Rounding out the Top Ten stories of 2022 on Central Jersey Sports Radio: We’ve got the Final Five!

Back on Tuesday, we began taking a look at the Top Ten most-read stories on Central Jersey Sports Radio. We began our countdown with Numbers 10 through 6 (and if you missed any of it – you can find the first five here.

And now, let’s count you down from No. 5 all the way to the top!

Click on each headline for the complete, original story.

5. Legendary football coach Joe Goerge returns to South Brunswick, where he led Vikings to unprecedented success, and three state titles

Just under a year ago, in early January, South Brunswick brought Joe Goerge back for a second tour of duty. He had stepped down after the 2018 season, and said he wasn’t retiring; he spent a couple of years on Staten Island, where he’d begun his coaching career, but this time at St. Joseph-by-the-Sea.

It would be hard for Goerge to top his first run with the Vikings, where he was 63-17, winning a title in his debut season of 2012, plus two more in 2015 and 2017.

*Joe Goerge celebrates with his players after South Brunswick’s 2015 sectional championship over Manalapan at Rutgers University. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

4. Old Bridge’s Lanzafama stepping down after 12 seasons with Knights

Coaching news is always big, and this was was huge: Old Bridge head coach Anthony Lanzafama stepping away from the Knights’ program with a 72-47-1 record in a dozen years at the helm.

Post the merger of Cedar Ridge and Madison Central in the 1990s, he’s just the second coach of “Old Bridge” high school, succeeding Bob DeMarco, for whom Lanzafama was an assistant in his younger years. DeMarco, of course, had coached Madison Central and took over the merged program.

And true to the tradition of keeping it in the Old Bridge family, eventually, Matt Donaghue – the team’s defensive coordinator and also the baseball coach – took over for Lanzafama.

They like their Old Bridge in Old Bridge.

Old Bridge head coach Anthomy Lanzafama addresses his team after winning the 2020 edition of the “Battle of Route 18” against East Brunswick, with the trophy sitting at his feet. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

3. Remembering Ron Mazzola, Mr. Old Bridge

Nothing stunned the high school sports world in Central Jersey and beyond like the sudden passing of Ron Mazzola, the man known as Mr. Old Bridge. But he was also Mr. Wrestling, Mr. Gymnastics, Mr. Trophy, Mr. Anything-You-Need-You-Got-It-With-A-Smile.

Mazzola died in late February at the age of 61, and his passing touched everyone so that the line was out the door for hours at his wake, where those coming to pay their respects were urged to wear their favorite team jersey – and many did – and the background behind the casket was a projection of a Mets baseball game. Yes, you could have also called Ron “Mr. Met.”

This story was a tribute that included comments from former Old Bridge football coach Anthony Lanzafama, Old Bridge Athletic Director Dan DiMino, Old Bridge wrestling coach John Post, longtime friends Kevn Brady and Luca Rispoli, and former East BRunswick Athletic Director and GMC President Frank Noppenberger.

We also shared this story, a long, wide-ranging chat with Ron from five months prior: “Mr. Old Bridge,” Ron Mazzola, does a little bit of everything for Knights, Chargers, GMC.

By the following September, Old Bridge held a ceremony to name its football press box after Ron, and we also provided a video recap of the touching ceremony: A fitting tribute for Mr. Old Bridge, as Knights’ football press box is named for the late Ron Mazzola.

*The press box at Old Bridge’s Bob DeMarco Field is unveiled in honor of late P.A. man Ron Mazzola on Thursday, September 1, 2022 (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

2. Edison-North Brunswick lives up to the hype, as Eagles win a wild one to clinch a finals berth for the first time since 1991

The last few years, every Edison-North Brunswick football game seemed like a wacky one. And the Raiders had continuously come out on top. But, in their second meeting of the 2022 season – in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals – the Eagles finally soared, although they looked like they’d been shot down for good with under five minutes to go in the game.

It took two touchdowns with two on-side kick recoveries, and then a field goal to win the game – all in the final four-plus minutes of regulation.

OPINION: NJSIAA proposal to allow one “free transfer” to all is a long time coming, and a step in the right direction

Full disclaimer: this is not a hot take.

Most people who know me know that when I’ve got an idea, I’ll tell anyone who will listen. Twice, if they let me.

So when a certain coach I know messaged me Wednesday afternoon to say the NJSIAA “stole” my idea, I had to wonder what it was.

As it turns out, per a published report out today by the USA Today Network, the NJSIAA has a proposal in the works that would allow all student-athletes, regardless of gender, sport or level – freshman, JV, or varsity – one transfer within their high school career without penalty. They would not need to have a bona fide change of address, a rule which has been the standard for many years now, and which also often has proven too difficult to enforce.

Any additional transfers, however, would be subject to the typical 30-day sit-out rule, while seniors would only have to sit out 15 days, per the report.

There are still more hurdles to clear, but in all honesty, it’s about time.

For one, the NJSIAA doesn’t have the personnel to track every single case. And we all know some schools find ways around the rules, both public and private.

I’ve been saying for a year or two now that the idea that kids don’t transfer for athletic advantage needs to be thrown out the window. It’s happening, and will continue to happen. Even when they enroll in a non-public school at the start of ninth grade, and sometimes even when they legitimately move from one town to another. Most times, it’s not about academics.

Everyone knows this. So why keep up the charade?

This proposal – though perhaps not directly – acknowledges that theory.

As I have been saying: “Let them transfer. Everyone gets a free pass – once. After that, if they want to transfer willy-nilly, it’s on them.”

But the proposed rule is also about equity. It levels the playing field: no more advantage to the schools that kind find the loophole.

And, it fits with the national trend – like it or not – of the student-athlete’s rights. It began in the college ranks, with NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) rules, and is filtering down to the high school level.

Meanwhile, per the report, the NJSIAA wants to focus more on illegal recruiting, and punishing the adults involved, not the players. This is also a step in the right direction.

It’s also likely a much less prevalent problem than the copious amount of transfers seen in New Jersey – 242 with more than one move over the past three years, according to the report – as not all of those involve recruiting. And determining whether a coach or administrator took part in recruiting is much easier than determining where a student-athlete’s primary residence is.

To the NJSIAA, and its membership, the new transfer rule is a great idea, and we hope to see it work its way through the system and become official in 2023-24.

September 2, 2022September 2, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

A fitting tribute for Mr. Old Bridge, as Knights’ football press box is named for the late Ron Mazzola

He was everything to the Old Bridge community for decades. PA man, coach, mentor, organizer, uniform maker. But perhaps most importantly, a friend.

The passing of Ron Mazzola back in February at the age of 61 sent a tidal wave of shock and grief through the Old Bridge community.

So, less than seven months later, on the first day of September, he was honored in the best way possible: with the press box at Bob DeMarco Field being renamed, “The Ron Mazzola Press Box.

Click below to watch a video recap of Thursday’s ceremony:

August 8, 2022August 8, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph alum, MiLB broadcaster John Nolan wins one for grooms everywhere

The average guy, when it comes to wedding prep, is somewhere in the background. Maybe an opinion or an idea here and there, but it’s often the bride-to-be designing and creating the wedding of their dreams.

John Nolan – a 2009 graduate of St. Joseph-Metuchen, who’s getting married this December – had one big idea. It went viral, and now it’ll be a part of the celebration when he marries his fiancee, Nicole.

Nolan – now in his tenth season broadcasting Fort Wayne Tin Caps baseball, a high-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres – grew up a big Mets fan, just like his father, who’s also the President of St. Joe’s. He’s been enjoying – from afar – the Mets’ run this year, leading the NL East through the end of play Sunday by 6 1/2 games over the Braves, after taking four of five from Atlanta at Citi Field this past weekend.

*John Nolan and his fiancee, Nicole, take in an 8-5 Mets win over San Diego at Citi Field in New York on July 24, 2022. (Submitted photo)*

And so John had the idea that he and his bride make their first public appearance, at their reception, walking out to the song “Narco,” performed by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet. That’s the tune that has been a sensation this summer, played over the PA in Queens as Mets’ closer Edwin Diaz comes in from the bullpen. The whole ballpark – even Mr. and Mrs. Met, faux trumpets blaring – participates.

Nicole didn’t think much of it, so Nolan took his idea to social media, and the rest, as they say, is history.

My fiancée says if this tweet gets 3,900 “likes” we can use @SugarDiaz39’s walk-out song (“Narco”) as our wedding reception entrance music 🎺@Blasterjaxx & @TimmyTrumpet pic.twitter.com/LC2LxxKH87
— John Nolan (@John_G_Nolan) August 5, 2022

As of Monday afternoon, the post had surpassed 16,000 likes, more than four times his goal, and many more times what he ever thought it would get.

Click below to hear how John Nolan’s tweet went viral, and how he and his bride will walk out to “Narco” at their wedding this December:

February 25, 2022February 25, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Remembering Ron Mazzola, Mr. Old Bridge

The high school sports world – especially the Old Bridge community – is heartbroken over the loss of the man who always wore a smile, whether he was calling the PA at home Knights’ football games, organizing the wrestling tournament, gymnastics, or printing t-shirts, or minting trophies.

Ron Mazzola died Monday at the age of 61. A lifelong Old Bridge resident, he rooted for everyone to have success, and always had a positive word to say about everyone and anyone.

Tributes have poured in all over social media for Mazzola, and we caught up with some of them to pay their respects to – and share some memories of – the man who will forever be known as Mr. Old Bridge.

Click below to listen:

Tip: To download the tribute, right click on the player above, and choose “Save Sound As.”

Central Jersey Sports Radio caught up with Ron Mazzola for a “Sunday conversation” this past fall, talking to him about all manner of things he’s done in the high school sports realm.

Click here to read that story and hear our conversation with him.

January 19, 2022January 19, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Entire Edison community mourns the loss of much-beloved youth sports leader “Mr. G”

The “G” might as well have stood for Giant, because that’s what he was to thousands of kids who grew up playing youth sports in Edison for the better part of three decades.

Forget Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Last Thursday, January 13th, 2022 might as well have been “The Day The Music Died” for anyone who played baseball or football as a child in the 1970s, 1980s, and most of the 1990s.

That’s when the man they all know as “Mr G” – William Giampolo – passed away at the age of 82.

Mr. G coached the Edison Falcons and Jets of local youth football fame. He led the Edison Boys Baseball League from 1973 to 1998, a quarter-century run that saw great growth, including an achievement that stands to this day, the development of the baseball complex along Suttons Lane near the Highland Park border.

Mr. G outside his home with his son Billy, in the 1970s.
Mr. G, back row, third from left, with the 1978 Edison All-Stars.
Mr. G, back row left, with the 1981 Edison Boys Baseball Knights of Columbus team.
Mr. G kicks off one of the many Opening Day ceremonies and parades. (Undated)
With his family, Mr. G, far left in the yellow hat, at the 1998 dedication of the “B-2” field as “The Bill Giampolo Field” at the Suttons Lane complex he was instrumental in building.
Mr G, bottom right, with the 2000 Edison Boys Baseball League A’s.

Everyone who pulls up their stirrups this Spring – whether for the high school Eagles or Hawks, or the youngest slammin’ tee-ball player – owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. G, whether they ever met him or not.

He was instrumental in the Edison Youth Sports Council, back when long-time six-term mayor Tony Yelencsics ran things.

The line is sure to be out the door Friday at Runyon-Costello Funeral Home in Metuchen, where services will be held from 4-8 pm, and again Saturday from 9:30 to 10 am. People in line who might never otherwise have met each other will trade stories about Mr. G., realizing their shared expereinces, even if they were 20 years apart.

To find out more, and read the full obituary, click here.

Brian Calantoni, current President of the Edison Boys Baseball League, wrote to Central Jersey Sports Radio about Mr. G:

“It is with sadness and regret that we announce the passing of a legend. Mr. William J. Giampolo has passed away. Mr. Giampolo was president of Edison Boys Baseball League for many years. Mr. G was the type of man every man aspires to be. A family man, a businessman, a man of the community. Cared about morals, rules, and traditions and passing them down. He’s the reason why most of us coach and volunteer. He was our coach and our leader from a young age and he was there for many generations. Thanks to him we have a place to play, he secured B Field at Suttons Lane for EBBL. He was the one who was on the youth sports council dealing with Mayor Yelencsics. Everything was for the kids. Everything we have at Edison Boys Baseball is because of him. He was a Godlike figure growing up. Coaching baseball, coaching football, president of the league… The man who got the most respect in town, and that never changed! Mr. G paved the way for all of us. He made the blueprint on how to run a youth organization and we followed. He is the reason that us kids volunteered when we get older. The reason why we had such a great experience was because of him and his ideas and his leadership. But the truth thanks, goes out to his family. To his wife, to his children, to his grandchildren. Thank you for lending him to us and for allowing him to make a difference in all of our lives. He is a man that will be emulated but never duplicated. The world lost a great human being but he will be remembered forever. Thank you Mr. G for everything you did for us. Condolences to the family. Mr. G was “Dependable”, the most “Dependable” man ever! We love you!!!!“

Click below to hear Coach Calantoni talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio about the legacy of Mr. G:

December 31, 2021December 27, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

As you count down to the New Year, here are the Top Ten stories of 2021 on Central Jersey Sports Radio

Top Ten lists are king. Ever since the first David Letterman Top Ten on the original “Late Night” on NBC, they’ve been funny, entertaining, and – when it comes to sports – a great source for debate.

There’s not much debate to be had here, though. We’ve compiled the Top Ten stories of 2021 – our first full calendar year of operation on Central Jersey Sports Radio – with the most read and listened to stories on our website. Read by you, the fans!

All these stories are about the teams, schools, student-athletes, and great plays that made 2021 special. Some are combined when written about the same subject. Click on each heading to read and listen to the original stories. Enjoy!

10) No. 5 Old Bridge routs South Brunswick as Hunter, Haughney star

*Old Bridge players take the field for pre-game warmups at South Brunswick on September 17, 2021.*

Sometimes, it’s not a game-winning hit, touchdown or basket that makes a good story. Sometimes, it’s just a old-fashioned football game. For whatever reason, that was the case with our tenth-most read story of 2021, a win for Old Bridge football over South Brunswick from early this season. Lawrence Hunter III was the Autoland Player of the Game, and Owen Haughney figured prominently in the win as well. Listen to postgame reaction from Hunter and head coach Anthony Lanzafama with CJSR’s Tim Catalfamo.

9) Old Bridge finally wins a close one, in a big spot

*Seniors on the Old Bridge baseball team pose before their 2021 Senior Night.*

Another Old Bridge story, this time baseball. The Knights were having a rough season, but still in the state tournament. With a 7-17 mark, they had lost ten games by three runs or less, and four by one or two runs. That is, until the opening round of the playoffs, where 12th-seeded Old Bridge knocked off 5th-seed South Brunswick, behind solid performances from two sophomores: Justin Herbstman and Thomas Papeo.

8) “Walk ’em off Spotswood!” Lewandowski’s double off the wall lets Chargers keep Commanders’ Cup trophy another year

*Spotswood holds the Bill Thompson Memorial Commander’s Cup Trophy after a 6-5 walk-off win over East Brunswick on May 19, 2021. It was the Chargers’ fourth straight win in the series.*

Spotswood High School – my alma mater, for full disclosure, Class of 1996 – has always had that underdog mentality. Baseball coach Glenny Fredricks just brings it to another level, and he has a bunch of scrappy guys to prove it. There’s no fear in this small Group 2 school going up against a Group 4 like East Brunswick year after year after year, for what they call the “Commanders’ Cup.” In 2021, Spotswood won their fourth straight in the series, thanks to a walk-off off the wall by Tyler Lewandowski.

7) National recruit Davison Igbinosun of Union says Farmers are “heartbroken” over playoff cancellation, vows to keep fighting

*Union senior CB Davison Igbinosun (source: Twitter)*

COVID didn’t nearly have the effect on the 2021 high school football season that it did in 2020. Sure, games were cancelled, but not in an amount even closely approaching what happened the season prior. That did nothing to comfort Union, which had one of its most talented teams in school history, and was the odds-on favorite to win North 2 Group 5, and maybe even go all the way to win the North 5 regional championship. Then, COVID hit a few members of the team, the Superintendent shut down the season, and four-star national recruit Davison Igbinosun and his teammates became vocal to try and save their season. It didn’t work, but we helped give him and his teammates a voice, and Igbinosun represented them with class and dignity.

Click here for additional coverage with Union head coach Lou Grasso, Jr.

6) Loaded North Brunswick aiming high behind Garbolino and Co.

*North Brunswick junior QB Frankie Garbolino*

Coming off a 7-1 season, with an experienced junior quarterback and a talented ensemble cast returning, North Brunswick entered the 2021 football season with high hopes. They might have been achieved if not for a once-in-a-lifetime-talented Hillsborough squad, which they met twice – once in the regular season finale and once in the playoffs. Hear Frankie Garbolino and head coach Mike Cipot talk about the 2021 team, in our most-listened to preview story of ’21.

5) Somerville’s dynamic duo – Cookie and AJ – taking divergent paths after H.S., with big hopes for the future

From left to right, Somerville RB Cookie Desiderio, head coach Dallas Whitaker, and DE A.J. Pena pose with their commemorative footballs honoring their CJSR Player of the Year picks, and Somerville’s Team of the Year award for 2020.

They were two of the most dominant football players in the Big Central – maybe even the state – in the COVID-shortened 2020 season: runningback Cookie Desiderio and defensive end A.J. Pena of Somerville. The “Cookie Monster” scored almost every time he touched the ball (every 5.8 carries, in reality, but who’s counting) and A.J. loved “making quarterbacks cry,” which he did 12 times in seven games. They were named CJSR’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, but in the strange world of extra college eligibility and the FCS season being moved to the Spring – neither got the D1 offers they deserved.

4) Who’s the strongest team in the Big Central? Here are the league’s SI ratings heading into 2021

*Phillipsburg was the “strongest” team in the Big Central heading into 2021, according to the NJSIAA’s Strength Index.*

Yes, sometimes even true numbers, purely mathematical, can stir debate. And such has been the case since the NJSIAA revamped its playoff formula in 2018, initially using the Born Bower Index, and since 2019 using its own formula, loosely based on the BPI. It uses the OSI, or Opponent Strength Index, but needs the strength value of each individual team to calculate. So, we simply compiled the numbers for all the Big Central and published them. Not everyone may be a fan of our extensive knowledge of the system – it can be a dull read at times – but we do have many fans of this kind of thing, apparently. And we’re sure a good number of them are coaches, too, from both inside and outside the conference, as we’ll frequently get calls and texts asking “Where do you see us ending up?”

3) Listen to Bobby Ulmer talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about his walk-off grand-slam

*Bobby Ulmer, Jr., live on the CJSR postgame, talking about his dramatic walk-off grand slam*.

Kids dream of this kind of stuff, acting it out in their backyards. Bases loaded, two outs, last inning, two strikes, grand slam to win the game. Bobby Ulmer, Jr., of Middlesex lived it. His walk-off grand slam in the Group 1 semifinals sent Middlesex to the state title game, where they would win again in walk-off fashion, albeit in 13 innings on a seeing-eye single by Mark Geist. Ulmer’s moonshot in the team’s last home game of the year was as dramatic as they come.

Bonus coverage: Middlesex gains Group 1 final on Ulmer’s dramatic, walk-off grand slam

2) Big Central releases All-Division Teams

It doesn’t always have to be a Top Ten list that inspires debate, or at least inspires people to go to your website. Simply honoring student-athletes is a big draw. So a list recognizing all the outstanding football players in the Big Central Conference in 2021 – all-division teams chosen by the league’s head coaches featuring 384 players in toto – brought readers out in droves.

1) He brings the water bottles, and the excitement. And he wants to help bring Greg Schiano and Rutgers a national championship

*Edison senior Raymond Taub wants to be a team manager for Greg Schiano at Rutgers.*

This may be one of our most favorite stories – if not, favorite interviews – ever. I can’t really tell you how we first came to know about Raymond Taub – that’s an entertaining story just for a few of us to know – but suffice it to say, he’s an awesome kid. He’s the autistic, well-loved-by-everyone manager of the football team, keeps meticulous pitch counts for the baseball team, and is the Eagles’ biggest fan. He also may be the biggest Rutgers fan out there, and his Senior Night “goal” was to become a manager with the Scarlet Knight football team and “help Greg Schiano win a national championship.” He’s a little busy right now, but someone bookmark this story for him when he gets back from Jacksonville in 2022, will ya?

December 22, 2021December 22, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

Will we make it to the end of H.S. Basketball season? Newest proposal in Trenton might save the day

It’s been great to be back. High school football in the fall of 2020 had minimal fins, but there were still bands, and it had a good atmosphere. And by Spring, with baseball outdoors, everything felt normal.

But high school basketball is not the same without fans, which is what was the case for a good part of last season, until parents were allowed back in, with limited capacities.

This year, it’s been much more fun. Our first games of the year on Central Jersey Sports Radio saw a very talented Rutgers Prep girls team that is a favorite to contend for the last-ever Tournament of Champions title play in front of a few hundred fans at Franklin, then Bound Brook hosting Somerville from right down the road in a gym where, even though it was about 80-percent full, my broadcast partner Justin Sontupe and I could hardly hear each other.

Yes, it’s been great to be back. But how long will it last?

Talking to coaches and athletic directors, and reading the news, there’s a very tentative vibe around high school hoops right now. Some teams have been shut down. Timothy Christian may be out for a bit. St. Joseph-Metuchen had more than a half-dozen players out for COVID-related issues (that’s the now-famous “hedge” when a player may not have COVID, but was in the general vicinity of someone who did, or may be suspected of having it). There are many others who’ve had a player or two out here and there.

Some worry we may not even get to finish this season. What if too many teams have it? How will it affect the county and NJSIAA Tournaments, where there’s little wiggle room for rescheduling when games are every other day?

The NHL has paused with COVID cases running rampant. The pros won’t be in the Olympics, either. And Rutgers basketball is going to have a lengthy shutdown, too, costing the Scarlet Knights at least a couple of games, if they can’t be rescheduled.

The optimist might say that if everyone is vaxxed and only has mild symptoms, once they get through it, maybe they won’t be affected the rest of the year. And that’s possible.

But a piece of legislation in Trenton could be the savior of the basketball season.

Maybe you’ve read about the “test and stay” or “test and return” program the state is working on for schools. Of course, the impetus here is to not interrupt students’ education, but it could benefit high school sports this winter as well.

The idea is that for unvaccinated students who are close contacts with someone confirmed to have COVID in schools, they must quarantine for up to two weeks, with no option to “test” out of it. Even if they test negative, they can’t shorten that quarantine period.

But whether its Omicron or Delta, as cases skyrocket in New Jersey and across the country, that’s putting a lot of kids back into remote learning, although it’s really “self-learning.” In my home district in Hillsborough, teachers aren’t doing lessons on line. Rather, they have to learn for themselves and complete the work on their own. That’s even worse than when districts were in hybrid mode at the end of 2020 and for the vast majority of 2020-21.

“Test and stay” would allow students exposed to a COVID case to take a series of rapid tests over several days before arriving at school, with no need for quarantine, as long as they have no symptoms. If they’re clean, they’re in. If they test positive, they get back in the car and go home.

President Biden has advocated for such programs, already in use in states like California, Illinois, and Massachusetts. The CDC has now recommended such a policy. Democratic State Senator Troy Singleton of Burlington wrote the Murphy administration a letter urging it to adopt the practice. And on Monday, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli confirmed the state is working with school nurses in some districts to get “test and stay” programs running as early as January, when students come back from break.

It seems to be a common sense approach, as some parents are more reluctant to get their children vaccinated – especially younger ones – than they were to get themselves vaccinated.

The entire Rutgers basketball team was fully vaccinated, and so was the coaching staff. Yet here they are in a COVID shutdown as it runs through the Scarlet Knights like a fast break. So whatever facts you decide to listen to, there’s proof positive in right in Piscataway that vaccinations are not foolproof.

Even the jabbed can get it and spread it.

Testing is the common sense move. It still may not be foolproof, but if a student has no symptoms, and COVID can’t be detected by a test, that’s really the safest way to conduct the business of education and make sure no one gets left sitting at home with their books, or their basketball.

September 19, 2021September 19, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

“Mr. Old Bridge,” Ron Mazzola, does a little bit of everything for Knights, Chargers, GMC

He’s been at it a while, seen a lot, and does a little of everything.

Ron Mazzola is most well-known to the average fan as being the PA voice of Old Bridge football. His first game was by accident, a rescheduled game due to rain that ended up being played at Edison, and the main announcer, Gus Persch, was unavailable.

The Knights beat No. 2 Hillsborough that day 49-0. The rest, as they say, is history.

But even before that, Mazzola was busy behind the scenes, not long after he graduated Madison Central High School in 1978, having played baseball and basketball for coaches Walt Peto and John Somogyi.

He was involved in many youth sports and did PA on frequent Madison and Cedar Ridge night soccer games.

He’s done video for Old Bridge teams, helped run the GMC wrestling tournament and gymnastics championships.

He even helped run the first “unofficial” Big East wrestling tournament in 1996 at the behest of then-Rutgers coach John Sacchi.

In the midst of it all, after having worked at various now-gone sporting goods stores like Herman’s, Gervin’s and Route 18 Sports, he opened his own business – Prestige Imaging – which still thrives to this day, despite a downturn during the pandemic, and provides the Greater Middlesex Conference with all its postseason awards.

They even helped create the new Old Bridge uniforms after the Madison-Cedar Ridge merger. (He’s still got the rejected color combo jerseys -“retro” jersey day, anyone?)

I sat down recently with Ron to talk about his involvement with local sports.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with “Mr. Old Bridge,” Ron Mazzola: