Category: Football Top Ten

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg rebounds from title game loss to go out on a high note, with first win over Easton since 2014

Out of the 12 games it ultimately played in 2022, none – not even the North 2, Group 5 finals against West Orange – were more important than the one Phillipsburg won today.

On its Twitter profile, there are two hashtags: #DIG and #BEATEASTON. There’s no mention of a state championship, just Easton, it’s biggest rival.

The Stateliners beat the Red Rovers 35-14 in their annual Thanksgiving Day game at Lafayette College Thursday, getting three touchdowns from Caleb Rivera, who had touchdown runs of five- and 40- yards, as well as a 40-yard touchdown pass from Jett Genovese, who threw three TD scores. Kevin Burgess and Matthew Scerbo, Jr. had the other two TD receptions.

The win leaves Phillipsburg at 11-1 to close the 2022 season, and it was P’burg’s first victory over the Easton in eight years. Easton still leads the all-time series – which began back in 1905 and has been played on Turkey Day every year since 1916 – by a 67-43-5 margin.

The victory also is the second 11-win season for the Stateliners. They last did that in 2014, when they won the North 2, Group 4 title over Colonia at Rutgers in OT with a goal line stand. Their lone loss that year was to Hillsborough in the regular season.

by Mike Pavlichko

North Hunterdon edges out Phillipsburg for top spot in final Big Central Media Poll

In a split vote, North Hunterdon earned top honors in the final Big Central Media Poll of the 2022 high school football season over Phillipsburg, with the Lions getting three of the five first-place votes. The Stateliners got the other two.

The final media poll of the season mirrored the final Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten with one exception: Watchung Hills got in the media poll at No. 9, while Westfield took that spot in the CJSR poll. Both teams were 7-3 on the season.

North Hunterdon got the top spot on the strength of its North 2, Group 4 championship, though the Lions were knocked out in the first-ever group semifinals by Northern Highlands back on Saturday.

Phillipsburg was upset in the North 2, Group 5 finals by West Orange, but beat North Hunterdon early on in the regular season.

Edison came in third, despite four losses, after making a huge run as the sixth-seed in Central Jersey Group 5 to win a sectional title. Along with West Orange, they were the lowest seeds in the state among public schools to reach sectional finals, and both wound up winning titles.

St. Thomas Aquinas, which beat Edison in the regular season, but got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, checks in at No. 4. Aquinas holds the Big Central Conference’s longest league winning streak going into next year at 17 games, with Phillipsburg and Brearley behind them at eleven straight regular season league wins.

North Brunswick checks in fifth, having been knocked out of the playoffs in the Central Group 5 semifinals by Edison.

Ridge came in sixth, followed by North 2 Group 3 finalist Hillside in seventh.

Cranford was No. 8, Watchung Hills rated ninth, and Montgomery finished in tenth, while Westfield, Bernards, and North 1 Group 1 finalist Brearley (10-1) also received votes.

Below is the complete final Big Central Media Poll for 2022:

by Mike Pavlichko

North Hunterdon rises to No. 1 in final Top Ten rankings; Lions are CJSR 2022 Team of the Year

CORRECTION: Our initial version of this poll inadvertently omitted Watchung Hills, which tied for third in the poll for 9th place with Westfield and Montgomery. The rest of this story has been updated to correct that omission.

In the final Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football rankings of 2022, North Hunterdon is Number One, and the CJSR Team of the Year.

With just one regular season loss – to Phillipsburg, which finished at No. 2 – the North 2, Group 4 Champion Lions finished the season 11-2, after a loss to Northern Highlands in the Group 4 semifinals this past Saturday, 21-20 in OT at Franklin High School.

Led by the backfield tandem of Kente Edwards and Alex Uryniak, quarterback Luke Martini, and top receivers Derek Vaddis and Danny Delusant – with several of those players also playing critical roles on defense – North Hunterdon won its first state title since 2017, beating Randolph in a finals for the ages, 49-35, a contest which saw the teams explode for a combined 49 points in the final quarter.

The Lions also won the Liberty Silver Division of the Big Central Conference.

Phillipsburg, which was undefeated going into the North 2 Group 4 final, was shocked in the title game by West Orange, 28-7. The American Silver Division champs are 10-1, heading into their Thanksgiving Day battle with Easton.

In third was Edison, the Central Jersey Group 5 champion, which beat Lenape in the title game 28-14 a week ago down in Medford. It was the Eagles’ first title in 31 years, and they finished the season 9-4 with a group of seniors that included several four-year starters, including QB Matt Yascko, wide receiver Malcolm Stansbury, offensive lineman Matthew Bueno, and and kicker/linebacker Selbin Sabio.

Tied for fourth was St. Thomas Aquinas and North Brunswick. The Trojans beat Edison in the regular season, but got knocked out of the playoffs in the opening round by Holy Spirit. Aquinas won the United Gold Division title, and will take a 17-game conference winning streak into the 2023 season, the best in the league. (Phillipsburg and Brearley both have won 11 straight regular season BCC games, the closest teams to Aquinas.

The Raiders finished 8-2, National Silver Division champions. Their lone regular season loss came out-of-division to Cranford, but they lost in the Central 5 semifinals to Edison, after the Eagles scored the game’s final 16 points in a furious comeback in the final five minutes of the game, recovering two on-side kicks and winning on a field goal with :04 left on the clock.

Ridge finished the year 7-3 and came in sixth.

In seventh was Hillside, which finished the season 9-2, tied with Cranford. The Comets were the Patriot Silver Division champions, and their only regular-season loss came to St. Thomas Aquinas in a divisional crossover. They made the North 2, Group 3 finals, but lost to Old Tappan 28-14; the Golden Knights are in the first-ever statewide Group 3 final at Rutgers in two weeks.

Cranford was 7-3, and won the American Gold Division title.

Westfield, Watchung Hills and Montgomery all tied for tenth. The Warriors and Cougars both finished 7-3, while Westfield also is 7-3, but still has to play its Thanksgiving game against Plainfield.

Below are the complete final 2022 Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg gains last first-place vote, is unanimous No. 1 for first time in Big Central Media Poll

For the first time this season, there’s a unanimous No. 1 team in the Big Central Media Poll.

In the final rankings before the season is over – with no rankings coming once the playoffs begin – Phillipsburg picked up all five first-place votes in the Week 8 Media Poll.

Cranford and Westfield joined the poll, as the Cougars knocked off previously-unbeaten and No. 2 North Brunswick Friday night with a 34-14 home win, while Westfield beat previous-No. 10 Hillsborough 17-12 Saturday afternoon.

The Raiders’ loss knocked them down to four, and out of the running for a top seed in the playoffs. That opened the door for Hillsborough to get a top seed in the South 5 supersection until their loss to the Blue Devils, which also knocked Hillsborough out of the Media Poll.

The full Week 8 rankings are below:

by Mike Pavlichko

Upsets juggle bottom half of Week 8 Big Central Media Poll; Phillipsburg remains on top

Three new teams joined the Big Central Media Poll for Week Eight, while the to four teams remained the same: Phillipsburg, North Brunswick, St. Thomas Aquinas and North Hunterdon.

The Stateliners again got four of the first place votes, while the Raiders got the fifth.

Of the three ranked teams that lost Friday night, Hillsborough was the only one to remain in the rankings, falling to tenth, tied with newcomer Bernards, which also received votes last week. Previously-No. 7 Sayreville and previously-No. 9 Westfield dropped out. Edison and Colonia rejoin the poll, at eight and nine, respectively.

Below are the full Media Poll rankings for Week Eight:

by Mike Pavlichko

All but Phillipsburg, North Brunswick shuffle in latest CJSR Top Ten

Phillipsburg again got both first place votes, and North Brunswick is No. 2 again, but the rest of the Week 8 Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten got all mixed up after three ranked teams went down this weekend, with two losing to unranked – but talented teams.

Unranked Piscataway was a 14-8 winner at No. 6 Sayreville Friday night in the Big Central Game of the Week, earning the Chiefs a vote for the first time ever in three years of the poll. (Piscataway did not play during the 2020 COVID year.) Third-ranked Hillsborough lost at unranked Somerville 35-14, as the Pioneers’ seemed sparked by offensive line coach Matt Bloom taking over as head coach from Ian Pace. And Fifth-ranked Ridge beat No. 10 Westfield at home, 31-3.

The upshot was that the bottom nine teams (there were two tied for tenth – Watchung Hills and Edison – got shuffled around, while Sayreville dropped out. And three teams also received votes: Piscataway, Sayreville and Colonia.

Below are the complete Week 8 Central Jersey Sports Radio rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Much of the same in Week 6 Big Central Media Poll, as Phillipsburg remains No. 1

The Week 6 Big Central Media Poll is nearly identical to the Week 5 version.

Phillipsburg remains No. 1, and every team in the rankings won last weekend. In fact, the only team that moved was Watchung Hills, based on the math, dropping out of a ninth place tie with Westfield into tenth place.

Below are the complete Week 6 rankings in the Big Central Media Poll:

by Mike Pavlichko

Few changes in CJSR Week 6 H.S. Football Top Ten, as Phillipsburg leads the way and Edison joins the ranks

With every team in the Week 5 Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten winning this past weekend, the Week 6 rankings saw very little change.

In fact, the top six teams – led by Phillipsburg – remained unchanged, with the Stateliners followed by North Brunswick, Hillsborough, North Hunterdon, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Sayreville.

Westfield moved from seventh to eighth while Hillside – which was tied for 6th, fell to 8th. Ridge – tied with Watchung Hills for 9th – held, while the Warriors dropped to tenth.

Edison, which was in the preseason poll and got votes last week, rejoins the poll, tied for No. 10 with Watchung Hills. The Eagles, who started 2-0 but lost their next two, have now won three straight, beating St. Joseph-Metuchen 42-23 Friday night on the road.

Below are the complete Week 6 Central Jersey Sports Radio rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg holds, Aquinas rises, Ridge rejoins, Westfield and Watchung Hills debut in a topsy-turvy Big Central Week 5 Media Poll

In a week where half the Big Central Conference’s undefeated teams fell for the first time, there were big shifts throughout the Week 5 Media Poll, except at the top, where Phillipsburg again took four of the first place votes to hold at No. 1, with North Brunswick picking up one vote and staying at No. 2.

Beyond that, all bets were off after Week 5 of play.

St. Thomas Aquinas took the third spot in the rankings away from Hillside with a 17-10 home win in North Edison Friday night. North Hunterdon jumped six places to No. 4 after knocking off 8th-ranked Colonia at home 33-7, bouncing the Patriots from the rankings, though they did get votes this week.

Hillsborough held in fifth, while Hillside dropped three places to No. 6, and Sayreville moved up to No. 7.

After a weeks’ absence, Ridge is back in at No. 8, while Westfield and Watchung Hills debut for the season, tied at No. 9. The Blue Devils handed then-No. 7 St. Joseph-Metuchen its first loss of the season Saturday, a 14-0 decision at Kehler Stadium in Westfield, knocking the Falcons from the polls. Watchung Hills won at then-No. 6 Montgomery, blanking the Cougars 33-0 in Skillman Friday night, bouncing them from the rankings as well.

After the media poll had narrowed to only see 14 teams getting votes in Week 4, down from 19 in the preseason, 16 teams got votes this week.

Below are the full rankings for the Week 5 Big Central Media Poll:

by Mike Pavlichko

Everyone else does the shuffle, but Phillipsburg and North Brunswick remain 1-2 in CJSR Top Ten

With four of the Big Central Conference’s undefeated teams losing in Week 5, and a sprinkle of other games factored in, the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten saw a big shuffle among all the teams but two, as Phillipsburg – which got both first-place votes – and North Brunswick remain No. 1 and No. 2.

While the Stateliners (5-0) and North Brunswick (5-0) continued to win, ranked teams like Hillside, Montgomery and Colonia suffered their first losses of the season, while St. Joseph-Metuchen suffered its second loss in a row.

What it all meant was an opportunity for several teams to move up.

Hillsborough – after a shutout at P’burg two weeks ago – got back on the winning track, edging out Union at home to improve to 4-1, and move up two spots in the poll to fifth. North Hunterdon took a huge leap with a win over previously unbeaten and then No. 6 Colonia – which dropped out – 33-7 in Annandale; the Lions climbed from tenth to fourth.

St. Thomas Aquinas knocked off previously-undefeated Hillside, and the win got the Trojans to fifth, up three spots. Sayreville moved up two spots to sixth, tied with the Comets.

Three new teams fill out the last three spots in the rankings.

Westfield (4-1) joins the group at No. 8 this week after beating previous-No. 7 St. Joseph-Metuchen at home Saturday afternoon, 14-0, the Falcons second loss, which also dropped them from the rankings.

In ninth is Watchung Hills, which is 4-2 after knocking a 33-0 win at No. 3 and previously-unbeaten Mongtomery, bouncing the Cougars from the rankings. The Warriors’ only league loss is to North Hunterdon; their other defeat is to Morris Knolls.

Tied with Watchung Hills is Ridge, debuting at 3-2. The Red Devils’ only losses are to Phillipsburg and Hillsborough.

Montgomery and Edison also received votes.

Following are the full Week 5 Central Jersey Sports Radio rankings: