Category: Football Top Ten

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg again No. 1 in CJSR Top Ten; Somerville and Hunterdon Central join rankings

Off to a 2-0 start, Phillipsburg maintained its No. 1 ranking in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten for Week Two.

There was little change in this week’s rankings, which narrowed a bit. No. 10 Westfield dropped out after a loss to previously-No. 9 Watchung Hills, which moved up to sixth.

And two new teams joined the poll: Somerville (2-0) tied for tenth with Hunterdon Central (2-0). The Pioneers also received votes last week, while Hunterdon Central got its first-ever vote for the CJSR Top Ten. (CJSR’s first Top Ten came out in our inaugural season, 2020.)

No teams ended up in the Also Received Votes category, as Somerville and Central were the last two vote-getters, and both ended up in the Top Ten.

Below are the full Week Two CJSR H.S. Football Rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Idle Phillipsburg remains atop Big Central Media Poll, as Watchung Hills and Montgomery make inroads

Three teams who don’t open their season until this Friday night hold the top three spots in the Big Central Media Poll for Week One, while two new teams made their debut.

Watchung Hills and Montgomery made the cut in Week One after receiving votes in the preseason rankings. The Warriors are tied for eighth with Westfield, while Montgomery takes the tenth spot.

Three teams dropped out from last week (there were 11 overall in the rankings, with two teams having been tied for tenth): Colonia, Edison and North Hunterdon, all of whom lost their opening games in Week Zero.

Below are the full Week One Big Central Media Poll rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg retains top spot, Sayreville moves up, Aquinas moves into Week 1 rankings

While Phillipsburg hasn’t opened its 2023 season yet – they host Sayreville this Friday in a highly-anticipated matchup – the Stateliners remain No. 1 in the Week One Central Jersey Sports Radio rankings.

The biggest gains in Week Zero play were made by Sayreville and St. Thomas Aquinas. The previously-No. 4 Bombers were 42-21 winners on the road against No. 8 Colonia, and moved up to No. 2 this week. St. Thomas Aquinas – which also received votes last week – debuted in this week’s rankings at seven.

No. 8 St. Joseph-Metuchen dropped out, despite being idle, making room for the Trojans.

Below are the full Week One Central Jersey Sports Radio H.S. Football rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

Clean sweep for Phillipsburg in Big Central Media Poll as Stateliners take all No. 1 votes

For the second time in the four year history of the Big Central Media Poll, a single team has taken all the first place votes in the preseason survey.

Phillipsburg – coming off an 11-1 year – ascended to the top spot after finishing second last year to North 2, Group 4 sectional champion North Hunterdon.

Four new teams joined the top eleven vote-getters in the preseason, with Sayreville, Colonia, Hillsborough and Westfield in the fray, while Hillside, Watchung Hills and Montgomery dropped out.

Sayreville is the only preseason Top Ten team to have more than four losses last season; the Bombers finished 4-5 in 2022, but have had a lot of preseason buzz among the media.

Overall, 17 teams received votes for the preseason Top Ten.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg debuts at No. 1 in preseason CJSR rankings; five new teams join the mix

The Phillipsburg Stateliners – fresh of an 11-1 season and their first win over Easton since 2014, with much talent back – are the top team in the preseason Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football rankings.

But in the rest of the list, there was little continuity from last year. Five teams that were in the 2022 final rankings dropped out, including the two that won state sectional titles – Edison and North Hunterdon – although all five also received votes.

In fact, of the five teams to play in a sectional final last year, only one – P’burg – made the preseason top ten.

Hillsborough, Sayreville, Colonia, St. Joseph-Metuchen and Watchung Hills are the new teams that join carryovers Phillipsburg, Ridge, North Brunswick, Westfield and Montgomery in this year’s preseason Top Ten. In addition to North Hunterdon and Edison, St. Thomas Aquinas, Hillside and Cranford all dropped out, but received votes.

Below are the full 2023 Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football Rankings:

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: