Tag: Al-Majid Hutchins

by Mike Pavlichko

Williams out at Plainfield, but Hutchins expected to be in the running to lead Cardinals

After fours seasons as Plainfield’s head football coach – the last of which he spent on the sidelines with a bad back – James Williams and the Cardinals are parting ways.

Plainfield has posted for the head coaching position – with the notice also included in this week’s NJFCA newsletter – and Williams confirmed the news to Central Jersey Sports Radio Tuesday morning.

Laid up with a back injury, Williams didn’t coach at all this season, with assistant Al-Majeed Hutchins taking the reins. He led the Cardinals to a 6-4 record, their best since 2005, which also was the last time Plainfield beat Westfield on Thanksgiving until last Thursday, when they pulled out a 14-9 win in the rain at Kehler Stadium.

Going 6-5 last season, it’s the first time Plainfield has had back-to-back winning seasons since they did it four straight years from 1996 to 1999.

Hutchins told Central Jersey Sports Radio Tuesday he’ll be applying for the post, and he would seem to be a natural fit. He guided this year’s team, of course, and hiring him as the “next” head coach would create a consistency for Plainfield they haven’t had much of before Williams arrived on the scene.

Hutchins played for Williams at East Orange, with his senior season 2006, before committing to and signing to play at Rutgers, later transferring to Stony Brook.

Williams’ three-year tenure at Plainfield – not counting this year, since he wasn’t on the sidelines – yielded a 16-16 record. In the ten years prior, under five different coaches, Plainfield went a combined 15-80.

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s been a long way back for Plainfield, now Cardinals look to take the next step

The 2023 football season was a huge success for the Plainfield Cardinals.

Besides the fact they had some really talented players, they got to a level that had not been reached in quite some time.

With a 6-5 record, the victory total was the most they’d had since Clinton Jones’ first go-round as head coach, in 2006. And in between, there had been little success.

From 2007, the first year under Reggie Robinson, through 2020, the final of five seasons under Corey Tucker, Plainfield won a grand total of 25 games over that 14-year stretch. That included an 0-9 year in 2012, four one-win seasons, and five two-win campaigns. The Cardinals were 8-38 in the five seasons under Corey Tucker before James Williams arrived.

In 2021, Plainfield won five games for the first time since 2005, going 5-5. They finished 5-6 the next year, and last year, improved to 6-5.

And there’s plenty of talent as the Cards (1-1) face a big early season game Friday night, their Big Central Liberty Gold Division opener at third-ranked Woodbridge (2-0). It’s the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio, and you can hear it live with pregame from Nicholas A. Priscoe Stadium at 5:45 pm and kickoff at 6. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel have the call; click here to listen.

Plainfield is led by standouts Ala-Meen Watkins and Joel Cordoba.

Watkins is the QB who can play everywhere. Besides throwing for over 1,300 yards and ten touchdowns last year, he’s also a middle linebacker and defensive end who kicks and punts, too.

Cordoba is the reigning Central Jersey Sports Radio Two-Way Player of the Year, who plays wide receiver and cornerback. “He’ll catch a 60-yard bomb on one end, then come back and catch a pick-six on the very next possession,” says head coach James Williams.

Last season, as a junior, Cordoba grabbed 60 passes for 1,234 yards and nine touchdowns, while also adding two rushing scores. On the defensive side, he had five interceptions, more than half of which – three – went for touchdowns. They came against Elizabeth and Carteret in the regular season, and against West Orange in a first round playoff defeat.

All that will come in handy against the Barrons Friday night.

Click below to hear Plainfield Interim Head Coach Al-Majid Hutchins talk about the Cardinals with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2024 GMC/BCC Camp Caravan: Final stop of the preseason as Plainfield visits Sayreville in regular season tune-up

Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst Marcus Borden wrapped up his 2024 Camp Caravan tour of preseason practice to the blue turf of Colonia Friday morning as the Patriots scrimmaged against Summit.

You can find videos – including video highlights and interviews – from both teams below.

Sayreville: Head Coach Mark Poore and seniors Nick Nunez (QB), Dariel Jerez (FB/LB), Preston Ditzel (G/DE), Bryce Bouchard (G/MLB), and Kevin Drass (RB/S)

Plainfield: Offensive Coordinator Al-Majid Hutchins and seniors Joel Cordoba (WR/DB), Ala-Meen Watkins (QB/DE), Ra’Qui Martin (LT/DT), Chance Fritz (G/DE), Darren Hester (FB/LB) and EJ Brown (RB/FS)

You can now watch all the 2024 Camp Caravan videos on YouTube by clicking this link!