It was August 25, 2023 at Kean University in Union when a fresh-faced ninth-grader named A’rique Fleming took to the field to play quarterback for the Elizabeth football team.

He might be a little raw, then-head coach John Fiore told us, but “You’ve gotta see this kid,” he added.

Sometimes coaches are given to hyperbole, and Fiore is no exception. But he was dead on the money on this one.

Elizabeth didn’t win the game, falling 27-22 to the rival Tigers, but Fleming showed great poise for a freshman in a back-and-forth game where the lead was always changing: 7-of-12 passing, 140 yards, one touchdown, one interception. Fiore was on the Fleming bandwagon, and now we were, too.

Fast forward three years to 2026, and he’s been one of the premier quarterbacks in the Big Central for a while now, and he’s already thrown for 622 yards and seven touchdowns in three games.

His latest performance was 17-of-21 throwing the ball for 220 yards and a touchdown, with a team-high 45 rushing yards (and a touchdown). But more impressive? He also plays defense, and is very good at it.

He was especially good last Friday night in a 19-7 win at Union. Playing linebacker, he had a forced fumble and recovery, a team-high tackles, and two interceptions.

One of them was quite critical in the win, too: a 72-yard pick-six with Union driving deep into Elizabeth territory with under two minutes left in a 13-7 game the Minutemen led.

“He made a great read on the play,” says his head coach, Eugene Kline, breaking “multiple tackles on the play” as Elizabeth hung on and made it a 3-0 start to a season for the first time since 2015.

For his efforts, Xavier Wilson is the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week for Week Two.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko with Week Two Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week A’rique Fleming of Elizabeth:

We’ll get to see Fleming at least one more time on Central Jersey Sports Radio when No. 7 Elizabeth hosts No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-0) in the Friday night Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week. Kickoff is 6 pm at Williams Field, with pregame at 5:40. Alec Crouthamel and Dylan Allen will have the call; click here to listen.

The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As always, we will recognize selected “Honorable Mentions,” and recognize all other all nominees in our weekly story.

Honorable Mentions:

• Nolan Walsh, Bernards: In a 49-29 win over Governor Livingston – the Mountaineers’ first of the season after starting 0-2 – the senior QB rushed for four touchdowns (of 3, 34, 30 and 11 yards) while throwing for 54- and 19-yard scores. He completed 13-of-18 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. logging 348 yards of total offense and accounting for all five of Bernards’ first-half scores.
• Zach Mutton, Montgomery: The senior plays five positions for Sean Carty’s Cougars, who got their first win of the season Thursday, 32-14 up at Watchung Hills. At running back, he took the rock 23 times for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He’s also a kicker, and made two field goals of 32 and 41 yards, the latter a new school record. He had a punt, too, that pinned the Warriors back on their own two-yard line early to help establish momentum. At defensive back, he also added two tackles, both of the solo variety.
• Ja’Quan Robinson, Rahway: The senior quarterback often does a lot of great things on the field, but it was more than that Friday night in a 42-21 win at Woodbridge. He tossed 2-for-6 for 50 yards and two touchdowns, and carried ten times for 129 yards and two more scores of nine and 55 yards. On defense, at linebacker, he also had three solo tackles and a TFL. And he even had three punts for 109 total yards. But his coaches say the captain did his biggest work in the locker room, bringing the group together and spurring them on to outscore Woodbridge 21-7 in the second half. And then, he put his money where his mouth is, scoring a 55-yard touchdown to finish the game.
• James Hampton, Somerville: In a 54-6 shellacking of North Hunterdon Thursday night, the junior wide receiver had seven catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns of 32 and 15 yards. At cornerback, he also had a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown.
• Tyler Hicks, South Hunterdon: The senior quarterback for the Eagles – 2-1 in Kyle Hart’s first season as head coach – went 16-of-29 for 210 passing yards and a touchdown in a 21-15 win over Middlesex Thursday night. Facing a 15-13 deficit with under a minute to go, he scrambled on fourth down to evade two tacklers. His pass went incomplete, but drew a pass interference call. Eventually, on third down on the Blue Jay six, he hit Charlie Dickerson for a touchdown to take a 19-15 lead, then hit him again for a two-point conversion for the final score.

Other Notable Performances:

• Elijah White, Belvidere: IN a 42-2 win at Dunellen Friday, the senior wide receiver had four catches for 2333 yards, with three of those hauls going for touchdowns, including a 96- and a 55-yarder. He Laos had an 80-yarder called back on a penalty.
• Marcus Smith, Highland Park: In the third straight win for the Owls – a 43-0 win at JP Stevens that gives them their second 3-0 start in three seasons – Smith threw for 74 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 48 and a second score. Highland Park has outscored its first three opponents 99-0, and has three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1964. (They had six in a row that year.)
• Jonathon Gosk, Manville: The senior quarterback – in his first year starting – was 9-of-13 passing to 148 yards and touchdown passes of 46 and five yards in a 35-7 home win over arch-rival Manville Friday night, heard here on Central Jersey Sports Radio. He also rushed five times for 18 yards and scoring runs of 21 and two yards.
• Tommasso Demetrio, Monroe: In a 42-7 win at North Brunswick, the senior wide receiver caught five balls for 60 yards and a touchdown, as well as five rushes for 25 yards and another score. Four of his first five touches were either a touchdown or gave his team a first down. At outside linebacker, Demetrio had three tackles, two TFLs, and a sack. Oh, and he also was 6-for-6 on PATs and booted two 50-yard punts.
• Charlie Maneely, New Providence: The senior runningback carried 12 times for 87 yards and a score, while also catching four passes for 36 yards and another score in a 27-20 win at Johnson on Thursday. At linebacker, he also had three tackles and two fumble recoveries.
• Ariel Rosario Sime, Perth Amboy: In a 42-6 win over Roselle
• Gabriel Manson, Sayreville: The senior H-back carried six times for 104 yards and two scores for the Bombers, while adding a 60-yard catch in a 41-6 home win over Edison. More impressively, he allowed zero catches from his position at cornerback.
• Vinny Young, Spotswood: Very similar to his last outing, the senior runningback carried eight times for 121 yards and two touchdowns, while also grabbing two passes for 22 yards in a 47-14 home win over Metuchen Thursday night. At outside linebacker, he added four solo tackles, two assists and a TFL.
• Aiden Morse, St. Thomas Aquinas: The junior running back carried ten times for 73 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-0 win at Franklin on Friday night.

The Elizabeth football team has had its share of challenges this season.

The Minutemen started out hot, with wins over Linden and at Bayonne. Then, John Fiore was let go as head coach in a residency controversy over his son enrolling at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth went into a tailspin – granted, their schedule also got tougher – and they dropped for in a row.

But two weeks ago, they rebounded with a gutty 26-24 non-conference win at Morristown, then stunned Watchung Hills at home Friday, 43-29, catapulting them to third in the North Group 5 playoff standings.

That big turnaround would not have been possible without sophomore quarterback Arique Fleming. He had a “perfect” day, going 11-for-11 passing for 162 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed 13 times for 107 yards and a seven-yard touchdown run.

All of that was instrumental in a 14-point win over the Warriors that has breathed new life into a difficult season.

And for that, Arique Fleming of Elizabeth is the Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week for Week Seven.

The Minutemen (4-4) close their regular season Friday night at Union (1-7).

Click below to hear from Week Seven Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Arique Fleming of Elizabeth:

The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As always, we will recognize selected “Honorable Mentions,” and recognize all other all nominees in our weekly story.

Honorable Mentions:

• Jackson Jankowicz, Hillsborough: The senior came up huge in a big 27-14 road win at Piscataway, rushing 34 times for 217 yards and three touchdowns of 46, one and five yards. It’s the fourth time in the last five games he’s scored at least three touchdowns, but Jackson also excelled on defense, with five tackles and a pass breakup against an explosive Chiefs offense.
• Chukwuma Odoh, St. Thomas Aquinas: The sophomore had a career afternoon in the Trojans’ 34-20 win at St. Joseph-Metuchen Saturday. He finished with 189 yards on 19 carries, with two touchdown runs of three and ten yards, while also having a 67-yarder called back. Those scores came in the second half, helping his team rally from a 14-6 deficit at the break. He’s now rushed for 1,001 yards this season.
• Dom Massaro, South Plainfield: The junior was all over the field in a 35-6 win at South River Saturday afternoon. He scored four touchdowns: a 73-yard kickoff return, a 74-yard pick-six, and runs of 15 and eight yards. Overall, he finished with eight carries for 101 yards, and also had a 14-yard reception out of the backfield.

Other Notable Performances:

• Nolan Walsh, Bernards: In a 34-7 win at Governor Livingston on Saturday, the sophomore QB threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns on 11-of-15 passing in just two quarters of work. Further, he’s the third QB in what now is a long string of eight-win seasons for the Mountaineers, joining standouts Teddy Gouldin and Connor Laverty in that group.
• Landon Cruz, Edison: The junior wide receiver/defensive back helped the Eagles past South Brunswick, 36-14, Friday night to keep their playoff hopes alive. Cruz scored two touchdowns, one on a 37-yard catch, the other on a 97-yard fumble return. He recorded six tackles on defense, and one TFL.
• Grant Lorentzen, JFK: In a 36-32 loss to Middlesex Friday night, the Mustangs’ junior wide receiver racked up 132 yards on just eight catches, with two touchdowns. He also threw an 80-yard touchdown pass.
• Isaiah Bennett, Manville: In a 42-15 win at Highland Park Friday, the junior was part of an overall strong ground game that racked up 331 yards for the Mustangs. Bennett had eleven carries for 117 yards, and his three touchdowns all came on consecutive touches, from three, five and 64 yards out.
• Aaron Potts, North Plainfield: The senior runningback carried 20 times for 164 yards and a touchdown in a 14-6 win over Johnson Friday night. On defense, he recorded 10 1/2 tackles and one for a loss.
• Xavier Diaz, Old Bridge: The junior defensive back recorded eight tackles, and not one, not two, but three interceptions in the Knights’ 35-8 home win over Hunterdon Central, to keep Old Bridge in the hunt for a top eight seed and a first round home playoff game.
• Nick Pfenning, Ridge: The junior linebacker came up big in a 42-14 win at North Brunswick Friday night, recording a team-best eight tackles, a sack, a TFL, and a pick six.