Tag: Brody Nugent

by Mike Pavlichko

Proving it was no hype, just reality, Brody Nugent of Old Bridge delivers for Knights, wins CJSR Offensive Player of the Year Award

Before the season even started, before Marcus Borden’s Camp Caravan, the ex-East Brunswick coach raved about Brody Nugent. He was a big fan, and predicted big things from the Old Bridge senior.

He delivered on every one of them.

Historic high school football stats are hard to come by in New Jersey. Around 2010 is the last year one can find somewhat reliable stats publicly available. And in all that time, it appears no one has done what Brody Nugent did this year.

That’s not counting the intangibles, of course: leadership, grit, toughness.

But numbers-wise? No Middlesex County quarterback has thrown for over 2,000 yards and rushed for over 1,000 in the same season. There have been some really good ones, but typically they are either big passers or big runners. But not both.

Nugent certainly is both. In the passing game, he went for 2,276 yards and 19 touchdowns. On the ground, he ran for 1,262 yards and 20 more touchdowns.

That makes him responsible for 3,538 yards and 39 touchdowns leading an offense that helped take the Knights to the precipice, where they fell to eventual Group 5 champion Washington Twp. in the “Central Jersey” Group 5 title game.

Click below to hear Alec Crouthamel with Old Bridge QB Brody Nugent, the 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Offensive Player of the Year:

Honorable Mentions:

  • Dylan Chiera, Colonia: One of three Middlesex County quarterbacks to pass for over 2,000 yards this season, the senior led the Big Central with 2,436 passing yards and 23 touchdowns, helping the Patriots reach the North 2, Group 4 semifinals, where they fell to eventual champion Phillipsburg.
  • Jack Kristjanson, Montgomery: One of the senior captains on a team that made history, qualifying for its first-ever sectional finals a year after going just 1-9. “Confident and calm under pressure,” says first-year head coach Sean Carty, Kristjanson threw for 1,846 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
  • Devin Thomas, Plainfield: One of four Big Central QBs to throw for 2,000-plus yards this year, it was even more impressive since he hadn’t played football since his freshman year at St. Thomas Aquinas. A member of the state Group 4 champion Cardinals’ basketball team last season, Thomas came back in the fall and threw for 2,214 yards and 29 TDs, while also rushing for 474 yards and five more scores.
  • Andrew Avent, Rahway: The CJSR Three-Way Player of the Year literally does it all for Rahway. But at runningback was where he did his best work in four years as a varsity starter. He finished with over 4,000 career yards and 77 touchdowns, getting 1,961 this season. He holds the career and single-season rushing and scoring records, and is – in a word – dominant.
  • Shaun Jackson, Sayreville: The senior runningback carried for 1,977 yards this season and 30 total touchdowns, while also logging 342 receiving yards. He was a big reason the Bombers improved from 4-6 last season to 9-2 this year, their only two losses coming to two sectional finalists: Montgomery in the regular season, and Old Bridge in the CJ5 semifinals.
  • Justin Scaramuzzo, St. Joseph-Metuchen: The senior ran the offense with aplomb, throwing for 1,212 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just one interception. The numbers aren’t flashy, but mistakes were rare, indeed, especially in a tight 0-0 game at the half in October that wound up being a 21-0 win over Phillipsburg in Metuchen, the Stateliners’ only regular season loss before the playoffs. Scaramuzzo also carried the ball 100 times for 580 yards and 12 more touchdowns.
  • Zymere Weaver, St. Thomas Aquinas: He also threw for over 2,000 yards this year, going for 2,236 and 24 touchdowns through the air, while also rushing for five scores.
  • Joshua Allen, Woodbridge: The senior runningback finished two carries shy of 200 and ran for 1,549 yards – 7.9 per carry – and 20 touchdowns, with a long run of 89 that was nominated for Big Central Highlight Reel Play of the Year.

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge takes late lead, hangs on for 38-31 home win over Freehold Twp. in CJ5 1st round

The NJSIAA counts power points, and Strength Index, but luckily for Old Bridge, style points aren’t a thing, only the points on the scoreboard.

And that’s where the Knights were a winner Saturday evening, as third-seed Old Bridge topped sixth-seed Freehold Twp., 38-31, on a late Brody Nugent touchdown and a fumble recovery on the Patriots’ ensuing drive.

Nugent scored from 32 yards out with 6:32 to play to give his team a 38-31 lead. But a bad snap exactly a minute later on the clock went right over the Freehold quarterback’s head, and Justin Valinotti fell on it to give Old Bridge the ball back, allowing them to eventually ice the victory.

The win was Old Bridge’s first in the playoffs since 2017, when they beat Trenton in the opening round of Central Jersey Group 5.

Nugent got the Knights on the board first at 6:44 of the first quarter with a two-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0, and the period ended that way. But just 45 seconds into the second, Dakota Lasater ran in a score from a yard out, and a fake PAT netted two to make it 8-7 Patriots.

Lasater then gave Freehold Twp. a 14-7 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Lorenzo just over three minutes before halftime to make it 14-7, Nugent tied it up at 14-all with a 19-yard run, but a 37-yard Freehold field goal with 1.2 ticks left before the break made it 17-14 at halftime.

After halftime, Michael Firetto hit from 28-yards out on a field goal to make it 17-all with 6:54 to go in the third, then Brody Nugent took back the lead with his third touchdown of the game, this one from 68-yards out, making it 24-17 with 4:58 to go in the third.

And after Xavier Diaz picked off a long Freehold pass downfield, Chase Rizzo scored from 61 yards out to give the Knights some breathing room: a 14-point lead with just under 14 minutes to go in the game.

That proved to be important, as Freehold Township would get the next two scores in a nine-second span of game action to even it at 31 late in the third, recovering an onside kick after Lasater hit Jake Schultzel for a TD. The two hooked up again for the second score right after.

But then Nugent took over, and his run from 32-yards out with 6:32 left gave Old Bridge a 38-31 lead, after which Justin Valinotti recovered a Freehold Twp. fumble with 5:40 to go. And yet, it still wasn’t over. Old Bridge failed to score, then Freehold did, too, and the Knights were able to run out the final 1:36 thanks to a big first down run from Nugent.

The win sends Old Bridge (9-1) to the semifinals of Central Jersey Group 5 next Friday at 6 pm at second-seed Sayreville (9-1), which beat seventh-seed Trenton 36-0 Friday night. Freehold Township’s season ends at 5-5.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden in Old Bridge, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Brody Nugent sets Old Bridge single-game passing record, earns Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week nod

One of the big names people were talking about in the preseason – in the context of who could have a really big year – was Brody Nugent of Old Bridge.

The senior quarterback had 2,170 passing yards and 1,831 career rushing yards coming into the season, and with a host of talent around him was expected to be the leader of an offense that had a lot of pieces back.

Off to a 3-1 start, all that has come to fruition for the No. 10 Knights, and Nugent has been a big reason why. But Friday night, in a 45-7 win over South Brunswick, he took his passing game to another level.

They might not have needed all of those yards, in the end, but Nugent became the first Old Bridge quarterback (at least since the 1994 merger of Madison Central and Cedar Ridge) to throw for over 300 yards in a game, setting a school record of 302 yards on 15-of-22 passing, with five touchdowns.

Setting any record is an impressive accomplishment, especially for an offense that runs the triple option. But it’s even more impressive when you consider Old Bridge had Art Sitkowski as its varsity quarterback for two seasons. But even his career high was 140 yards passing, which came in a 28-21 come from behind win at Sayreville in 2015, a game that saw the Knights rally from a 21-7 deficit to get the victory.

On the season, Nugent already has thrown for 824 yards and nine touchdowns (with just two picks) while rushing for 322 on 48 carries, including a season high 168 yards against Cedar Creek in a season-opening win at the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University down in Glassboro.

So, for his efforts against South Brunswick, Brody Nugent is the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week for Week Three.

Logo of Bellamy & Son Paving highlighting the Big Central Player of the Week.

The No. 10 Knights are back home Friday night, when they visit East Brunswick (1-3) for a 6 pm kickoff.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with Week Three Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Brody Nugent of Old Bridge:

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:

  • Matt Resende, Brearley: The senior runningback helped the Bears snap a 14-game losing streak and earl head coach Elliot Platt his first win with Brearley in a 27-26 home win over Highland Park. He carried 24 times for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He also had five tackles from his linebacker position on defense.
  • Shaun Jackson, Sayreville: The senior rushed for 204 yards and four touchdowns Friday in a 28-14 win over Hillsborough, keeping the Bombers undefeated at 4-0.
  • Justin Scaramuzzo, St. Joseph-Metuchen: In a 41-20 home win Saturday over Elizabeth, Scaramuzzo didn’t throw a lot, but he was efficient, and also ran the ball to the tune of 108 yards on eleven carries for four touchdowns. Passing, he was 6-of-9 for 147 yards and a touchdown. On defense, he also logged eight tackles.
  • Joshua Allen, Woodbridge: He just puts up big numbers every week, and the 4-0 Barrons keep winning. Allen rushed a workhorse-like 32 times for 253 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-21 bragging rights win over Colonia Friday night, one of those scores from 89-yards out. At cornerback, he also had four tackles and two pass breakups.

Other Notable Performances:

  • Brayden Duckworth, Belvidere: The two-way lineman was a big part of the County Seaters’ 53-20 win over Dunellen Friday. On the defensive side of the ball, he led a defense that got two touchdowns against the Destroyers, and that’s playing less than two quarters! He also had five tackles, a blocked punt, and returned a tipped pass 20 yards for a touchdown. In the offensive side, he helped pave the way for Belvidere to score four touchdowns on just the 13 offensive plays!
  • Logan Stevens, Bernards: The senior runningback carried 19 times for 208 yards and three touchdowns Friday night in a 31-21 win at Voorhees that clinched the Patriot Gold Division title. He also had five catches for 65 yards, and at cornerback, he logged six tackles.
  • Brayden Piscardo-Leask, Delaware Valley: The junior tight end had a 76-yard touchdown catch, and on defense, at linebacker, he had a tackle and two interceptions, with one for a touchdown.
  • Shaun Garland, Edison: The junior tight end/halfback had seven carries for 76 yards and a touchdown – of 34 yards, to take the lead in the third quarter – along with two catches for nine in a 20-14 win over North Brunswick Friday. At defensive end, he had six tackles, four solo, two TFLs and two sacks.
  • Grant Lorentzen, JFK: The senior wide receiver grabbed six catches for 164 yards and five touchdowns – of 30, 36, 47, 16 and 20 yards – in a 35-0 win over New Brunswick. Three of those scores came in the first quarter, as did an interception from his defensive back position. The five TD catches is a school record.
  • Joe Boyd, Linden: The junior quarterback rushed for 234 yards and passed for 84, including a touchdown pass and two rushing TDs in a 28-21 win against Watchung Hills.
  • Zach Mutton, Montgomery: In a 24-8 win over North Hunterdon Friday, the junior defensive back recorded nine tackles, including four TFLs, a safety and a blocked punt. He also had one rush on offense for 28 yards.
  • Jack Fitzgerald, New Providence: In a 30-0 shutout at Metuchen on Saturday, the senior linebacker was all over the field. He had 13 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, a tackle for loss, a safety, and a forced fumble, while also scoring a rushing touchdown on offense from the QB position.
  • Dan Fugurski, North Hunterdon: The senior wide receiver had 11 catches for 135 yards in a 24-8 loss to Montgomery.
  • Jordan Walsh, Westfield: The senior quarterback – in a 21-0 win over Union Saturday – rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing for 60 yards. On defense, he had five tackles from out of the secondary and a late-game interceptions.

by Mike Pavlichko

Nugent carries Knights, gets Old Bridge 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in Battle at the Beach

Expectations around Old Bridge football this year are high, and maybe even higher for senior quarterback Brody Nugent.

Anyone who might have dared to question either of those statements probably has a stomach full of crow right about now. Nugent scored all three touchdowns Saturday afternoon in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek on Day Three of the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro, and was named the game’s MVP.

Nugent opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:04 to go in the first quarter.

Old Bridge senior QB Brody Nugent holds the MVP belt, and gets the “Hat’s Off” honor from South Jersey sportswriter Mark Trible after a three-touchdown performance in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro on August 30, 20205. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The Pirates tied it at seven in the second as quarterback Frenchmon Bethea hit Justus Payton from four yards out for a touchdown, but Nugent and Old Bridge answered right back with a 68-yard touchdown run.

A Knights’ interception by senior defensive back Xavier Diaz – his second of the game – four seconds before the half with Cedar Creek near midfield helped preserve the lead heading into the locker room.

Meanwhile, the Old Bridge defense played superbly. Sophomore DB Justin Burch grabbed another pick on Bethea. All that effort gave Nugent the chance to put the game away, which he did, with a 48-yard touchdown run with 3:04 to play that made it 21-7, the final.

Nugent finished just shy of 200 yards rushing in the game on just 15 carries.

Click below to watch postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Old Bridge senior quarterback Brody Nugent and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2025 Camp Caravan:  Old Bridge already focused on Cedar Creek in Battle at the Beach

The 2025 Camp Caravan resumed Wednesday for Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden with a trip to Old Bridge on Wednesday morning. And while preseason practice is meant to get ready for the year, the Knights are super focused on a very tough opening opponent: Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Week Zero.

Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach Matt Donaghue, as well as seniors Brody Nugent (QB), Jayden Endaz (RB/SS), Justin Valinotti (MLB) and Thomas Kasoff (LB).

Click below to watch Marcus Borden’s Camp Caravan visit to Old Bridge!

by Mike Pavlichko

We unveil the 2024 “Borden’s Baller of the Year”: Listen to the show with all three finalists to find out who took home top honors!

The newly-expanded Borden’s Baller of the Year voting has reached its conclusion, and we have a winner after a more than a week of voting, and over 122,000 votes cast!

But, we’re not going to tell you that easily!

This year’s voting added another round. With 59 Big Central Conference teams now represented, we divided the total vote to come up with three finalists: one from Middlesex County, one from Union County, and a third from the “Big Central West” – Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties.

The finalists were:

  • Middlesex County: Brody Nugent, Old Bridge
  • Union County: Jordan Walsh, Westfield
  • Big Central West: Christian Lewis, Franklin

And we’re still not going to tell you who won. Click below to listen to the “2024 Borden’s Ballers Awards Show” to find out!

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge rallies in second half, Colonia ties it, but Knights prevail in wild double-OT affair

It was a tale of two halves Friday night on the blue turf at Colonia.

The Patriots looked in control after 24 minutes, taking a 14-2 lead in halftime. George Simpson’s 25-yard touchdown run and Julien Jones’s one-yard run for a score had Colonia ahead, but things turned in the second half.

Old Bridge scored three second-half touchdowns to take an eight-point lead, only to see Colonia force overtime on another score by Jones with 32 seconds remaining, plus the two-point conversion to tie it.

Ultimately, the Knights prevailed for a 36-29 win in double-overtime, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Colonia began OT on offense and scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Chiera, but the Knights answered on a ten-yard TD strike from Brody Nugent.

Old Bridge started on offense in the second overtime period, and got a one-yard run from Zahmir Evans. Colonia got close on their possession, but a fourth-down pass was broken up in the end zone to seal the win.

With the victory, Old Bridge improved to 6-3, and has now won five of six since starting the year 1-2, the only loss in that span coming out of conference to Morristown. The Knights could now get a first round home game if they finish in the top eight of the South 5 supersection this Cutoff Weekend.

Colonia drops to 4-5, but might still have a shot at the playoffs in North 4, where a win would have sealed the deal.

Click below for postgame reaction from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue and junior quarterback Brody Nugent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Nugent’s 3 TDs power Old Bridge past East Brunswick, 31-7, in Battle of Route 18

The games have been close recently, but this one was a dominant performance from Old Bridge.

The Knights set the tone early against East Brunswick in Friday night’s game at Vince Lombardi Field, with junior quarterback Brody Nugent rushing for one- and 47-yard touchdowns to give his team a 14-0 lead they would never relinquish, in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy and Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Bears made it 14-7 on a 14-yard catch by Felix Munoz with 2:10 to go in the first quarter, but Old Bridge got it right back on a 21-yard run by Nugent with just under a minute to go in the period, then added a 30-yard field goal by Lucas Michael to make it 24-7 just before the half.

By this point, the Old Bridge lines on both sides of the ball were dominating play over a young EB line on both sides. They wore the Bears down, though they added just one second-half touchdown, a five-yard toss by Nugent to Jeremiah Dixon.

Nugent was the Old Bridge Offensive MVP, rushing for 117 yards unofficially on 10 carries, running for three touchdowns and passing for one more.

Senior defensive end Zahmir Evans was defensive MVP for the Knights. For the Bears, defensive end Noah DeJesus was defensive MVP; receiver Felix Munoz was the offensive MVP.

Old Bridge improves to 2-2 ahead of a trip to Morristown for a non-conference game next week, while East Brunswick drops to 1-4 and will visit Hunterdon Central next week.

The game was the 31st in the all-time series, which dates back to 1994, following the merger of Madison Central and Cedar Ridge. The Knights now lead 28-3, and have won the last 14.

Click below for postgame reaction with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue and quarterback Brody Nugent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2024 GMC/BCC Camp Caravan: Old Bridge had youth in ’23, now it’s experience

It’s Day Two of high school football practice in New Jersey ahead of the 2024 season, and Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden continues to criss-cross the Central Jersey Sports Radio Coverage area on his 2024 GMC/Big Central Conference Camp Caravan with a visit to Old Bridge.

Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach Matt Donaghue, along with seniors Zahmir Evans (FB/DE), Noah Balbuena (G/DE), Munvy Francois (DB/Specialist) and junior Brody Nugent (QB/FS).

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