Tag: Casey Ransone

by Mike Pavlichko

Happy with 2-1 start, Hunterdon Central focused on Kurdyla, battle at Bridgewater-Raritan

He can throw the ball. If he’s in trouble, he’ll run. And then he’ll still throw the ball.

That’s the short version of how ninth-year Hunterdon Central football coach Casey Ransone describes Declan Kurdyla, the shifty dual-threat quarterback who plays football for Bridgewater-Raritan, yet will be going to Rutgers on a lacrosse scholarship.

But that’s really all you need to know.

He’ll be a big focus for the defense Friday night when the No. 7 Red Devils travel to Bridgewater to play the No. 6 Panthers in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action with guest analyst Ben LaSala, the Vice President of the Big Central Conference. Click here to listen, with pregame at 5:45 pm, and kickoff at 6.

Hunterdon Central got the season underway in fine fashion, with wins over North Hunterdon and Monroe. They got humbled last week at home by No. 1 Phillipsburg, 55-14, but even though the Stateliners lost some starts, they’re still the defending state Group 4 finalist.

And while Ransone would love to be 3-0, he understands the reality of the league and division they’re in, and the teams they play. Every night is a battle when you face the ‘Liners, Panthers, Hillsborough and Ridge – and that’s just the American Silver Division.

So, on Friday, the big thing is to keep everyone’s eyes on Kurdyla. As the old ESPN catchphrase went, “You can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.”

For Central’s part, they have some really good players, too. James Mongno (the second “n” is silent) is a top receiver, and due to injury, a new runningback has emerged in Reggie Osae-Aye (pronounced “oh-SAY-eye”), who didn’t see a varsity snap until this year.

Ransone says he’s been a great addition, and he’s really transformed his game, something he knows isn’t easy when making the jump from jayvee to the big squad.

Click below to hear Hunterdon Central coach Casey Ransone talk about the Red Devils and Friday’s matchup at Bridgewater-Raritan with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hunterdon Central sweats out North Hunterdon fourth quarter rally, hangs on to win

The Hunterdon Central Football team had a sizable fourth-quarter lead at 29-6, and things were looking good for the Red Devils.

Head coach Casey Ransone says his team played “three-and-a-half quarters” of solid football. It was the last half of the last quarter that almost tripped them up.

But hey, there are no style points here.

Ultimately, Central hung on for a 36-28 win at North Hunterdon Thursday in the season opener for both schools, piling up 442 yards of offense in quite the balanced attack: 224 on the ground and 214 through the air.

Senior QB Drew Cella went 17-for-21 with four touchdown passes, all to fellow senior James Mongno, who caught eleven passes overall for 161 yards. Junior Reggie Osae-Aye rushed 21 times for 158 yards, with a long of 48.

And defensively, the Red Devils logged four sacks.

It was a win in as critical a game as you could play in an early season Big Central crossover game, considering the level of competition they’ll face in the American Silver Division, with the likes of Bridgewater-Raritan, Phillipsburg, Ridge and Hillsborough all yet to come down the pike.

Click below to hear Hunterdon Central head coach Casey Ransone talk about the Red Devils’ season opening win at North Hunterdon:

by Mike Pavlichko

Expectations are high in Flemington as Hunterdon Central returns depth, veterans

At a big school like Hunterdon Central, every program should be flush with student-athletes, but at times, the draw of specialization in youth sports has chipped away at that, in schools large and small all across the country, let alone New Jersey.

But one of the big plusses of being a head coach at a school for nearly a decade – and living in that community – is that you’ve now seen nearly a generation of players come through from a very young age. When they make it to the high school, there’s a familiarity, and dedication, even a sense of loyalty.

Those are the benefits Hunterdon Central football and head coach Casey Ransone are reaping as he heads into his ninth season at the helm. That means the seniors he’s coaching who are 17, maybe 18-years-old, he’s known from youth sports since they were nine or ten.

But even more than that, Hunterdon Central will be a veteran team in a difficult division where nearly everyone has lost some key pieces. Defending American Silver champion Ridge graduated its starting QB and top runningback, state Group 4 finalist Phillipsburg lost a ton (but always reloads) and top RB Jackson Jankowicz is gone from Hillsborough.

Sure, they all have some other players ready to step up, but Ransone really likes the depth of his older kids. On offense, their starting QB Drew Cella (1,352 yards, 13 TDs) is back, along with top runningback Giovanni Veliz (794 yards, 6 TD) and No. 1 receiver James Mongno (687 yards, 7 TD).

Defensively, A.J. Melo (5 sacks, 4 TFLs, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT) and Preston Shamanski (4 sacks, 1 TFL, 1 forced fumble/recovery) will be among the key players back.

Click below to hear Hunterdon Central head coach Casey Ransone at Big Central Media Day with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2025 Camp Caravan:  High expectations for Hunterdon Central

The next to last stop of Week One on the 2025 Camp Caravan for Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden took the coach to Flemington, where his visited Hunterdon Central Friday morning. With a slew of big names back, including QB Drew Cella, top returning runningback James Mongno, and more, this could be a big year for the Red Devils.

Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach Casey Ransone, seniors Andrew Cella (QB/S), James Mongno (WR/CB), Kasey Kinglsey (WR/FS), Nick Vasquez (WR/SS) and Ryan White (WR/CB) along with junior Jayden Cozze (TE/RB/S).

Click below to watch Marcus Borden’s Camp Caravan visit to Hunterdon Central!

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 10 Hunterdon Central wins third straight to start season with late rally at Elizabeth

It wasn’t pretty from the start, but the one thing the NJSIAA doesn’t factor into playoff seeding yet is style points.

Under the category “No one asks how, just if,” Hunterdon Central rallied late on a fourth quarter RJ Hart touchdown pass to Connor Gray to beat Elizabeth on the road 20-14 Friday night.

The Red Devils scored first, but Elizabeth got the equalizer and the teams headed to halftime 7-7. When Central scored again in the third quarter, the Minutemen blocked the extra point, then scored what should have been the tying touchdown, but instead took a 14-13 lead.

Then Hart led a fourth-quarter drive that gave visiting Central the win.

The victory puts Hunterdon Central at 3-0 on the season, and drops Elizabeth to 3-0. It’s the first three-game winning streak since 2018, when Central went 5-4. But all of a sudden, their prospects look even brighter than that, coming out with gut-check wins like they did Friday night, and even last Friday, when they edged Piscataway out in Flemington, 28-27 in overtime.

Click below to hear Hunterdon Central head coach Casey Ransone talk about his team’s win Friday over Elizabeth and the progression of his program to a 3-0 start in 2023:

by Mike Pavlichko

Hunterdon Central earns first win of the season, assaulting Chiefs through the air in Piscataway

It’s no secret Hunterdon Central has struggled to accumulate wins the last few years, but if the way they played Friday night is any indication, this may be the year they begin the turnaround.

And that’s saying a lot considering their graduation losses from a year ago.

In just his second varsity start, junior R.J. Hart threw for 272 yards and two touchdown passes in a 17-0 road shutout of Piscataway (0-1), which lost its 12th game in a row, dating back to the end of the 2019 season. The game was heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Hunterdon Central (1-1) also got a field goal from Brian Kolody, a 44-yarder not too long after missing a 38-yard attempt wide left.

All the Red Devils’ scoring came in the second quarter, and they played ball control offense in the second quarter, with one drive lasting over nine minutes, and not even ending in a score thanks to a goal line stand by Piscataway.

The game was the first of a three-game stretch for Central, which has a chance to string together some wins in advance of another three-game string that’s quite brutal: at Ridge, home to Phillipsburg, and at Hillsborough September 23rd through October 7th, before closing with Franklin and Perth Amboy.

Click below for postgame reaction from Hunterdon Central’s 17-0 win over Piscataway:

Junior QB R.J. Hart
Hunterdon Central QB R.J. Hart (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Head Coach Casey Ransone
by Mike Pavlichko

Hunterdon Central keeps at it, looks to turn the corner in 2022 at longtime rival Piscataway

Wins have been few and far between the last four years in Flemington – four, to be exact – for the Hunterdon Central football team.

But that doesn’t mean the Red Devils and head coach Casey Ransone will be doing anything different in 2022.

Numbers are a challenge, yes, even at a big school like Hunterdon Central, with the proliferation of one-sport athletes. But Ransone thinks its a matter of time before the Red Devils’ are reminding people of their storied past.

He’s excited and encouraged about the unifying of three youth football programs in town to one, getting them to play together, where they can rise through the ranks together, and hopefully one day win a championship together on the big field behind the high school along Route 31.

Friday night, they’ll try to get in the win column – after a season-opening loss to a very good North Hunterdon team – when they visit Piscataway in the Big Central Game of the Week on Central Jersey Sports Radio. You can hear all the action with Mike Pavlichko and Max Scheiner live from Kenny Armwood Stadium, with kickoff at 6:00 and pregame at 5:45. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Hunterdon Central head coach Casey Ransone about his team, and Friday’s matchup with Piscataway: