Tag: Chris Beagan

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville’s Chris Beagan stepping down from Bombers football program after eight years, two state titles

Maybe he’s not that age yet, but retirement is calling Sayreville football coach Chris Beagan.

The man who brought the Bombers back after a hazing scandal rocked the program in 2014 – and won two state championships in the process – told his team just before the holidays that he would be stepping down.

The Sayreville school district posted for the job on January second.

A Sayreville alum, Beagan just wrapped up his eighth season as the head coach at his alma mater, going 51-31 in that span, and winning state titles in 2016 and 2018.

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The first of the two was quite special – and to some degree, amazing even – considering the 2014 team got shut down the day before its fourth game of the season against South Brunswick, after allegations of hazing came to light and law enforcement became involved. The 2016 senior class essentially had played as freshman, but missed almost all of their sophomore seasons.

Sayreville beat Middletown North in the 2016 North 2, Group 4 title game at Rutgers and finished the year 10-2, their lone losses to South Brunswick and fellow state champ Piscataway. It was a grand renaissance for a program which has always had immense support in the town, and continues to draw some of the largest and most passionate crowds in Middlesex County.

In 2018, the Bombers won an instant classic Central Jersey Group 5 final, defeating North Brunswick 6-0 in the first year of regularly scheduled sectional finals at local high schools since the 1990s. They went on to win the South Group 5 “Bowl Championship” at MetLife Stadium, defeating Williamstown 14-7 in their own version of the “Miracle at the Meadowlands,” when Connor Holmes fell on a Williamstown fumble in the end zone to put the team ahead.

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That team finished 11-1, Beagan’s best at Sayreville. And that despite a battle with a kidney disease which he had been waging for years, but had gotten worse by 2018 enough that he missed several practices, and eventually received a kidney donation from his wife, Laurie.

Beagan came to the Bombers – well, back to the Bombers, since he had played there and graduated in 1990 – from Monroe, where he also had a highly successful seven-year run as head coach. He won a GMC White Division title in his first season, in 2008, then delivered the school’s first-ever state title in 2009 – in just his second season – by way of a 30-10 victory over Middletown South at The College of New Jersey that left them 11-1 by the time all was said and done.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with retiring Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan:

by Mike Pavlichko

Slowly, but surely, Piscataway getting back to its regular self

There was no doubt the COVID year – where no fall sports were played in the district – set Piscataway football back, going winless for the first time since 1968 in 2021.

But now at 4-2, the Chiefs are right in the thick of things in the playoff chase, and enjoying a sense of normalcy.

That 2020 season – not playing at all – took a toll on head coach Dan Higgins, who’s in his 19th season at the helm, and has seven state titles to his program’s credit in that time.

But things feel a little bit more normal up on Green Acres, and the Chiefs are looking forward to their battle with Sayreville this Friday night.

It’s the Big Central Game of the Week on Central Jersey Sports Radio, which you can hear from War Memorial Stadium starting with the pregame show at 6:45, and kickoff at 7. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas have all the play-by-play, which you can here by clicking here.

Higgins’ team has progressed, to be sure. They may not be where they need to be just yet, but the coach’s mantra has always been “Just get me in the playoffs, and let us do our thing.”

They’ll be in at 4-2, even if where they end up is a long way from being decided.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Piscataway head coach Dan Higgins about his team’s development, and the matchup at Sayreville Friday night:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville’s Beagan sees similarities in opponent as classic battle looms vs. Piscataway

For quite some time, Sayreville-Piscataway has been a game Central Jersey sports fans have circled on their calendars. There have been many epic battles, and a number of championships won by those teams.

In fact, the last time they each won a title was in the same year: 2018. In fact, not only did the Chiefs and Bombers both win sectional titles that year, but they also won the “bowl championships” the NJSIAA began that year, what eventually became regional championships, and now are Group Semifinals with the first State Group Championships taking place this December.

So, here’s Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan, seeing a lot of similarities between the clubs: good on defense, and still finding their ways offensively, if for different reasons.

Sayreville lost its starting quarterback, Mike Colonnello, earlier this year, and now Caidan Holmes is in that spot (yes, that was his brother, Connor, who fell on the ball in the end zone against Williamstown at MetLife Stadium to win that 2018 bowl game). And it’ll be runningback-by-committee for Sayreville with Zaimer Wright out with an injury.

Piscataway at Sayreville will be Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Big Central Game of the Week Friday night, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the play-by-play live from War Memorial Stadium at 7 pm, with pregame at 6:45. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan talk about the Bombers’s season and the matchup with rival Piscataway:

by Dom Savino

Sayreville adjusts, perseveres, aims to keep it going on visit to East Brunswick

Injuries could’ve derailed Sayreville’s hopes of a big year before the Bombers’ season opener was over.

Instead — one on-the-fly reinvention later — Sayreville enters the second half of its campaign as the No. 8 team in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, and still in the position to achieve the team’s annual goal: making a run in the postseason.

Aiming to climb back above .500, the 8th-ranked Bombers (2-2) will visit the East Brunswick Bears (0-4) Friday night in the Big Central Game of the Week on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with kickoff from Jay Doyle Field scheduled for 7:00 pm, and pregame at 6:45.

Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino will call all the action; click here to listen.

More than anything, Sayreville’s string of injuries has impacted the team’s Gun Wing T offense. Over the first four weeks of the season, the Bombers have dealt with injuries to their starting quarterback, one of their top running backs, and multiple starters on the offensive line.

The Week 1 injury to senior QB Mike Colonnello prompted an offensive reshuffling that moved WR Caidan Holmes under center. The play-calling has also become run-first, giving Holmes and junior RB Zaimer Wright the chance to spark the offense on the ground.

Despite the adversity, Holmes and Wright have shined, combining to average more than 200 all-purpose yards per game and score five of Sayreville’s six touchdowns on the season.

The Bombers’ defense has done its part to keep the offense in games, allowing just 12 points-per-game. It’s also held Edison and top-ranked Phillipsburg to their lowest scoring totals of the season.

Click below to listen to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Dom Savino talk with Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan about the 2022 Bombers:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 4 Sayreville hangs on to beat No. 10 Edison in Top Ten clash

Fourth-ranked Sayreville had a 14-0 lead at halftime against No. 10 Edison, but head coach Chris Beagan knew that wouldn’t be the end of the Edison Eagles.

And it wasn’t.

They got a late touchdown, but that was all, as the Bombers hung on for a 14-6 win, to win its second straight game.

Sayreville (2-1) will visit No. 2 North Brunswick (3-0) next week, a team the Bombers beat at home last year for their first victory of the season, after an 0-2 start, and with the Raiders the No. 1 team at the time in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville looking for more of the Wright stuff

Despite a team decidedly on the young side, the 2021 Bombers had their best season since the magical 2018 campaign, whose penultimate game saw them beat North Brunswick for the Central Jersey Group 5 title on their home field, and culminated with a miraculous win at Met Life Stadium over South 5 champ Williamstown in the first year of regional “bowl games.”

After a 3-6 year in 2019 and a .500 season in the pandemic-shortened year, Chris Beagan’s squad went 8-3 last season. And that’s even after losing their first two games to Bridgewater-Raritan and Woodbridge, both at home.

But the Bombers bucked down, and reeled off seven straight wins – including a COVID forfeit – heading into the playoffs, where they got a home win over Middletown North before falling to Middletown South in the sectional semifinals.

In 2022, the offense will flow through Zaimer Wright. As a sophomore last year, he had an outstanding campaign, rushing for 1,403 yards and 25 touchdowns, making him the top returning runningback in the Big Central Conference.

He’s just a junior, and there’s a good supporting cast of seniors back who will make an impact as well, with Michael Colonnello running the offense (570 passing, 306 rushing yards), and the defense returning Caden Holmes (with a team-best 69 tackles) and Brian Clyne (a team-leading 3 interceptions).

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan about this year’s Bombers:

by Mike Pavlichko

Could sneaky Sayreville make a run? Bombers could be an under-the-radar threat in North 2, Group 4

Some teams have the hype and the fanfare.

Sayreville has just won football games.

The Bombers got off to a somewhat inauspicious start, dropping their first two games in crossovers with Bridgewater-Raritan and Woodbridge. But they righted the ship in Week 3 with an impressive 35-22 win over North Brunswick, and haven’t lost a game since.

Friday, Sayreville (7-2) will be one of 12 Big Central Conference teams opening up the playoffs at home, when the third-seeded Bombers host 6th-seed Middletown North (5-3) at War Memorial Stadium.

It’s their first meeting since 2016, when Sayreville dropped the Lions 41-14 at Rutgers to win the North 2, Group 4 championship game, finishing 10-2 on the season.

Click below to hear Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan’s interview with Mike Pavlichko live on last Saturday’s playoff projection show:

by Mike Pavlichko

This Week in the Big Central – Episode 5: The Double Week

Two Big Central Games of the Week highlight Episode 5 of “This Week in the Big Central,” driven by Mark Montenero and his team at the world-famous Autoland.

We take a closer look at Sayreville’s upset of top-ranked and undefeated North Brunswick, and look at the hot start by Cranford.

Dom Savino catches up with former Edison standout Noah Stansbury, now at New Hampshire, then joins Mike for a look at the Top 10 slate, and we preview the rest of the weekend action.

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville topples No. 1 Raiders, wins it with defense as much as offense

In a game that was tied 8-8 at the half, Sayreville made some halftime adjustments that paid off for a very young team.

The Bombers knocked off Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Number One team the last two weeks, beating North Brunswick 35-22 on the road, to pick up their first victory of the year.

Sayreville (1-2) was tied 8-8 with the Raiders (2-1) at the half, and led 13-8 in the third quarter, but pulled away to win by 13.

Click below to hear Sayreville head coach Chris Beagan talk with Mike Pavlichko about the victory:

by Dom Savino

Taveras, Sayreville rallied late to set tone for the future

Ask any high school football coach around the country. Changing to a new offense requires hours of planning and many more hours of practice.

But installing a brand-new offense and defense in the same offseason, all with a once-in-a-century pandemic limiting every interaction?

Woof.

After working out the early-season kinks of a Multiple offense and odd-front defense, Sayreville (4-4) rode a three-game winning streak to a .500 record and a tie for second place in Big Central Division 5B, where the Bombers hope their new formations will lead to another era of success.

Sayreville won just one of its first four games, but close losses to No. 4 North Brunswick and Edison were a sign of wins to come. Surely enough, the Bombers strung together victories over New Brunswick, East Brunswick, and Linden in the second half of the season, and the new-look defense held its opponents to an average of just nine points-per-game over that span.

Sayreville’s transition from a Spread offense to multiple offensive looks, including the Wing-T, better suited the Bombers’ current quarterback situation, according to head coach Chris Beagan. There are dual-threat quarterbacks in the town’s system, and this year’s platoon starters — junior Timmy Mayer and sophomore Michael Colonnello —lacked experience leading the Spread at the varsity level.

The Wing-T also allowed Sayreville to incorporate its long list of skill-position athletes. 14 different players produced offensive yardage. Senior RB Janiel Taveras led the team with 393 total yards. Taveras, senior WR Javiion Simmon, and junior RB Rodney Acquah each recorded three rushing touchdowns.

Taveras and Beagan spoke to Central Jersey Sports Radio about the season. Click below to hear their comments:

Senior RB Janiel Taveras

Head Coach Chris Beagan