Tag: D.J. Catalano

by Mike Pavlichko

Bridgewater-Raritan’s D.J. Catalano led Panthers to first title, is named 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Coach of the Year

Being Coach of the Year isn’t just about having the best team or the most skilled players.

Well, you probably have to have most of them, or you’re not playing for championships any time soon.

But often, it’s about something extra: overcoming some adversity, or simply making a key decision or two, more than the next guy. Sometimes, it’s Xs and Os, sometimes it’s something most don’t see. Sometimes it’s just a steady, guiding hand.

That’s the case for Central Jersey Sports Radio’s 2025 Coach of the Year: D.J. Catalano of Bridgewater-Raritan.

Catalano has been the head man in Bridgewater for just a few seasons, spending a year there under Rick Mantz in 2022 before taking over in 2023. It’s been a steady progression since then, from 3-7 to 4-7 to a 9-4 campaign this year, and the North 2, Group 5 championship.

The Panthers won their first four games this year, something they had not done since 2016, when they finished 11-1, losing in the finals to Westfield (for the second time in what two years, with a third to come in 2017). But then, potential tragedy struck.

Quarterback Declan Kurdyla went down in the Hunterdon Central game, and it looked serious. Ultimately, he missed two games, and came back two weeks later for a 30-18 loss at Hillsborough. At the cutoff, they were 6-3, finishing 1-3 in the division, and having dropped three of their last five games.

But with a top-seed in the state tournament, what better time for a playoff run?

And that’s just what they did, Catalano keeping the group laser-focused on the task at hand. They cruised past Linden, 35-6, in the opening round. They were masterful against Union City, a team many didn’t give them a shot against considering their high-powered offense averaging just under 40 points per game.

And, down 7-0 at halftime, they came back to beat Bayonne, 21-14, in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 title game, claiming the program’s first-ever NJSIAA hardware.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas talk with Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano, our 2025 Coach of the Year:

by Marcus Borden

Bridgewater-Raritan’s championship season ends with 23-14 loss to Passaic Tech in Group 5 Semis

A week ago, Bridgewater-Raritan was celebrating a sectional title, holding the North 2 Group 5 trophy high after a 21-14 win over Bayonne that gave the Panthers their first-ever state title.

They’ll be celebrating that for a while in Bridgewater, but the run came to an end Friday night back at Basilone Field, following a 23-14 loss to North 1, Group 5 champion Passaic Tech in the state Group 5 semifinals.

The loss ends the Panthers’ season at 9-4, while the Bulldogs will go on to the Group 5 final against Central 5 champion Winslow Township, with beat South 5 champ Kingsway, 35-27, in an epic, see-saw battle down in South Jersey Friday night.

Bridgewater won the opening toss and proceeded to march down the field on their first possession as Declan Kurdyla scored on a three-yard run at the 8:38 mark of the first quarter. The score was was set-up by his 57-yard pass to Jack Cifuentes down the middle of the field.

But, the visiting Bulldogs would waste little time mixing the run and pass with their talented quarterback Gabriel Miles and senior running back Kadir Younge, who would tie the game at 7-7 on a one-yard run with 2:29 remaining in the first quarter.

The Panthers would get poor field position at their 10-yard line following a kickoff that would bounce over the the returner’s head, forcing him to scramble to secure possession. Bridgewater would get a first down with Evan Woodring – in for a banged-up Declan Kurdyla – running the offense and handing off to halfback Jahmier Black. The first quarter would come to a close with both teams deadlocked at 7-7.

It quickly became apparent that Kurdyla would not be able to return to play, as he separated his left shoulder on his touchdown run in Bridgewater’s opening drive.

The Panthers defense would force the Bulldogs to punt on their next series, while back-up quarterback Woodring and the Panthers would move the ball to the 34-yard line of the Bulldogs and take a timeout at 1:25 before halftime with a fourth down and six coming up. They would turn the ball over on downs.

On the very next play, Younge would score his second touchdown of the night, on a 66-yard trap play over the center at 1:11 mark of the second quarter, making the score 14-7.

The Panthers would let the first half clock run out as they would go to the locker room only down a score and without their starting senior quarterback.

Passaic County Tech would receive the second half kickoff and methodically mix it up with the passing game and running attack. Younge would bust a 60-yard score cutting upfield off his pulling guard at 8:53 in the third quarter and a 21-7 lead.

The Panthers defense would continue to play hard as Nick Crovelli intercepted a pass and the offense would make plays. Woodring found Mikey Bratus on a 52-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field closing the gap to 21-14 with 11:52 remaining in the game.

Bridgewater would stop the Bulldogs on 4th and goal at the one with 4:33 remaining in the contest. But Denzel Amoafo would be tackled in the end zone for a safety, giving the Bulldogs a 23-14 lead.

The Panthers had last chance, but Tyson Watkins would intercept a tipped ball with 2:04 left in the contest, allowing the Bulldogs to run out the clock for a hard-fought 23-14 victory.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Passaic Tech head coach Matt Demarest, senior runningback Kadir Younge, and Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

With first NJSIAA hardware in hand, Bridgewater-Raritan hungry for more with Passaic Tech coming to town for Group 5 semis

For some, the state finals are the be-all, end-all, this new concept of “true state champs” dominating the thought process as it heads into its fourth season of existence.

For others, it’s gravy. Bridgewater-Raritan has a trophy, no matter what: it’s first-ever North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 championship, after making three trips in the mid 2010s without bringing home the hardware.

For the Panthers, they’ll surely celebrate that trophy, but they would really love another one.

To get a chance to win it – and the Group 5 state championship – they’ll have to win one more first, in the state Group 5 semifinals. That’s where Bridgewater-Raritan (9-3) will entertain North 1, Group 5 winner Passaic Tech (9-3) Friday night, with the winner moving on to face either Washington Twp. or Kingsway either at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands on Black Friday, or at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium in Piscataway on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

The Panthers are in the midst of their first winning season since going 6-4 in 2021. And yet, they’ve made the playoffs every single year since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.

Playing in the American Silver Division – a brutal Big Central Conference grouping that also features Phillipsburg, Ridge, Hillsborough and Hunterdon Central – has its perks, insomuch as all the teams are generally rated very high, and the losses don’t seem to make as much of a dent in a team’s playoff chances as they do in other divisions.

That said, none of that has mattered much to the Panthers this year. Even though they had three division losses – to the Stateliners, Raiders and Ridge – they were strong against non-conference and crossover opponents.

They beat Notre Dame in the opener in Week Zero, 35-20. They beat Piscataway, 34-27, the following week, topping the Chiefs for a second year in a row. And they also took out Morris Knolls by a score in Week 2, and Elizabeth – always a challenge with the dynamic Arique Fleming at QB – to start October.

Since then, it’s been three playoff wins, and it starts with senior quarterback Declan Kurdyla running the offense. He’s now thrown for 1,339 yards this season and, while Jahmier Black and Denzel Amoafo have combined for 1,644 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground this season.

Defensively, they’ve also been very good, and last week got a 35-yard scoop-and-score from Jamelle Jones to tie the game at seven in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, PCTI won a shootout last week in the North 1, Group 5 title game against West Orange. It was 14-14 at the end of one, and the Bulldogs lead 33-21 at the break, with many more points scored in the second half – six more touchdowns, to be precise.

Kadir Yongue rumbled for 171 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, while three other backs – Gabriel Miles, Naz Mitchell and Randy Lewis – each scored touchdowns and rushed for at least 40 yards apiece.

They don’t throw it much, something that could play into Bridgewater’s hands if Tech is one dimensional. Gabriel Miles completed 75 percent of his passes last week, but threw for one touchdown and 97 yards in the win.

Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano talk about the Panthers, and their Group 5 semifinal matchup against Passaic Tech, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Chris Tsakonas

Fourth time’s the charm! Bridgewater-Raritan wins first sectional title, topping Bayonne 21-14 in North 2, Group 5 final

In 2015, the Bridgewater-Raritan football team made its first-ever sectional final – 23 years after the merger of the East and West high schools – with an undefeated record.

They would fall that year to unbeaten Westfield. The same happened the next year. And they would fall to Westfield one more time in 2017.

It took eight more years for the Panthers to get back to that stage, and this time they made it count.

Friday night at Basilone Field, the Panthers clinched the first sectional title in program history with a 21-14 win over Bayonne.

Bridgewater-Raritan started the game on the back foot, as Bayonne went ahead 7-0 off a 20-yard touchdown run from Chance Fisher with 2:56 left in the first quarter. The Panthers marched 77 yards down the field late in the second quarter, but the drive stalled at the nine-yard line with an interception thrown by Declan Kurdyla.

The first turning point came with 1:14 remaining in the first half. On fourth and goal from the 1-yard line, Bridgewater-Raritan’s front seven held up to deny a touchdown for Nico Sampson to keep it at 7-0 entering the second half.

The Bees received the second half kickoff – but the first play of the half went awry as a botched snap led to a fumble that was returned 33 yards for a touchdown by Jamelle Jones to tie the game. 

The Panthers took the lead for the first time with an 11-yard touchdown run for Jahmier Black with 2:56 to play in the 3rd quarter. Bayonne responded quickly, as Fisher punched in a 66-yard touchdown to tie it up at 14 with 28 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Bridgewater-Raritan went ahead for good late in the fourth, as a fourth-and-one turned into a 58-yard touchdown pass from Kurdyla to Jack Cifuentes to take the lead for good with 2:33 to play. A muffed kickoff was recovered by the Panthers to seal the win.

Black led Bridgewater-Raritan with 15 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown in the win, while Kurdyla completed six of 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown through the air. Cifuentes led all Panther receivers with four catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Next up, Bridgewater will play in the Group 4 semifinals at home next Friday – likely at 6 pm – against North 1, Group 5 champion Passaic Tech. The second-seeded Bulldogs knocked off top-seed West Orange Friday night, 56-42 on the road.

Logo for Sportsplex at Metuchen featuring various sports icons and contact information.

Click below for postgame reaction from Chris Tsakonas with Bridegwater-Rartitan’s Declan Kurdyla, Jahmier Black, Jack Cifuentes, Jamelle Jones and head coach Declan Kurdyla, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Bridgewater-Raritan players
Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano

-Mike Pavlichko contributed to this report

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s been a while for the Panthers, as Bridgewater-Raritan hosts North 2 Group 5 finals against Bayonne, seeking first-ever state title

The Bridgewater-Raritan football team made three straight finals appearances in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Those are their only trips to the finals, and all three years they ran into a Westfield juggernaut, a Blue Devils’ program that won all three titles up at the Meadowlands, and finished a remarkable 36-0 in that stretch.

But now, they are poised to make some history.

The North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 finals Friday night – in which the top-seeded Panthers (8-3) will face sixth-seed Bayonne (8-3) – will be their first time ever hosting a sectional final, as they seek the first NJSIAA trophy in program history.

And while those three Bridgewater teams were solid – they also were unbeaten heading into the 2015 title tilt – this one is serious business.

They continue to play in the toughest division, top-to-bottom, in the Big Central Conference, with the likes of Phillipsburg, Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central and Ridge. Their eight wins is the most since their last trip to the finals, in 2019, when they finished 9-3.

Well, 9-3 would make them very happy this year. It would mean they’re sectional champs, and live to play another week in the state semifinals.

And it all could have gone off the rails if things broke another way early on in the season.

It was Week Four, at home against Hunterdon Central. Senior QB Declan Kurdyla – a Rutgers lacrosse commit – went down with a lower leg injury, and initially it looked like it could have ended his season. That also could have derailed the entire team’s season. But further evaluation showed it was not as bad as previously thought, and he was back three weeks later, in a 30-18 loss at Hillsborough.

They split the two games after his injury – with junior Evan Woodring, who coach calls “a stud” – filling in more than ably. And Since Kurdyla’s return, the Panthers are 3-1 – their lone loss in that stretch to North 2, Group 4 finalist Phillipsburg – and playing very well. They’ve outscored their first two playoff opponents 57-13, including a 22-7 semifinal win over a Union City squad that beat them 61-10 in the same round last season.

Even missing all that time, Kurdyla is just eleven yards shy of having thrown for 1,200 this season, while Jahmier Black and Denzel Amoafo have combined out of the backfield for 1,520 yards and 19 touchdowns, along with 547 more and 5 scores on the ground from Kurdyla.

Defensively, seniors Christian Antunes, Jamelle Jones (4 1/2 sacks each) and Miles Tofte (3 1/2 sacks) lead a senior-heavy group that knows what it’s doing.

They’ll do it against a Bayonne team with the same record, which beat Piscataway in the semifinals, 27-13. Against Bayonne, P’way shot itself in the foot with a fumble returned for a touchdown deep in their own end, and another bad snap that killed a comeback drive with just over two minuutes to go.

The Panthers beat the Chiefs 34-27 back in September.

Click below to hear from Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano:

by Mike Pavlichko

And they keep getting tougher: Bridgewater-Raritan travels to top-seed Union City Friday in North 2, Group 5 semifinals

There’s no doubt Union City will be heavily favored to win its North 2, Group 5 semifinal playoff game Friday night when Bridgewater-Raritan comes in, but there’s an old saying: The games is played on fields, not on paper.

Technically, Friday’s game will be played on the roof, perhaps the most unique high school football venue in the country. But either way, sign up the Panthers.

Just 3-6 on Cutoff Weekend – with a brutal schedule, in the toughest division in the Big Central Conference – Bridgewater-Raritan earned a four-seed and a first round home game, in which they survived fifth-seed Irvington, 34-33 in overtime, when a point after try by the Blue Knights in overtime bounced off the left upright, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

But this Friday, things get much tougher. They’ll play top seed Union City (8-1) up on the rooftop at 7 pm for a trio to the sectional finals. Bridgewater hasn’t been since they made three in a row from 2015 through 2017, losing all three title games to Westfield, which went 12-0 all three seasons with those wins.

The Soaring Eagles are a different animal than most anyone the Panthers have played this season. They dropped their season opener, a 42-18 loss to multiplier St. Peter’s Prep in Week One, and haven’t lost since. In eight straight wins – including in the opening round over eight-seed East Side, Union City has allowed a grand total of 26 points, no opponent has scored more than 14, and they have pitched five shutouts.

That’s right, no one has scored on Union City since September.

Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan coach D.J. Catalano talk about the Panthers, and Friday’s playoff matchup at Union City: