Tag: Dayton

by Mike Pavlichko

Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Cranford stops Bernards’ long streak; Rahway upsets Summit; JP Stevens is 2-0 for first time in over two decades

There was a lot to talk about Friday night in the Big Central Conference, besides No. 3 Piscataway shutting down a very good Somerville offense in a big 28-14 home win over the No. 5 Pioneers, in the Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week.

Two of the three longest active league win streaks came to an end, Rahway had a big upset of No. 8 Summit at home, and JP Stevens is 2-0 for the first time in a long time.

Read on for game recaps and notes, audio, and links to other coverage, as well as the full slate of Friday night scores, plus Saturday’s games and coverage plans.

Rahway gets big win at No. 8 Summit…

After winning a wild opening game down at Willingboro in Week Zero, including lightning delays, things didn’t look to get any easier for Rahway in Game Two with eighth-ranked Summit coming to town.

But that didn’t daunt the Indians, who jumped out to a 14-0 lead, saw that advantage shrink to four, then pulled away for a 21-0 win over the Hilltoppers with an excellent defensive effort at Madden Field.

The win leaves Rahway 2-0 for the second time in three seasons as head coach Brian Russo returns to his old stomping grounds next Friday when the Indians take on Woodbridge (1-1), which rebounded off a season-opening home loss to Bridgewater-Raritan last Friday (heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio) with a 14-8 road win at Edison Thursday night.

They’ll be looking to avenge a 21-7 loss in the first round of last year’s North 2, Group 4 playoffs. Before that, Rahway had been 4-0 against the Barrons in three meetings from 1927 to 1929 and in 1915.

Click below for postgame reaction from Rahway head coach Brian Russo and Defensive Coordinator Troy Eastman:

Bernards, Manville see Big Central win streaks end…

It had been straight 32 Big Central wins for the Bernards football program heading into Friday night’s home game at Olcott Field against Cranford, and the visiting Cougars made sure that streak went no farther.

In the season opener for the Cougars, Aidan Capizzi threw touchdown passes to Luke Owens and John Fiore, Jr., to help power Cranford to a 31-24 win.

After a 24-7 lead shrunk to 24-21 in the third following a 15-yard Bernards TD catch by Sean Arcelay, and a 35-yard pick-six by Luke Bubnowski, Logan Murray’s 45-yard TD run for Cranford in the fourth gave them enough cushion to survive late field goal.

Bernards was within three victories of tying the league record for most consecutive BCC wins of 35, held by St. Thomas Aquinas. That streak ended last year.

The Mountaineers’ last Big Central loss had come on September 2, 2022, to Hillside, 35-20.

Click here for postgame reaction from Cranford head coach Erik Rosenmeier with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

But that wasn’t the only one that ended Friday night.

Manville – which had won 12 in a row against BCC competition, including its last five in 2024 and all seven last season – fell Friday night at Brearley, 21-18.

That leaves New Providence with the league’s top active win streak against BCC opponents. The Pioneers have won 14 Big Central games in a row, including their last five in 2024, all eight last season, and Thursday night’s league opener against Voorhees, 27-7.

Now, the second longest league win streak belongs to St. Joseph-Metuchen. The No. 2 Falcons host No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen at 1 pm Saturday. Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for live coverage, with a recap and postgame reaction to follow later on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Stevens in uncharted recent territory…

When the final horn sounded in North Edison Friday night, JP Stevens did two things it hasn’t done in a very long time: start a season 2-0, and win back-to-back regular season games.

To start, it’s the Hawks’ first 2-0 start since Frank Zarro was the head coach in 2003. That team beat North Brunswick, 14-7, in the season opener on September 12th, a date which seems quaint these days, with the season now starting in late August. they followed it up with a 35-7 win over Perth Amboy the following week. The started that season 3-0, and finished 6-4, with a North 2, Group 4 first-round playoff loss to Union, which lost to Piscataway in the finals at Giants’ Stadium, earning Dan Higgins his first of seven state titles.

Secondly – no pun intended – the 2-0 start gives JP its first back-to-back regular season wins since that same stretch in 2003. The Hawks have won consecutive games in a season only three times since – in 2006, 2009 and 2012, but all three included a “postseason” consolation game win.

Notes and Nuggets…

  • East Brunswick’s 2-0 start – after a 36-19 home win over North Hunterdon – also is its first in quite some time. The last time they did that, CJSR analyst Marcus Borden was the head coach. It was in 2009, and the Bears began the year 3-0, en route to an 8-4 season and a 9-0 win over Brick Memorial in the Central Jersey Group 4 final.
  • Piscataway’s Zaire Young finished with 268 rushing yards Friday night in a 28-14 win over Somerville, and volunteer Chiefs assistant John Thompson says that’s the fifth-highest single-game rushing performance in school history. The only four better: Kelvin Veras (289 vs. Old Bridge on October 16, 1998), Tyshnn Jackson (300 vs. Franklin on Thanksgiving, November 28, 1989), Juwon Jackson (303 vs. Edison on November 3, 2017) and Tevin Shaw (304 vs. Elizabeth in the North 2, Group 4 final on December 3, 2011). That also makes it the No. 2 rushing performance against a Somerset County school, as well as the fourth-best regular season rushing output in a game in program history.

FRIDAY SCORES:

  • #1 Phillipsburg 24, Emmaus (PA) 10
  • #3 Piscataway 28, #5 Somerville 14 (Recap with Audio)
  • #4 Old Bridge 49, Montgomery 21
  • Ridge 21, #7 Sayreville 7
  • Rahway 21, #8 Summit 10
  • #9 Elizabeth 43, Plainfield 20
  • #10 St. Thomas Aquinas 24, Westfield 20
  • Union 15, Watchung Hills 12
  • Monroe 28, Governor Livingston 7 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
  • Metuchen 29, New Brunswick 0
  • Spotswood 51, JFK 13
  • East Brunswick 36, North Hunterdon 19
  • Brearley 21, Manville 18
  • South Brunswick 27, North Brunswick 19
  • Colonia 16, Franklin 14
  • Highland Park 27, Middlesex 0
  • South Hunterdon 35, South River 8
  • Cranford 31, Bernards 24
  • JP Stevens 21, Dunellen 7
  • South Plainfield 20, North Plainfield 10

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

  • #6 Bridgewater-Raritan at #2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 1 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
  • Roselle at Hillside, 1 pm

THURSDAY SCORES:

  • Hillsborough 21, Hunterdon Central 14 (Recap w/ Audio)
  • Dayton 43, Bound Brook 12 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
  • Woodbridge 14, Edison 8
  • Belvidere 28, Roselle Park 27
  • Delaware Valley 34, Johnson 33
  • New Providence 27, Voorhees 7
  • Carteret 26, Perth Amboy 20
  • Linden 34, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 6

by Mike Pavlichko

Bernknopf tosses five first-half TD passes to power Dayton past Bound Brook, 43-12

Dayton senior quarterback Adrian Bernknopf had himself quite the night, and the game was only half over.

Bernknopf threw five touchdown passes before the break to four different receivers, and by the time Bound Brook got on the board, the Bulldogs already had staked themselves to a 43-0 lead.

All that led to a running clock in a fast second half in Springfield Thursday night, as the Bulldogs (1-1) picked up their first win of the season 43-12 over visiting Bound Brook.

Bernknopf opened the scoring 2:03 into the game with a four-yard touchdown pass to James Babiarz. Then, after the defense came out and Dominic Pintado returned an interception 68-yards for six, he hit Babiarz again to make it 22-0 with 3:22 left in the first quarter.

The senior QB would hit for one more score late in the first – 48 yards to Kevin Paiva to make it 29-0 – then toss a 21-yard TD strike to Kevin Lunch with 9:08 to go before the half, and another 13 yards to Aiden Delpeche to make it 43-0.

Bound Brook (0-2) would get on the board with a six-yard touchdown run before the half. The PAT was blocked, and Dayton went into the home locker room with a 43-6 lead, kicking off a running clock to start the second half.

With that, and the jayvee in, Bound Brook added one more score, on a 16-yard run by sophomore Guy Pugh.

Click below for postgame reaction from Dayton head coach Nick Iannacone and senior quarterback Adrian Bernknopf, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Thursday Night Big Central Roundup: Hillsborough defense holds off Hunterdon Central; Dayton pours it on; Delaware Valley, Belvidere eke out wins

It was a rare busy Thursday night in the Big Central Conference, with eight games on the slate, highlighted by some great games.

Hillsborough beat Hunterdon Central, 24-21, in a game where all the offense came in the first half, and the game was essentially sealed on a pass break-up on fourth down near the goal line, while Belvidere and Delaware Valley both eked out one-point wins. And Dayton got five first-half touchdown passes from senior Adrian Bernknopf an route to a home blowout of Bound Brook.

Scroll through more details, all of Thursday’s scores, links to individual game stories, and the Big Central schedule for the remainder of Labor Day Weekend.

County Seaters get past Roselle Park…

Belvidere scored the first touchdown of the game, and the last, to come up with a 28-27 road win in Union County Thursday night. Elijah White’s 47-yard touchdown catch from QB Jake Enderley got the Seaters on the board first with 1:43 to go in the first quarter, but the Panthers tied it on a 52-yard touchdown run from Maxwell Griffin down the left sideline as time expired in the period..

They went up 13-7 on Nick Salas’ 52-yard touchdown run, but missed an extra point that turned out to be critical, and led 13-7 early in the second, before Belvidere scored twice before the half – on a Kaiden Drake three-yard run and another touchdown catch, this one five yards, by White – to take a 21-13 lead into the break.

Roselle Park got a 53-yard run for a touchdown by Nasir Cheston in the third quarter to open the second-half scoring, and Salas ran in a two-point conversion to knot the game at 21. Then, in the fourth, Cheston scored from 17 yards out, but again, the Panthers missed the PAT, leaving them up by six.

Kaiden Drake’s 53-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Jake Enderly then knotted the game, and White’s PAT gave Belvidere a 28-27 lead with 5:29 to go.

THURSDAY SCORES:

  • Hillsborough 21, Hunterdon Central 14 (Recap w/ Audio)
  • Dayton 43, Bound Brook 12 (Coverage from Marcus Borden)
  • Woodbridge 14, Edison 8
  • Belvidere 28, Roselle Park 27
  • Delaware Valley 34, Johnson 33
  • New Providence 27, Voorhees 7
  • Carteret 26, Perth Amboy 20
  • Linden 34, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 6

FRIDAY SCHEDULE:

  • #5 Somerville at #3 Piscataway, 6 pm (LIVE on CJSR)
  • #4 Old Bridge at Montgomery, 6 pm
  • #8 Summit at Rahway, 6 pm
  • #9 Elizabeth at Plainfield, 6 pm
  • Westfield at #10 St. Thomas Aquinas, 6 pm
  • Colonia at Franklin, 6 pm
  • Union at Watchung Hills, 6 pm
  • Governor Livingston at Monroe, 6 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
  • New Brunswick at Metuchen, 6 pm
  • Spotswood at JFK, 6 pm
  • North Hunterdon at East Brunswick, 6 pm
  • Manville at Brearley, 6 pm
  • South Brunswick at North Brunswick, 6 pm
  • #1 Phillipsburg at Emmaus (PA), 7 pm
  • Ridge at #7 Sayreville, 7 pm
  • South River at South Hunterdon, 7 pm
  • Middlesex at Highland Park, 7 pm
  • Dunellen at JP Stevens, 7 pm
  • Cranford at Bernards, 7 pm
  • South Plainfield at North Plainfield, 7 pm

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

  • #6 Bridgewater-Raritan at #2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, 1 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
  • Roselle at Hillside, 1 pm

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: With Spotswood moving out, Brearley, Dayton Roselle Park will battle it out, as Highland Park, JP Stevens, South River look to make strides

Little change was made to the Big Central Conference’s Freedom Gold Division in the off-season, but with 2025 champion Spotswood moving up and out in the most recent realignment, the top three remaining teams – Brearley, Dayton and Roselle Park – will likely battle it out for the title in 2026. All three were .500 or better, with Brearley having tied the Chargers with a 4-1 division mark, but Spotswood winning last year’s head-to-head. Highland Park will deal with some losses, South River will look to improve, and JP Stevens moves into a division that could help them be more competitive.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Freedom Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Brearley Bears (5-5, 4-1, 2nd place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Elliot Platt, 2nd season (5-5)

  • Week 0: at Wallington
  • Week 1: Manville
  • Week 2: Dayton*
  • Week 3: South River*
  • Week 4: JP Stevens*
  • Week 5: Roselle
  • Week 6: at Highland Park*
  • Week 7: Roselle Park*
  • Week 8: at North Plainfield

The Bears were a run-first team last year, as senior Matthew Resende rushed for 1,284 yards. They’re going to miss that, with only two other backs – one a senior, quarterback Joe Squillaro – totalling around 200 yards. Monroe Passmore ran for 206 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns as a sophomore last season. Their strength could be the defense this year, as sophomore lineman Rocco Federico (14 1/2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles) should be back, while Passmore had two sacks and 6 1/2 TFLs from his linebacker spot. Adding JP Stevens as a division-mate with Spotswood gone could make it harder to qualify for the playoffs, or at least to get a good seed. Brearley made it last year, but ended up as the eight seed and had to play top-seed Mountain Lakes on the road, taking a first round loss.

Dayton Bulldogs (7-2, 3-2, 3rd place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Nick Iannacone, 5th season (18-20)

  • Week 0: Governor Livingston
  • Week 1: at Bound Brook
  • Week 2: at Brearley*
  • Week 3: JP Stevens*
  • Week 4: at Roselle Park
  • Week 5: New Providence
  • Week 6: at South River*
  • Week 7: Highland Prk
  • Week 8: Manville

The Bulldogs could be the best of the bunch this year. In 2025, they knocked off division champ Spotswood, 20-19, in a game that ended up costing the Chargers (8-1 at the cutoff) a playoff spot in favor of 3-5 Camden Eastside. In 2026, their QB and top running back and receiver all are back. As juniors, quarterback Adrian Bernkopf threw for 1,270 yards and 14 TDs, while runningback Tyler Fuscaldo carried 119 times for 749 yards and nine scores (Bernkopf ran for the other eight), while Jackson Babiarz caught 21 passes for 479 yards and seven touchdowns. And there are others in the unit who are back and can contribute as well, like rising junior Kevin Lynch (16 receptions, 240 yards, 1 TD). Many key defensive players are back, too, like rising junior DB Dominic Pintado (2 sacks, 5 TFLs), ad rising senior DL Isaiah Rivas (3 TFLs, 2 fumble recoveries for TDs) and Babiarz, who had four of the team’s eight picks last year to lead the team. This could be Dayton’s year.

Roselle Park Panthers (6-4, 2-3, 4th place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Greg Dunkerton, 7th season (23-35)

  • Week 0: at Wood-Ridge
  • Week 1: Belvidere
  • Week 2: at South River*
  • Week 3: Highland Park*
  • Week 4: Dayton*
  • Week 5: at Middlesex
  • Week 6: JP Stevens*
  • Week 7: at Brearley*
  • Week 8: at Roselle

The Panthers were impressive when we saw them in early October at Highland Park, coming out with a 35-12 win. They ran the rock to the tune of 2,509 yards last season, led by Nick Salas with 146 carries, 946 yards and 14 touchdowns; he’ll be back this year. So will No. 3 rusher Maxwell Griffin (398 yards, 5 TD), and he’ll be a senior. Salas also caught eleven passes out of the backfield for 165 yards and three scores, but his QB has graduated; Anthony Damiano threw for 485 yards. Roselle Park will lose a little more on the defensive side, with veterans like linemen Lorby Castelly (7 sacks, 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery) and Jose Candelaria (4 sacks, 2 TFLs, 1 blocked kick) gone to graduation. Bot with that offense, they should be able to give Dayton and Brearley a run for their money.

Highland Park Owls (3-6, 2-3, 5th place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Shawn Harrison, 6th season (10-35)

  • Week 0: New Brunswick
  • Week 1: Middlesex
  • Week 2: at JP Stevens*
  • Week 3: at Roselle Park*
  • Week 4: South River*
  • Week 5: at Bound Brook
  • Week 6: Brearley*
  • Week 7: at Dayton*
  • Week 8: Metuchen

The Owls snapped that long losing streak in their final game of 2023, then went 6-3 the next year before falling to 3-6 last season after senior QB Markos Hantsoulis graduated. Now, the other two of the clan – Kosta and Stamatis also are gone, and head coach Shawn Harrison may have to lean a little more on QB Marcus Smith to step up as a senior. He threw for 866 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and top runningback Jacob Quiros also should be back for his senior year, after rushing for 459 yards and five scores a season ago. The defense will have to replace defensive back Matthew Adamczyk-Zapor, who had three sacks and seven tackles for loss last year.

South River Rams (1-9, 0-5, 6th place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Rich Marchesi, 40th season (229-158)

  • Week 0: at Point Pleasant Beach
  • Week 1: at South Hunterdon
  • Week 2: Roselle Park*
  • Week 3: Brearley*
  • Week 4: at Highland Park*
  • Week 5: Dunellen
  • Week 6: Dayton*
  • Week 7: at JP Stevens*
  • Week 8: at Spotswood

Though the Rams have struggled mightily in the last few seasons – a mixture of personnel and injuries – Rich Marchesi is the longest-tenured head coach in the Big Central Conference for a reason; he’ll find a way to give whoever he has the best chance to win. The likely candidate to take over under center is Julien Borusevic, who has quite the arm: he was 5-4 with a 2.45 ERA for the Rams’ baseball team this spring. He got some snaps last year behind Orion Familia, going 11-of-28 for 52 yards and a touchdown in parts of six games last season. The good news is Kah’mori Cotto was just a junior last year when he ran for 920 yards and seven touchdowns, and three receivers are back as well. The defense was a relatively young group last year as well, so if they can stick together, the Rams should see improvement in ’26.

JP Stevens Hawks (0-10, 0-3, 5th place in Patriot Gold Division)
Head Coach: David Kunyz, 2nd season (0-10)

  • Week 0: OPEN
  • Week 1: Dunellen
  • Week 2: Highland Park*
  • Week 3: at Dayton*
  • Week 4: at Brearley*
  • Week 5: South Hunterdon
  • Week 6: Roselle Park*
  • Week 7: South River*
  • Week 8: Middlesex

This is more the Hawks’ speed than a division with Bernards, Voorhees and Delaware Valley, and that could help a lot. Senior QB Shamar Burch (847 yards, 4 TDs) struggled with the turnovers last year, but Khawaja Muawiyah got in some good action as a junior, and started late in the season, ultimately going 46-97 for 530 yards and 5 TDs, and if he can improve and also cut down on the interceptions, that will help. Zamarr Raiford was the leading rusher on a team that almost exclusively threw the ball (1,397 pass yards, 122 rushing) last season, as he went for 717 yards and seven touchdowns on 48 catches. No. 2 receiver Jream Sorrell was just a freshman, but still had 22 catches for 185 yards and a score. On defense, 38 different players logged stats last season, so the numbers are there; head coach David Kunyz will have to figure which parts give them the best eleven on the field.

by Mike Pavlichko

Spotswood’s 2nd annual E4M Showcase features top-notch squads to raise money for scholarship in memory of former teammate Matthew Carlson

None of the members of the Spotswood baseball team played in high school with Matthew Carlson, but they all know his name, and pay tribute to him every home game by going out to touch third base – his position – after they break their team huddle.

On Saturday, they will honor him again – and raise money for a scholarship that goes to an SHS student in his name – as part of the second annual E4M Showcase at the place Charger fans affectionately call “The Swamp.”

“E4M” means “Everything for Matt.” Carlson was just 16 years old when he was tragically killed in an ATV crash down in Georgia on Thanksgiving in 2022. A sophomore at the time, he had already lettered in baseball, and also played basketball. Steve Mate’s Chargers put his jersey on the end of the bench at every home game that season.

Carlson would have graduated last year.

Matthew Carlson’s No. 20 jersey sits at the end of the bench in his memory. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The event is a jumping off point to raise money for a scholarship that’s given out to a Spotswood High School senior. Donations can be made through Venmo to the account @E4Mscholarshipfund.

And the event is a pretty good one, too.

In the 10 am opener, Spotswood (8-9) will look to get back to .500 after taking a 6-0 loss at the hands of Brearley Friday when they host another Union County school, Jonathan Dayton (5-10) out of Springfield.

The 1 pm game will feature Mainland (10-3) out of the Cape-Atlantic League taking on St. Peter’s Prep (11-6) out of Jersey City, while the 4 pm finale will feature No. 1 Immaculata (11-3) taking on 8th-ranked Old Bridge (9-7).

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Spotswood head coach Glenny Fredricks:

by Mike Pavlichko

Bound Brook girls roll past Dayton, 54-26, in Central Jersey Group 1 first round

First round matchups with high seeds aren’t always tight matchups.

The 15th-seeded Dayton girls’ basketball team is young, with a new coach, with Marissa Liberato promoted from her assistant post in the off-season, in her first year leading a program. And they play in a brutally tough division in the Union Conference with the likes of Linden and Elizbaeth.

On the other side, second-seed Bound Brook is led by veteran coach Jen Derevjanik, who has a solid core and an uber-freshman in Peytan Pugh, an excellent scorer averaging 18.5 points per game, but also leading the state with over 200 steals.

And so it was Thursday night, when the Crusaders rolled past Dayton in the opening round of play in the NJSIAA state tournament in Central Jersey Group 1, 54-26 behind 21 points from Pugh, and another dozen from senior Ti’asjah Ferguson. Lauren Polakiewiz added nine for the Crusaders, all on three from beyond the arc.

Bound Brook was in control from the opening tip, starting the game on a 17-0 run. And after they took the foot off the gas a bit in the second, the game opened up in the third, with sophomore Maggie Hildebrand connecting twice from beyond the arc. The sophomore was the top scorer in the game for Dayton (3-21) with 13 points, including three triples.

The Crusaders (22-3) will move on to the sectional quarterfinals Monday at home against the winner of Friday evening’s first round game 7th-seed Thrive Charter out of Trenton and 10th-seed Manville.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Bound Brook senior Ti’asjah Ferguson and freshman Peytan Pugh:

by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex defense again powers Jays in 42-32 GMC-Union crossover win against Dayton

When you lose someone the caliber of Jess Divine – who scored 2,135 points in a four-year varsity career at Middlesex – who’s going to pick up the points?

For the Blue Jays, though, it’s always been the defense fueling the offense, and that was on full display Saturday as they picked up a 42-32 win over visiting Dayton in a GMC-Union County crossover.

Senior Alyssa Young scored nine points, including a pair of treys, one of which was a four-point play in the first quarter. But the more impressive part of her stat line was the fact that she had a dozen steals.

No matter who the coach is – Kevin Harper, Stew Lester, and now first-year skipper and 2016 MHS grad Zakiya Beckles – that’s the program, the consistency: defense and pressure.

And it works.

The game was a tight one until the Jays (12-7) pulled away in the fourth quarter. No one led by more than five throughout the first half, not until the final period, in fact, when Middlesex built as big as a ten-point advantage.

Sophomore Kaylee Devine, Jess’s younger sister, led all scorers with 13 – including three from downtown – while Avery Iskra had 12.

Sophomore Aria Molinelli had 12 for Dayton, which was highly competitive, despite falling to 2-13 with the loss. Junior Madison Tarrant – the only junior to dress, with no healthy seniors on the squad, added six, while sophomore Maggie Hildebrand added five.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Middlesex senior Alyssa Young and head coach Zakiya Beckles:


by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex, Dayton to meet Saturday morning in small school GMC-Union County crossover

They are two teams with some definite similarities: short rosters, short benches, as well as some inexperience and youth.

And that’s not just the players on the floor, it’s the two head coaches.

Middlesex is led by 2016 grad Zakiya Beckles, who was here under Stew Lester, who left after last season to coach the boys at Middletown North. Marissa Liberato is the head coach at Jonathan Dayton in Springfield; she’s a 2015 Toms River North grad, and spent the past six years under longtime head coach Dave Rennie.

The two teams will square off Saturday morning at 11:30 in Middlesex, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will be on the call; pregame starts at 11:15; click here to listen.

For Middlesex, it’s getting used to life after Jess Devine, even if her sister, Kaylee, could be her doppelganger. Devine graduated in June as the all-time leading scorer at the school, girls’ or boys.

Middlesex is scrappy defensively. Ball control against the Blue Jays is an absolute must. That’s one big reason they’re 11-7, playing as a Group 1 school in the GMC’s Red National Division.

Another big reason is Sophomore Avery Iskra, who’s taken baton as the team’s scoring leader this season, averaging 11.8 points a game, while senior Alyssa Young – the team’s only 12th grader – is leading the squad with 30 treys.

But a senior is something Dayton won’t even have this year. Their only one – Bella Pintardo, with two years’ varsity experience – is out due to injury. That leaves two juniors, two sophomores, and four freshmen – eight players, the same as Middlesex – in the scorebook for Saturday’s game.

The top two scorers are sophomores. Maggie Hildebrand is averaging 10.3 points per game, tied for the team lead with 4.7 rebounds per contest, and leads the squad with 15 from downtown, and 16 assists. Aria Molinelli is second with 8.8 points per game, and has been the top scorer in six of 14 games so far. Hildebrand has led in the other eight.

The schedule also hasn’t been kind to small-school Dayton, a Group 1 program which is just 2-12, but has played a brutal slate including Elizabeth – the largest high school in the state – as well as Linden. Their wins have come over Whippany Park and South Plainfield.

But in a number of games, they’ve been that close, including a four-point defeat at the hands of Oak Knoll on January 6th. They also fell three points shy at Elizabeth last Saturday, and came within seven of Summit.

Click below for interviews with both head coaches previewing Saturday’s Middlesex-Dayton game:

Middlesex head coach Zakiya Beckles with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas
Dayton head coach Marissa Liberato with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Cutoff Weekend Friday Playoff Update – Group 2: Bernards edges up, but still no top-seed; Voorhees locks up bid, Dayton can play itself in, Spotswood will miss playoffs at 8-1

With Friday night’s Cutoff Weekend high school football games all in the books, Central Jersey Sports Radio is updating the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings as we head into Saturday action.

We’ll have further analysis late morning into the afternoon Saturday, with our 2025 “Playoff Projection Show” scheduled for 6 pm where we give our bracket projections. The full tournament for the public schools will be unveiled on Sunday by the NJSIAA via Gridiron New Jersey. We’ll have them shortly after. The brackets become official at noon on Monday.

NORTH GROUP 2

Table displaying the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings for North Group 2 high school football teams, including team names, win-loss records, points averaged, and other statistics.
  • Even with a win Friday night over Carteret, Bernards still won’t get the top-seed, even though they edged up one place overall. Westwood and Shabazz will get top-seeds, with Shabazz getting it in North 2, Group 2, the same section as the Mountaineers, who would then be the two-seed.
  • Dayton sits in 18th but hosts Brearley Saturday. It’s a true play-in game. Win and they’re in, lose and they’re out.

SOUTH GROUP 2

Table displaying the playoff standings for high school football in South Group 2, including team names, wins, losses, ties, point average (PP AVG), and rankings.
  • The top two seeds flipped here, even though both won. Haddonfield should get the South Jersey Group 2 top seed, while Camden will be the Central Jersey Group 2 No. 1 seed.
  • Johnson held in 8th.
  • Voorhees wrapped up a spot with a win in the Milk Can Game at North Hunterdon.
  • Spotswood, however, is going to be the big news. You could talk about their schedule not being as good as some others, but they beat the teams that were given to them – all but Dayton – including five-win Roselle Park, five-win Bound Brook, and four-win Brearley (who has a chance at a fifth Saturday at Dayton.) Having an 8-1 team miss the playoffs is just absurd, and it’s a combination of a) moving down in divisions after some down years heading into the most recent two-year Big Central scheduling cycle (the new one starts next season), b) a need for better scheduling of crossovers in the Big Central (we’ll have some ideas next week) and c) a state scheduling formula that still gives too much emphasis to losses against strong competition. Welcome to New Jersey, where a win isn’t just a win anymore. You know the old adage, “You don’t get style points?” Apparently, here, you do.