Tag: DJ Catalano

by Mike Pavlichko

Bridgewater-Raritan tops Union City at home, 22-7, to clinch first sectional finals berth since ’17

The last time Bridgewater-Raritan reached a sectional final, it was their third straight trip, in 2017.

All three years they’d face Westfield, and all three years the Blue Devils won, ending a wild stretch where they went 36-0 over those three seasons, 2015 through 2015.

Well, Westfield is down in Group 4 now, but the Panthers had quite the nemesis on the other side of the Basilone Field Friday night in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 semifinals.

That would be fourth-seed Union City, which has been one of the top public schools in the state for the past decade or so, and which also beat Bridgewater-Raritan 62-10 last year in this same round. Though the Panthers were 4-6 heading into that game, and were 7-3 before Friday night’s semifinal, few might have given them a shot.

They should have.

The Panthers held Union City to just one touchdown, in the second quarter. But they get touchdown runs of 20 yards from Denzel Amoafo and seven-yards by Jahmier Black, as well as a safety, and two field goals – 29 and 25 yards – from Joe Squiccarini – en route to a 22-7 win that wasn’t quite as close as the score indicated.

Now, the Panthers (8-3) will host the North 2, Group 5 final, next Friday night at 6:30, they just have to wait to see who their opponent is. It’ll be the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between second-seed Piscataway (8-2) and sixth-seed Bayonne (7-3). That game is at 1:00, and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving.

So if you want to congratulate the Panthers’ coaching staff, you know where they’ll be.

Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano talk about the win over Union City with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Bittersweet win for No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan as Panthers top No. 7 Hunterdon Central, but Kurdyla goes down to injury

At the end of the day, the sixth-ranked Bridgewater-Raritan football team is 4-0, but the effects of this one are still to be determined.

The Panthers topped No. 7 Hunterdon Central 35-7 Friday night on the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, but senior quarterback Declan Kurdyla went down in the second quarter with some kind of knee injury, the severity of which was unknown immediately after the game.

It put a bit of a damper on what was a huge win for Bridgewater over their American Silver Division rivals, which saw them jump out to a quick 21-0 lead, scoring on their first three possessions, while the defense registered four takeaways, including two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Senior safety Nick Stark had one of each.

Junior runningback Denzel Amoafo scored twice, from 37 yards out on the opening possession to make it 7-0, and late in the third quarter from 21 yards out to make it 35-0, and kick in the running clock.

Hunterdon Central got a one-yard touchdown run from QB Drew Cella to spoil the shutout late.

And the Red Devils had a key player go down, too. Junior runningback Reggie Osae-Aye suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter as well, going down before Kurdyla, and he didn’t come back either. Central coach Casey Ransone said after the game it’s likely an ankle sprain, and they think he’ll be ok.

Bridgewater also got a three-yard touchdown pass from Kurdyla to Evan Woodring, and Kurdyla ran one in from 32-yards out to stake his team to a 21-0 advantage after the first three possessions. Mikey Bratus also caught a 29-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-0 before the half.

The Panthers are 4-0, off to their best start since 2016, the second of two years they won their first eleven games, then fell to Westfield in the North 2, Group 5 finals for their only loss of the season. Bridgewater visits Ridge next Friday night.

Central falls to 2-2 after winning its first two, with both losses coming to ranked teams. They fell to No. 1 Phillipsburg last week, and are back in action at home against Union next Friday.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Bridgewater-Raritan senior RB/CB Denzel Amoafo and senior safety Nick Stark
Bridgewater-Raritan head coach D.J. Catalano
by Mike Pavlichko

Now in third year, Bridgewater-Raritan knows expectations from Catalano; Panthers want to make it pay off in 2025

Any time a program gets a new head coach, it’s a few years before everyone gets through the program, and is fully immersed in its culture.

Now at Bridgewater-Raritan for four years, and entering his third as a head coach with the Panthers, D.J. Catalano has gotten everyone through the system, including the first year there, which he spent under Rick Mantz.

To say Catalano is excited is an understatement. Plus, look at who he has coming back this year.

Senior Declan Kurdyla will lead the offense, a year after ending up just five yards shy of throwing for 1,800 yards, and 20 touchdowns. A lacrosse standout, as several key players are, those two-sport athletes – particularly lacrosse, a very physical sport – will be instrumental against the competition the Panthers will face.

Top rusher Denzel Amoafo (530 yards, 5 TDs last year as a junior) is also back, and the defense could see some key returnees step up, too. Miles Tofte is the returning sacks leader, with 2 1/2 last season as a junior.

Bridgewater-Raritan plays in perhaps the toughest top-to-bottom division in the Big Central Conference, the only one that has had all of its teams make the playoffs each of the last three seasons. This year will be no different, as the Panthers look to make some moves.

They’ll open at 6 pm Friday at home against Notre Dame out of the West Jersey Football League.

Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan third-year head coach D.J. Catalano with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

Bridgewater-Raritan rallies late, gets friendly bounce in OT to bounce Irvington in North 2, Group 5 opening round

Sometimes, you’d rather be lucky than good.

Bridgewater-Raritan was both Friday night.

In the opening round of the North 2, Group 5 playoff section, the fourth-seeded Panthers topped 5th-seed Irvington 34-33 when the Blue Knights extra point attempt hit the left upright, and bounced down to the turf, giving Bridgewater its first playoff win since 2017, their last of three straight trips to the sectional finals – all losses to Westfield.

It was a tight game throughout, tied 13-all at the half.

Irvington opened the scoring midway through the opening quarter on a nine-yard touchdown run by Jaden Herron, but the Panthers answered with a field goal from 33 yards by Joe Squicciarini with 59 seconds left in the period. They followed with an onside kick and recovered, but turned it over on downs.

The Panthers tied it with another field goal from Squicciarini from 29 yards out with 5:28 to go before the half.

Both teams would score once more before the break. First, it was Irvington with a Jamir Howell 76-yard run, then the Panthers got one with two ticks left on the clock, as QB Declan Kurdyla found Mikey Bratus from eight yards out to tie it at 13-all.

After a scoreless third, Bridgewater-Raritan blocked an Irvington punt and returned it to the Blue Knights’ 25. Then Kurdyla found Nick DiEsso from 23-yards out to make it 20-13 with the PAT.

Then Irvington nearly ended the Panthers’ season.

They tied it with 7:39 to go after picking off a Kurdyla pass, a 29-yard keeper by Howell. And only 3:05 later, Howell went in with another from 29-yards out to make it 27-20 Irvington with 4:34 left in regulation.

But Bridgewater answered with a big pass play to DiEsso, the second of two to pick up a first down, and Kurdyla later found Jordan Johnson from 27-yards out to tie it up with 1:45 to go.

After time ran out on an Irvington drive at the Bridgewater 32, the game went to overtime, and the Panthers got to work. Kurdyla found Johnson from 21-yards out for his second TD catch of the day, and made it 34-27 with the PAT.

Irvington answered with a TD of their own, but the point after hit the left upright, sending Bridgewater on to play at top-seed Union City next Friday night. The Soaring Eagles blew out 8th-seed East Side (Newark) 49-0.

Kurdyla finished with three touchdown passes on the night.

Click below for postgame reaction from Bridgewater-Raritan head coach DJ Catalano:

by Mike Pavlichko

Bridgewater-Raritan stuns No. 6 Piscataway with gutsy play-calls, in 52-48 shootout win

In a wild game that see-sawed back and forth, but which Bridgewater-Raritan led for most of the way, the 0-1 Panthers evened their record at 1-1 with a 52-48 win at No. 6 Piscataway Friday night.

In the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, Bridgewater mostly won the battle up front against a veteran Piscataway line.

There were 100 points scored in the game between the two teams, 15 scoring plays, and did we mention four of them were kick returns for touchdowns?

Perhaps even more amazing, while Nick DiEsso had one of them for Bridgewater-Raritan, Jahai Johnson of Piscataway had three.

The last one got the Chiefs within five with 3:26 to play in the third, then James Bodley scored from five yards out after Piscataway got a stop to get his team its first lead of the game at 7:28 of the fourth.

But in the end, DiEsso scored from four yards out with 1:39 left to put Bridgewater back on top 52-48 – with the help of a fourth-and-short fake punt conversion near midfield to keep the drive alive – then another gutsy call helped seal it.

Head coach DJ Catalano called timeout after the PAT and then called for an onside kick, which they recovered, and with Piscataway low on time outs, the Panthers ran out the clock for the win.

Piscataway falls to 1-1 on the year.

Click below for postgame reaction from Alec Crouthamel with Bridgewater head coach DJ Catalano and QB Declan Kurdyla, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Alec Crouthamel

Bridgewater-Raritan looks to grow again this week with trip to No. 6 Piscataway on deck

As Bridgewater-Raritan’s season heads to its second week on Friday, it will be hard to top last week’s season-opening instant classic.

After three quarters, the Panthers trailed Notre Dame 34-10 in Lawrenceville. What followed was a hectic effort that showcased the resolve and fight that Bridgewater-Raritan head coach DJ Catalano was looking for.

Quarterback Declan Kurdyla tossed four touchdown passes in the quarter and the Panthers miraculously recovered two consecutive onside kicks within a minute to mount a massive comeback attempt. Though a potential go-ahead 42-yard field goal was blocked with 40 seconds to go, it showed the “Never Say Die” attitude that every coach can hang their hat on.

Next up for Bridgewater-Raritan is another road trip to a tough opponent, No. 6 Piscataway. The Chiefs bring a distinct system to the table that Catalano described as “What they do, they do very well.”

You can hear the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving live on Central Jersey Sports Radio Friday with game time at 6 pm, and pregame at 5:45 with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel calling all the action. Click here to listen live.

After going 3-7 in his first season taking over for Rick Mantz, Catalano – who was Mantz’s offensive coordinator in 2022 – and his young Panthers team are looking for continued growth and progression week after week, especially in a tough American Silver Division in the Big Central Conference.

Kurdyla has stepped up for now-graduated quarterback Jack Bray and has impressed Catalano and the staff with his potential and athleticism through only one varsity start in his junior campaign. Kurdyla aside, many of the Panthers’ big contributors are two-way players, a fact that Catalano says can be a positive and negative from a depth standpoint.

Another versatile weapon at Catalano’s disposal is senior Ja’Sante Johnson, who converted from cornerback to defensive end because of his endless motor, athleticism, and a need at the position.

Though the season is still young, Bridgewater-Raritan can take another step forward in its program’s development with a strong performance against a tough Piscataway team on Friday.

Click below to hear Bridgewater-Raritan head coach DJ Catalano talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

Come-from-behind win for Bridgewater-Raritan over Elizabeth puts Panthers on right side of bubble heading into Cutoff Weekend

It would be easy to “point the finger and give up,” says first-year Bridgewater-Raritan head coach DJ Catalano.

After all, with their third coach in as many years, and a 1-6 record, what did the Panthers have to play for?

The answer is a playoff spot, and his kids believed in it, and here they are: with a 23-19 win over visiting Elizabeth at Basilone Field, BR finds itself on the right side of the playoff bubble, after beginning the night on the outside looking in.

The Panthers led 9-6 at the half, but found themselves down 12-9 after an Imad Canty third quarter touchdown catch.

But Frankie Verano rushed for two fourth quarter touchdowns, to hold off Elizabeth – which scored in between Verano’s end zone jaunts – and win the game, which was salted away when Dylan Tierney picked off Elizabeth QB Arique Fleming with just over a minute left and the Minutemen driving.

Now, at just 2-6, Bridgewater’s playoff hopes look a bit brighter.

For the Minutemen (1-7), they’re not out of it yet, but they’ll need to win next week (to meet the NJSIAA minimum win requirement of two for playoff qualification) and let the chips fall where they may to see if they’ll make the top 16 in the North 5 supersection.

by Mike Pavlichko

Former Montgomery standout, Somerville assistant DJ Catalano takes over the reins at Bridgewater-Raritan, after a year under Rick Mantz

When Rick Mantz over the Bridgewater-Raritan football program for the 2022 season, he had his kids doing things they’d never done before, or even just the same things in ways they’d never been done before. DJ Catalano, who joined his staff from neighboring Somerville, took notice of all the little things.

Now, he’s fully in charge of the program.

Catalano, who was left in charge in the interim after the sudden departure of Mantz shortly after his first season due mainly to health issues, was approved to take over full-time back on Tuesday by the Board of Education. And in a wide-ranging interview with Central Jersey Sports Radio, was effusive in his praise for so many of the people he has worked with and under over the years, all of whom are great influences on the coach he’s become today, and hopes to continue to become.

There’s Mantz, who also was at Rutgers while Catalano was there as a defensive quality control coach. There’s Dallas Whitaker, whom he coached under at Somerville, along with a number of other Rutgers products. And Zoran Milich, Montgomery’s first and only football coach, who was instrumental to Catalano’s formative years as a player.

Catalano takes over a Panthers program with a new Athletic Director, Bill Deniz – who came over from Delaware Valley after the retirement of longtime AD John Maggio, and with a tremendous amount of resources and excitement among the student body. Bridgewater went 4-6 last year, but isn’t all that far removed from three straight appearances it made in the North 2, Group 5 Finals from 2015 to 2017.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with new Bridgewater-Raritan head coach DJ Catalano: