Tag: Don Sofilkanich

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville poised for a big year with Wright back, and a talented supporting cast

We’ve heard really good things about Sayreville football this preseason. Will they translate into a big year?

Zaimer Wright burst on the scene as a sophomore with 1,403 yards rushing and 25 touchdowns. He was no joke. But injuries plagued his junior year, and he’ll obviously be a focal point for the Bombers in 2023.

But for new head coach Don Sofilkanich – who’s won titles at New Brunswick as a coordinator and at Asbury Park as a head coach – he has even more talent in the tank.

For one, he’ll count on big-time line play, led by senior Connor Walsh, who will figure big on both sides of the ball. And Ky’von Mitchell – another senior – will see time at wide receiver and runningback for Sayreville, while the speedster also will line up at safety on defense.

The last two coaches to patrol the sidelines at War Memorial Stadium – George Najjar and Chris Beagan – both won multiple championships there. Sofilkanich may have the horses to follow in their footsteps, and this year looks to be a really good opportunity.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk to the Sayreville contingent at last week’s Big Central Media Days:

by Mike Pavlichko

Don Sofilkanch talks “great opportunity” and “tremendous culture” at Sayreville

Coming to New Brunswick with John Quinn, Don Soflikanich was a part of two of the Zebras’ great all-time teams, which won championships in 2003 and 2006 – and should have won three were it not for a questionable penalty in the ’02 title game.

He later won a championship at Asbury Park, turning around a program that could barely win the year before he arrived.

But that won’t be the job in front of him as he takes the reins at Sayreville.

In the last eight seasons, Chris Beagan rebuilt a winning program that had been shuttered early in the 2014 season, rocked by a hazing scandal. His first year was 2015, and by the next year, he brought the Bombers a championship, adding another two years later in 2018. His teams were 51-31 in that span.

For the last of those seasons, 2022, Don Sofilkanich was a full-time volunteer assistant. SO he got to see the inner workings of the culture Beagan built at his alma mater.

Now, the South Amboy resident and East Brunswick native – a GMC guy through and through – will get the chance to helm one of Middlesex County’s marquee programs of the last two decades.

We got a chance to talk with him the day after his hiring was approved by the Sayreville Board of Education.

Click below to listen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville names Don Sofilkanich new Bombers’ football coach to succeed Beagan

The Sayreville Board of Education has approved Don Sofilkanich – who has won championships as an assistant and head coach at numerous New Jersey high schools – to be its next head coach, succeeding Chris Beagan, who retired after eight seasons at the helm of the Bombers’ program.

Sofilkanich was a full-time volunteer under Beagan this past season.

He came to prominence as a coordinator under John Quinn at New Brunswick on two state championship teams, the first of which came in 2003 when he led the defense on a team headlined by future New York Giants captain and two-time Super Bowl winner Jonathan Casillas and future NCAA All-American at USC Dwayne Jarrett. That was the Zebras’ first title since 1926. They won again in 2006 with him as the Offensive Coordinator..

He then left to become head coach at Asbury Park, turning around a program that went 1-9 in 2006, going 11-1 in 2007 with a Central Jersey Group 1 title.

After two more 11-1 seasons, he moved next door to to Neptune for a year before coming back to the GMC to lead then-Bishop Ahr, going 12-8 from 2011-2013. He spent the next three years at New Brunswick, going 15-16, including 9-2 in 2015.

He most recently was coach at Plainfield in 2019 and 2020, going 4-11.

“Don and I came in together and we were in lockstep. We shared the same philosophy,” Quinn told Central Jersey Sports Radio earlier today. “The successes that we had at New Brunswick were due to the fact that we worked so well together. Certainly Don was a huge contributing factor to the championships we won there.”

“I don’t think we could have achieved the success that we had without Don’s contribution,” Quinn added.