Sometimes, playoff games can be a contrast in styles, ever the more challenging when you have an unfamiliar opponent. Sometimes one system wins over another.
But when seventh-seed Plainfield (4-5) and second-seed Piscataway (7-2) meet Saturday afternoon in a North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 first-round playoff game, that will hardly be the case.
The two are neighboring towns, even though they have generally played in different leagues over the years, at least until the merger of the Mid-State and GMC Conferences to form the Big Central in 2020. They have only met once – in a 2008 playoff game the Chiefs won – and yet, they are intimately acquainted.
READ MORE: Our Group 4 and 5 playoff preview is here!
Sharing a border – which also divides Middlesex and Union County – the kids on both of these teams know each other well, practicing, working out and even socializing throughout the year, when they’re not on the football field.
And that should make for a great opening round matchup, filled with excitement, energy, and plenty of playoff tension, but with a healthy dose of respect between opponents as well.
“We know Piscataway, and they know us,” Plainfield head coach Donald Jones said this week. “It’s going to be fun.”
You can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio as our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, with pregame at 12:45, and kickoff at 1 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Max Scheiner will be on the call; click here to listen.
Both teams have a ton of talent all over the field. Plainfield has had a more up-and-down season, but they have skill players that could fit on the Piscataway side of the field, they’re just looking for a little more consistency. When it goes right for the Cardinals, they play a smart, focused game.
We saw Plainfield earlier this season in a loss to Somerville, but that raw talent was on display. And quarterback Devin Thomas is dynamic. He leads the team in rushing with 466 yards, but also has thrown for over 2,000 yards and 27 touchdowns. More notably, he’s only thrown two interceptions all season, while the Piscataway defense has surged of late in the takeaway department, making that a fun matchup to watch.
On the other side, Piscataway also has playmakers, and got two former Chiefs back in the program when Josiah Zayas and Mickeye Simmons returned from St. Thomas Aquinas to play their senior seasons in their hometown. After they sat the requisite 30 days due to NJSIAA transfer rules, it took a little while to get them acclimated into the game plan, but head coach Dan Higgins believes that’s all worked itself out, and his team is playing its best football at the right time of year.
Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches and Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
