The playoffs are underway! Just eleven public schools remain from the Big Central, with the two non-publics – St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph-Metuchen – now seeded as well.
CJSR veteran reporter Mike Pavlichko takes a look back at the opening round, and a look ahead to the public sectional semifinals – on this week’s edition of “The Big Central in Two Minutes!”
Click below to listen to this week’s edition of “The Big Central in Two Minutes”:
With the high school football playoffs beginning this week, it’s time for one of our most popular stories of the year: a look at who will be sitting on a bus for a long ride down to South Jersey. But, hey, we’re not just looking at our Big Central teams’ gas money here; some deep South Jersey teams have to come up here, too!
This didn’t happen much pre-2019, when the NJSIAA had teams in geographical sections, but when the UPR formula was instituted and the state was split into North and South supersections in each group, and teams assigned to sections based on seed rather than location. (Actually, the changes began in 2018, but that first year, teams were slotted by Northing number.)
And travel is more of an issue in the southern part of the state than in North Jersey. If you split the state in the middle, the North would have many more teams, but in the interest of balance, the line shifts higher, meaning the Central and South playoff sections have the same number of teams, but cover a wider geographical area.
These trips may not be long enough to watch “Gone With the Wind” – with a three hour, 58 minute running time – but with traffic, they’ll take a while. We looked at each trip on Google Maps at 10 am, when traffic is generally light, so expect to add some more time for those Friday afternoon trips!
Hunterdon Central at Washington Twp, 6 pm Friday (1 hour, 29 minutes, 75.8 miles): This is the longest trip for a Big Central team in terms of time, but still six minutes less than last year’s longest first-round Big Central trip, which saw Johnson with a one-hour, 33-minute trip to Pleasantville, near Atlantic City. The Red Devils would take Route 31 down to I-295 to the Philly area, then cut further south. They can shave five minutes off by cutting through Pennsylvania on I-95, but at rush hour? Not advisable. And who’s paying the EZ Pass to cross the bridge at Yardley?
Manville at Paulsboro, 11 am Saturday (1 hour, 23 minutes – 72.7 miles): The Mustangs will be at their school at 7 am to board the bus for this one; that’s an early wake-up call on SAT day, where many teams are playing at 2 pm. This is a trip down I-295 to play Paulsboro, which is just south of Philadephia. It’s the second-longest Big Central trip in terms of time.
Hillside at Haddonfield, 7 pm Friday (1 hour, 17 minutes – 79 miles): A bit shorter than Manville’s sojourn to Paulsboro, this is the longest trip by miles for a Big Central team, taking the Turnpike town to play the Bulldawgs. But let’s ask an honest question: how is the second-northernmost Big Central school in South Jersey? The answer, of course, is there are way more Group 2 schools up North than down South, so there’s a big skew. For comparison’s sake, Summit – the northernmost school in the BCC – is in the North. (More on them in a bit.)
The rest of the Big Central teams on the road all generally have travel times of about an hour or less, but some teams coming up to this neck of the woods have long rides, too.
Absegami at Somerville, 7 pm Friday (1 hour, 37 minutes – 107 miles): This looks like the longest trip in the state to us: Absegami will be riding 107 miles up the Parkway to I-287 to play at Brooks Field, a ride that, in rush-hour on a Friday, is more likely to take two hours. The 14 miles they’ll have to travel on 287 might take a half-hour alone at that point. The Pioneers had one of the longest trips in the league last year, going down to Seneca for a first round game that was “only” 64.6 miles away, but an hour-and-33 minutes. This time, they get to roll in from home.
And who’s got the shortest trip?
Summit at Cranford, 7 pm Friday (22 minutes – 8 miles): It’s a hop-skip-and-a-jump for Summit as the Hilltoppers and Cranford rematch their regular season contest, which Summit won 21-7 at home back on September 28th. Doesn’t everyone wish they could be this close? Montclair visits neighboring East Orange Campus, just 4.3 miles apart, but that’s not even the closest trip. In North 2, Group 1, Wood-Ridge could easily walk the 1.5 miles to Hasbrouck Heights!!
The Elizabeth football team has had its share of challenges this season.
The Minutemen started out hot, with wins over Linden and at Bayonne. Then, John Fiore was let go as head coach in a residency controversy over his son enrolling at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth went into a tailspin – granted, their schedule also got tougher – and they dropped for in a row.
But two weeks ago, they rebounded with a gutty 26-24 non-conference win at Morristown, then stunned Watchung Hills at home Friday, 43-29, catapulting them to third in the North Group 5 playoff standings.
That big turnaround would not have been possible without sophomore quarterback Arique Fleming. He had a “perfect” day, going 11-for-11 passing for 162 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed 13 times for 107 yards and a seven-yard touchdown run.
All of that was instrumental in a 14-point win over the Warriors that has breathed new life into a difficult season.
And for that, Arique Fleming of Elizabeth is the Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week for Week Seven.
The Minutemen (4-4) close their regular season Friday night at Union (1-7).
Click below to hear from Week Seven Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Arique Fleming of Elizabeth:
The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As always, we will recognize selected “Honorable Mentions,” and recognize all other all nominees in our weekly story.
Honorable Mentions:
Other Notable Performances:
Saying school officials in Elizabeth had an “administrative agenda” against her husband, John Fiore’s wife and son were the first two people to speak at the district’s packed Board of Education meeting Thursday night, lambasting the panel for his firing two weeks ago for “possible” NJSIAA recruiting and transfer violations.
“I wish to make this very clear tonight,” Karen Fiore said to the Board, “My son did not illegally transfer into the Elizabeth school district. My husband did not engage in any improper conduct.”
Central Jersey Sports Radio followed the proceedings on the district’s web stream Thursday evening. Scroll to the bottom of this story for complete audio of comments from John Fiore, his wife, and son.
Coach Fiore has said the issue was the transfer of Fiore’s son – John, Jr. – who had previously been at Cranford, where the Fiore’s live. The coach says he and his son have been spending several nights a week at an apartment in Elizabeth to satisfy residency requirements.
However, NJSIAA rules no longer include residency requirements for transfers. Student-athletes are allowed one free transfer while in high school without having to sit out 30 days, and they are no longer required to have a bonafide change of address to do so. Future transfers – as well as the first transfer for a soon-to-be-senior – must sit out 20 days, or three games, regardless of residency.
The NJSIAA called the mater a “district issue,” according to a report by Mike Kinney of NJ.com, essentially saying there was no violation of the state association’s rules in this case.
“My teammates have become like family to me,” John Fiore, Jr., said, “and I don’t understand why people are trying to take that family away from me. I’ve been playing with some of them since the spring of eighth grade.”
Fiore, Jr., said he has stayed with his dad during the week, and with his mom and twin sister on the weekends. “This whole situation has been messing with my mental health, considering people are trying to take away the sport I love,” he added.
“I catch myself just staring off into space, putting my head down, and thinking, ‘What did I do to deserve this,'” Fiore, Jr., added.
After the two Fiores spoke, a few residents brought up other issues, and then some of the coach’s former players took to the podium to speak, doing so eloquently, and to large rounds of applause that even were noted by council members.
Then, Fiore himself came up to speak.
“I still haven’t gotten it in writing why I’m being dismissed as football coach,” Fiore said, though he said he’d been told verbally.
He also accused the board of not doing a thorough investigation, saying “You took pictures of my kid and I coming in and out [of our Elizabeth apartment” three, four, five days in a row. You stopped coming because it doesn’t help your case.”
Fiore believes the district also was wrong in assuming he and his wife are happily married, and that he really lived in Cranford, because photos seen on Facebook. Fiore says he and his wife are separated, but still went on vacation together. “I know a lot of couples who are separated that do that,” he told the Board.
Fiore also touted some of his off-the-field accomplishments with the football program, noting when he took the job after the 2021 season, more than 70 players had to be in summer school to stay eligible. Fiore says last summer, that number was down to five, with only two having to take summer school this past summer.
He also says the team GPA of the 2024 senior class was 1.25 points higher than it was before he took the job.
More than a half dozen players spoke, including Jalais Mendoza, a senior who transferred in two years ago from Snyder in Jersey City. He said he came in as a third-string runningback, but Fiore treated him like he had been there since Day One, putting him in the game in big spots.
“I feel like Fiore put everyone on the team first,” Mendoza said. “Can you all please bring Coach Fiore back so we can go back to winning and get a ring for Fiore… and our team.”
“To me, Coach Fiore is the definition of three things: a leader, responsibility, and a father figure,” said junior two-way lineman Brian Palamar.
Senior wide receiver/defensive back Kyshawn DeCarteret said, “A strong male figure like Coach Fiore is priceless, and we hope that you guys will hear us and value how we feel about his firing.”
But Karen Fiore had the most foreboding comment of the night, right before the three-minute timer hit zero, signalling the end of her allotted time to speak: “We will not hesitate to hold this board or the administration accountable for their participation in this charade. This will not end here tonight, unless you do the right thing.”
The board went into executive session after approving several items of business just before 8 pm. They returned around 9:45, and added an agenda item to appoint an interim football coach.
But it was not Austin Holman, who coached the team last week in a 37-20 loss at Westfield, its first of the season. Assistant Head Coach Eugene Klein was approved as Interim Head Coach, effective Friday, September 20th, at a stipend of $11,243.
After just two full seasons and two games this year, John Fiore is out as head football coach at Elizabeth due to a “possible violation of state athletic regulations related to residency and recruitment” that was self-reported to the NJSIAA
Austin Holman, who most recently coached Scotch Plains-Fanwood, was named head coach in the interim. Holman also coaches track and field at Elizabeth, and has been a physical education teacher there for more than a decade.
Director of Athletics Ben Candelino confirmed the news to Central Jersey Sports Radio Thursday afternoon, but could not comment any further and referred us to the district information officer.
District Superintendent Dr. Olga Hugelmeyer said in a statement released by the district – which you can read in its entirety here – “We teach our children to follow the rules. We expect nothing less from our staff and demand that athletic programs follow the rules. We are proud of our student-athletes who worked so hard in their first games. This was an adult failure, not theirs.”
NJ.com reported that the violation involved Fiore’s son, John Fiore, Jr.
The elder Fiore told NJ.com’s Mike Kinney, “This is the worst situation in my career,” adding that while he owns a home in Cranford, they also have an apartment in Elizabeth, saying they’ve stayed there a few nights a week since school started. Fiore told Kinney he believes that would satisfy residency requirements.
“Now, this is going to mess things up for him,” Fiore told Kinney. “He’ll have to sit 30 days if he goes back to Cranford. It’s not fair to him.”
The NJSIAA two years ago eliminated residency requirements from its transfer rules, allowing one free transfer for any student before their senior year, with no sit out period. A second transfer or one before a senior year would require a sit out penalty, with some exceptions.
Fiore was 7-15 in his time at Elizabeth, but after a 2-7 season his first year, and a 3-8 record last year in which all eight losses were decided by a touchdown or less, the Minutemen were off to a 2-0 start this season, with a 35-28 season-opening win over Linden and a 25-6 victory at Bayonne last Friday night.
Elizabeth visits Westfield Saturday afternoon at Kehler Stadium.
Ironically, it was Holman who stepped away from Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s football program in mid-September last year, saying he “had to step away from (the) team for personal reasons.”
Holman took over a 1-8 Scotch Plains team from Mark Ciccotelli in 2019, and went 4-6 that first year, winning five games each in 2020 and 2021, then going 2-8 in 2022.
In four-and-a-half seasons, Holman’s Raiders went 17-25, qualifying for the playoffs once – in 2021 – but they were ineligible after an early-season brawl resulted in numerous player disqualifications that also made them ineligible for postseason play, per NJSIAA rules.
Elizabeth fumbled three times, but built up a big lead that they would need most of in order to hold on for a 35-28 victory over Linden – thanks, in part, to the heroics of Jamad Lyles’ interception in the final minute – in the opening game of the 2024 season for both teams.
The Tigers battled back, with sophomore quarterback Tyrone Hinton running for two second half touchdowns – he had three total – and throwing another, but the rally fell just short.
After a sloppy early going in which, on successive possessions, the Minutemen fumbled, Linden recovered with Hinton throwing an interception, then Elizabeth fumbling again, the Tigers led with 4:03 to go in the first period on Hinton’s one-yard run. A failed two-point try left it at 6-0.
But Elizabeth would get the next four scores, starting on the very next play, as Antoine Blount returned the ensuing kick for six, plus a two-point run by sophomore QB Arique Fleming to make it 8-6 Minutemen.
In the second quarter, Jamal Lyles added a four-yard run, and Fleming hit Kyshan Decartaret for another TD, giving Elizabeth a 21-6 lead at that half that they would extend to 28-6 by the end of the third on a Lyles’ three-yard run, plus the PAT.
But that’s when Linden started to make a run.
Hinton scored from one-yard out 2:55 into the fourth, and with the failed two-point try, the Tigers were down 16. Elizabeth scored again just over two minutes later, to give them an important insurance touchdown and a 35-12 lead on a three-yard scoring run by Fleming.
Linden was not done yet. They scored with 3:18 to go – despite a bad snap – as Hinton took it into the end zone from seven yards out, and after a fast Elizabeth fumble on the next possession, scored with 2:48 to go on a nine-yard pass from Hinton to Juwan Gass. With a two-point run, that made it 35-28.
And it got even more dramatic when Elizabeth was stopped on fourth down with 94 seconds to play, giving Linden the ball back. But the Minutemen were saved when Lyles picked off Hinton to seal the game.
The win was the first for the Minutemen over their Union County rivals since 2016, a 23-10 win. The Tigers won last year’s season-opening meeting at Kean, as well as the three prior matchups in 2019, 2018 and 2017.
Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Elizabeth’s Jamad Lyles and head coach John Fiore, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden continued traveled up to Union County Thursday morning on his 2024 GMC/Big Central Conference Camp Caravan with a visit to see the Elizabeth Minutemen.
Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach John Fiore, along with seniors Tysheed Hawkins (OLB), Luis Cuero (TE/DE) and sophomores John Fiore, Jr. (WR/S) and Nahjae Smith (WR/S).
You can now watch all the 2024 Camp Caravan videos on YouTube by clicking this link!
The Big Central Conference’s American Gold Division is one of the tops in the league. All play difficult and challenging schedules, and there’s a lot of parity.
To wit, Union was 5-6 in 2023, with all but one of those losses coming to playoff teams.
Elizabeth has been young, but should make strides in Year Three under John Fiore, who had a wonderful run prior to coming to Union County up at Montclair. Westfield has a new coach in Matt Andzel, while St. Joseph continues to be solid playing with the big boys in the BCC.
Click below to hear our preview of the American Gold Division from Big Central Conference Media Day:
Montclair already had a championship pedigree before John Fiore arrived, but he certainly put his stamp on the program.
Elizabeth also has been a championship program, but the task for Fiore when he arrived was probably a bit deeper than it was further up north. The Minutemen had gone 7-19 in the three seasons before his arrival in Union County.
Now in his third season, however, he knows this is the year the transition needs to take its next step. “This is probably the best offseason we’ve had since the 2017 Mounties,” Fiore said at Big Central Conference Media Day last week. That year, coming off a 7-4 campaign, they ran the table en route to 12-0 and a state championship.
Elizabeth hasn’t won a state title since it won the very first North 2, Group 5 title over Piscataway in 2012 – a killer for the Chiefs as PJ Walker of the Minutemen led a game-winning drive in the final minute, virtually the length of the field.
This year, Elizabeth has a sophomore quarterback who is pretty talented, too, in Arique Fleming, who ran for 1,663 yards last season and 15 touchdowns. But he was also a freshman, and threw ten picks, so he and Fiore are looking forward to the game slowing down for him in 2024, making way for a successful year.
Click below to hear from Elizabeth head coach John Fiore and sophomore quarterback Arique Fleming:
There were two key factors that helped the Hillsborough girls’ basketball team claim its first-ever state sectional title.
First, it was defense. Specifically, the second-seeded Raiders got steal after steal against 5th-seed Elizabeth, right from the get-go. Those led to either transition buckets, or a set-up in the half-court offense.
Second, was their excellent night shooting from downtown. While makes, misses, and percentages aren’t often tracked at the high school level, Hillsborough did make a lot of them, seven to be exact.
Both helped Hillsborough (21-8) win the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 title Friday night, their first-ever, 59-46 over visiting Elizabeth (19-10).
Those led to a big blitz by ‘Boro, en route to a 22-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. And in the end, the Raiders never trailed in the game.
Hillsborough did more of the same the entire rest of the game, leading 37-17 at halftime, and 55-35 at the end of three.
Francesca Schiro led the Raiders with 24 points.
The Raiders next will play the North 1, Group 4 winner, either 5-seed Union City or 2-seed Morristown; that game is a 7:00 pm tip Friday night in Morristown. That semifinal will be at 7 pm next Tuesday at Bloomfield High School.
Click below for postgame reaction with Hillsborough’s Francesca Schiro and head coach Courtney Tierney, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!
