Tag: Frankie Garbolino

December 14, 2022December 14, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

On and off the field, Frankie Garbolino’s efforts garner him CJSR’s “Leadership Award”

The North Brunswick defense may have garnered the most attention this season, but if one had to choose a name and a face to represent the Raiders’ football program this year – and in 2021 and 2020 – it would be Frankie Garbolino, hands down.

In fact, three years ago, you might have thought he was a senior. After all, he played like that, and acted that way around his teammates.

And that championship-caliber attitude gained even more confidence this season after he and his baseball teammates won the GMC Tournament last spring for the first time in program history.

Marisa Tufaro Foundation founder Greg Tufaro (left) and game organizer Marcus Borden talk with North Brunswick QB and rising senior Frankie Garbolino at halftime of the Marisa Rose Bowl on July 21, 2022.

Garbolino, of course, had a solid senior season, throwing for 1,838 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also rushing 75 times for 447 yards and nine more scores. He also holds just about every school record a quarterback could own: career passing yards (5,410) and passing TD’s (53) among them.

He also led many community service events in the school, and the North Brunswick Township High School Touchdown Club, while maintaining a staggering 4.5 GPA in the classroom.

Click below to listen to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe talk with Jordan Bird:

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Honorable Mentions:

Montgomery senior Gavin Guidette “was the heart and soul” of the Cougars this year, “setting the cultural expectations for everyone,” high praise from head coach Zoran Milich, who is the only football coach in Montgomery history and just graduated a stellar kid like Alex Benitez. He helped leady Monty to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in program history.

Connor Laverty of Bernards – who’s just a junior, mind you – was able to guide the Mountaineers to their third straight division championship with a very small senior class, but the biggest roster at the Group 2 school in program history. Laverty finished 2022 with 1,272 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, with just three INTs on the season. He’ll be one of the top returning QBs in 2023 in the Big Central.

South Plainfield’s Jason Greer was a fullback and D-lineman in 2022, and carried for a modest 432 yards and three touchdowns, while registering 62 tackles, 7 TFLs and 1 1/2 sacks on defense. But head coach Bill Hamilton says he “played anywhere the team needed him to” for the last two seasons. While the first didn’t yield the results they wanted, with an eight-loss campaign that saw four losses by eight points or less, it all paid dividends in 2022 as the Tigers won their first-ever division title, and went undefeated (8-0) in the regular season.

Ben Solimini of East Brunswick threw for 458 yards and four scores, but ran the ball even more, to the tune of 1,030 yards and 10 touchdowns. But more importantly, was “a leader by example on and off the field,” according to head coach Andy Steinfeld. He’s a “hard worker every day at practice, and an even harder worker in the classroom,” adds Steinfeld, as Solimini kept up a 3.83 GPA.

October 4, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Garbolino and North Brunswick seniors hungry to bring home that elusive title

North Brunswick has had seasons like this before, especially in the Mike Cipot era.

Last year’s team started 5-1. The 2020 COVID-shortened edition started 6-0 and finished 7-1. The 2019 team lost its second game but didn’t lose again until the sectional semifinals, winning eight straight before a season-ending loss to Cherokee.

Almost ditto for the 2018 team, which also started 1-1, but made it a step further, to the Central 5 title game against Sayreville, losing an epic to end the season 10-2.

That was Cipot’s second season in North Brunswick.

The one thing the Raiders haven’t done in that time is bring home that elusive sectional title, and they’re well aware.

This year, even more is at stake, as the NJSIAA will have football playing down to group champions for the first time in New Jersey playoff history. And Frankie Garbolino says the second-ranked Raiders are hungry to check one, or maybe two of those boxes off their to-do list.

He would know. The senior has been the starting quarterback since the start of his sophomore season, the COVID year. He’s gone 20-5 as a starting QB.

Some of the names around him have changed. Others haven’t.

But he has been consistent: 1,701 passing yards and 17 touchdowns in 2019, and another 1,857 and 23 last year. He’s at 4,354 passing yards and 46 touchdowns for his career, with three regular season games to go, and then the playoffs.

But there’s one thing different from the 2021 version of Frankie Garbolino. He has a championship under his belt now. It’s for baseball, as the Raiders knocked off heavy favorite St. Joseph-Metuchen last Spring to win the GMC Tournament Championship.

Click below to hear CJSR’s Mike Pavlichko talk with North Brunswick senior quarterback Frankie Garbolino about this year’s Raider team, and their quest to bring home a sectional championship, and maybe more:

North Brunswick (5-0) is one of four unbeaten teams left in the Big Central Conference, the others being Phillipsburg, Brearley and South Plainfield, all 5-0. The Raiders visit New Brunswick (1-5) Friday night.

May 27, 2022May 27, 2022 by Mike Pavlichko

Two catchers, one goal: bringing North Brunswick its first baseball GMC Tournament title

One only catches when Zack Konstantinovsky is on the mound. The other is the everyday catcher.

Both play significant roles in the lineup, are big bats, and are bigger leaders as well.

North Brunswick doesn’t get to last year’s semifinal – a tough-luck 2-0 loss to rival South Brunswick – without Frankie Garbolino and Omar Carreras.

And they definitely don’t get to this year’s final without them either.

*Click above to learn more about how to be an umpire and join the NSJFU.*

The goal is to bring home a title, and they’re just one win away from doing just that.

Omar catches when Zack K is on the mound – “he doesn’t like me,” Frankie jokes – but both will be in the lineup and hoping to contribute against ace starter Andrew Goldan for top-seed and defending champion St. Joe’s of Metuchen.

Konstantinovsky gave up one hit in last year’s 2-0 GMCT semifinal loss to the Vikings, a solo home run that turned out to be the difference. He’s determined not to go through that again. Carreras will try and lead the way for Zack.

Sunday’s game can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with first pitch set for 12 noon, and pregame at 11:30 am. The game was moved to Sunday with forecasters calling for scattered thunderstorms Saturday.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will bring you all the action; click here to listen.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with North Brunswick’s Frankie Garbolino and Omar Carreras about their season, and the matchup with the Falcons

August 26, 2021August 26, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

Loaded North Brunswick aiming high behind Garbolino and Co.

In 2020, Frankie Garbolino was one of a trio of sophomore starting quarterbacks in Middlesex County – along with South Brunswick’s Vince Jiardullo and Edison’s Matt Yascko – who got a reputation for playing above their station.

This year, the North Brunswick star hopes to translate that into a state championship.

The Raiders went 7-1 in their pandemic-shortened season, their only defeat coming at the hands of Cranford.

The schedule is a tough one this year, with Edison, Piscataway, Union, St. Joe’s and Hillsborough on tap. But both Garbolino and head coach Mike Cipot feel like this will be another strong year for the club, as they return not only

Click below to hear from both of them as Mike Pavlichko stopped by preseason camp earlier this week.

North Brunswick junior QB Frankie Garbolino:

North Brunswick head coach Mike Cipot:

August 26, 2021August 26, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

This Week in the Big Central – Episode 1: The Introductions

With the season opener just over 24 hours away, it’s time for the debut of “This Week in the Big Central,” driven by Mark Montenero and his team at the world-famous Autoland.

Every week, TWiBC – as we’re affectionately calling it for short – will be hosted by Mike Pavlichko with contributions by Dom Savino and our team of reporters.

On this week’s show, Mike and Dom welcome you to the 2021 season, complete with a full slate, no fan restrictions, and playoffs.

We check in on some of the top teams like including Piscataway, North Brunswick, Union, Somerville, New Providence, and South Brunswick, and players such as Jai Patel, Davison Igbinosun, Jaimen Bryant, Mike Miller, Frankie Garbolino and Charlie Barth, plus coaches Dan Higgins and Mike Cipot.

Then, it’s Central Jersey Sports Radio’s preseason Top Ten, as well as the media poll, and a look at some of the Week 0 games coming up, with ten of the Big Central’s 60 teams getting an early jump on their season.

December 23, 2020January 23, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

Cookie Monster! Somerville’s Desiderio named Big Central Offensive Player of the Year

In the end, there was no debate, little surprise: Cookie Desiderio was the top offensive player in the Big Central Conference.

The 6-1, 215-pound senior runningback was a dominant force on offense, right from the get-go.

In the Pioneers’ opener, Desiderio touched the ball only six times, four of them resulting in touchdowns. He had two rushing touchdowns on two carries, totaling 113 yards. Desiderio also had four catches, “only” two of them resulting in touchdowns, and a total 98 receiving yards.

LISTEN: Whitaker and Desiderio postgame reaction after Somerville knocks off Woodbridge

Of course, it could only go “downhill” from there, and it did. All the “Cookie Monster” did the rest of the season was score a touchdown every 5.8 carries, the best rate in the state of New Jersey. And he led the entire Garden State scholastic scene with 26 rushing touchdowns, adding four more TD grabs.

Click below to hear Cookie Desiderio and Defensive Player of the Year A.J. Pena of Somerville talk together about their undefeated 7-0 season:

Three others earned Honorable Mention status on offense: New Providence runningback Charlie Barth, Monroe quarterback Aidan McLaughlin, and North Brunswick signal caller Frankie Garbolino.

McLaughlin is the only senior of the bunch. He threw for 1,433 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, with only 5 INTs. That was good for an average of 238.8 yards per game, and he tossed for over 300 yards three times. In a Week 2 win over Perth Amboy where the Falcons scored a school record 63 points, McLaughlin was not to be outdone: he tossed for an all-time program best 315 yards on 14-of-23 passing, with three touchdowns. He eclipsed his own mark later in the season in a win over a solid South Brunswick team, tossing for a cool 370 yards.

LISTEN: Monroe senior QB Aidan McLaughlin credits his teammates for his record-setting performance

Barth is just a junior, so the Central Jersey Sports Radio Two-Way Player of the Year will be back for another year to defend his title. He rushed for 1,702 yards and 25 touchdowns on 186 carries, and was the closest of anyone in the Big Central – even the state – to Desiderio’s pace: scoring on every 7.4 carries. He scored 25 of the team’s 34 rushing touchdowns, and had multiple scores in all but one game, notching four TDs in a game twice.

Garbolino is the youngest of the bunch, a sophomore thrust into a starting role who came up roses. He went 124-for-215 for 1,685 yards, tossing 17 touchdowns and only 6 picks. The only game where he didn’t throw for at least 100 yards was his varsity debut, a 93-yard passing effort in an 18-9 win at Sayreville. And he spent his best offensive output on one of the Raiders’ toughest opponents, in a 32-7 home win over state-ranked Passaic Tech.

LISTEN: Garbolino appears on “Tuesday Night Quarterback” to talk about being one of the rising sophomore QBs in the Big Central

October 23, 2020January 23, 2021 by Mike Pavlichko

No. 7 North Brunswick puts unbeaten mark on the line vs. Edison in Big Central Game of the Week, powered by Bellamy & Son Paving

It will be a battle of sophomore quarterbacks at Drwal Stadium in Edison tonight when the Eagles entertain No. 7 and unbeaten North Brunswick in the Big Central Game of the Week powered by Bellamy & Son Paving (6:50 pm pregame, 7:00 kickoff).

Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino have the call. Listen by clicking the Listen Live button on our page, or here.

The Raiders have won each of the last three years, but before that, Edison had won three straight, and North Brunswick leads the all-time series 9-7. the teams only met for the first time in 1994, 20 years after North Brunswick Township High School first opened.

The game features two tenth-grade quarterbacks. Matt Yascko started six games as a freshman for Edison, compiling 1,065 yards and 7 touchdowns after starter Lucas Loffredo went down to injury. Loffredo eventually moved to and transferred to Piscataway, where he did not play.

North Brunswick’s sophomore quarterback is less tested. But Frankie Garbolino has helped lead North Brunswick through the first three games of the post-Myles Bailey era with 626 yards passing and 7 touchdowns in just the first three games, most notably including no picks.

Listen below to Dom Savino’s conversation with North Brunswick coach Mike Cipot on the 2020 season, and previewing the Edison game: