Tag: Franklin

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 6 Gill figures it out down the stretch, pulls away from No. 8 Franklin for season’s first win

The Gill St. Bernard’s boys’ basketball team wasn’t the same team that turned it over 24 times in its season opener and lost to Hillsborough for the first time in nearly a decade.

Likewise, after a first half that saw the 6th-ranked Knights trailing at home to 8th-ranked Franklin, 25-23, they weren’t the same team in the second half. 

That’s all good thing.

The first half against the Warriors at least saw Gill taking better care of the basketball. In the second half, better ball movement and defensive rebounding paved the way to a 51-39 win.

It was a back-and-forth affair at the start, with nine lead changes and three ties in the first half alone. Franklin was on fire from the arc, hitting six triples, three coming from senior Cam Brown.

But he picked up a quick third foul in the second quarter, sending him to the bench for a spell, and that’s when Gill took over. Junior point guard Kobe Closeil – who’ll be running the show for the forseeable future with sophomore Dorsett Mulcahy, younger brother of former Rutgers standout Pail Mulcahy, also a GSB product, out with a back injury – had a seven point quarter, en route to a 12-point night.

Gill – now 1-1 overall and in the Skyland Delaware Division – took the lead in the third, and never looked back. Freshman Kieran Quinn – who looked anything but playing physical down low – finished with a team high n18 points, including two triples, while Cam Brown finished with a game-high 19 for Franklin (1-2, 1-1).

Click below for postgame reaction with Central Jersey Spots Radio’s Chris Tsakonas, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Gill St. Bernard’s senior point guard Kobe Closeil
Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina
by Mike Pavlichko

Roster turnover and injuries leave Gill St. Bernard’s trying to figure it out as Franklin visits

Mergin Sina has seen a lot of things, but even he knows this is an atypical year for Gill St. Bernard’s boys’ basketball.

And his team has only played one game.

With a big roster overhaul from last year, and starting point guard Dorsett Mulachy unavailable due to a back injury – Sina knows from that – his young and inexperienced team committed 24 “unforced” turnovers against Hillsborough Thursday night in its season opener. 

And that led to a 49-48 loss that put the Raiders in the hunt in the Skyland Delaware Division, and the Knights on edge.

But that game is in the past, and after a rare full weekend off from game action – where Sina would normally have his team at a showcase – the sixth-ranked Knights (0-1) come back to entertain No. 8 Franklin (1-1) up in Peapack Tuesday night.

It’s a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action. Pregame starts at 6:45 pm, with tip-off at 7. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas talk to Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina about the season and Tuesday’s game against Franklin:

by Mike Pavlichko

Little change in Week 1 Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten as Aquinas stays atop, Hillsborough moves up after big win

The top four teams all remained the same, while Hillsborough climbed into the Top 5 after a huge win over Gill St. Bernard’s, in the Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week One.

St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0) held in first after a pair of wins over JP Stevens and St. Joseph by the Sea (NY) to open the season.

Colonia (1-0) stayed at No. 2 after a win to open the season Saturday at JP Stevens, 65-35, while St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-0) held at No. 3 with a pair of wins at Piscataway, 92-82, and over Msgr. Farrell (NY), 56-43 on Saturday at the Friends of South Amboy games. The Patriots and Falcons meet in a big GMC clash Tuesday evening at Colonia.

Rutgers Prep (2-0) held at No. 4 this week, after opening wins over Franklin on Thursday, 53-49, and Saturday against Paramus Catholic, 98-45.

Hillsborough (1-1) is in fifth this week after a huge win over Gill St. Bernard’s, 49-48, its first over the Knights in nearly ten years. The Raiders lost to Delbarton Saturday, 64-56.

Gill St. Bernard’s (0-1) dropped to sixth after the loss to Hillsborough.

Checking in at No. 7 is Woodbridge (2-0), which had season-opening wins Thursday against Perth Amboy, 47-35, and Saturday at Edison, 69-40.

In eighth is Franklin (1-1), which came close to knocking off Rutgers Prep in is season opener Thursday, falling by four, 53-49, but them came back Saturday to beat Plainfield, 54-40. The Warriors travel to Gill St. Bernard’s Tuesday evening for a big Skyland Delaware Division game that can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio; click here to listen.

At No. 9 is Immaculata (1-1), up one spot. They beat Parsippany Hills on the road Thursday in their opener, but lost to a solid Delaware Valley team Saturday, 55-44. Tuesday night, they host Rutgers Prep.

And joining the rankings this week for the first time is Bridgewater-Raritan (2-0), which beat previous No. 9 Bound Brook, 53-45 on Opening Night Thursday as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, knocking the Crusaders (1-1) out of the rankings. The Panthers then beat JFK Saturday, 71-46.

Below are the full Week One Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas heads preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten, while three new teams join the rankings

In the preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten, three-time defending GMC Tournament champion St. Thomas Aquinas holds the No. 1 spot, while three new teams – one from the GMC and two from the Skyland Conference – take their place in the rankings.

Aquinas went 24-5 last year, and has won three straight GMCT titles, in 2020, 2022 and 2023. (There was no full tournament in 2021 due to the COVID-shortened season.) The Red Division champs turned over almost their entire roster, but are expected to be one of the favorites to win it again this year.

Colonia will be among the teams in that conversation, too. The Patriots are No. 2 in the preseason, coming off their second straight North 2, Group 3 title, and led once again by talented point guard Jaeden Jones, who was just named CJSR’s Offensive Player of the Year in football for 2023.

In third is St. Joseph-Metuchen, a Non-Public South A finalist a year ago that went 18-11. Though top-scorer Josh Ingram is gone to graduation, they Falcons bring back a good core and are another GMCT contender.

The next two spots are taken by Somerset County teams, each of which has won one of the last two SCTs. Rutgers Prep – 22-8 a year ago and Skyland Delaware Division champions – checks in at No. 4, while Gill St. Bernard’s – 19-8 last season – is at No. 5. Both had some roster turnover, but should be 1a and 1b – and the order is debatable until they play – in the county.

At No. 6 is Woodbridge, 14-12 last season and with a whole lot coming back, including top scorer Micah Eason. The Barrons were seven points away from an 18-8 year; after a two-point loss at South Plainfield in December, they dropped three games in a four game stretch in January by one point to Perth Amboy, by two at Edison, and by two up the road at JP Stevens.

No. 7 is Hillsborough, which returns four starters, but after winning the Raritan Division, moves up to the Skyland Delaware, swapping places with Bridgewater-Raritan. That’ll make for a very challenging schedule.

Franklin is in at No. 8, coming off a 17-11 season. The duo of Cam and Elisha Brown will help the Warriors make things interesting in the Delaware Division.

At No. 9 is Bound Brook, which is coming off back-to-back 22-5 seasons. But they’ll have to recover from the loss of top-scorer Jordan Summers and his Somerset County best 25.6 points per game. Middlesex transfer Jayden Pearyer will help, while “glue guy” Jarred Wooden runs the offense.

In tenth is Immaculata. The Spartans were 19-6 a year ago and return a host of talent, getting up and down the floor, playing good defense to boot. But they’re also up to the Delaware Division with Prep, Gill, Franklin and Hillsborough.

Below is the complete preseason Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils 2023-24 H.S. Basketball broadcast schedule

As Central Jersey Sports Radio gets set for its fourth season of high school basketball coverage, we’re announcing our Broadcast Schedule for the 2023-24 campaign.

Just like in the past, we’ll be bringing you boys’ and girls’ basketball in both the Greater Middlesex Conference and Somerset County, with a regular season schedule of ten games – plus additional regular season contests to be added in late February and early January.

And, we’ll have coverage of the GMC and Somerset County Tournaments. That all starts with each tourney’s respective seeding meetings, all the way through to Championship Week in mid-February, including the GMC girls’ and boys’ semifinals, selected Somerset County semis, the GMC championship doubleheader on February 16th, and the Somerset County Tournament championship twinbill on the 17th.

State tournament coverage will be added as well.

It all gets started with games on back-to-back nights next week. We’ll be at Bridgewater-Raritan on opening night as the Bound Brook boys visit the Panthers on Thursday, December 14th, with the GMC boys’ taking the airwaves the next night at JFK visits Timothy Christian.

After Franklin visits Gill St. Bernard’s in a Skyland Conference game the following Tuesday night, it’s the girls’ turn as South Brunswick visits Colonia in the GMC on Thursday evening.

And of course, follow us on cjsportsradio.com for all the latest high school basketball news, rankings and game broadcasts, including postgame reaction after all broadcasts, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

For the full broadcast schedule, click here.

by Mike Pavlichko

Week 7 Friday night Playoff Analysis: Group 5

Note: This article contains an update to the North 5 standings and analysis due to a technical glitch on our part which didn’t include quality or group points for any of the teams. The below reflects the updated standings.

Through the end of the season, Central Jersey Sports Radio will be updating unofficial playoff standings following Friday night’s games. Full analysis after the weekend will come during the week as the official standings are released by Gridiron New Jersey.

Here’s a look at unofficial standings after games of Friday, October 13th in Group 5. Results are calculated using scores on Gridiron New Jersey as of 9:30 am on October 14th:

A quick look shows the Stateliners held steady with their win over Union, though their lead over third-place Union City has shrunk from 0.8 UPR points to 0.2 points. The question is: can they hang on with a win over winless East Brunswick next week, or will it hurt them? And will they get some help from Union City or others behind them? The Soaring Eagles play at 3-5 Clifton next week.

Watchung Hills holds in fourth, their UPR from from 3.4 to 4, while Union drops from fifth to seventh with their loss last night to the Stateliners, and Plainfield holds in sixth with a 6.2 UPR. Bottom line is all those teams should be pretty safe for first round home games if they close with wins next week.

Westfield dropped to 11th place; the Blue Devils host Ridge Saturday afternoon.

As expected, Bridgewater-Raritan went from the wrong side of the playoff bubble to the good side – 17th to 16th – with a huge home win over Elizabeth Friday night. The Minutemen dropped to 20 and should be out; they’ll guarantee that if they lose next week, having only one win, where the NJSIAA minimum is two.

Piscataway dropped to 18th place with its loss to Sayreville at home Friday night. The Chiefs visit New Brunswick next week, and even a win may not help them; the Zebras are winless, and without any other results entered, a win there would drop them from 18th to 21. It doesn’t look good for the Chiefs.

Hillsborough’s win last night, coupled with a Marlboro loss, puts the Raiders up a spot into third, while North Brunswick – which defeated winless East Brunswick Friday night – drops from No. 5 to sixth place. They will try and recoup those points when they play a solid Cranford team at home next Friday night.

Hunterdon Central holds in ninth as the Red Devils snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Franklin, while South Brunswick’s win over Edison gave them a big boost, moving the Vikings from 12th into eighth place.

Old Bridge’s win at New Brunswick didn’t move the needle, as expected, keeping the Knights in 18th place. Franklin and Edison would have a lot of ground to make up. The Warriors are in 21st place, with Edison behind them at No. 22.

Then again, there are three teams in front of them who may not qualify for the playoffs. Williamstown (17th, 0-8) definitely won’t, since they have one game remaining and won’t meet the two-win threshold by the NJSIAA for playoff qualification. That might also be the case for Vineland (19th, 1-5) and Eastern (20th, 1-6), except they both still have two games left: one today, one next week. But even if they don’t, they still play into the UPR formula, so Franklin is 6.2 UPR points out of a playoff spot; Edison is 6.6 points out. That’s a lot of ground to make up. The one caveat here is that Edison plays St. Thomas Aquinas next Friday night and will be guaranteed at least 24 power points if they lose (way more if they win). That would up them from a 7.63 power point average to 9.45, a jump of five spaces (as of today) in power point rank, shedding 2 points off their UPR number.

Bottom line: Old Bridge has a chance, Edison may be a longshot. Vineland and Eastern are the games to watch today. Franklin should be out.

by Mike Pavlichko

Week 6 Playoff Analysis: Group 5

Just three weeks of football remain before the state playoffs are seeded, and teams all across the state are jockeying for position.

Over the next few weeks here at Central Jersey Sports Radio, we’ll break down every Big Central Conference team’s playoff scenario like no one else. And our playoff coverage is sponsored by May Family Appliances, Route One South in the Wick Plaza in Edison.

While the nature of the NJSIAA’s UPR system – which uses Opponent Strength Index for 60 percent of the formula and traditional power points for the other 40 percent – is very fluid from week to week, things will come into much clearer focus on Cutoff Weekend, when Strength Index numbers are locked in.

Until then, it’s not just wins and losses that determine playoff seeding, but how much – or in some cases how little, which often is better – a team wins or loses by. A loss to a strong opponent can help, while a win over a weak one can hurt.

Here’s our team-by-team look at Group 5. Official standings on Gridiron New Jersey can be found by clicking the links below.

NORTH GROUP 5:

2. Phillipsburg (4-1): The top two teams here are Passaic Tech (6-0) and the Stateliners, with PCTI having a UPR of 1, and P’burg a UPR of 2. That means Passaic Tech is ranked first in both power points and OSI, while Phillipsburg is ranked second in both. If the playoffs were seeded today, the Stateliners would be the top seed in the North 2, Group 5 section. The schedule is never easy for them, but they’ve gotten through some very good teams already – like Ridge, Hunterdon Central and Sayreville – and have two more toughies coming up. This week at Bridgewater-Raritan (yes, they’re 1-5, but have traditionally played P’burg tough) and next week at Union (4-2), before a bit of a breather on Cutoff Weekend when they host currently winless East Brunswick. Assuming P’burg keeps winning, could their schedule hurt them down the stretch? Bridgewater may be 1-4, but they have an SI in the 70s, which would very much help P’burg’s current 61.29 OSI.

3. Watchung Hills (5-1): The Warriors are coming off their first loss of the season – to Montgomery at home Saturday night – but are in a good line for a two-seed. Currently, they’d be in Phillipsburg’s section. Their schedule is strong SI-wise. Even a win over 0-fer Elizabeth on the final weekend would help, as their Strength Index is around 60, still a few points higher than Watchung’s OSI. They have some tough ones the next two weeks, at Plainfield this Saturday, then home to St. Joseph-Metuchen. Keep winning, and a two-seed is likely.

5. Union (4-2): The Farmers are having a nice rebound year, and are in line for a third-seed if they can keep winning. They could even move higher – Union City in fourth is just one UPR point ahead of them – due to their challenging schedule: Elizabeth on the road this week, home to Phillipsburg next week, then at Ridge. A sweep would be a mighty feat, and it’s likely Union would be rewarded handsomely for it.

7. Plainfield (4-1): Boy, has James Williams got it going on with the Cardinals, who are looking to surpass their last two 5-5 seasons in a big way here in 2023. How much they can improve their standing, though, remains to be seen. The goal is a top eight finish to get one of the top four seeds in whatever section they land. A win against Watchung Hills at home this Saturday would be enormous, but wins over Monroe and Franklin – both 2-4 – may not move the needle, or worse. The Cards might need a sweep to play a playoff game at Hub Stine Field.

14. Piscataway (3-3): In 2011, the Chiefs started 1-2, and head coach Dan Higgins said from that point on, every game was a playoff game, just to get in. This year’s squad started 0-2, and is in much the same boat. Their biggest obstacle will be Sayreville next week at home, sandwiched between a home game against East Brunswick this Friday night (CJSR, 6 pm) and a road game at New Brunswick Friday night of Cutoff Weekend; the Bears and Zebras are a combined 0-2. For now, we’re calling them a bubble team on the right side of said bubble.

15. Westfield (2-3): Tough loss on a last-second field goal to St. Joseph this past weekend, but the Blue Devils are still in contention for a playoff spot. They’re also a bubble team, and on the right side of it, but they only lead Bayonne by 0.8 UPR points, and Bridgewater by a full UPR point. This could easily go either way for Westfield, too, with three very solid opponents coming up: Somerville (4-2) and Ridge (4-1) at home this week and next, followed by a road game at Hillsborough (5-1) on Cutoff Weekend. They might be able to get in with just one win against that slate; two seems like they’d sew it up.

17. Bridgewater-Raritan (1-5): Yes, even four games below .500 with three to play, the Panthers are still in contention. Such is life in Group 5 and a tough division like they play in, the American Silver. Consider the fact that it’s the only division in the Big Central with three ranked teams: No. 2 Ridge, No. 3 Hillsborough and No. 4 Phillipsburg. And they lost to all three by just a touchdown each; their five losses have come by an average 7.4 points. (Meanwhile, Spotswood is hanging on to a playoff berth at 6-0, but we’ll get to that when we get down to Group 2. In any event…) Bridgewater has a good schedule the rest of the way, and they may need to win all three. They start with Phillipsburg at home, then host Elizabeth next week before ending at Old Bridge.

SOUTH GROUP 5:

4. Hillsborough (5-1): The Raiders come after Cherokee, Toms River North and Marlboro, and expect 15th place Lenape to make a massive jump when they play – after Cherokee this weekend – multipliers St. Joe’s-Hammonton next week and St. Augustine on Cutoff Weekend. Yes, the nasty NJSIAA double multiplier will wreak some havoc on behalf of this 2-4 Burlington County team, which lost in last year’s Central 5 sectional final to Edison. Be that as it may, Hillsborough maintained its position at No. 4 this week with another big win, this time over Union. They have a good schedule the rest of the way, with Hunterdon Central in Flemington this weekend, then home games with Somerville and Westfield for the last two. And there’s some distance behind them., so they’re not too bunched together here.

5. North Brunswick (5-0): Despite being unbeaten, the Raiders – who are just 0.8 UPR points behind Hillsborough – dropped from third place last week to fifth, after a 50-0 victory over 2-win Franklin. Their problem is things don’t get better with the schedule, with a pair of 0-6 and low-SI teams the next couple of weeks: New Brunswick home Friday and East Brunswick away next weekend, before coming back home to finish out with a good Cranford team that’s 3-2 and has a 68 SI. We say the Raiders could go 8-0 and still not reach the top four, especially if the teams above them continue to win. They may need one of them to slip and fall in order to climb the ladder.

9. Hunterdon Central (4-2): The Red Devils started 4-0, but have since lost two straight. Can they get back to their winning ways? If so, a home first-round playoff game at Stewart Field could be in the cards. They’re just one UPR point out of the top eight. But the top half – and then some – in this supersection is very good. There are two undefeated teams and five one-loss teams in the top 12, and none of those teams has more than two losses. The good news for Central is that two of the teams directly behind them – Kingsway and South Brunswick – are well behind by 1.6 UPR points, and West Windsor-Plainsboro in 12th is three full UPR points in arrears. Keep winning, and they’ll stave off the teams behind them. This weekend is a tough one against Hillsborough, but it’s at home. The next two weeks are not as challenging: at Franklin and home to Perth Amboy; both are 2-4.

11. South Brunswick (4-2): The Vikings are tied with Kingsway for 10th, but the Dragons would get the tiebreaker by virtue of having a higher OSI (50.18 to 47.25). Their last three weeks are a pretty good schedule, starting with a trip to Basking Ridge to take on Will Deady, Ryan Olivo and the Red Devils this Friday night. Next week, they get Edison at home, and finish at Brooks Field against Somerville. We don’t think they make the top eight even with a sweep, but a win or two should lock up a playoff berth.

16. Edison (3-3): The Eagles are the quintessential bubble team, and have three huge games left. We think two wins gives them a very good shot to be in the field, and if things go the way they are now, they might be better off squeaking in at 16 to avoid Toms River North in the opening round. Edison lost to the Mariners in last year’s Group 5 semifinal. The next three opponents are St. Joe’s this week at home, South Brunswick away next week, and St. Thomas Aquinas at home on Cutoff Weekend. One win, however, might not cut it.

18. Franklin (2-4): Yes, the Warriors may have a mathematical shot, and teams like Edison may have a lot to do with it, but the schedule isn’t kind to the Warriors. They have No. 9 Sayreville this week at home, followed by 4-2, but reeling, Hunterdon Central, then a Saturday Cutoff Weekend game at Plainfield. Considering Franklin needs to make up big ground, they probably need two wins to have a shot at getting in, maybe even all three. Against that slate, it’s a big ask.

by Mike Pavlichko

Mid-Season Playoff Analysis: More than half-dozen BCC “big boys” have legitimate shot at top seeds

At the mid-way point of the high school season, with four more weeks of football until the playoffs are seeded, there are seven large – Group 5 or 4 schools – with a realistic shot at earning a top seed when the sectional playoffs begin the weekend of October 27th.

This is our first week of playoff projection analysis on cjsportsradio.com, presented by My Family Appliances in Edison, and we begin with a look at North and South Group 5 and 4 supersections..

With still a lot of football to be played, the analysis will be a bit more general in nature this week, but will get increasingly detailed with each passing week as the numbers come into better focus.

Playoff Qualification Primer

The NJSIAA uses the United Power Ranking (UPR) to determine where teams are seeded. Without getting into all the behind the scenes calculations and caveats, each team’s UPR is based on two factors: their rank in the supersection based on power points and on OSI.

Power points are an average and based on the traditional formula that’s been used – albeit altered from time-to-time – over the years. Teams get six points for every win, group points based on the group of the opponent, and residuals – 3 for every win by a team you beat, 1 for every win by a team you lost to.

OSI is the Opponent Strength Index, and average of all the opponents played. Teams get the full value of a team’s Strength Index for a win, half for a loss. A win over an opponent with an SI of 80 gets and 80, a loss gets you 40 points. SI varies based on results throughout the year.

Teams are ranked in each category. OSI values are worth 60 percent of the formula, power points 40 percent. That added number makes the UPR, with lower numbers better. The best UPR a team can have is a 1, which is first in both power points and OSI.

The UPR is calculated for the NJSIAA by the website Gridiron New Jersey. Central Jersey Sports Radio also does its own unofficial calculations throughout the season, and will unveil its playoff projections in our annual special broadcast, this year on Saturday, October 21 from 5-7 pm, presented by My Family Appliances in Edison.

North Group 5

There are three area teams in the top five at the moment. After Passaic Tech in first, there’s Watchung Hills second, Union third, then Union City, and Phillipsburg in fourth.

The Warriors (5-0) have a big clash at home Saturday night with Montgomery (5-0) so that could boost their power point average. Union also has a huge game at Cooke Field with Hillsborough, which just knocked off previously-undefeated P’burg Sunday in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers. The Stateliners try to get back on the horse Friday against Hunterdon Central, which just took its first loss of the season Friday to Ridge.

After that, there’s a chance for a home game for Plainfield, which is 3-1 at the moment and sitting in seventh. They go out of conference Friday night with a trip to North Bergen (2-2), and have a big one with Watchung Hills next week at home before closing at Monroe and home to Franklin, two very winnable games. The Cards look like the have a shot here.

Next, you have to go down to 12th to find Westfield, whose victory over winless Scotch Plains-Fanwood Friday probably did them no favors. The good news is, they Blue Devils are 2-2 after an 0-2 start, so they’re trending in the right direction. Westfield is at St. Joseph-Metuchen Saturday afternoon.

Though they’re on the right side of it at this point, we’ll call Piscataway and Bridgewater-Raritan bubble teams for now. The Chiefs (2-3) are in 14th, while the Panthers (1-4) are in 15th. This is a danger zone, because any team with one or two wins will make big jumps if they win a third or fourth game. So, they’ll have to watch teams behind them.

Of course, winning themselves will help.

The last four games for the Chiefs are winnable, starting with Old Bridge on the road this week, then East Brunswick home on Friday, October 6th – a game you can hear on CJSR at 6 pm from Kenny Armwood Stadium. Sayreville and New Brunswick close out their schedule.

Bridgewater-Raritan has a much more difficult schedule. They’re at Ridge this week, and home to Phillipsburg the next, before Elizabeth and a road game at Old Bridge round out the slate.

South Group 5

Two area teams are in the top six here, and you need to finish in the top two to get a top seed in one of the sections, South or Central 5. North Brunswick (4-0) currently sits in fourth, with a 3.4 UPR, just one UPR point behind second-place Toms River North (4-1).

The problem for the Raiders is their schedule is not conducive to climbing up the rankings. Of the four teams remaining, two are winless (New Brunswick and East Brunswick) and Franklin (this week) and Cranford (Cutoff Weekend) each have just two wins at the moment. As far as a top-seed is concerned, there’s zero margin for error here.

Hillsborough sits in sixth at 4-1, and got a big boost with its upset win over previously-unbeaten Phillipsburg. That was 20 power points for the win, as opposed to four for a loss. They’ll have similar opportunities the next two weeks – both on the road – against Union and Hunterdon Central. And their last two home games against Somerville and Westfield won’t hurt them either. Running the table could give them a really good shot.

Hunterdon Central currently sits in eighth, and should be able to get a first round home game. Their remaining four games are a mixed bag. They should beat both Franklin and Perth Amboy to end the regular season, so a first-round playoff game (top 8 finish in the supersection) could ride on getting at least one win in the next two weeks, which includes a trip to Phillipsburg this Friday night, and a home game against Hillsborough next weekend.

South Brunswick sits in 11th, well enough inside the bubble, but also fairly likely a bottom eight finish.

On the bubble are Edison and Franklin. The Eagles are the defending Central Jersey Group 5 champs, and 2-3 at the moment. There are some winnable games on the schedule for the Eagles, including a home game with New Brunswick this Friday night.

The Warriors, however, are another story. While 2-3, their wins have come against East Brunswick and New Brunswick, opponents who are a combined 0-10. Their next three opponents – North Brunswick on the road this week and Sayreville and Hunterdon Central are a combined 11-3. So, we’ll not only see how much Franklin has improved this year, but whether a must-have win against at least one of those teams can get them in the playoffs.

North Group 4

In the top four are two Big Central teams from very competitive divisions, which explains why they’re there. Montgomery sits in third at 5-0, with a 4 UPR, two points behind second place Mount Olive. Then Ridge is right behind them – literally – with a 4.2 UPR. Northern Highlands is right behind the Red Devils with a 4.4 UPR.

This is very bunched up right now, and with a lot of football to be played, too close to call. Bottom line: Montgomery and Ridge will need to keep on winning. A loss by either team might make too high a mountain to climb to get into the top two.

Linden (4-1) has looked very good this year, and the Tigers claim seventh place this week in the UPR standings. They’ve got a reasonable schedule the rest of the way with JFK at home this week, then at Summit and Cranford before finishing at Montgomery in what could be a critical game to clinch at least a first-round home game.

Woodbridge looks like a pretty good playoff bet. The Barrons are tenth and 3-2 on the season, and Rahway – also 3-2 on the year – is right behind them. Woodbridge could have a legit shot at a top eight finish and a first round home game, Rahway a little less so, but they still have a chance with four weeks left and a good enough schedule that could give them a boost. They may have to go 3-1 the rest of the way to do it, though.

Sayreville sits in 13th, and while I wouldn’t call them a bubble team yet, the 3-2 Bombers can’t get complacent. Granted, their losses have come to Phillipsburg and North Brunswick, the only two teams that have occupied the top spot in the CJSR rankings. If Sayreville is as good as their preseason hype, they should do no worse than 3-1 the rest of the way.

Outside the bubble and a longshot to make the field is Scotch Plains-Fanwood, which is 1-4 and in 19th place. But more interesting is Colonia. The Patriots are 2-3, but all the way down in 21st place. They have a 20.2 UPR, 4.8 points out of a playoff spot. The schedule is favorable with winless North Hunterdon coming to the blue turf this week, and then a visit to 2-3 Perth Amboy next week. It could come down to the last two weeks – with home games against Summit and Rahway, two teams in the playoff field – to decide Colonia’s playoff fate.

South Group 4

While there are no Big Central teams in this section, it’s worth mentioning briefly since New Jersey now plays all the way to group champs. For now, we’ll just point out that the top two teams are Mainland (5-0) and Millville (3-1), followed by WInslow (4-1) and Brick Memorial (5-0).

by Mike Pavlichko

After winless season, Franklin’s off-season work pays off, Warriors head into Montgomery at 1-0

Going through an 0-8 season isn’t easy. Sometimes when you don’t win, you don’t know how to win. How can you do one without the other?

Well, Franklin has done it, and the hard work paid off.

The Warriors beat East Brunswick last Friday on the road 27-12 – forcing Bears’ QB Vito Tropeano, Jr. into three interceptions – for the program’s first win since November, 2021. And they are doing more than hoping that more wins will come. They are working hard toward that goal.

Head coach Blair Wilson says it’s all about the challenging work – on and off the field – his team put in this summer, as well as their experiences last year. If in the past, they didn’t know how to finish, now they do; they’ve actually done it.

It’s not an easy schedule, with teams like Piscataway, Hunterdon Central, Sayreville and others on the schedule. But they’ll lace it up again Friday when they head to Montgomery for the second of a three-game road stretch to start the season.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko with Franklin head coach Blair Wilson, along with junior two-way lineman Ethan Villa and senior tight end/linebacker Joseph Nwachukwu:

by Mike Pavlichko

2023 Big Central Preview: National Silver Division

North Brunswick won the National Silver Division in 2022, but Edison beat them in a wild game in the playoffs en route to its first sectional title in 31 years. Both teams have lost significant players, but both return some key parts, too.

The Raiders and Eagles should be right there again, along with Sayreville, now under the direction of veteran coach Don Sofilkanich.

The division actually has three new coaches this year, as veteran Carteret coach Matt Yascko – who was Edison’s Offensive Coordinator for three seasons – takes over for the retiring Matt Fulham, while Steve Gluchowski comes over from an assistant role at Spotswood to helm struggling New Brunswick. Blair Wilson, in his second season at Franklin, will also try to turn the Warriors around.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko’s preview of the National Silver Division from the Big Central Conference’s inaugural Media Days: