It’s time for the playoffs!

We got through opening weekend in the sweltering heat of the late dog days of August. We didn’t really have much of a fall, but the weather mostly nice. And Cutoff Weekend last weekend saw some teams sweating it out, some disappointed, and others rewarded for their play during the season.

Now, it’s time to get it all going!

Here’s Central Jersey Sports Radio’s look at all the playoff games involving BCC schools this weekend, section by section in Groups 4 and 5, including game dates and times. Games are Friday, except where noted.

Find our preview of Group 1, 2 and 3 schools will by clicking this link.

NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 5:

• #8 Linden (3-6) at #1 Bridgewater-Raritan (6-3), 6pm: The Panthers, after making the playoffs out of a strong division with no more than four wins each of the last three seasons, broke through in Year Three under the young, energetic DJ Catalano as head coach. And they survived two games without QB Declan Kurdyla, a Rutgers lacrosse committ whose season it was thought might be over after a lower body (knee) injury against Hunterdon Central in Game Four. It turned out to be not as serious as originally thought, and he was back three weeks later. A win over Piscataway – a two-seed in the same section – may have been their best of the year. As for Linden, Mark Ciccotelli’s took over for Al Chiola, and the Tigers struggled a bit out of the box, starting 0-3, and going 1-5 through their first six. But they won two of their last three, beating Perth Amboy and Carteret, then lost by one to a super-talented, if inconsistent Plainfield team last weekend. Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates and we’ll have video postgame reaction late Friday night.
• #6 Bayonne (6-3) at #3 Elizabeth (5-4), 6 pm: When you have a three-year starter like the dynamic Arique Fleming in quarterback – a three-year starter who’s still only a junior – you have to like the Minutemen and their chances. After a 2-1 start, they lost three straight, but have won three in a row over Morristown, Watchung Hills and Union, the win over the Warriors – on the road – being the most impressive. But Bayonne comes in hot, too. The Bees won just one of their first four games, but have reeled off five straight coming into the playoffs. But that one win they had early? It came over Elizabeth, 26-21, at Williams Field. Can the Minutemen return the favor?
• #7 Plainfield (4-5) at #2 Piscataway (7-2), Saturday 1 pm: This is our Saturday “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Click here to listen, with pregame starting at 12:45. The Chiefs are looking like their old selves again, that is, a team that’s capable of winning a championship, even if they have to clean up some penalties and miscues. They and Plainfield both have talent over the field. Landon Pernell can get the ball to receivers like Josiah Zayas, who came back to the program from St. Thomas Aquinas, and Zaire Young can do things on the ground. Devin Thomas – the Plainfield quarterback is dynamic, having thrown for over 2,000 yard – with 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions – and leading the team in rushing at 466 yards. This is going to be a game with a lot of big plays. Read our full preview and hear from both head coaches at the link.

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 5:

• #5 Hillsborough (4-5) at #4 Rancocas Valley (5-4), Saturday 12 pm: This is a tough draw for the Raiders, being on the road, but they’re also familiar with the West Jersey Football League, playing fellow Group 5 squad Washington Twp. in the Battle at the Beach down at Rowan back in August. That 43-12 loss came to a team that was 9-0, but don’t discount the Red Devils, even though they’re “just” 5-4. They have a run-heavy attack led by Jameer Bellamy (864 yards, 11 TDs), and have a sophomore in Michael Beasley and a junior in David Ogunsola who have combined for 22 1/2 of the team’s 29 sacks this year. Hillsborough will have to protect senior QB Devon Khurana – who already played the early part of the season with a broken pinkie – and will be challenged to get thousand-yard rusher Andrew Schwarz the numbers they’d like. Fun fact: This will be the third “Red Devils” opponent for the Raiders this year, who lost 28-7 to Ridge, but beat Hunterdon Central in Flemington last week, 33-8.
• #6 Freehold Twp. (5-4) at #3 Old Bridge (8-1), Saturday 6 pm: The Knights have one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the area in Brody Nugent, the senior QB who has thorwn for 1,811 yards and 15 touchdowns, while rushing for a team-best 799 yards and 15 more scores. He’s a points machine for a team that has been perfect in the six games since they lost 28-21 at Piscataway on September 12th, a full month-and-a-half ago. Freehold Township had won three straight before falling to Manalapan last week. A pass-heavy offense that has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards between two quarterbacks could make this a very entertaining game, indeed.
• #7 Trenton (6-3) at #2 Sayrveille (8-1), 7 pm: The Bombers rebounded from a 43-15 loss to Montgomery two weeks ago with a 33-26 win over St. Thomas Aquinas that ended their Big Central-record 35-game winning streak. Shaun Jackson has been the offensive weapon all season long, with 1,650 yards and 20 touchdowns on 162 carries. Almost on the nose, he touches the ball a little more than every other play. The Tornadoes have a more balanced attack, with junior QB Keith Williams throwing for 1,210 yards, and have won three straight coming in. This will be the Bombers’ first opponent from Mercer County since 2008, when they beat West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, before losing in the title game to Brick Memorial.

NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 4:

• #8 Newark Central (6-3) at #1 Phillipsburg (7-1), 7 pm: The Stateliners get to defend their North 2, Group 4 title, and the beginning of theat defense starts with an explosive Blue Devil club out of Newark. They have a sophomore quarterback who has thrown for almost 1,400 yards in Zahyir Taylor, but while he’s thrown 14 touchdown passes, he’s also been prone to throwing picks, with nine on the season. This is a very balanced attack, but Central doesn’t play nearly the schedule Phillipsburg does. They are still humming along even after a 21-0 loss at St. Joseph-Metuchen a couple of weeks ago, with another sophomore QB in Dominic Bracco playing traffic cop with the ground game, which has reeled off nearly 2,300 yards and 30 touchdowns this season.
• #5 Colonia (6-3) at #4 Ridge: (5-3), 7 pm: This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, and both have had fine seasons. The Patriots had won four straight before a Cutoff Weekend loss to Old Bridge, but it’s also been the most comfortable Cutoff Weekend Colonia has had in the last few years, since they had a playoff berth already locked up coming in. It’s a solid senior group that has put up big numbers through the air, with Dylan Chiera tossing for 1,971 yards and 21 TDs with just two picks all season, and favorite target RJ Wortman already over a thousand-yards receiving. Ridge will need to keep an eye on Julien Jones, who has racked up nine of the team’s 19 sacks on the season. Ridge also had won four in a row before falling to Westfield last week This will be Colonia’s passing game against the Red Devils’ ground attack, which has amassed 1,802 yards on the season. They’ve run it 334 times compared to 114 passing plays. Oh, and their defense can get after it, too. They have five picks, one for a touchdown.
• #6 Westfield at #3 Montgomery, 7 pm: The last meeting between these schools was ten years ago, as the schools finished a home-and-home that saw the Cougars win in 2014, the Blue Devils in 2015. That being distant history, the Cougars are a bit banged up right now after the Rahway game, in which senior QB Jack Kristjanson went down with what appeared to be a lower leg injury late in the game after a sack. They’ve got some big wins, over Somerville and Sayrville, and in overtime in their opener against a solid 7-2 Hopewell Valley squad. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, are looking for their first back-to-back wins of an up-and-down season. But if they can play like they did against Ridge last week, when they netted a 14-7 upset win at home – their first win over the Blue Devils since 2017 – they can pull this one off. Senior Jordan Walsh is the reigning Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week, coming up with big plays late in that win.
• #7 Rahway (6-3) at #2 Woodbridge (7-2), 6 pm: The side story here is that this is the “Russo Bowl.” Rahway head coach Brian Russo is a Woodbridge grad, won a state title there, coached there, and his son, Sean, is a senior wide receiver for Joe Goerge. The main storyline here is: this should be one damn good football game. The Indians were physical in a 28-7 upset win over No. 3 Montgomery last Friday night, a win that got them in the playoffs, and senior Andrew Avent – who’s now the school’s all-time rushing leader at 4,395 career yards and 79 overall touchdowns – can change the game in a hurry. But they can get to the quarterback, too, with the defense coming up with at least four sacks last week alone. The Barrons have been one of the best teams in the Big Central the last two years, with just one regular season loss, that coming to St. Joe’s a couple of weeks ago. Joshua Allen is also a great back; the senior has gone for 1,355 yards and 18 scores this season. Can they limit Rahway on the scoreboard? Though the Barrons have pitched two shutouts, those came against Union and Perth Amboy. But the rest of the schedule has all scored at least 18 points against them in every game.