Tag: HS Football

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: With Spotswood moving out, Brearley, Dayton Roselle Park will battle it out, as Highland Park, JP Stevens, South River look to make strides

Little change was made to the Big Central Conference’s Freedom Gold Division in the off-season, but with 2025 champion Spotswood moving up and out in the most recent realignment, the top three remaining teams – Brearley, Dayton and Roselle Park – will likely battle it out for the title in 2026. All three were .500 or better, with Brearley having tied the Chargers with a 4-1 division mark, but Spotswood winning last year’s head-to-head. Highland Park will deal with some losses, South River will look to improve, and JP Stevens moves into a division that could help them be more competitive.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Freedom Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Brearley Bears (5-5, 4-1, 2nd place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Elliot Platt, 2nd season (5-5)

  • Week 0: at Wallington
  • Week 1: Manville
  • Week 2: Dayton*
  • Week 3: South River*
  • Week 4: JP Stevens*
  • Week 5: Roselle
  • Week 6: at Highland Park*
  • Week 7: Roselle Park*
  • Week 8: at North Plainfield

The Bears were a run-first team last year, as senior Matthew Resende rushed for 1,284 yards. They’re going to miss that, with only two other backs – one a senior, quarterback Joe Squillaro – totalling around 200 yards. Monroe Passmore ran for 206 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns as a sophomore last season. Their strength could be the defense this year, as sophomore lineman Rocco Federico (14 1/2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles) should be back, while Passmore had two sacks and 6 1/2 TFLs from his linebacker spot. Adding JP Stevens as a division-mate with Spotswood gone could make it harder to qualify for the playoffs, or at least to get a good seed. Brearley made it last year, but ended up as the eight seed and had to play top-seed Mountain Lakes on the road, taking a first round loss.

Dayton Bulldogs (7-2, 3-2, 3rd place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Nick Iannacone, 5th season (18-20)

  • Week 0: Governor Livingston
  • Week 1: at Bound Brook
  • Week 2: at Brearley*
  • Week 3: JP Stevens*
  • Week 4: at Roselle Park
  • Week 5: New Providence
  • Week 6: at South River*
  • Week 7: Highland Prk
  • Week 8: Manville

The Bulldogs could be the best of the bunch this year. In 2025, they knocked off division champ Spotswood, 20-19, in a game that ended up costing the Chargers (8-1 at the cutoff) a playoff spot in favor of 3-5 Camden Eastside. In 2026, their QB and top running back and receiver all are back. As juniors, quarterback Adrian Bernkopf threw for 1,270 yards and 14 TDs, while runningback Tyler Fuscaldo carried 119 times for 749 yards and nine scores (Bernkopf ran for the other eight), while Jackson Babiarz caught 21 passes for 479 yards and seven touchdowns. And there are others in the unit who are back and can contribute as well, like rising junior Kevin Lynch (16 receptions, 240 yards, 1 TD). Many key defensive players are back, too, like rising junior DB Dominic Pintado (2 sacks, 5 TFLs), ad rising senior DL Isaiah Rivas (3 TFLs, 2 fumble recoveries for TDs) and Babiarz, who had four of the team’s eight picks last year to lead the team. This could be Dayton’s year.

Roselle Park Panthers (6-4, 2-3, 4th place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Greg Dunkerton, 7th season (23-35)

  • Week 0: at Wood-Ridge
  • Week 1: Belvidere
  • Week 2: at South River*
  • Week 3: Highland Park*
  • Week 4: Dayton*
  • Week 5: at Middlesex
  • Week 6: JP Stevens*
  • Week 7: at Brearley*
  • Week 8: at Roselle

The Panthers were impressive when we saw them in early October at Highland Park, coming out with a 35-12 win. They ran the rock to the tune of 2,509 yards last season, led by Nick Salas with 146 carries, 946 yards and 14 touchdowns; he’ll be back this year. So will No. 3 rusher Maxwell Griffin (398 yards, 5 TD), and he’ll be a senior. Salas also caught eleven passes out of the backfield for 165 yards and three scores, but his QB has graduated; Anthony Damiano threw for 485 yards. Roselle Park will lose a little more on the defensive side, with veterans like linemen Lorby Castelly (7 sacks, 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery) and Jose Candelaria (4 sacks, 2 TFLs, 1 blocked kick) gone to graduation. Bot with that offense, they should be able to give Dayton and Brearley a run for their money.

Highland Park Owls (3-6, 2-3, 5th place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Shawn Harrison, 6th season (10-35)

  • Week 0: New Brunswick
  • Week 1: Middlesex
  • Week 2: at JP Stevens*
  • Week 3: at Roselle Park*
  • Week 4: South River*
  • Week 5: at Bound Brook
  • Week 6: Brearley*
  • Week 7: at Dayton*
  • Week 8: Metuchen

The Owls snapped that long losing streak in their final game of 2023, then went 6-3 the next year before falling to 3-6 last season after senior QB Markos Hantsoulis graduated. Now, the other two of the clan – Kosta and Stamatis also are gone, and head coach Shawn Harrison may have to lean a little more on QB Marcus Smith to step up as a senior. He threw for 866 yards and eight touchdowns last season, and top runningback Jacob Quiros also should be back for his senior year, after rushing for 459 yards and five scores a season ago. The defense will have to replace defensive back Matthew Adamczyk-Zapor, who had three sacks and seven tackles for loss last year.

South River Rams (1-9, 0-5, 6th place Freedom Gold)
Head Coach: Rich Marchesi, 40th season (229-158)

  • Week 0: at Point Pleasant Beach
  • Week 1: at South Hunterdon
  • Week 2: Roselle Park*
  • Week 3: Brearley*
  • Week 4: at Highland Park*
  • Week 5: Dunellen
  • Week 6: Dayton*
  • Week 7: at JP Stevens*
  • Week 8: at Spotswood

Though the Rams have struggled mightily in the last few seasons – a mixture of personnel and injuries – Rich Marchesi is the longest-tenured head coach in the Big Central Conference for a reason; he’ll find a way to give whoever he has the best chance to win. The likely candidate to take over under center is Julien Borusevic, who has quite the arm: he was 5-4 with a 2.45 ERA for the Rams’ baseball team this spring. He got some snaps last year behind Orion Familia, going 11-of-28 for 52 yards and a touchdown in parts of six games last season. The good news is Kah’mori Cotto was just a junior last year when he ran for 920 yards and seven touchdowns, and three receivers are back as well. The defense was a relatively young group last year as well, so if they can stick together, the Rams should see improvement in ’26.

JP Stevens Hawks (0-10, 0-3, 5th place in Patriot Gold Division)
Head Coach: David Kunyz, 2nd season (0-10)

  • Week 0: OPEN
  • Week 1: Dunellen
  • Week 2: Highland Park*
  • Week 3: at Dayton*
  • Week 4: at Brearley*
  • Week 5: South Hunterdon
  • Week 6: Roselle Park*
  • Week 7: South River*
  • Week 8: Middlesex

This is more the Hawks’ speed than a division with Bernards, Voorhees and Delaware Valley, and that could help a lot. Senior QB Shamar Burch (847 yards, 4 TDs) struggled with the turnovers last year, but Khawaja Muawiyah got in some good action as a junior, and started late in the season, ultimately going 46-97 for 530 yards and 5 TDs, and if he can improve and also cut down on the interceptions, that will help. Zamarr Raiford was the leading rusher on a team that almost exclusively threw the ball (1,397 pass yards, 122 rushing) last season, as he went for 717 yards and seven touchdowns on 48 catches. No. 2 receiver Jream Sorrell was just a freshman, but still had 22 catches for 185 yards and a score. On defense, 38 different players logged stats last season, so the numbers are there; head coach David Kunyz will have to figure which parts give them the best eleven on the field.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: Anything could happen in expanded Patriot Silver, with new head coaches for all six squads

Many of the changes in the Big Central Conference divisional alignment for the next two years centers around the smaller school divisions, and trying to give better schedules to some of the better schools – a problem not generally seen among larger schools. After all, there is no one-size-fits-all.

Enter the Patriot Silver Division, which still has New Providence – which has made sectional finals each of the last two seasons – as well as A.L. Johnson, which finished last year 7-2. But the powers that be also added a Spotswood team that finished 8-2 last year. Perth Amboy – still waiting on a new head coach after William Clark wasn’t retained – also is new to the group this year, while Roselle and Metuchen remain. But the Panthers aren’t the only one with a new head coach. In fact, all six teams have new skippers this year.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Patriot Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

New Providence Pioneers (10-1, 3-0, Patriot Silver Division Champions)
Head Coach: Anthony Cozentino, 1st season

  • Week 0: Middlesex
  • Week 1: Voorhees
  • Week 2: Johnson*
  • Week 3: Metuchen*
  • Week 4: at Roselle*
  • Week 5: at Dayton
  • Week 6: Perth Amboy*
  • Week 7: at Spotswood*
  • Week 8: Governor Livingston

Chet Parlavecchio, Jr., brought the Pioneers to the sectional finals in each of his last two seasons at the helm, now it’s Cozentino’s task to keep it going. He’s been on the staff for five seasons, so continuity shouldn’t be an issue there, nor will it be at quarterback, where junior Kevin Reilly threw for 1,119 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. They will surely miss runningback A.J. Whitehead, who rushed for 700 yards on the nose and 13 touchdowns before a season-ending injury in mid-October. The defense will need to fill some holes. Whitehead and linebacker Daniel Poretti combined for seven INTs last season, while Drew Gullo had 4 1/2 sacks and James Keneally had 5 1/2, while defensive back Jack Fitzgerald had nine – and 11 TFLs – leading the team in both categories. But all of them were seniors.

A.L. Johnson Crusaders (7-2, 2-1, 2nd place Patriot Silver)
Head Coach: Mike Ryan, 1st season

  • Week 0: OPEN
  • Week 1: at Delaware Valley
  • Week 2: New Providence*
  • Week 3: at Roselle*
  • Week 4: Spotswood*
  • Week 5: at Governor Livingston
  • Week 6: Metuchen*
  • Week 7: at Perth Amboy*
  • Week 8: JFK

After a year of Athletic Director Gus Kalikas as head coach, with his son the starting quarterback, veteran Middlesex County coach Mike Ryan steps in; he’s been at Sayreville and Edison, while also serving as head coach for a run at JP Stevens. The Crusaders were a playoff entrant last season, and while senior QB Jack Kalikas is gone, he mostly ran the show, throwing for just under 200 yards and rushing for 215 and two scores. The backs – many of them – did the dirty work, with six going for 200 or more on the season, and none more than Zaire Majerska, who rushed for 600 and 11 TDs as a junior last season. He’s a two-way player, and is perhaps the most disruptive player returning, with four sacks and six TFLs from his linebacker spot, while junior Vincent Cilento had two sacks, eight TFLs and a pair of interceptions on the year. Governor Livingston and JFK round out a solid crossover schedule.

Roselle Rams (2-9, 1-2, 3rd place Patriot Silver)
Head Coach: James Roach, 1st season

  • Week 0: Ferris
  • Week 1: at Hillside
  • Week 2: at Perth Amboy*
  • Week 3: Johnson*
  • Week 4: New Providence*
  • Week 5: at Brearley
  • Week 6: Spotswood*
  • Week 7: at Metuchen*
  • Week 8: Roselle Park

The Rams were 6-16 in two seasons under Tyrone Turner, who’s now with Steven Brown as offensive coordinator at North Plainfield, and it’ll be up to James Roach – a local youth coach – to turn things around at Abraham Clark H.S. That’ll be tough with a senior-laded team in 2025. The only non-12th grader to take a snap last year was sophomore Vaylen Webb, who was 1-for-2 passing in limited time against JP Stevens in late October last year. Top rusher Davon Rhodes (547 yards, 5 TDs) graduated, as did No. 1 receiver Shymir Burgess (680 yards, 4 TDs). Defense is much of the same, as Burgess had two interceptions, including a pick-six, while Daniel Diaz (5 sacks), Mike Henderson, Jr. (4 sacks) and Kevin Sanchez (3 sacks) are among the top defensive players who will be missed.

Metuchen Bulldogs (5-5, 0-3, 4th place Patriot Silver)
Head Coach: Joe Riggi, 1st season

  • Week 0: Dunellen
  • Week 1: New Brunswick
  • Week 2: at Spotswood*
  • Week 3: at New Providence*
  • Week 4: Perth Amboy*
  • Week 5: JFK
  • Week 6: at Johnson*
  • Week 7: Roselle*
  • Week 8: at Highland Park

Joe Riggi comes to the Bulldogs from the other side of town, where he had been the defensive coordinator at St. Joseph-Metuchen under Bill Tracy. Metuchen started the season 1-4 last year, but then won four straight before dropping their finale to Governor Livingston. They lose a lot, including senior QB Cam Hayes-Durina, who threw for 1,471 yards and 15 TDs last year, while also being the team’s leading rusher at 431 yards and six TDs. Seniors were the big contributors this year, so it might be a challenge to see improvement right off the bat. It’s a little less of a problem on defense, where juniors like Chris Esso (1 sack, 1 TFL), Eli Major (1 1/2 sacks, 3 TFLs) and others had an impact, including junior Gio Tan, who snared five picks last season on defense, bringing one in for a score.

Spotswood Chargers (8-2, 4-1, Freedom Gold Division Champions)
Head Coach: Brian Russo, 12th season (63-46)

  • Week 0: Monmouth Regional
  • Week 1: at JFK
  • Week 2: Metuchen*
  • Week 3: Perth Amboy*
  • Week 4: at Johnson*
  • Week 5: at North Plainfield
  • Week 6: at Roselle*
  • Week 7: New Providence*
  • Week 8: South River

Coming off three consecutive 8-2 seasons in the last years under Chris Meagher, former East Brunswick mentor Andy Steinfeld takes over the Chargers, with his son Matt having already been on the staff as an assistant. The offense will take a big hit with the graduation of Se’mir Tolbert-Brimage, who threw for 735 yards and 11 scores, while rushing for 834 and 11 more scores, leading the ground game. He also had two sacks, three TFLs and a pick six on defense, and it’s not easy to replace a player like that. But top receiver Ryan Foster, who caught 25 balls last year for 336 yards and three scores, will be back. Senior Sebby Saracino also was a punishing rusher, carrying 105 times for 67 yards and six touchdowns, but he’s gone to graduation. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Dan Keelan – a lineman with three sacks, five TFLs, a safety and a blocked kick – also will be missed, along with big-time kicker Gavin Pereira, who was 6-of-9 with a long of 48 on field goals, and 31 of 33 on PATs.

Perth Amboy Panthers (1-9, 0-4 in Liberty Gold Division)
Head Coach: TBA

  • Week 0: Monroe
  • Week 1: at Carteret
  • Week 2: Roselle*
  • Week 3: at Spotswood*
  • Week 4: at Metuchen*
  • Week 5: New Brunswick
  • Week 6: at New Providence*
  • Week 7: Johnson*
  • Week 8: at South Plainfield

The schedule doesn’t do the Panthers a lot of favors, and they’re yet to officially hire a new head coach, though word is one should be in place shortly, so stay tuned. William Clark was not brought back after winning just nine games total over the past five seasons. Amboy had two underclassman QBs on the roster last year, though only junior Amauris Peguero played, passing for 847 yards and 9 TDs a year ago, but the rest of the skill spots were very senior-laden. Top defensive players like Sebastian Medina Moreno (4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery) and Jordany Rodriguez (2 sacks, 2 TFLs) also graduate.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: With a new look, new teams, Patriot Gold could be wide open

The Big Central Conference Patriot Gold Division in 2026 is like New Year’s Day: Out with the old, in with the new. Except a little bit will carry over, too.

This is one of those divisions that got a major revamp, moving down the likes of Hillside, New Brunswick and North Plainfield from their divisions, and moving division champ Bernards out for a tougher schedule. Voorhees and Delaware Valley remain, and have some good crossover to help their playoff hopes.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Patriot Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Voorhees Vikings (8-2, 2-1, 2nd place Patriot Gold)
Head Coach: Matt Evancho, 1st season

  • Week 0: Warren Hills
  • Week 1: at New Providence
  • Week 2: North Plainfield*
  • Week 3: Hillside*
  • Week 4: at East Brunswick
  • Week 5: Delaware Valley*
  • Week 6: at Bernards
  • Week 7: New Brunswick*
  • Week 8: at North Hunterdon

Giving Voorhees New Providence and Bernards as crossovers should boost the Vikings in their playoff push. But the bigger challenge will be replacing a slew of offensive talent, including Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week scholarship winner Matteo Tramutola, whose 1,338 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns were the vast majority of the ground game last year. Not only has he graduated, but so has quarterback Sam Meekings (1,560 yards passing, 19 TDs) and top receiver Rylan Benitez (775 yards, 11 TDs) and No. 2 wideout Logan Direny (408 yards, 4 TDs). The defense should fare a little better in terms of losses. Shawn Turino had 2 1/2 sacks last year as a junior – along with a pair of fumble recoveries – while sophomore Keith Richard added another two sacks.

Delaware Valley Terriers (6-4, 1-2, 3rd place Patriot Gold)
Head Coach: Ben Ibach, 4th season (17-11)

  • Week 0: North Hunterdon
  • Week 1: Johnson
  • Week 2: at Hillside*
  • Week 3: Warren Hills
  • Week 4: Bernards
  • Week 5: at Voorhees*
  • Week 6: at New Brunswick*
  • Week 7: North Plainfield*
  • Week 8: at Belvidere

Again, keeping Bernards is a boost here for the Terriers, who had an up-and-down 6-4 season a year ago. They won their first two of the year, then alternated between wins and losses the rest of the way out. Senior QB Kelton Ibach, the head coach’s son, graduates after a 1,674-yard passing season, where he connected for 20 touchdowns against just three interceptions. But two runningbacks – junior Ben Culberson (331 yards, 8 TDs) and sophomore Gabe Miller (139 yards, 2 TD) – return, along with tight end and top receiver Brayden Picardo-Leask (439 yards, 5 TD). The defense should return a good deal as well, including junior linebackers Evan Strochak (2 sacks, 4 1/2 TFLs), Culberson (3 sacks, 6 TFLs, 1 INT), Marcus Gary (2 sacks, 3 TFLs, team-high 80 tackles) and Miller (1 sack, 2 1/2 TFLs, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovered). They also return their special teams skill players, including kicker/punter/returner Brayden Costello, and the younger sophomore returner Brooks Brunner.

Hillside (3-6, 2-2, 3rd place in United Gold)
Head Coach: Isa Abdul-Quddus, 3rd season (8-11)

  • Week 0: at Columbia
  • Week 1: Roselle
  • Week 2: Delaware Valley*
  • Week 3: at Voorhees*
  • Week 4: at New Brunswick*
  • Week 5: Bernards
  • Week 6: North Plainfield*
  • Week 7: at Manville
  • Week 9: at Cranford

After a 5-5 debut season for head coach Abdul-Qudddus, the Comets dropped out of the playoff picture in 2026, and the skipper will have some work to do, with rising junior Muwahid Williams at least a candidate to start at QB, after throwing 6-of-15 for 96 yards and a touchdown in limited action last season behind the now-graduated Justin Ashford (889 yards, 7 TDs). No. 1 target Kamari Robinson (559 yards, 6 TD) also is gone, but top runningback Travis Miles (342 yards, 5 TDs) should return for his senior year. And while the defense also graduates a ton, perhaps their most disruptive member should be back; junior Kamsi Igboanugo had five sacks and 15 TFLs last season. Xavier DaSilva (13-16 on PATs, 2-5 on FGs) also should return for his junior season.

North Plainfield (3-6, 1-3, 4th place in United Silver)
Head Coach: Steven Brown, 1st season

  • Week 0: Orange
  • Week 1: South Plainfield
  • Week 2: at Voorhees*
  • Week 3: at New Brunswick*
  • Week 4: at JFK
  • Week 5: Spotswood
  • Week 6: at Hillside*
  • Week 7: at Delaware Valley*
  • Week 8: Brearley

Steven Brown comes in as the new head coach, and one of his first tasks will be to find a quarterback. Four played last year, including the now-graduated senior Jordan Burnett, who threw for 244 yards. Three juniors also saw snaps – including Evan Collazo, Alex Kruszczynski and Iam Lameira, a msulti-sport athlete who was 5.2 with a 2.62 ERA on the Cancuck baseball team this year. Top rusher Jordan Burnett (773 yards, 10 TD) and No. 2 Julius King (394 yards, 4 TD) also have graduated, but three sophomore receivers could make impacts as juniors this year. Defensively, junior DL Jeremiah Dorlus was the most disruptive player in 2025, with three sacks, while sophomore defensive back Anthony Costello had three picks, including one for a touchdown.

New Brunswick Zebras (1-9, 0-4, 5th place in United Silver)
Head Coach: Geoffrey Chrisman

  • Week 0: at Highland Park
  • Week 1: at Metuchen
  • Week 2: at Linden
  • Week 3: North Plainfield*
  • Week 4: Hillside*
  • Week 5: at Perth Amboy
  • Week 6: Delaware Valley*
  • Week 7: at Voorhees
  • Week 8: Scotch Plains-Fanwood

Despite a long losing streak – and few points scored – the Zebras persevered and finally picked up a win in Game 10 of the 2026 season, beating West Windsor-Plainsboro 36-0 in their season finale on October 29th. Like JP Stevens and Highland Park before them, all it takes is one to get the ball rolling, and New Brunswick has to hope that will be the case this year. After all, they don’t just start the season undefeated like everyone else, but there are very few teams who can say they ended their season with a win. Of course, there will be some graduation losses to deal with, but the charismatic Chrisman will just have to keep up his recruitment of the hallways to maintain his efforts to right the ship.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: Bernards takes 32-game league win streak into United Silver, joining solid Governor Livingston, South Plainfield and JFK

The United Silver Division of the Big Central Conference looked like it would be a tight race last season, and it was indeed. This year, North Plainfield and New Brunswick move to smaller school divisions, while Patriot Gold champion Bernards takes a step up into the division. And that could make this fun to watch.

Governor Livingston went 5-5 overall, but won the division at 4-0, with South Plainfield and JFK both finishing the year two games over .500 overall. Now, add in the Mountaineers, who have won 32 straight BCC games, and are three away from the all-time mark held by St. Thomas Aquinas, which had its streak snapped last season in a loss to fellow non-public Big Central rival St. Joseph-Metuchen. And they very well could have the horses to do it.

And give credit where credit is due: The Highlanders were 4-5 at the cutoff, while lesser teams made the playoffs in other sections, but they didn’t – partly a product of their schedule. The Big Central moving Bernards in – and New Brunswick and Hillside out – will help, even if they end up with a similar record again. And the same goes for South Plainfield and JFK, both of which were 6-4 and also failed to make the playoffs. The stronger schedule, even if they end up 5-5, should be a boost.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the United Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Governor Livingston Highlanders (5-5, 4-0, United Silver Division Champions)
Head Coach: Pete Ramiccio, 5th season (20-20)

  • Week 0: at Dayton
  • Week 1: at Monroe
  • Week 2: at Bernards*
  • Week 3: JFK*
    Week 4: at Lyndhurst
  • Week 5: Johnson
  • Week 6: Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Week 7: South Plainfield*
  • Week 8: at New Providence

Two tough season-opening losses last year were followed by three straight Division wins for the Highlanders, who were a young squad in 2025 and will come back with a ton of experience. Of their three biggest offensive players stat-wise, two were sophomores, and one was a freshman. The ninth-grader was QB Colin Hughes, who threw for 248 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Mateo Liloia went for 216 yards and a touchdown. Their top receiver was a sophomore, Parker Chatfield, who caught 15 passes for 157 yards, but GL did most of its damage on the ground, to the tune of 1,755 yards, led by soph Elijah Garcia, who carried 130 times for 806 yards and eight scores. The pump for the offense should be primed this year – and next. Chatfield also had three picks on defense in the secondary, as did sophomore Connor Jakubowksi, accounting for six of the team’s seven interceptions. And every single return man was as sophomore last year.

South Plainfield Tigers (6-4, 3-1, 2nd place United Silver)
Head Coach: Bill Hamilton, 6th season (25-24)

  • Week 0: at Somerville
  • Week 1: at North Plainfield
  • Week 2: JFK*
  • Week 3: at Bernards*
  • Week 4: at Carteret
  • Week 5: Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Week 6: Cranford
  • Week 7: at Governor Livingston*
  • Week 8: Perth Amboy

The young man the Tigers will miss most is Dominic Massaro, not just for his 1,165 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, but also his grittiness, physicality and leadership – the prototype South Plainfield football player. Freshman QB Lucas Habe didn’t have to do a lot last year, throwing for just 226 yards and 2 TDs, while the offense rolled off nearly 2,500 yards on the ground. And they have a defensive beast back in Aiden Noblecilla, who registered a whopping 16 sacks and 39 1/2 TFLs, as well as three forced fumbles and a recovery. Massaro’s six interceptions will be missed, but surely the Tigers will be solid on D. And they’ll have to fill Dom’s loss on special teams, where he returned six kickoffs for 161 yards and seven punts for over 300. The opener at Somerville will be a beast.

JFK Mustangs (6-4, 2-2, 3rd place United Silver)
Head Coach: Anthony Nyers, 1st season

  • Week 0: at East Brunswick
  • Week 1: Spotswood
  • Week 2: at South Plainfield*
  • Week 3: at Governor Livingston*
  • Week 4: North Plainfield
  • Week 5: at Metuchen
  • Week 6: Carteret
  • Week 8: Bernards*
  • Week 9: Johnson

Woodbridge alum Anthony Nyers leaders his Offensive Coordinator position at Westfield to take over the Mustangs program in his first head coaching job. But to listen to his former boss with the Blue Devils, he’s going to be just fine. “Our players immediately gravitated toward him,” Andzel told Central Jersey Sports Radio when he was hired in February. The Mustangs were a solid 6-4 last season, winning three games by shutout, splitting their four division games. But Nyers will have to find some key offensive replacements. All seniors, QB Richie Trotman threw for 1,387 yards, while Grant Lorentzen caught 55 passes for 1,221 yards and 22 touchdowns, and Fiheem Howell ran it 168 times for 1,058 yards. That was a shad under 80% of their offense, not counting other seniors who were in the mix. Rising senior Braylon Diaz will be a key part of the defense; he had four sacks, two forced fumbles and one recovery last season. But Lorentzen (3) and Howell (2) combined for five of the unit’s eight picks last season.

Bernards Mountaineers (9-1, 3-0, Patriot Gold Division Champions)
Head Coach: Jon Simoneau, 19th season (130-58)

  • Week 0: at Rutherford
  • Week 1: Cranford
  • Week 2: Governor Livingston*
  • Week 3: South Plainfield*
  • Week 4: at Delaware Valley
  • Week 5: at Hillside
  • Week 6: Voorhees
  • Week 7: at JFK*
  • Week 8: at Summit

Not only does Bernards bring in the second-longest win streak in the BCC at 32 games (the longest active streak), but the Mountaineers have won 34 straight regular season games. Their last defeat before either of those came on September 2, 2022 to Hillside, a 35-20 defeat. Since then, they have one sectional title (2024) in two trips to the finals (their second was last year.) And they should be loaded again, despite the loss of senior runningback Logan Stevens, who ran for 1,100 yards even last year and 14 touchdowns. But junior Patrick Carlisle (324 yards, 4 TDs) will be back to take the handoffs from returning QB Nolan Walks, who threw for 1,096 yards as a junior last season, while his favorite target, Sean Arcelay (25 catches, 470 yards, 5 TDs) also returns. Defense should be solid, too. Thomas Diemar – the school’s all-time sack leader with 22 – only played three games before a torn ACL ended his scholastic career, but others stepped up. Tyce Hanratty had two sacks and five TFLs as a junior, plus two picks, while junior Jordan Riley and sophomore Victor Nina combined for four sacks and 14 tackles for loss. No shortage of talent here, and few teams can match Bernards’ physicality.

by Mike Pavlichko

JFK’s Grant Lorentzen proves you can do it all, and be very good at it, too

Hitting a major milestone in any high school sport is a big deal.

Often, the game will stop, the ball will come out of play, and there are balloons and photo ops, then the game goes on.

For Grant Lorentzen, who’s just graduated from JFK in Iselin last week, he hit key milestones in not just one, nor two, but three high school sports.

  • In football, he was one of the top receivers in the state this year, with 55 catches for 1,221 yards, and 22 touchdowns, seven shy of the all-time state record. In three varsity seasons, he caught 149 passes for 2,470 yards and 34 scores.
  • In basketball, he became one of the few 1,000-point scorers in school history, finishing a four-year varsity career with 1,246 points, 78 from beyond the arc. And he was reasonably close to the program’s all-time leader, Jay Jorgenson (1974), who scored 1,403 in his career.
  • And in baseball, he finished his dual career as a pitcher and hitter, reaching the 100-hit and 200-strikeout plateaus. Lorentzen had 102 hits over four years on the varsity squad, while fanning 220 hitters across four varsity seasons.
JFK’s Grant Lorentzen (#11) scores on a punt return for a touchdown at Carteret on October 29, 2005. (Photo: Marcus Borden)

In an era where more and more student-athletes are specializing – playing just one sport, and then training the rest of the year in that sport – Lorentzen is a throwback, but also an example.

Lorentzen says his coaches always supported him playing multiple sports, so much so that he will even get to do it in college, where he’ll attend The College of New Jersey. First recruited by their baseball coach, he told them right from the get-go that he also wanted to play football. So, they worked out a schedule, and the rest is just future history.

Particularly with pitchers, many believe throwing year-round leaves a teenager more vulnerable to injury. A number of GMC hurlers didn’t make it through the entire 2026 season this spring. But Lorentzen managed to play eleven varsity seasons – and pitched – across four years and three sports at JFK.

Many coaches encourage the practice, and would rather see them play another sport at their school than be out of the building, playing travel ball.

And he still had the time to do some training in the off-season with Elite QB football training academy, under the tutelage of Matt Bastardi. He was often featured in Elite QB’s “Elite Performer of the Week” segment on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Lorentzen may not be a trailblazer. Many still play multiple sports. But he’s the perfect example of someone who not just played all three, but was damn good at all of them.

Click below to hear JFK grad Grant Lorentzen talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about being a three-sport athlete, and his future at The College of New Jersey:

by Mike Pavlichko

Mini coaching carousel that sent Riggi to Metuchen elevates Sofilkanich to defensive coordinator at St. Joseph

Very few of the dozen head coaching changes at Big Central Conference football schools this off-season came about because of other departures, unlike a couple of years ago.

After the 2023 season, Joe LaSala left Woodbridge, Joe Goerge left South Brunswick to take the Barrons’ job, and Ibrahim Halsey left Roselle for the Vikings, leaving Tyrone Turner to take over at Hillside. In the past week, he joined the staff of new head coach Steven Brown at North Plainfield.

No, none of that happened this year, but Joe Riggi’s departure as Defensive Coordinator at St. Joseph-Metuchen to take the vacant head coaching position right down the road at public school Metuchen – after alum Jordan Leitner stepped down – did leave a big opening on the staff of Falcons’ head coach Bill Tracy less than two months before the start of camp.

But Tracy has moved quickly, elevating veteran coach Don Sofilkanich to the job, after he joined Tracy’s staff last season, helping out with the offensive line and inside linebackers.

Tracy was well aware of Sofilkanich’s bona fides when while serving as the head coach at Livingston – prior to his very solid run at Ridge – and Sofilkanich was the DC at Roxbury under John Quinn, who he calls “truly one of the best head football coaches in the history of our state.”

“I had the pleasure, or displeasure, of coaching against Coach Sof many years ago. (His) defenses were very tough, so well-prepared, and we had a very tough time against him,” Tracy told Central Jersey Sports Radio this week. “I was fortunate to add him as an assistant coach last season, and when Joe Riggi, my former outstanding DC, got another opportunity, promoting Sof was an easy move.”

“He is great with the kids, very well-prepared, dedicated, and gets the best out of our guys,” Tracy added. “We are lucky to have him.”

And Tracy isn’t the only one to think that way.

“It’s a no-brainer,” says Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst Marcus Borden, who coached Sofilkanich (a 1988 grad) at East Brunswick, later had him on his staff with the Bears, and later worked under him when Soflikanich took a head coaching job at then-Bishop Ahr, now St. Thomas Aquinas.

Sofilkanich came to prominence in Middlesex County as a coordinator under John Quinn at New Brunswick on two state championship teams, the first of which came in 2003 when he led the defense on a squad that featured future New York Giants captain and two-time Super Bowl winner Jonathan Casillas and future NCAA All-American Dwayne Jarrett, who played at Southern Cal. That ’03 championship was the Zebras’ first title since 1926. They won again in 2006 with Soflikanich as the Offensive Coordinator..

He then left to become head coach at Asbury Park, turning around a program that went 1-9 in 2006, going 11-1 in 2007 with a Central Jersey Group 1 title.

After two more 11-1 seasons – and two more CJ1 championships – he moved next door to to Neptune for a year before coming back to the GMC to lead Bishop Ahr from 2011-2013, going 12-18. He spent the next three years at New Brunswick, going 15-16, including an excellent 9-2 in 2015.

Soflikanich coached two years at Plainfield in 2019 and 2020, going 4-11, and Sayreville in 2023, where he was 8-3.

“He will not be out-coached by anyone,” Borden says of Sofilkanich. “Don, as a football player in high school, was one of the hardest workers, and focused-in on technique, which made him successful,” said Borden. He says that carried on to Soflikanich’s play in college. “He used his physicality and ability as a technician to be successful.”

That laid the groundwork for his coaching career. When he later joined Borden’s staff at East Brunswick, “he taught the kids how to be physical.”

Borden recalled a scrimmage between his East Brunswick squad and Soflikanich’s Asbury Park team one year: “We were on the field at Heavenly Farms. It was raining. His kids were tough, physical and hard-nosed just like him.” He said he told the Asbury kids as they left practice in the rain, “Believe in your coach and what he’s teaching you. Because I know you will have success.”

by Mike Pavlichko

After more than two decades as a source for coaches, fans – and journalists – Gridiron New Jersey shuts down

Forget transfer scandals, playoff format changes, and big upsets.

The biggest news to rock the high school football world in New Jersey in recent memory came on Friday, June 26, 2026: the shutdown of Gridiron New Jersey.

Since 2002, and especially since 2018 when the NJSIAA drastically altered its football playoff formula in favor of the NJ UPR model – which at the time included the Born Power Index, Jon Fass has run the website Gridiron New Jersey, an easy-to-navigate site, free for all users, featuring all team results, power point calculations, and UPR standings. It also included every single NJSIAA postseason bracket dating back to the start of the playoff era in 1974.

But now, it’s all gone, per an announcement made on the site’s main landing page Friday morning.

It began in 1999, when Fass was working at WGHT in Pompton Lakes with a young Kevin Burkhardt, according to a 2017 profile of Fass and Gridiron in the Cherry Hill Courier Post. They began a high school football radio show on multiple local stations, then three years later branched our when Fass was dissatisfied with how long it took the state to release power point standings.

Eventually, the site and the power point standings took up so much time, Fass decided to ditch the show altogether and focus on the site. Eventually, he’d be correcting the NJSIAA on power point totals.

Then came 2018, and a massive overhaul of the playoff system that included two metrics that made up the UPR (United Power Ranking) system: traditional power points and the Born Power Index, the second of which was a proprietary ratings system developed by New Jersey math teacher Bill Born decades prior. It rated teams based on their relative strength rating, and the scores of games.

But as this reporter sought to learn about the system while covering high school football at the-1450 WCTC for its Saturday “Football USA” show, it was learned that teams were being rewarded with better playoff seeding by winning games via larger margins. Essentially, running up the score was rewarded.

The NJSIAA did an abrupt about face, and kept the UPR, but made its own version of the Born Power Index and used it in reverse. Instead of rating teams on their own strength, buoyed by the number of points they won by, teams would be credited with the value of the opponent, which discouraged running up scores. Teams would get the full value of an opponent for a win, half for a tie.

And Gridiron New Jersey was selected by the NJSIAA to do all the calculations, already having the bulk of the infrastructure in place.

After this 2025 season, Gridiron’s site appeared to go down temporarily, with the site informing visitors that it was “under construction,” suggesting that it would be back soon. Such shutdowns would happen from time to time as Fass adjusted coding, and even the look and feel of the site, eventually making it more mobile-friendly.

But as the months passed, many started asking questions about whether it would really be back, as the NJSIAA announced earlier this year that NJ.com would be the official calculator of power points, Strength Index (the successor to the Born Power Index), the UPR and playoff standings. NJ.com had not previously posted that information.

But the site had its own issues in the fall when all of its sports webpages went down right in the middle of the high school football playoffs for more than a week, driving coaches (not just football coaches, as all coaches were affected) into a frenzy, unable to report scores, or to look at their own statistics. The source of the issue was never publicly disclosed.

It’s also received some criticism from coaches, since they are asked to input stats and results, but can’t actually see them online without an NJ.com account. It’s unknown if users must simply have a free account or actually purchase a subscription of some kind.

Reaction comes in…

“I will miss it,” Edison head coach Matt Yascko told Central Jersey Sports Radio on Friday. “Like many coaches, I was on that site multiple times a day, even in the off-season. It was the easiest way to find playoff brackets, schedules and standings.”

John Thompson, a volunteer assistant at Piscataway, has long been the program’s power points guru. Late in the season, he and this reporter would collaborate to see what the other guy had, even when the formula was “just” traditional power points, and we even worked together to crack the code of the Born Power Index.

“Gridiron New Jersey was the one-stop shopping site for New Jersey football stat heads such as me,” Thompson said Friday. “It was the reliable, historical place to go for scores, records, power points and playoff scenarios.”

Thompson says it’s been a huge part of the program for 20 years, helping them figure out what teams might be in their line of sight come playoff time, so they’d know who to prepare for, adding, “This is a big loss to New Jersey high school football.”

Hillsborough’s Kevin Carty also weighed in: “I love Gridiron New Jersey,” he said Friday, noting while he may not use it as much as members of the media, “I used it a ton. It pretty much spanned my entire coaching career. And it’s rare to have something be so useful for so long.”

What happens in 2026?

NJ.com hasn’t posted team schedules or any content in advance of 2026 yet, so it’s unknown how any display would look. If it’s anything like how they keep track of power points, it could be pretty robust. And they certainly have the resources to do it.

However, one of the challenges Fass often encountered were all the “caveats” of the formula. For example, at one point, teams could only count one “multiplier” game against non-public programs toward their power point total. For Fass, that meant having to manually go in and change the numbers on his own. Any new system would have to take that into account.

It’s all just a reminder that sometimes the only constant is, indeed, change.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: Slimmer United Gold Division still packs a punch with defending champ Summit, Cranford, Carteret and Scotch Plains-Fanwood

Hillside is out of the Big Central Conference United Gold Division – moving to the Patriot Gold – but the four-team group won’t be any less challenging this year. While Summit may look a little different with the graduation of Alex Schwark, the well-coached group will likely be a preseason favorite to win it, but Cranford and Carteret may have something to say about that, while Scotch Plains-Fanwood will look to make strides in its third season led by Shawn Johnson.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the United Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Summit Hilltoppers (9-3, 4-0, United Gold Division Champions)
Head Coach: Kevin Kostibos (14th season, 91-41)

  • Week 0: Colonia
  • Week 1: at Rahway
  • Week 2: Carteret*
  • Week 3: at Cranford*
  • Week 4: Edison
  • Week 5: at Watchung Hills
  • Week 6: Woodbridge
  • Week 7: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood*
  • Week 8: Bernards

The Hilltoppers were able to deal with a Spring 2024 lacrosse injury that kept Cole Sabol on the sideline – but helping his replacements immensely as an extra “coach” – by rotating the mobile Alex Schwark and passer Matt McKeever. Sabol and Schwark both have graduated, but McKeever returns after going 57-for-110 for 877 yards and four touchdowns. They will miss Schwark’s 1,274 rushing yards and 12 TDs, though, so head coach Kevin Kostibos will have to figure some things out again this year, too, after Summit reached its first sectional final since 2018, falling to West Morris. The defense – which had 21 sacks and 12 picks last year – will be challenged, with Gavin Schnall the biggest contributing junior in what was a senior-heavy unit last year. The linebacker had a sack, 16 TFLs, three picks and one for a touchdown last season, along with 82 total tackles, third best on the team

Cranford Cougars (4-6, 2-2, 2nd place United Gold)
Head Coach: Erik Rosenmeier, 22nd season (140-74)

  • Week 0: BYE
  • Week 1: at Bernards
  • Week 2: Scotch Plains-Fanwood*
  • Week 3: Summit*
  • Week 4: at Rahway
  • Week 5: Montgomery
  • Week 6: at South Plainfield
  • Week 7: at Carteret
  • Week 8: Hillside

If you believe in the cyclical nature of high school sports, Cranford might have typified it over the past few years. They won the North 2, Group 3 title in 2021 at 11-1, then went a solid 7-3 the next year, but dipped to 4-5 in 2023 before going 7-3 again in ’24, then 4-6 last season. And a look at who’s back might just bear that out. Rising senior Aidan Capizzi threw for 1,460 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior, while sophomore Logan Murray carried it 82 times for 470 yards and nine scores. Those two make a nice 1-2 punch, along with two junior receivers who will be back for one last go-round: Luke Owens (343 yards, 4 TDs) and John Fiore (239 yards, 2 TDs), the son of former Spotswood and longtime Montclair coach, now Perth Amboy AD John Fiore. It looks like the defense will lose some significant pieces, but senior Luke Owens (2 sacks, 5 1/2 TFLs) will be back, along with Jaren Acinapura (2 1/2 TFLs, 1 forced fumble), among a few others.

Carteret Ramblers (4-5, 1-3, 3rd place United Gold)
Head Coach: Kevin Freeman, 5th season (22-18)

  • Week 0: Elizabeth
  • Week 1: Perth Amboy
  • Week 2: at Summit*
  • Week 3: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood*
  • Week 4: South Plainfield
  • Week 5: at North Brunswick
  • Week 6: at JFK
  • Week 7: Cranford*
  • Week 8: Monroe

Head coach Kevin Freeman won seven games each of his first two seasons after the COVID pause and taking over for Matt Yascko, now at Edison, but after a couple of four-win seasons, the Ramblers may be back in form. They’ll have an experienced quarterback in Danyun McKill, but the real focal point of the offense is Al-Naiquan Boseman, who rushed for 1,397 yards on 186 carries last year and scored 14 touchdowns as a junior. Give the kid the rock and let him do his thing; that’s Carteret football. Masihah Long was disruptive on the defensive side as a junior last year, registering six sacks and 12 TFLs with a forced fumble as well, and this looks like a very manageable schedule.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders (2-7, 1-3 United Gold)
Head Coach: Shawn Johnson, 3rd season (4-15)

  • Week 0: at Westfield
  • Week 1: Linden
  • Week 2: at Cranford*
  • Week 4: Carteret*
  • Week 5: North Hunterdon
  • Week 6: at South Plainfield
  • Week 6: at Governor Livingston
  • Week 7: Summit*
  • Week 8: at New Brunswick

Head coach Shawn Johnson will have his work cut out for him in his third season, with his biggest offensive player – quarterback Logan Weiss and his 993 passing yards – gone to graduation. Sophomore runningback Gabe Gutierrez should be back, carrying nearly 100 times for 416 yards and a touchdown, while there are two promising receivers back: rising senior Yasir Oates (6 catches for 135 yards) and rising sophomore Joey Reeves (11 catches for 153 yards, 2 TD). The biggest defensive player back should be active lineman Nick Marranca, with two sacks, four TFLs, and three fumble recoveries. At Westfield is a tough opener.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: Three-way co-champ Somerville seeks third Liberty Silver title; What will Montgomery, Watchung Hills, North Hunterdon have to say as Hunterdon Central joins the fray?

The Big Central Conference’s Liberty Silver Division could be an intriguing one this year.

Somerville – after moving out of the big school divisions a couple of seasons ago and winning the Liberty Silver outright in 2024 – ended up in a three-way tie atop the division last season. The Pioneers, Montgomery and Rahway all finished 3-1, with Somerville falling to the Cougars, Montgomery falling to the Indians, and Rahway losing to the Pioneers.

Got that? There will be a quiz later. (Just kidding.)

This year, Somerville brings a lot back, while North 2, Group 4 finalist Montgomery loses a ton, and Hunterdon Central comes out of the brutal American Silver to join the division, even though their schedule won’t change much. Watchung Hills promoted from within when head coach Rich Seubert left in the off-season, while North Hunterdon will continue to look to make strides to get back to its championship form of 2022, when the Lions won the North 2, Group 4 title.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Liberty Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Somerville Pioneers (8-2, 3-1, three-way Liberty Silver Co-Champions)
Head Coach: Matt Bloom, 4th full season (26-9)

  • Week 0: South Plainfield
  • Week 1: at Piscataway
  • Week 2: North Hunterdon*
  • Week 3: Watchung Hills*
  • Week 4: at Montgomery*
  • Week 5: St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Week 6: Sayreville
  • Week 7: at Hunterdon Central*
  • Week 8: at Elizabeth

The Pioneers were stunned in the opening round of the playoffs last season, taking a 14-13 home loss to Manasquan a year after winning a Central Jersey Group 3 title. But, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and make no mistake The ‘Ville will be back. While they lose senior Aidan Vesuvio-Bush and his 1,299 rushing yards to graduation, they’ll return No. 2 RB Justin Bowen (446 yards, 7 TDs) for his senior year, and No. 1 receiver James Hampton, who had 467 yards through the air and a touchdown. And their quarterback Dylan Boehm – who threw for 1,449 yards and 10 TDs – was just a freshman. Shyheim Hobbs-Harris had three sacks and 15 TFLs as a junior, and will be a focal point on defense along with other returnees. The non-conference schedule here is a tough one, but if the Pioneers can navigate it, the reward will again be a high playoff seed; they have played their last five playoff games over the last two seasons at Brooks Field.

Montgomery Cougars (8-4, 3-1, three-way Liberty Silver Co-Champs)
Head Coach: Sean Carty, 2nd season (8-4)

  • Week 0: Hopewell Valley
  • Week 1: Old Bridge
  • Week 2: at Watchung Hills*
  • Week 3: Colonia
  • Week 4: Somerville*
  • Week 5: at Cranford
  • Week 6: at Hunterdon Central*
  • Week 7: at North Hunterdon*
  • Week 8: Hillsborough

It’s a manageable non-conference schedule for the Cougars, who lose a plethora of key seniors from a North 2 Group 4 finalist that fell in the title game at Phillipsburg, capped with a Cutoff Weekend matchup of the Carty Brothers, with Kevin Jr. at Hillsborough. QB Jack Kristjanson threw for nearly 1,900 yards last season, Trey McFadden caught 63 passes for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns, Caiden Miller rushed for 941 yards and 14 scores, and even offensive lineman Mike Bellamy scored four times on eleven carries, while logging four sacks playing on the D-Line and being a top-level long snapper. And all have graduated, plus others, like the rangy receiver Obinna Obuba (534 yards, 6 TDs). We’ll see who emerges during preseason camp. Same on the defense, though junior Damien Perone is back (4 1/2 sacks, 4 TFLs.)

Watchung Hills Warriors (3-7, 1-3, 4th place Liberty Silver)
Head Coach: Joe Ascolese, 1st season

  • Week 0: at South Brunswick
  • Week 1: Union
  • Week 2: Montgomery*
  • Week 3: at Somerville*
  • Week 4: at Hunterdon Central*
  • Week 5: Summit
  • Week 6: North Hunterdon*
  • Week 7: at Plainfield
  • Week 8: at Bridgewater-Raritan

Rich Suebert’s reign is done, the New York Giant Super Bowl champion stepping down after ten years (41-57). Now, his Offensive Coordinator Joe Ascolese takes the reins, after spending nearly two decades on the staff over two different stints. Gone are senior QB Liam Morris (1,236 pass yards, 11 TD) and two-way wrecking crew Dillon Nunes, who had 637 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on offense, as well as four interceptions in the secondary on defense. Sophomore Marc Drews was the only non-senior to take a snap at QB last year, and he went 5-of-9 got 102 yards and 2 TD over five games. The defense had a good number of sophomores make a mark last year, but will lose some senior leadership. But we like what Watchung Hills did to keep the consistency in coaching, so it’s now up to the staff to build on Seubert’s work and take the Warriors to the next level.

North Hunterdon Lions (1-8, 0-4, 4th place Liberty Gold)
Head Coach: C.J. Robinson, 4th season (5-22)

  • Week 0: at Delaware Valley
  • Week 1: at East Brunswick
  • Week 2: at Somerville*
  • Week 3: Hunterdon Central*
  • Week 4: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Week 5: Monroe
  • Week 6: at Watchung Hills*
  • Week 7: Montgomery*
  • Week 8: Voorhees

After graduating a slew of talent from their 2022 title team, North Hunterdon went 0-9 in Robinson’s first season before rebounding nicely with a 4-5 2024 season, but fell to 1-8 last year. But the bright side is, there’s talent back, including junior QB Chase Rochelle, who threw for 785 yards last year as a junior, but will need to cut down on the picks. Sophomore runningback Nicolas Alparone was the leading rusher at 313 yards and two TDs, but the receiving corps will be young and inexperienced. Defensively, they’ll miss defensive lineman Aidan Herlihy, who’s graduated after anchoring the defense with five of the team’s six sacks all year, nine TFLs and two safeties.

Hunterdon Central Red Devils (4-5, 0-4, 5th place in American Silver)
Head Coach: Casey Ransone, 10th season (32-52)

  • Week 0: Eastern
  • Week 1: at Hillsborough
  • Week 2: Ridge
  • Week 3: at North Hunterdon*
  • Week 4: Watchung Hills*
  • Week 5: at Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Week 6: Montgomery*
  • Week 7: Somerville*
  • Week 8: at Phillipsburg

This is an interesting schedule: The Red Devils come out of the American Silver Division, but get all four teams as crossovers this year. Things that make you go “Hmmmm…” Last season, of their five losses, three came to sectional finalists, in Old Bridge, Bridgewater-Raritan, and Phillipsburg, with those final two winning North 2, Group 5 and North 2, Group 4, respectively. The only one they escape this year is Old Bridge. And Central will lose senior QB Drew Cella (1,481 yards, 16 TD) to graduation, as well as top receiver James Mongno (50 catches, 762 yards, 11 scores). Two underclassmen took snaps last year: sophomore James Hendrickson and junior Odin Potynsky. Top rusher Reggie Osae-Aye is back, having gone for 516 yards and four TDs last season. Defensively, Potynsky logged two sacks, six TFLs and a pick last year, while juniors Jake Freestone and Jayden Civil could be called upon to step up in 2026 as well. And sophomore punter Andrew Fisher (29.2 yards per punt) should be back as well.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: Woodbridge, Colonia will need to fill some holes to compete for Liberty Gold supremacy, but don’t count out Linden, Plainfield or newcomer Rahway

Two of the three high school in Woodbridge – Woodbridge and Colonia – help make up the Big Central Conference’s Liberty Gold Division, and both were the cream of the crop last year. But they’ll both have to figure out how to replace some big graduation losses to have the same kind of success in 2026.

Then, of course, they’ll also have to hold the rest of the division at bay, which may not be easy, especially with Plainfield going into its second season under Donald Jones, and Linden doing the same under veteran Mark Ciccotelli. And, of course, there’s Rahway – which moves into the Liberty Gold to take the place of Perth Amboy – who will have to handle the loss of all-world senior Andrew Avent, the Central Jersey Sports Radio Three-Way Player of the Year in 2025, but has plenty of talent returning.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Liberty Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Woodbridge Barrons (8-3, 4-0, Liberty Gold Division Champions)
Head Coach: Joe Goerge, 3rd season (18-4 at Woodbridge)

  • Week 0: Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Week 1: at Edison
  • Week 2: Rahway*
  • Week 3: at Plainfield*
  • Week 4: at Colonia*
  • Week 5: Westfield
  • Week 6: at Summit
  • Week 7: Linden*
  • Week 8: Franklin

Things start hot right off the bat for Woodbridge, with their home opener against defending North 2, Group 5 champion Bridgewater-Raritan. Veteran mentor Joe Goerge will need to work quickly to find a replacement for Joshua Allen, who rushed for 1,579 yards and 20 scores last year on 203 carries. The next two – rising senior Kyle Campis (376 yards, 2 TDs) and rising junior Dylan Stephen (335 yards, 7 TDs) – are good options. Many of the top defenders, like A’arrow Andrewz (4 sacks, 9 TFLs, 2 INTs), Jhonny Collado (3 sacks, 14 TFLs) and Dylan Saab (4 sacks, 4 TFLs), among others, have graduated, but junior Kyle Campus grabbed three picks last year in the secondary.

Colonia Patriots (7-4, 3-1, 2nd place Liberty Gold)
Head Coach: Tom Roarty, 14th season (82-51)

  • Week 0: at Summit
  • Week 1: at Franklin
  • Week 2: Plainfield*
  • Week 3: at Montgomery
  • Week 4: Woodbridge*
  • Week 5: at Hillsborough
  • Week 6: at Linden*
  • Week 7: Rahway*
  • Week 8: South Brunswick

We won’t beat around the bush: Colonia – for the first time in a while – has a lot to replace from a squad that went to the North 2, Group 4 semifinals. That’s not to say they can’t be successful, but gone to graduation are senior QB Dylan Chiera (2,436 yards, 23 TD, just 3 INT) and top receiver R.J. Wortman, who finished with 101 catches, 1,307 yards and 15 TDs. The biggest returning stat line on offense belongs to that of junior runningback Kyle Bell, who rushed for 434 yards last season. On defense, senior Julien Jones (8 sacks, 14 TFLs, 1 INT for a TD, 1 forced fumble, one safety) was a one-man wrecking crew, but also had a solid cast around him. Non-seniors last year who made an impact included junior defensive lineman Jason Eyetan (2 sacks, 12 TFLs) and junior linebacker A.J. Reinoso (2 sacks, 8 TFLs, second on the team in total tackles with 117, 1 fumble recovery).

Plainfield Cardinals (4-6, 2-2, 3rd place Liberty Gold)
Head Coach: Donald Jones, 2nd season (4-6)

  • Week 0: at Sayreville
  • Week 1: Elizabeth
  • Week 2: at Colonia*
  • Week 3: Woodbridge*
  • Week 4: Linden*
  • Week 5: at Union
  • Week 6: Rahway*
  • Week 7: Watchung Hills
  • Week 8: at Westfield

Now in his second season, Donald Jones will have to find a replacement for senior QB Devin Thomas, a mobile QB who ran for nearly 500 yards while also throwing for 2,214 and a mind-boggling 29 touchdowns, with just four picks. And he’s the only one who threw a varsity pass last year. Top receiver Tymir Huff caught 60 passes for 919 yards and 11 TDs as a junior, a good target to have back for whoever is under center. And the defense will miss a guy like senior Tylor Hunter- who got to the QB 13 times last season, while also grabbing an interception – and was very senior-laden in 2025.

Linden Tigers (3-7, 1-3, 4th place Liberty Gold)
Head Coach: Mark Ciccotelli, 2nd season (3-7 at Linden)

  • Week 0: OPEN
  • Week 1: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Week 2: New Brunswick
  • Week 3: Rahway*
  • Week 4: at Plainfield*
  • Week 5: at Elizabeth
  • Week 6: Colonia*
  • Week 7: at Woodbridge*
  • Week 8: Union

Coming off a 3-7 first season, mobile quarterback Joe Boyd returns after a 1,090-yard rushing year as a junior, with 11 TDs, and 523 passing yards for another five touchdowns. The next two best runningbacks also return, including rising senior. Four junior receivers – led by Zion Francis with seven catches for 158 yards and a touchdown – also should be back. The defense is more senior, but junior Alan Szurgot was a bright spot last year with five sacks, seven TFLs and a fumble recovery. And returner Elijah Pierre brought back one for a touchdown as well. If the Tigers can improve, with teams above them replacing key pieces, they can make a move up in the division.

Rahway Indians (6-4, 3-1, three-way Liberty Silver Co-Champions)
Head Coach: Brian Russo, 12th season (63-46)

  • Week 0: at Willingboro
  • Week 1: Summit
  • Week 2: at Woodbridge*
  • Week 3: at Linden*
  • Week 4: Cranford
  • Week 5: South Brunswick
  • Week 6: at Plainfield*
  • Week 7: at Colonia*
  • Week 8: Edison

The loss of Andrew Avent – one of the most decorated players in Rahway history – will be a big blow for head coach Brian Russo and company. His 1,961 rushing yards set the single-season school record, and helped him take the all-time record, finishing with 4,524 yards and 77 career rushing touchdowns. And last year, not only did he move from linebacker to defensive end, picking up 10 1/2 sacks and 21 1/2 TFLs, but he was also a solid punter as well. So, who’s back? How about rising senior WB Jaquan Robinson, who – despite all Avent did on the ground – managed to throw for 1,045 yards and 15 touchdowns while turning it over through the air just once. He could end up running it more, and even looking to fellow senior Jyvon Cooper (24 carries, 158 yards, 2 TD last season). Wideout Tristan Driscoll is back for another year as well, after catching ten passes for 240 yards and four scores. Jaylen Eastman should be disruptive again on the D-line as a senior; last season, he had 8 1/2 sacks, 14 1/2 TFLs and a fumble recovery for a defense that should be aggressive again this year. Couple that with a solid, entrenched coaching staff, Rahway still could make noise this season.