Tag: Ian Roberts

October 8, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Rinse, repeat! Rahway’s Andrew Avent takes “Speedster of the Week” honors, presented by Higgins Speed Lab in South Brunswick, for a second straight week with best BCC night of ’25

As we’ve been doing all season long, Central Jersey Sports Radio is highlighting the high school football “Speedster of the Week” presented by Higgins Speed Lab in South Brunswick, recognizing the top runningbacks in the Big Central Conference every week.

And the Week Five winner is Andrew Avent of Rahway… again!

Last week, Avent became the fifth different Big Central student-athlete to be honored as “Speedster of the Week” in the first five weeks of the season (Weeks 0 through 4). Now, he’s the first two-time winner, going back-to-back. This week, albeit in a 43-41 loss at Cranford, he rushed 35 times for 362 yards and five touchdowns. The rushing total was the highest by a Big Central back this season, and just one of two over 300 yards, the other also coming this week – see below!

In two weeks now, Avent has rushed for 581 yards – half a season for many backs – and on the season he has 1,071 and 14 TDs. He’s on a pace to shatter last year’s numbers of 1,412 yards and 16 scores, with three more regular season games left, plus the postseason.

Scroll down for a list of the top ten rushing performances of Week Five in the BCC!

Graphic highlighting Andrew Avent of Rahway as the 'Speedster of the Week' with stats: 35 carries, 362 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 43-41 loss against Cranford. Includes logos for Central Jersey Sports Radio and Big Central Conference.

Higgins Speed Lab in South Brunswick was founded by Kyle Higgins, son of longtime Piscataway head coach and NJFCA Hall of Famer Dan Higgins. Kyle grew up around the program and remains a Chiefs’ assistant coach to this day. At Higgins Speed Lab, Kyle has developed a system to help athletes increase speed while in a competitive small group environment of similar age and skill.

They offer sport-specific training in football, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, volleyball, track, gymnastics, and tennis. And “speed” isn’t their only focus. They’ll also work on proper running mechanics, plyometrics, acceleration/deceleration, top speed, linear and multi-directional speed, first-step quickness, endurance, strength, coordination, mobility and injury prevention.

Here are the top ten (actually, we have 11!) rushing performances from Week Three in the Big Central:

Andrew Avent, Rahway: 35 carries for 362 yards – No. 1 performance in the Big Central Conference this season – and 5 TDs in a 43-41 loss at Cranford
Al-Naiquan Boseman, Carteret: 21 carries for 323 yards and 4 TDs in a 45–0 win over New Brunswick
Matteo Tramutola, Voorhees: 16 carries for 202 yards and 3 TDs in a 41-13 win over North Plainfield
Shaun Jackson, Sayreville: 26 carries for 200 yards and 3 TDs in a 42-24 win at No. 7 Piscataway
Matthew Resende, Brearley: 18 carries for 190 yards and 2 TDs in a 21-0 win at South Hunterdon
Justus Leitner, Metuchen: 8 carries for 183 yards and 1 TD in a 36-13 win at Highland Park
Joshua Allen, Woodbridge: 10 carries for 169 yards and 4 TDs in a 41-0 win over Perth Amboy
Dominic Massaro, South Plainfield: 26 carries for 161 yards in a 7-0 loss to Bernards
Oscar Duran, South Brunswick: 27 carries for 152 yards in a 20-15 loss at Watchung Hills
Andrew Schwarz, Hillsborough: 17 carries for 151 yards and 4 TDs in a 42-21 win at Westfield
Logan Richter, Monroe: 5 carries for 151 yards in a 30-12 loss to North Hunterdon

Disclaimer: All statistics are gathered from multiple public online sources. If someone is missing from this list, it likely means their coach has not updated statistics. All coaches are urged to do so no later than 11:59 pm on Sundays during the season.

October 8, 2025October 7, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Freshman QB goes on the road against unbeaten team, throws early pick-six, then pulls off the win: Somerville QB Dylan Boehm named Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week

This one wasn’t an easy pick at all, then again it kind of was.

One nomination was for an all-world runningback who went for 362 yards – tops in the Big Central this season – but for a loss. Then there was a quarterback who’s not generally a quarterback, but threw for 350 yards in a rivalry game and won.

Then, there was Dylan Boehm of Somerville.

Impressive enough that the Pioneers knocked off 5-0 Summit Saturday afternoon, but the win also came on the road. And the QB who threw for 349 yards and four touchdown on an efficient 13-of-16 day certainly led his team to victory. But add in that he’s a freshman, and rebounded after throwing an early pick-six when it all could have fell apart, well, now you have the Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week for Week Five in the Big Central Conference.

That effort, and that result, are a big reason why the Pioneers are one of several BCC teams sitting in the enviable spot of a top-seed come playoff time, with the Cutoff just three weeks away.

The No. 5 Pioneers (5-1) are back in action this Friday night at North Hunterdon (1-5).

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with Week Five Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Dylan Boehm of Somerville:

The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As always, we will recognize selected “Honorable Mentions,” and recognize all other all nominees in our weekly story.

Honorable Mentions:

Andrew Schwarz, Hillsborough: In a 42-21 come-from-behind win at Westfield Saturday, the senior runningback rushed 17 times for 151 yards and four touchdowns, as the Raiders rallied from a 14-0 deficit just six minutes into the game. More impressive, he only had 15 yards in the first half!
Cam Hayes-Durina, Metuchen: The senior QB – who’s new to the position, according to head coach Jordan Leitner, went 20-of-26 passing for 350 yards and three touchdowns – while also rushing for 53 yards – in a 36-13 win at arch-rival Highland Park. He spread the ball around, connecting with five different receivers in the victory.
Antonio Sauchelli, North Hunterdon: The Lions picked up their first win of the season against five losses on Friday with a 29-12 victory at Monroe. The wide reveiver had two catches for 45 yards and a touchdown for 40 yards, but also ran the rock 12 times for 113 yards and a 66-yard score.
Andrew Avent, Rahway: The senior standout runningback put together the biggest rushing night in the Big Central Conference this season on Saturday night, in a 43-41 loss at Cranford, going off for 262 yards on 35 carries – more then ten yards per carry – and five touchdowns, with a long of 62. Four of his runs were over 30 yards. At defensive end, he also had two TFLs and a quarterback hurry.
Shaun Jackson, Sayreville: The Bomber senior had 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns, along with 60 receiving yards and another score, in a 42-24 win at rival Piscataway Friday night.

Other Notable Performances:

Justin Simpson, Bernards: Head coach Jon Simoneau says the senior offensive tackle helped the Mountaineer offense rush for five yards per carry and keep freshman QB A.J. MacCracken off his back and sack-free in his first high school start.
Al-Naiquan Boseman, Carteret: The junior runningback carried 21 times for 232 yards and four scores in a 45-0 home win over New Brunswick. Hvaing been hurt for the previous two games, head coach Kevin Freeman says he powered through and came ready to play against the Zebras, scoring three times in the opening quarter.
Kelton Ibach, Delaware Valley: The senior signal-called threw 9-for-11 for 142 yards and four touchdowns in a 43-13 win at South River on Saturday.
Grant Lorentzen, JFK: In a 33-14 win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood, the senior wide receiver had six catches for 101 yards and three touchdowns, a 55-yard punt return on special teams, and logged five tackles in the secondary on defense. All that came in less than three quarters of action.
Leban Chankotadze, Manville: The freshman defensive end helped lead a defense that allowed just 70 total yards to JP Stevens Saturday in a 41-12 win. He had four solo tackles, two tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and two broken up passes., not allowing a single first half point.
Gavin Pereira, Spotswood: In high school, a really good kicker can make a really big difference. Pereira does it night in and night out, this time in a 36-7 home win over Bound Brook. He kicked a 48-yard field goal – apparently with distance to spare – connected on three extra points, had a 69-yard punt, and sent four kicks into the end zone for touchbacks.
Logan Direny, Voorhees: The senior wide receiver had four catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-13 win at North Plainfield Friday night, another player battling through injuries. At linebacker, he also recorded six tackles.

October 1, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Rahway’s Andrew Avent becomes fifth different “Speedster of the Week,” presented by Higgins Speed Lab in South Brunswick

And the Week Four winner is Andrew Avent of Rahway!

Avent is the fifth different Big Central student-athlete to be honored as “Speedster of the Week” in the first five weeks of the season (Weeks 0 through 4). This week, he ran for 219 yards on just eleven carries for a whopping average of 19.9 yards per carry! In a 33-0 shutout win at North Hunterdon, Avent opened the scoring with a four-yard touchdown run, then added a 59-yarder to make it 14-0, and he had an even longer run that went for 71 yards, but just didn’t result in a score. Avent is almost on an identical pace to last year, when he rushed for 1,412 yards in ten games, with 717 through five, which would put him at 1,434 through ten. But more impressive, he’s done it on significantly fewer carries: just 66, for an average of 10.9 per carry, while last year he had 194 by year’s end, for a season average of 7.3 per rush.

Scroll down for a list of the top ten rushing performances of Week Four in the BCC!

Here are the top ten rushing performances from Week Three in the Big Central:

Andrew Avent, Rahway: 11 carries for 219 yards and 2 TDs in a 33-0 win at North Hunterdon
Ian Robert, St. Thomas Aquinas: 8 carries for 202 yards and 2 TDs in a 35-21 win over Elizabeth
Shaun Jackson, Sayreville: 10 carries for 171 yards and a TD in a 46-7 win over North Brunswick
Matteo Tramutola, Voorhees: 22 carries for 162 yards and 2 TDs in a 21-12 win at Delaware Valley
Al-Naiquan Boseman, Carteret: 30 carries for 156 yards and 2 TDs in a 39-38 loss at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Fiheem Howell, JFK: 25 carries for 152 yards in a 32-13 win over Monroe
Nathan Sussko, Belvidere: 17 carries for 149 yards in a 28-27 loss at Bound Brook
Dominic Massaro, South Plainfield: 23 carries for 148 yards and 1 TD in a 12-9 loss at Governor Livingston
Sam Dech, Phillipsburg: 11 carries for 141 yards and 3 TD in a 59-20 win at Hillsborough
A.J. Whitehead, New Providence: 12 carries for 141 yards and 1 TD in a 41-6 win over Roselle

September 30, 2025October 7, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

With a second straight 200-plus yard game, Ian Roberts of St. Thomas Aquinas is Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week

Two weeks in a row, Ian Roberts had a big night for St. Thomas Aquinas, rushing for over 200 yards. And this is his first season playing a significant offensive role at the high school level.

The senior – who played his first two years at Woodbridge – is having a breakout year for the Trojans, picking up Higgins Speed Lab “Speedster of the Week” honors in Week Three, going for 262 yards and two scores in a wild win at Franklin.

This week, in Week Four, he ran for 202 and two more touchdowns – on just eight carries, mind you – in a 35-21 win over Elizabeth in North Edison. For the math-inclined, that’s 25.3 yards per carry! Of course, it helps when you open the scoring with an 89-yard touchdown run, and he had a 74-yarder later.

Take those two out, and he still rushed for 6.5 yards a carry on the other six, no small potatoes at all!

For his efforts, Ian Roberts of St. Thomas Aquinas is the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week for Week Four.

The No. 3 Trojans are back at home this Friday night against North Jersey parochial Paramus Catholic (1-4).

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko’s interview with Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Ian Roberts of St. Thomas Aquinas:

Honorable Mentions:

Andrew Avent, Rahway: The Week Four “Speedster of the Week,” presented by Higgins Speed Lab, Avent is on a pace to just eke out his 1,412-ard rushing total of a year ago, with 717 yards through five games. Back on Friday night, in a 33-0 win at North Hunterdon, he carried 11 times for 219 yards and two touchdowns, with a long of 71. He also playes defensive end, and the senior had five solo tackles, three sacks, a TFL and four quarterback hurries. Oh, and did we mention he punts? He landed three of four punts inside the 20, with a long of 57.
Nate Engdahl, Ridge: The senior defensive lineman logged eight tackles, three sacks and three TFLs in a 33-14 win over then-No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan at home Friday night. He was a major factor in a defensive unit that held the Panthers scoreless in the second half, and handed them their first loss of the season.
Se’mir Tolbert-Brimage, Spotswood: The senior quarterback was just 1-of-4 passing for 85 yards and a touchdown, while rushing 1 times for 75 yards and two scores. At defensive end, he had two TFLs and three total tackles, but also had a 23-yard pick-six in a 34-3 home win over Highland Park on Thursday.
Matteo Tramutola, Voorhees: In a 21-12 win over Delaware Valley – the Vikings’ first over the Terriers since 2018 – the senior runningback carried 22 times for 162 yards and two scores, while also registering six solo tackles and three assisted at linebacker in a win that puts Voorhees at 4-1, their best start since going 7-1 in 2017, a season they finished 9-3 with a loss to West Essex at MetLife Stadium in the North 2, Group 3 title game.

Other Notable Performances:

Joe Squillaro, Brearley: The senior quarterback was 3-of-5 passing for 26 yards, and rushed five times for 31, but the key was a 20-yard run that effectively ended the game, a 17-7 home win over Roselle Park on Friday night. At safety, Squillaro had six tackles.
Marcus Gary, Delaware Valley: The junior linebacker had 11 1/2 tackles, 1 1/2 TFLs and 2 1/2 sacks in a 21-12 loss to Voorhees on Friday.
Kahbir Casey, Dunellen: The fullback was a birght spot on defense in a 44-8 home loss to Middlesex Friday, with 12 total tackles, five for a loss and 2 1/2 sacks.
Grant Lorentzen, JFK: The senior wide receiver had 32 receiving yards on three catches, all of which went for touchdowns on fourth-and-goal situations. He also had a rush for 18 yards and even completed a 41-yard pass on a fake punt! At defensive back, he had five solo tackles, two assists and a pick.
Obinna Obuba, Montgomery: In a 36-7 home win over Watchung Hills, the senior wideout caught four passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, with a long of 84.
Jordan Burnett, North Plainfield: The senior went 7-of-8 passing for 102 yards and rushed 14 times for 94 yards and three scores in just three quarters of play in a 35-0 win at New Brunswick. He accounted for almost 200 of the 300 total yards the Canucks gained Friday night.

September 26, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Roberts, Weaver help No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas past Elizabeth, 35-21, extending Big Central record win streak to 34 games

To do what St. Thomas Aquinas has done over the last several years, everyone needs to contribute.

That was on display in last week’s 57-45 thriller over Franklin, and it was on display Friday night in North Edison, where the No. 4 Trojans beat Elizabeth 35-21, extending their Big Central record conference winning streak to 34 games.

St. Thomas (4-1) got two long touchdown runs from Ian Roberts – 89 and 74 yards – a 13-yard touchdown run from Anwar Witherspoon out of the wildcat, and a 76-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zymere Weaver to Tristan Bester, while Weaver also ran in a 78-yard TD in the first half.

Arique Fleming had two touchdown runs for the Minutemen (2-3), who visit No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan next week.

St. Thomas will play Paramus Catholic (1-4) in a non-conference home game next Friday night.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen, with St. Thomas Aquinas RB Ian Roberts and head coach Shamir Bearfield:

September 24, 2025September 29, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

In shootout win, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Ian Roberts runs all over to take Week 3 “Speedster of the Week” honors, presented by Higgins Speed Lab

In our newest feature this season, the Week One “Speedster of the Week” presented by Higgins Speed Lab in South Brunswick honors the top runningbacks in the Big Central Conference every week.

And the Week Three winner is Ian Roberts of St. Thomas Aquinas!

Friday night’s game was a track meet, shootout, anything you want to say to describe a game in which the teams combined for 102 points! It was a 57-45 win for St. Thomas, and a tight game late. But in a contest where big play followed big play for both schools, Roberts excelled with 262 yards on 28 carries, scoring two touchdowns in the victory. It tied for the highest point total Aquinas has scored since the Big Central Conference’s first season in 2020.

Scroll down for a list of the top ten rushing performances of Week Three in the BCC!

Image featuring Ian Roberts, a football player from St. Thomas Aquinas, celebrating after a game. The image shows key statistics: 28 carries, 262 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a score of 57-45 against Franklin.

Here are the top ten rushing performances from Week Three in the Big Central:

Ian Roberts, St. Thomas Aquinas: 28 carries for 262 yards and 2 TDs in a 57-45 win at Franklin
Joshua Allen, Woodbridge: 31 carries for 252 yards and 2 TDs in a 34-21 home win over Colonia
Matthew Resende, Brearley: 24 carries for 244 yards and 2 TDs in a 27-26 home win over Highland Park
Logan Stevens, Bernards: 19 carries for 208 yards and 3 TDs in a 31-21 win at Voorhees
Shaun Jackson, Sayreviille: 18 carries for 197 yards and 4 TDs in a 28-14 home win over Hillsborough
Nick Salas, Roselle Park: 22 carries for 174 yards and 2 TDs in a 37-20 loss at Dayton
Michael Rogers, Franklin: 12 carries for 166 yards and 3 TDs in a 57-45 home loss to St. Thomas Aquinas
Tyler Fuscaldo, Dayton: 19 carries for 166 yards and 2 TDs in a 37-20 home win over Roselle Park
Zaire Young, Piscataway: 28 carries for 165 cards and 1 TD in a 16-8 non-conference home win over Ridgewood
A.J. Whitehead, New Providence: 23 carries for 154 yards and 1 TD in a 30-0 win at Metuchen