Irvington – Central Jersey Sports Radio

Sometimes, you’d rather be lucky than good.

Bridgewater-Raritan was both Friday night.

In the opening round of the North 2, Group 5 playoff section, the fourth-seeded Panthers topped 5th-seed Irvington 34-33 when the Blue Knights extra point attempt hit the left upright, and bounced down to the turf, giving Bridgewater its first playoff win since 2017, their last of three straight trips to the sectional finals – all losses to Westfield.

It was a tight game throughout, tied 13-all at the half.

Irvington opened the scoring midway through the opening quarter on a nine-yard touchdown run by Jaden Herron, but the Panthers answered with a field goal from 33 yards by Joe Squicciarini with 59 seconds left in the period. They followed with an onside kick and recovered, but turned it over on downs.

The Panthers tied it with another field goal from Squicciarini from 29 yards out with 5:28 to go before the half.

Both teams would score once more before the break. First, it was Irvington with a Jamir Howell 76-yard run, then the Panthers got one with two ticks left on the clock, as QB Declan Kurdyla found Mikey Bratus from eight yards out to tie it at 13-all.

After a scoreless third, Bridgewater-Raritan blocked an Irvington punt and returned it to the Blue Knights’ 25. Then Kurdyla found Nick DiEsso from 23-yards out to make it 20-13 with the PAT.

Then Irvington nearly ended the Panthers’ season.

They tied it with 7:39 to go after picking off a Kurdyla pass, a 29-yard keeper by Howell. And only 3:05 later, Howell went in with another from 29-yards out to make it 27-20 Irvington with 4:34 left in regulation.

But Bridgewater answered with a big pass play to DiEsso, the second of two to pick up a first down, and Kurdyla later found Jordan Johnson from 27-yards out to tie it up with 1:45 to go.

After time ran out on an Irvington drive at the Bridgewater 32, the game went to overtime, and the Panthers got to work. Kurdyla found Johnson from 21-yards out for his second TD catch of the day, and made it 34-27 with the PAT.

Irvington answered with a TD of their own, but the point after hit the left upright, sending Bridgewater on to play at top-seed Union City next Friday night. The Soaring Eagles blew out 8th-seed East Side (Newark) 49-0.

Kurdyla finished with three touchdown passes on the night.

Click below for postgame reaction from Bridgewater-Raritan head coach DJ Catalano:

It’s only two games into the season, but the Hillsborough football team has kept the ball rolling from last year’s 13-0 squad that put up the program’s first-ever unblemished season, setting a school record for wins, winning two titles, and rewriting eleven different categories in the offensive record books.

That all goes on the line tonight when Boro (2-0) visits Ridge (1-1) up in the Somerset Hills.

Hillsborough is, no doubt, a different team. With the QB/WR tandem of Jay Mazuera and Thomas Amankwaa gone to graduation, there’s a little less flash, but new QB Ryan Tasetano (last year’s backup to Mazuera) has found a favorite target already with slot receiver Shane Donoghue, combining for 3 TD hookups already.

Ridge, on the other hand, has a season-opening 48-0 win over Monroe and lost 28-10 last week to Phillipsburg in a game that was closer than the final score indicated. The truth, for the Red Devils, may be somewhere more in the middle.

The teams have split the last two meetings.

Hillsborough is now on a 15-game winning streak, one of just four teams with streaks on the right side of the ledger of ten games or more.

The longest active win streak in the state belongs to Caldwell. The Chiefs have won 15 straight, dating back to their last three games of 2020. They went 12-0 last year and won the North 2 Regional Championship, and are 2-0 this year.

Bergen Catholic has won 16 in a row, going back to a win in their finale of the 2020 COVID season. They won the Non-Public Group A Championship last year, going 12-0, and are 3-0 to start 2022.

Then there’s Hillsborough at 15, with Irvington behind them at ten in a row. The Blue Knights won their last seven games last year en route to the North 5 Regional Championship; their sectional title was the first ever in program history.

Everyone else undefeated this season has fewer than ten wins. The next closest is West Morris at eight in a row. The Wolfpack won their last five games of last year, including the North 3 Regional Final against Cranford at MetLife Stadium. They’re 3-0 this season.

SCHEDULES FOR TOP WINNING STREAK TEAMS THIS WEEKEND:

Caldwell: Friday night at home against Verona (1-2)
Bergen Catholic: Saturday at home against Seton Hall Prep (2-0)
Hillsborough: Friday night at Ridge (1-1)
Irvington: Saturday at Columbia (0-2)
West Moris: Friday night vs, Roxbury (0-2)

On the other side of the ledger, two Big Central teams continue to hold the longest active losing streaks in New Jersey.

Highland Park has dropped 36 in a row, with its last win coming on Thanksgiving of 2016, in the last game of the year, against arch-rival Metuchen, 35-7. Friday night, they host Spotswood (2-1).

JP Stevens is at 25, with the Hawks’ stretch going back to the last two games of 2018; their last win came over Monroe. Stevens – a Group 5 school – is down several divisions this year in the Big Central, and playing some Group 2 schools. This week, they have a Group 3 on the docket when Governor Livingston (1-2) comes to North Edison).

Behind those two is Paramus Catholic. The Paladins, remarkably, have not won since 2019, in their penultimate game of the season. They were 4-7 that year, and lost their finale, going winless in the 2020 COVID year, as well as last year.

They’ve been close this season, dropping their opener by a touchdown at Hudson Catholic, and getting edged by a single point last week, 37-36, at Pope John. Friday, they play Chaminade of New York, which was 7-3 last season, but dropped their first and only game of the year this year; they’re 0-1.

Even with a win, that streak would continue against New Jersey schools. Chaminade is the only out-of-state opponent the Paladins have faced during that entire stretch.

Behins PC is Ferri – at 16 games – having last won in 2019, followed by Paterson Kennedy at 14.

Gloucester Catholic snapped its 15 game skid last week with a 34-16 win at Bishop Eustace.