Timothy Christian beat JFK 66-41 in the season opener for both teams on December 15, 2023, with TCS junior Jalen Fleming scoring his 1,000th career point with 20.4 seconds to go in the first half.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the play-by-play live from Piscataway.
Junior Jalen Fleming missed the last game of his sophomore season with a concussion, leaving him 23 points away from 1,000 for his career for the 22.6 point per game scorer. So you could forgive him if he has been thinking about it for the last ten months or so.
He won’t have to think about the next major milestone for a while, as his layup on a fast break with 20.4 second left in the first half of Timothy Christian’s season-opening 66-41 win over visiting JFK gave him 1,001 for his career.
It was the only real drama in Piscataway Friday night – in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio – as the Tigers got out to a hot start, a 12-0 run over the first six minutes of the game. Fleming finished with 26, ending his night with 1,003 career points.
It was also the debut of Chukwudi Raphael-Mamah, a junior who comes in from Nigeria, playing his first varsity game in the states. He finished with ten points, including a pair of mammoth two-handed flushes on fast breaks, while fellow junior Myles Dickerson added 20, including a jam and a trey.
Fleming had three triples in the game.
Timothy Christian led by as many as 32 in the fourth quarter, before Kennedy shrunk the lead a bit with both benches emptied.
JFK sophomore Grant Lorentzen had 13 points in defeat – including a trey – a career high for the sophomore, who – at 2.5 points per game last year – was the leading scorer available for Kennedy. 
The Mustangs found out last week they’ll be without their two top returning players through at least mid-January. Junior Marcus Bullock – the top returning scorer at 9.9 points per game – had surgery last Friday on his knee after his known injury turned out to me more serious than originally thought. And senior Matt Cook fractured his pinkie in gym class.
Click below for postgame reaction from Mike Pavlichko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Coming off a 7-16 season, the bright side for the JFK boys’ basketball team entering 2023-24 was the return guards Marcus Bullock and Matt Cook.
Bullock averaged a sliver under ten points a game last season – and was the second leading scorer on the team – while Cook saw limited action a year ago but was expected to see much more time.
But those hopes were dashed last week, officially, when both had surgery – Bullock for a knee injury that initially wasn’t thought to be as serious, and Cook for a fractured pinkie he suffered in gym class.
Yes, they’re student athletes, and don’t just get hurt playing their chosen varsity sport.
And so, it’s back to the drawing board somewhat, and next man up for the next four to six weeks in their absence. Because right now, for their opener Friday at Timothy Christian, their active roster will return just 3.6 points per game.
On the bright side, there’s Grant Lorentzen, who at least drilled 12 treys in 15 games last season, to give the Mustangs a fighting chance against the Tigers, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Tip-off is set for 5:30, with pregame at 5:15. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action; click here to listen.
Click below to hear JFK coach Sebastian de Voogd talk about the Mustangs’ early season challenges and their opener against Timothy Christian:
In his first four seasons as head coach of the Timothy Christian boys’ basketball team, the Tigers have won no fewer than 12 games under head coach Dennis McNulty, and that was a 12-3 campaign during the COVID-shortened season.
This could be the year they break through, though, after moving up from the GMC Gold to the Blue Division. South River graduated a ton, but will still be there. Spotswood will be in the mix as well. And probably others.
But this year could be something special at the tiny school hidden alongside Ethel Road in Piscataway.
There’s the return of sharpshooting specialist Myles Dickerson, who averaged 16 points a game and led the team with 45 threes last year in his first season at TCS. Jalen Fleming already is just 23 points away from becoming a thousand-point scorer, and he’s only about to start his junior year. A 22.6 point per game scorer for his career, he averaged 21.8 points a game last season and was second on the team with 47 steals.
And then there’s Chukwudi Raphael Mamah, who comes to Piscataway via Enugu, Nigeria. He’s 6-foot-7, can stretch the floor, shoot, and pass. McNulty says his biggest challenge will be adapting to the physicality of the game here.
Friday night, the season opens for Timothy, when the Tigers entertain JFK in a GMC Blue Division game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko has the call with pregame at 5:15 pm, and tip-off at 5:30. Click here to listen.
Click below to hear Timothy Christian head coach Denis McNulty talk about the Tigers’ 2023-34 season:
With one of the most talented, quick, electrifying players in the Big Central Conference, you would be hard-pressed to suggest anyone other than Colonia is the favorite to win the Liberty Gold Division in 2023.
Granted, that doesn’t make it a given. There’s a whole season of football still ahead of us.
But surely having Jaeden Jones back to lead the offense is a big plus for Colonia head coach Tom Roarty, along with other seniors like Joe Perosi at tightj end/linebacker, two-way lineman Logan Ramos, and wide receiver/d-back Toby Popoola.
Linden may be the Patriots’ biggest challenger, with a third-year starting quarterback in Te’Quan Thomas. He’s been around enough to know that his numbers (689 yards passing) don’t matter as much as the team’s (2,430 yards rushing).
Woodbridge – which was a bit young last year – is back and more experienced. Derek Anderson will run the show at quarterback; the junior saw limited action last season as a sophomore, but veteran wide receiver/defensive back AJ Bosch will be leaned upon, along with fellow seniors Dean Fiore at linebacker and receiver, along with two-way lineman Kevin Rosario.
JFK will look to improve under second-year head coach Michael Henderson, while Perth Amboy also is looking to get things going in the right direction; each managed just two wins a year ago.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko’s preview of the Liberty Gold Division from the Big Central Conference’s inaugural Media Days:
Both pitchers were pretty much humming along until the fifth inning.
That’s when Edison small-balled its way to the only run of the ballgame, to get past visiting JFK Friday afternoon, 1-0, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
That turned out to be all the Eagles would need, as senior Paul diPasquale threw seven strong innings – and got out of some late-inning jams to pick up his third win of the season.
Edison (7-2) left five runners on base through the first four innings, but finally cashed in during the bottom of the fifth.
Declan DiCarlo, pinch-hitting for centerfielder Matt Yasko, reached with a leadoff infield hit too deep for Justin Rodriguez – who fielded the ball near the second base bag – to make a throw. Yascko re-entered to run the bases, after after Jaxon Appelman popped out to second, Jordan Martins got aboard with another infield hit, this time to short, again fielded cleanly, but too deep for shortstop Jeremy Ricourt to make a throw.
After Charlie Taub struck out, Paul DiCarlo – the Eagles’ leading hitter at .478 heading into the day, but oh-for-2 coming into the at bat – drove in Yascko with an RBI single.
Yascko was stranded when Anthony Calantoni struck out to end the inning, but again, it was all they would need.
Through the first five innings, diPasquali fanned seven, and had allowed only two baserunners, on a hit and a walk.
He allowed a leadoff double to Grant Lorentzen for JFK (5-4) in the sixth, got Ricourt to fly out, then walked Gabriel Perez to put runners at first and second. But he got Lerentzen erased on a force out fielders’ choice on a ball hit to third, and the defense bailed him out.
Donovan Claiborne hit a laser up the middle into centerfield. Yascko fielded it and threw a strike to the cutoff man, first baseman Jackson Ferrer, who fired his own strike to the plate where catcher Charlie Taub applied the tag in plenty of time to nail Perez trying to score from second, ending the inning.
There would be one more jam in the seventh, as diPasquale stayed in the game to try and nail it down. He gave up a leadoff walk to Justin Rodriguez, but struck out Kevin Portorreal. A single by Braden Mellage led to a sac bunt by Marcus Bullock that advanced Rodriguez to third, but left Matt Cook – a courtesy runner for Mellage – at first.
But with two out and runners on the corners, diPasquale got Lorentzen to fly out to center to end the game.
Click below for postgame reaction brought to you by Sportsplex at Metuchen!
The first four games didn’t produce the results the JFK baseball team wanted.
The next four did.
After starting 2023 with two straight losses, and a 1-3 record in their first four games, the Mustangs have won four straight.
And while three of those wins came over teams below them in the GMC Blue Division standings, the resume also includes a 12-2 win over Sayreville, the first place team up in the White Division. That could help as a “quality” win, a win against a team “on the board,” when it comes time to seed the GMC Tournament.
Kennedy is led at the plate by senior Jeremy Ricourt, who’s tearing the cover off the ball with a .586 batting average and 14 runs batted in, while junior RJ Coleman is hitting .455 and has just a 0.47 ERA on the mound in 15 innings pitched spanning three appearances. His only earned run allowed came in a 4-3 loss at JP Stevens on opening day.
But now JFK puts its streak on the line against another team from a higher division, Edison – also out of the GMC White.
Head coach Tim Ballard has not shied away from playing tough opponents over the years. And they’ve even come up with some tournament upsets.
Two seasons ago, as the 16-seed in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, they knocked off top-seed Monroe in the opening round. Then, last year, they pulled off a similar upset in the states. As the 15th-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, they knocked out second-seed Brick Memorial on the road.
You can hear Friday’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, starting with pregame at 3:45, and first pitch between Edison and JFK at 4:00. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action; click here to listen
Click below to hear JFK head coach Tim Ballard talk about the Mustangs’ season and the matchup with Edison:
Nine games into the 2022 season, the Edison baseball team was 4-5, and by the time it was all over, the record was 7-17-1, with a team batting average of .209.
Fast forward a year, and the Eagles are 6-3, and hitting 153 points higher, at .362.
Granted, they saw some really good pitching in the Red Division last year, but a number of players are tearing the cover off the ball this year.
After a slow start, catcher Charlie Taub is hitting .417, shortstop Jordan Martins is hitting .379, and first baseman Jackson Ferrer is at .478 with a team-leading eleven RBIs.
The common thread? They’re all seniors.
Not to mention, the Eagles are getting good pitching, too. Senior Jaxon Appelman – who is also hitting .414 with ten RBIs – is 1-2 in three starts, having not allowed a run in two of them, in five innings of a 23-0 win over Perth Amboy and a complete game 2-0 shutout at JP Stevens back on Tuesday.
All that points to a solid season for the Eagles, who despite having lost 7-1 at Middlesex Thursday afternoon, come into a Friday afternoon affair with JFK our of the Blue Division having won three of their last four.
You can hear Friday’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio, starting with pregame at 3:45, and first pitch against the Mustangs at 4:00. Mike Pavlichko will call all the action; click here to listen
Click below to hear Edison head coach Vinnie Abene talk about the season so far and the matchup with JFK:
After starting the season 0-4, and facing winless Franklin, Montgomery head coach Zoran Milich thought he would make some changes to the lineup.
He put in transfer quarterback Michael Schmelzer – who had to sit out 30 days after coming back from from Notre Dame – and moved Alex Benitez – who began his Cougar career as a runningback before moving to QB – back to runningback.
Worked like a charm.
Montgomery snapped the skid and now is 3-4 after a 45-27 home win over JFK.
Next week, they’ll wrap up the regular season on Cutoff Weekend with a home game against No. 4 Cranford, which stayed unbeaten (7-0) with a 42-13 win at Linden Friday night.
Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Montgomery head coach Zoran Milich about the Cougars’ turnaround:
The JFK baseball team lost its first eight games of the season.
Clearly, that’s not the same team that knocked off the top seed in the GMC Tournament Saturday afternoon.
But the 16th-seeded Mustangs did indeed beat the Falcons Saturday, 5-4, on an RBI infield hit by Joshua O. Torres. (The Mustangs have two players named Josh Torres on the team.)
For Kennedy, it was reminiscient of a win earlier this week against in-town rival Woodbridge, where Torres also drove in the winning run, Ryan Samaroo, from second base with two outs.
Monroe jumped out to a 3-0 lead but JFK went ahead in the third with four runs. Three came on a bases clearing double by Samaroo, the O’Torres drove him in.
Monroe got the run back in the fourth, and the teams would battle into the seventh, when with two out, Torres played the hero again.
Click below to hear postgame reaction from JFK on the win:
The win pits Kennedy (7-10) against 9th-seed North Brunswick (14-7-1) in Tuesday’s 4pm quarterfinals at North Brunswick Community Park. The Raiders got past 8th-seed Metuchen Saturday 3-2, avenging a 4-1 loss to the Bulldogs Wednesday afternoon. That game will be broadcast on the King James Radio Network by Korbid Thompson.
COMPLETE FIRST-ROUND GMCT SCORES AND QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
Central Jersey Sports Radio will cover two other quarterfinal games, including the 4pm game between 4th-seed Middlesex and 5th-seed South Brunswick. CJSR will also broadcast 6th-seed Edison taking on 3rd-seed South Plainfield in a 7 pm quarterfinal.