Tag: Jonathan Gosk

by Mike Pavlichko

Manville outlasts Middlesex in small-school slugfest, 28-20, behind 2 TD passes from Gosk

The Middlesex football team looked nothing Thursday night like they did in the first four games of the season, which included a 27-0 loss to Highland park and a 40-6 loss at Belvidere.

Since runningback Brian Cilento returned to his home school after transferring back from Immaculata – sitting four games since he made the move after practice had started in August – the Blue Jays may be 0-2, but they have been much more competitive.

Still, it was not enough Thursday night at Mountainview Park, as Manville came in and left with a 28-20 victory, improving to 6-1 on the season, 4-1 in the Big Centrals’ Freedom Silver Division where they sit a half-game behind Belvidere, which beat them last week, 34-28.

All the first half scoring came on the first three drives of the game.

Manville scored on its opening possession, with a long drive tat ate a good deal of clock capped by a one-yard run by Elijah Bennett at the 4:51 mark, giving them a 7-0 lead.

But Middlesex, punched by the Mustangs, punched right back. The Blue Jays took less than three minutes to get on the board on their opening possession, with Matt Petti, Jr.’s seven-yard run getting Middlesex within one, but a failed PAT left them down 7-6 with 1:57 left in the first.

Manville would add to its lead on the next possession, taking nearly four minutes this time. QB Jonathan Gosk hit Cassius Carter for a 59-yard TD strike that put the Mustangs up 14-6 with 10:17 to go in the half, and that’s the way it would stay when the teams hit the locker rooms at half time.

In the second half, Middlesex got the ball first, and scored on that drive, with Cilento running it in three yards for a score at the 6:36 mark to cut it to 14-12, but with 3:24 left in the third, Gosk hit junior Aiden Johnson from 18 yards out for his second TD pass of the game, putting the Mustangs ahead 21-12.

Middlesex wasn’t done yet, though. Jo Jo Pham found a hole on the left side of the line and ran it all the way into the end zone from 41 yards out to cut the score to 21-20, thanks to a successful two-point conversion.

But they would get no closer, and Manville would add one more score to put it out of reach late, as Carter scored his second touchdown of the game – this time a 25-yard run with 2:10 to go – with the Mustangs stopping Middlesex in the red zone as time expired.

The Blue Jays fall to 1-5, 1-2 in the Freedom Silver, but now have played two of their most competitve games of the season since Cilento’s return, falling 29-28 in overtime last week before Thursday night’s loss to Manville. They close out with winnable games next week at Bound Brook and on Friday night of Cutoff Weekend with JP Stevens at home.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Marcus Borden with ….. presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Manville takes out arch-rival Bound Brook, 35-0 as Gosk runs for two, tossed two touchdowns

It may have been a little sloppy on both sides of the ball Friday night at Ned Panfile Stadium in Manville, but the home Mustangs got two touchdown runs and two touchdown passes from Jonathan Gosk to help beat arch-rival Bound Brook 35-7 in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Manville led 21-0 at the half thanks to three touchdowns Gosk was involved in.

The first capped the longest scoring drive of any of the five in the game, an eight-play, 74-yard march on the opening possession, capped by Gosk’s one-yard run, with 6:28 to go in the first.

Just 13 seconds into the second quarter, he hit Mohamed Abdelmageed for a 46-yard strike on the first play of that drive, then Aiden Johnson bookended the period with a five-yard touchdown catch just 16 seconds before the half.

In between, Bound Brook’s athletes proved they could move the ball, but penalties and a fumble, the first of two on the game, kept them off the board.

Their lone touchdown came on the second half kickoff, when Zahmir Moore took the boot 78 yards to the house to slash the deficit to 21-7. But Elijah Bennett scored with 3:13 to go in the quarter, and Gosk ran one in from 21 yards out midway through the fourth to provide the final score.

Manville has won two straight to improve to 2-1, with a second home game in a row coming up next week against Dunellen, while Bound Brook drops to 0-3 with a home game against South Hunterdon next week.

Click below for postgame reaction from Manville head coach Dave Markowitch and senior QB Jonathan Gosk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Coming off historic season with first-ever playoff win, Manville has big shoes to fill all over the field

About 95 percent of the Manville offense is gone from 2025 – a season that was historic for the Mustangs as they beat Asbury Park in the playoffs for their first ever post-season win – but their head coach is still optimistic heading into 2026.

Manville seems to lose solid players every year the last few seasons, and yet, they’re always back in the mix in their division.

Senior quarterback Josh D’Ambrosio – the team’s leading rusher – is gone, as are six of their seven receivers from last season. Their No. 2 rusher, the electric Isaiah Bennett, is gone, too. Jonathan Gosk will be in the mix at QB, having been D’Ambrosio’s understudy until now. He saw some action in the secondary last season, registering 12 tackles, six solo.

The defense loses several key players, but a total of 37 players landed in the stat column on defense last year, meaning many underclassmen got to see action – now it’s their turn to shine.

Give the reality of the situation, head coach Dave Markowitch knows his team has its work cut out for it, but also falls back to a tried-and-true maxim of football at any level: If they’re to have any success at all, it’ll come down to being strong up front, on both sides of the ball.

Click below to learn more about the Manville Mustangs in 2026 from head coach Dave Markowitch, senior quarterback Jonathan Gosk and and senior guard/linebacker Noah Sommers with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Conference Media Day: