Tag: Linden

by Mike Pavlichko

Chiola steps down from Linden, will watch son play at Colonia, still coach Tigers’ flag football squad

Al Chiola won’t be coaching high school football for Linden this fall, but he’ll be watching plenty.

After ten years at the helm, Chiola stepped down in late April.  He says he took a step back after the season and decided it was time, but it doesn’t mean he’s stepping away from football. 

Not by a longshot. 

To begin with, his son, Tyler, will be a senior at Colonia, and he plans to see every game he can. 

And, he says he’ll always root for his Linden family too.  Unless it’s against his son’s team.

Then, in the Spring, he’ll be back to coaching Linden’s flag football team, which he says is quite healthy this year, with a turnout of about 60 girls for the program.

Yes, football will still dominate life for Chiola, just a little differently than it’s been for the last decade, where he steps aside with a 44-49-1 mark, that lone tie coming two years ago against Montgomery.

Click below to hear Al Chiola talk about stepping down from Linden football – and his future plans – with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: 

by Mike Pavlichko

Friday Night Big Central Roundup: Aquinas cruises, Highland Park rebounds from loss, Linden tops 50 for first time in seven years

Day Two of a three-day weekend of high school football in New Jersey was complete with some big Big Central Conference wins.

Here’s a look at some of the key games on Friday in Week Six, with full scores and the remaining Sunday schedule.

No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 57, Edison 7: The Trojans lit up the scoreboard Friday night in North Edison against their in-town rivals, the Eagles. The win made it 29 straight over Big Central Conference opponents, with their last loss coming during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 to Bernards. The Trojans are now 5-2, with one out-of-state and one non-conference loss.

Next week, St. Thomas travels down Plainfield Avenue to Metuchen to take on No. 7 St. Joseph, which will drop after suffering its first loss of the season Friday night, dropping to 5-1 with a 49-14 defeat at No. 7 Phillipsburg.

Highland Park 34, Roselle Park 14: The Owls improved to 4-2 with a road victory over the Panthers, their first win against a team .500 or better this season. The last team they beat with a winning record was Point Pleasant Beach, which finished 6-5 in 2015, when Highland Park came away with a 31-0 road win. Ironically, it was against the Garnet Gulls that the Owls snapped their 51-game losing streak in last season’s finale.

Highland Park has a chance to match its 6-4 record from 2016 if it can win its last two games. Both are at home, against Manville (5-2) next Friday night, and against South River (1-5) on cutoff weekend.

Linden 56, Perth Amboy 14: The Tigers put up 56 points against Perth Amboy, their first time scoring int he 50s since 2017, when they scored 55 in a 55-48 win at Ridge on September 22nd of that year.

It’s the fourth-highest point total in school history, which dates back to 1915. They beat Kearny 60-6 in 1994, Rahway 61-6 in 1971, and their biggest offensive output ever came in 1992, when they beat Newark East Side 69-6.

Roselle 28, Newark Collegiate 22: New Rams head coach Tyrone Turner picked up his first win with Roselle with the help of their special teams, as they earned a six-point home win at Arminio Field Friday night, snapping an eight game losing streak that dated back to last year, and an 0-6 start to the season.

Damari Julius scored two first quarter touchdowns, hauling in a 65-yard TD pass from Dione Nelson, and returning a 78-yard kickoff all the way to the house. Brandon Puryear had a 70-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and Julian Colon recovered a fumble and took it in from two yards out for a score in the third.

Other Friday night scores…

Saturday’s Games:

  • Brearley at South River, 1 pm
  • Dayton at Spotswood, 1 pm (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter)
  • Rahway at No. 9 Watchung Hills, 7 pm
  • Governor Livingston at Voorhees, 7 pm

Thursday Scores

by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Big Central Roundup: Colonia rallies to win Chiola Bowl, St. Joe’s handles Union, two new coaches pick up their first wins

Though there are fewer games on any given Saturday in the Big Central Conference than Friday nights, there was no shortage of action. Colonia came from behind to beat Linden, St. Joseph-Metuchen continued its strong early season play, and Matt Andzel and Shawn Johnson got their first wins as head coaches at their alma maters.

Colonia 21, Linden 14: The Patriots used a fourth quarter rally, scoring 14 unanswered points, in their Big Central Liberty Gold Division opener to beat Linden at Tiger Stadium, 21-14.

Rynal Wortman opened the scoring for Colonia with a 41-yard touchdown catch thrown by Dylan Chiera, in the first quarter, but in the second, Tyrone Hinton of Linden threw a ten-yard TD pass to Richard Lugardo to tie the game at seven.

After a scoreless third, Hinton scored on a one-yard run to make it 14-7, but Colonia would score twice to close out the game.

First, Yisrael Custudio scored on a ten-yard touchdown run. Then, with the game tied and Colonia facing a fourth-and-three from its own 46, they called a timeout to figure out how they’d go for it. The ensuing play was a 55-yard touchdown pass from Chiera to Nigel Hill for the score.

The Patriots are now 3-0 for the second time in three seasons (they also did it in 2022, an 8-2 season) ahead of a big one Friday night against in-town rival Woodbridge. The Barrons, who are also 3-0, are ranked No. 3 in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten.

Colonia has now won two games that have gone right down to the wire, the first being a 22-21 overtime win against Sayreville in its season opener.

Saturday’s game also was being called “The Chiola Bowl,” as Linden coach Al Chiola lives in Colonia, and his son, Tyler, is in the football program.

St. Joseph-Metuchen 32, Union 8: The Falcons improved to 2-0 with a convincing win over Union, 32-8 Saturday afternoon at Brenner family Field. Union drops to 0-3 in the first season under Jason Scott.

St. Joe’s rushed for 149 yards as a team, led by quarterback Justin Scaramuzzo, who rushed for 73 yards and two scores, while also throwing 10-of-18 for 115 yards. And the Falcon defense snared three interceptions on the day to help their cause.

St. Joe’s goes to Elizabeth (2-1), while Union hosts Westfield (1-1) next Friday night.

Two more coaches get first wins at their schools…

In two other Saturday games, two new coaches picked up their first wins, both at their alma maters.

Westfield evened its record at 1-1 with a 37-21 home win over Elizabeth that earned alum Matt Andzel his first head coaching victory. Andzel played for Ed Tranchina from 1999 to 2001.

The game was tight early, with Westfield leading 6-0 after one quarter, but they exploded for 24 second quarter points and built a 30-7 lead by halftime. Quarterback Cole Weidler got some big pass plays going, completing just nine passes in 15 attempts for 219 yards and four touchdowns, an average 24 yards per reception.

Blake Rudow rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on a busy day, with 32 carries.

Meanwhile, Scotch Plains Fanwood’s Shawn Johnson picked up win No. 1 with a 42-0 rout at New Brunswick. Jaden Richards and TJ Rasberry each rushed for two touchdowns in the game. See Marcus Borden’s postgame reaction – presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen – here.

Who else is seeking their first?

Two of the ten new coaches hired this offseason have picked up their first wins. Along with Andzel and Johnson, East Brunswick’s Matt Pazinko, Middlesex’s Bobby Swercheck, Sayreville’s Mark Poore, Ibrahim Halsey of South Brunswick, John Hack of Voorhees, and Woodbridge’s Joe Goerge are all on the board.

That leaves Tyrone Turner of Roselle and Jason Scott of Union. The Rams will visit AL Johnson Friday night, while Union hosts Westfield at Cooke Field, also on Friday night.

But there are still two coaches who took over teams last season still searching for that first win.

North Hunterdon was decimated by graduation when CJ Robinson took over as head coach, and went 0-9 last year. The Lions, who are 0-3 this season, have lost ten straight since their North 1, Group 4 title win in 2022. They host Montgomery, which also is 0-3, Friday night in Annandale.

And former Spotswood assistant Steve Gluchowski is still looking for his first in at New Brunswick. The Zebras also went 0-9 last year, and also have started this year 0-3. They have lost 17 straight, with their last win coming September 16th, 2022, against Franklin, a 28-26 win at Memorial Stadium.

While Robinson had to deal with graduation and the cyclical nature of high school football, especially coming off a title year with a heavily senior-laden team, Gluchowski inherited a program that had only won 10 games in the previous five seasons under alum Nate Harris, a stretch that included an 09- campaign in 2019, and where their best years was a 4-6 mark in 2021.

The Zebras’ last season above .500 was a 9-2 year in 2015 under Don Sofilkanich, where their only regular season loss was to Colonia, and New Brunswick got knocked out of the state tournament in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals by Old Bridge.

Other Saturday Scores…

  • Morris Knolls 34, Bridgewater-Raritan 14
  • Franklin 34, East Brunswick 0
  • JFK 28, Governor Livingston 27
  • Summit 41, Hillside 14
  • South River 45, Roselle Park 19
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Linden 17, Sayreville 0

Senior quarterback Tyrone Hinton and sophomore runningback Joe Boyd each scored on touchdown runs, while Chris Garcia kicked a 35-yard field goal to lead Linden past visiting Sayreville, 17-0, win Week One action in Union County.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebeneau call all the play-by-play live from Tiger Stadium in Linden on September 7, 2024:

1st Half
2nd Half

by Mike Pavlichko

Linden blanks visiting Sayreville for first win of the year behind Hinton’s solid two-way play

Senior Tyrone Hinton earned his first win as Linden’s starting quarterback, as the Tigers defeated visiting Sayreville Saturday afternoon in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Hinton unofficially carried 14 times for 68-yards – capped off with a ten-yard touchdown with two seconds to go – to ice a 17-0 victory at Tiger Stadium. Hinton also had a solid game on defense at his linebacker spot.

The 5-11, 210 pound senior stays in the pocket more than his predecessor, Tequan Thomas, but he can run the ball, too, and is a more bruising rusher, as well. That proved instrumental in the Tigers’ success Saturday afternoon.

Linden took an early lead at 9:07 of the first quarter on its first possession, a nine-yard run by sophomore Joe Boyd, whose 54-yard run in the middle of the five-play drive was key.

The Tigers added a field goal from 35 yards out by senior Chris Garcia with :05 on the clock before halftime.

In the second half, Linden played bend-but-don’t break defense. Sayreville received the ball to start the third quarter, and methodically marched downfield, keeping the ball entirely on the ground. They went from their own 40 to the Tiger 11 on 13 plays, but fumbled it inside the ten, ending a drive that took 7:36 off the clock.

Linden failed to score, but came up big on their next drive in the fourth quarter with an interception to end another Bomber possession.

Linden improves to 1-1 with neighboring Colonia (2-0) coming in next Saturday, while Sayreville drops to 0-2 ahead of a home game next Friday night with Edison (1-1).

Click below for postgame reaction with Linden head Coach Al Chiola and QB/LB Tyrone Hinton, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville seeking season’s first win as Bombers travel to Linden for Saturday matinee

The Sayreville football team played stingy defense in their opening game against Colonia in Week Zero, but the Bombers came up short in a heartbreaking overtime loss at home against Colonia, 14-13 in overtime.

On Saturday, they look to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2021 when they take the field against a Linden team just as equally searching for a win after falling to Elizabeth 35-28 last week.

It’s tough to start a season at 0-1, but it’s even tougher to start 0-2 and make a run towards the playoffs.

You can hear Saturday afternoon’s “Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving” on Central Jersey Sports Radio with pregame at 1:45, kickoff at 2 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau call all the action; click here to listen.

For first-year Sayreville coach Mark Poore, it’s about cleaning some things up ahead of the Linden game and continuing to build upon what went well including the way the defense played after giving up a first quarter touchdown, especially in the red zone.

This is a team that showed a lot of heart last week and it’s behind who they are as a group, Poore tells us, while also explaining this is a young team with a great deal of potential in all phases.

Click below to hear Sayreville first-year head coach Mark Poore talk about the Bombers with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau:

by Mike Pavlichko

Linden seeks bounce-back after tough season-opening loss at Elizabeth

Barring a tie, which is like kissing your sister, one of the two teams playing at Tiger Stadium Saturday will get their first win of the season and even their record at 1-1. The other will limp home without a win in their first two games.

Such is life in the rugged Big Central Conference, and such will be life for Linden and Sayreville, who will square off under the threat of potentially heavy rain Saturday afternoon at 2 pm in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving.

Kickoff is 2 pm, with pregame at 1:45. Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau will be on the call; click here to listen.

That tie isn’t out of the question, by the way. The Tigers are coming off a 6-3-1 season which included a first round playoff loss, as well as a late-season 42-all marathon tie against Montgomery.

This year, they have a new quarterback, as Tequan Thomas has graduated, and senior Tyrone Hinton steps into the role. Thomas was a dual threat with heavy emphasis on the ground game, running for twice as many yards as he threw for. Hinton had a more balanced opener: 72 yards through the air, 88 with his legs.

And on 9-of-18 passing, he got the ball to six different receivers, mixing it up against the Minutemen in a narrow loss.

Click below to hear Linden head coach Al Chiola talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about Saturday’s matchup with Sayreville:

by Mike Pavlichko

Elizabeth overcomes miscues, holds off second-half Linden rally in season opener, 35-28

Elizabeth fumbled three times, but built up a big lead that they would need most of in order to hold on for a 35-28 victory over Linden – thanks, in part, to the heroics of Jamad Lyles’ interception in the final minute – in the opening game of the 2024 season for both teams.

The Tigers battled back, with sophomore quarterback Tyrone Hinton running for two second half touchdowns – he had three total – and throwing another, but the rally fell just short.

After a sloppy early going in which, on successive possessions, the Minutemen fumbled, Linden recovered with Hinton throwing an interception, then Elizabeth fumbling again, the Tigers led with 4:03 to go in the first period on Hinton’s one-yard run. A failed two-point try left it at 6-0.

But Elizabeth would get the next four scores, starting on the very next play, as Antoine Blount returned the ensuing kick for six, plus a two-point run by sophomore QB Arique Fleming to make it 8-6 Minutemen.

In the second quarter, Jamal Lyles added a four-yard run, and Fleming hit Kyshan Decartaret for another TD, giving Elizabeth a 21-6 lead at that half that they would extend to 28-6 by the end of the third on a Lyles’ three-yard run, plus the PAT.

But that’s when Linden started to make a run.

Hinton scored from one-yard out 2:55 into the fourth, and with the failed two-point try, the Tigers were down 16. Elizabeth scored again just over two minutes later, to give them an important insurance touchdown and a 35-12 lead on a three-yard scoring run by Fleming.

Linden was not done yet. They scored with 3:18 to go – despite a bad snap – as Hinton took it into the end zone from seven yards out, and after a fast Elizabeth fumble on the next possession, scored with 2:48 to go on a nine-yard pass from Hinton to Juwan Gass. With a two-point run, that made it 35-28.

And it got even more dramatic when Elizabeth was stopped on fourth down with 94 seconds to play, giving Linden the ball back. But the Minutemen were saved when Lyles picked off Hinton to seal the game.

The win was the first for the Minutemen over their Union County rivals since 2016, a 23-10 win. The Tigers won last year’s season-opening meeting at Kean, as well as the three prior matchups in 2019, 2018 and 2017.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Elizabeth’s Jamad Lyles and head coach John Fiore, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

2024 Big Central Preview: Liberty Gold Division

The Big Central Conference Liberty Gold Division is a mix of northern Middlesex and southern Union County schools, and all play some tough, hard-nosed football.

Woodbridge is the defending champion, and talent is not a question mark, not with the Anderson twins playing catch, surrounded by a solid supporting cast. It’s how Joe Goerge – who has mainly run option – will adjust his schemes, or how the offense will adapt to his, or a little of both.

Linden has talent, and will be right there with Colonia, as well as a Plainfield program that is having its best success in over a decade, and looking to add to it, as they join a new division this year. Perth Amboy also will be looking to make strides, but it may be difficult in a division such as this one.

Click below to hear our preview of the Liberty Gold Division from Big Central Conference Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

FRIDAY Cutoff Weekend Playoff Analysis: Group 4

It’s Cutoff Weekend, and we’re the place to get all the updated playoff standings all week long, with our coverage brought to you by My Family Appliances on Route 1 South in the Wick Plaza, Edison.

We’ll have more analysis throughout the day Saturday as scores roll in. And don’t forget to join us for our “Playoff Projection Show” on Saturday at 6:00 pm as Mike Pavlichko brings you all the playoff projections, with analysis and commentary by Marcus Borden, live in studio!

Here’s an updated look at the Group 4 supersections based on Friday night results as reported to Gridiron New Jersey.

NORTH GROUP 4

Ridge beat Union Friday night to stay in 4th place, and they should stay there, giving them a two-seed in the section where Ramapo will be the top-seed. They’re No. 1 overall, having flip-flopped with Roxbury, now in second. Northern Highlands jumped 5th to 3rd place, while Mount Olive fell below Ridge to fifth place.

Montgomery and Linden played an instant classic – a 42-42 triple overtime tie – and neither dropped as a result. The Cougars hold in 6th and Linden in 9th. We think that top nine is pretty locked in, as the only teams to play Saturday in this section are Middletown North (at Marlboro) and Orange (at Lincoln). North can’t get higher than ten with a win, but that would knock Sayreville down one spot from 10th to 11th place. Woodbridge could be affected if Middletown North loses.

Interestingly, the way things shook out, we originally thought Colonia‘s win over Rahway Friday night may not have gotten them in. They fell to 17th even though their UPR went up, as other teams around them won. Rahway holds in 15th with the loss and we think they’re in. So, we figured the Patriots would be watching Orange-Lincoln Very closely. We figured they needed an Orange to loss to get in. Otherwise, they finish in 17th. But here’s the kick. With an Orange win Colonia would fall to 17th, but right behind Rahway. And when the NJSIAA does a top-down tiebreaker, Colonia would get the 16 seed because they won head-to-head Friday night. A loss would get Colonia in 16th, but Rahway 15th. And Colonia would flip-flop, again on the head to head tiebreaker.

So, upon further review, the call in the earlier post has been overturned: We think Colonia is in!!

Key Saturday Games to Watch:

  • #11 Middletown North at Marlboro
  • #16 Orange at Lincoln

SOUTH GROUP 4

There are no Big Central Conference teams in this section, but Millville took the top spot with a win Friday night, while Winslow moved from 4th to 2nd, while Brick Memorial held in third and Mainland – despite a win to finish 9-0 – fell from the top spot to 4th place.