We’re back with another episode of “The Big Central in Two Minutes,” as veteran CJSR sportscaster Mike Pavlichko shares notes, stats, and observations on area high school football.
This week, a look at Hunterdon Central’s first-ever appearance in our polls, Big Central win streaks, and the early dominance of Carteret.
Click below to listen to the Week Two edition of “The Big Central in Two Minutes”:
In Linden’s season opening win against Elizabeth at Kean University exactly one week ago, Te’quan Thomas sensed his team needed a big play, and he ran one in from more than 20 yards out to give his team the win.
This Friday night against Rahway after his team jumped out to a 14-0 lead and then gave it away in the second quarter, Thomas – the reigning Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week – scored a 50-yard touchdown to give his team a 21-14 lead at the break.
Then after a Rahway field goal to open the second half, Thomas responded with a 69-yard score to make it 28-17.
The Tigers (2-0) held Rahway (1-1) to a field goal the rest of the way for a 28-20 victory.
Click below to see postgame reaction from Linden senior Te’quan Thomas and head coach Al Chiola, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
The longest active winning streak in the Big Central doesn’t belong to a traditional football power in Central Jersey like a Piscataway or a Phillipsburg.
It doesn’t belong to either of the teams who won sectional titles last year in Edison or North Hunterdon.
In fact, with the state playing to group champions for the first time last year, that’s five fewer teams that will end their season on a high note coming into the following year.
Yes, the Big Central team with the longest active winning streak at the moment – after nearly three dozen teams opened up in Week Zero – is Roselle.
The Rams got off to an inauspicious start last season, losing their first four games, but rattled off eight straight wins to finish the season and finish 8-4. That included two “consolation” wins at Bordentown and Haddon Heights, and then a victory in their annual Thankgiving rivalry game against Roselle Park.
The stars aligned, and Roselle finished red hot. Junior quarterback Nazir Baker returns, but head coach Ibrahim Halsey will be looking for someone else to make up for graduated runningback Emmanuel Lyles’ 1,272 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.
Elsewhere in the league, no one else has a streak better than three games. Three teams have won three straight: Spotswood won its last two last season and is 0-1 this year. Same for Linden. Summit won its final three games last year, but hasn’t opened yet this season.
The Hilltoppers host Woodbridge Saturday, while Linden hosts Rahway Friday, and Spotswood is at Belvidere Friday.
The longest active winning streak in the state currently belongs to Caldwell, which has won 28 straight games.
The Chiefs haven’t opened this season yet, but after winning their final three games in 2020, went 12-0 in 2021 and won the North 2 Regional Championship. Then, last year, they went a step further, 13-0, winning the state Group 2 title. They open Friday night at home against Morris Catholic.
A good distance behind them is Toms River North, which won its opener last week 14-7 over Millville in the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City. Micah Ford and company have now won 15 in a row, including 14-0 last season with a state Group 5 championship. Their last loss was in the 2021 playoffs to Kingsway in the South 5 sectional semifinals. The Mariners are back in action Friday against Toms River East.
That’s right, it’s Season Two of “The Big Central in Two Minutes,” and veteran CJSR sportscaster Mike Pavlichko is back with his thoughts and observations on area high school football.
In our first edition of this 2023 season, Mike Pavlichko gives plaudits to the two coaches who got their first wins at their schools this past weekend, two big wins for Carteret and St. Thomas Aquinas over South Jersey parochial powers, a coach’s take on JP Stevens, and cramping issues.
Click below to listen to the Week Zero edition of “The Big Central in Two Minutes”:
In a game that featured five lead changes, Te’quan Thomas’ late TD for Linden carried the Tigers past Elizabeth 27-22 in the season opener for both schools on August 25th, 2023.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call the action live from Alumni Stadium on the campus of Kean University in Union:
In a game that saw the lead change five times, the last one with 1:41 to go in the game, Linden topped Elizabeth 27-22 in the season opener for both teams. And it might not have happened without veteran quarterback Tequan Thomas.
This is his third year as a starter, and it showed.
His 15-yard run answered Imad Canty’s 71-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, knotting the game at 7-7 less than two minutes in.
He scored again just 45 seconds into the third quarter – and ran it in for two – to give his team a 21-14 lead.
Then, after Elizabeth took a 22-21 lead with 4:56 left, he calmly led his team down the field for a six-play, 66-yard drive that took 3:18 off the clock, and put his team ahead with a 23-yard score. The two-point conversion failed, but it didn’t matter, as Linden held on for the win.
Click below for postgame reaction with Justin Sontupe, presented by SportsPlex at Metuchen:
The game is a big rivalry, but with COVID and the way the Big Central’s divisions are set up, they haven’t played each other since 2019, the final days of the Mid-State Conference.
That changes tonight when the two teams open the 2023 season at Kean University, in a game that can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe have the call, with pregame at 7:15, and kickoff at 7:30 pm. Click here to listen.
The Tigers are optimistic about their offense, with senior quarterback Te’Quan Thomas (689 passing yards, 1,184 rushing last season) back, along with 6-3 wide receiver Myles Hamilton, as well as Davon McClintock, another senior.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Media Days previewing the Linden season with head coach Al Chiola and senior Myles Hamilton:
Elizabeth head coach John Fiore has been through it all, disappointment and championships, in his time as a head coach.
Last year was one of his most challenging: his first season in Elizabeth after taking a year off following his departure from Montclair.
This year, he’s got who he’s got, his team is healthy, now it’s time to get dressed and play the games.
Elizabeth kicks off its 2023 season Friday night with a Week Zero game against Linden at Kean University in Union. Central Jersey Sports Radio will be there with all the play-by-play, as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the action with pregame at 7:15, and game time at 7:30 pm. Click here to listen.
The game is a fundraiser with proceeds helping fund a scholarship at Linden in honor of Xavier McClain, a Tiger football player who died weeks after suffering a head injury in a September 9th matchup with Woodbridge.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Elizabeth head coach John Fiore and senior runningback/linebacker Jaquy’ri Williams:
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:
With Cutoff Weekend coming up Friday and Saturday this week, Central Jersey Sports Radio is taking a look at every team in the Big Central to see where we think they’ll land in the playoffs.
We’re not looking at tiebreakers just yet, and even adding the few residuals to be had can make for infinitely more possibilities – although there are none up for grabs from any Big Central opponents at this point – so we’re not doing those either. But we are looking at where we think teams will fall in the top 16. Tune in to our Playoff Projection show Saturday at 6 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio for all our unofficial pairings.
Below is our analysis, with each team’s current ranking in the UPR standings noted.
(Click here for official standings on Gridiron New Jersey)
#1 North Hunterdon: Even if the Lions (7-1) were to lose Voorhees (3-4) at home Friday night, it still wouldn’t matter what Irvington, Ramapo, Randolph, and Morris Knolls do behind the, We think North is set as the top overall team, meaning they would be the North 2, Group 4 top seed. Who gets the other No. 1 seed is still very much up in the air; Irvington’s not a lock with a tough game against West Orange.
#7 Ridge: The Red Devils (5-2) – contrary to our initial take – can’t quite grab the second overall position and the other No. 1 seed. We thought if they’d won at Union (2-5) and had a ton go right, including losses by six other teams around them, they could do it. But two of those teams – Randolph and Morris Knolls – play each other. So unless both decide to use an ineligible player and are granted losses (yes it could happen!) a No. 1 seed is out of the realm of possibility, we now believe, for Ridge. A top four finish is possible, though, if the Red Devils win. Undefeated Wayne Valley should beat winless Mount OIive, so beyond that huge upset, Ridge would need Ramapo (5-2) to lose to Ridgewood (5-2), and Randolph (6-1) to lose to Morris Knolls (6-1). On paper, those games could go either way. So, if Ridge wins, we call that a 50-50 shot. A loss, and Ridge could drop as low as nine, going on the road for the first round if everything breaks the wrong way around them.
#8 Colonia: The Patriots and the next few teams have so many possible scenarios and combos of winning and losing and other teams’ results, so we’ll just give their range. They could legitimately go as high as No. 7 overall, guaranteed at least a first-round home game, or drop as low as 13 in a worst-case scenario.
#11 Rahway: With Colonia being a strong team with just one loss, should they beat the Patriots, they could finish as high as an eight or nine overall, meaning a first-round home game is still in play. But we believe they’re in regardless of what happens; it looks like the lowest they can drop is 14 with a loss.
#12 Montgomery: Even with a loss to Linden, it looks like the Cougars are in, but destined to be on the road in the first round, as we peg them for a range of No. 10 to No. 15 overall.
#14 Sayreville: Similar to Montgomery, we think Sayreville is in whether they beat Woodbridge or not Friday night, and in the same 10-15 overall range.
#16 Woodbridge: Here’s where things start to get tricky. We thing the Barrons aren’t guaranteed of anything, even if they beat Sayreville Friday night, and the reason is the tiebreaker. If somehow, the Barrons end up a spot ahead of Linden, the Tigers have the tiebreaker by virtue of winning their regular season matchup. That’s even the case if Woodbridge finishes 16 and Linden finishes 17, regardless of power points, OSI or UPR. So, the Barrons need to finish two spots ahead of Linden if they end up at No. 16. Win, and it’s easier: they just need a loss by Linden and nothing else, and they’ll be the last team in. With a loss, they would not only need Linden to lose, but also Barringer to win Friday night against Nutley and Bergenfield to beat Pascack Valley on Saturday. Those have to happen to bump Linden to 18 so that Woodbridge avoids the tiebreaker. *We think.
#17 Linden: The Tigers, even though they’re behind Woodbridge, have it easier. With a win, even if everything else breaks wrong – including the Barrons winning – we have them at 17, with Woodbridge in 16th, and Linden getting the tiebreaker over the Barrons. We’ll see how it shakes out. And, as stated above, they could still get in with a loss, if things break right regarding Barringer and Bergenfield losing.