Senior quarterback Jonathan Gosk rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more as Manville defeated arch-rival Bound Brook, 35-7, in the Big Central Conference Freedom Silver Division opener for both teams.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau call all the play-by-play live from Ned Panfile Stadium in Manville, NJ, on September 11, 2026:
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!
Taking an encore after a season like Manville had last year isn’t always easy.
After all, the Mustangs had a season for the ages last year, going 9-0 in the regular season – their first undefeated campaign since 1968 – and winning their first playoff game in school history, coming over Asbury Park in the first round of the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs.
Repeating is never easy, but it’s especially difficult when 95 percent of the team’s offense has graduated.
They’ve got some players, but head coach Dave Markowitch is still figuring out how it will all come together, as new leaders emerge in 2026. At 1-1 thus far – with a season-opening blowout win at Keansburg and a narrow loss to Brearley that we’ll get to in a moment, their next test comes Friday night when arch-rival Bound Brook comes to town.
That’s our Friday night Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week, and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio beginning with pregame at 6:45 pm. Kickoff is at 7, with Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau on the call; click here to listen.
Certainly, Manville is at no loss for talent. Senior QB Jonathan Gosk – though they don’t throw the ball a lot – has tossed for 136 yards, connecting on 6-of-12 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns in his first year in the starting role, but perhaps more importantly, no interceptions. And three backs – Cassius Carter, Matty Gorbatuck and Aidan Johnson – all have upwards of 100 yards rushing across two games, while the Mustangs as a team have averaged 300 yards a game in the first two.
But there have been some other mistakes, namely in the special teams department. Last week, in a 21-18 loss at Brearley, the Mustangs missed two PATs, and a two-point try on their third and final touchdown of the game also failed.
And not directly related to Xs and Os, there’s the Jimmies and the Joes: Manville has seniors, and has leaders, but head coach Dave Markowitch says they’re still working on communications, having those leaders assert themselves, while holding each other accountable.
Surely, they’ll work through it, but against Bound Brook (0-2) Friday night, a team Markowitch knows has athletes, it’ll be yet another early season test for the Mustangs.
Click below to hear Manville head coach Dave Markowitch talk about the Bound Brook game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
In rivalry games, anything can happen, and it often does when Bound Brook and Manville get together regardless of the sport.
That said, while the Crusader football team went 5-5 last season and made the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs, they have had struggled against the Mustangs – who have had some of their best years of late – in their last couple of meetings.
Last year, it was a 49-7 defeat on Cutoff Weekend, and 42-3 Manville the year before. But the Crusaders took their 2023 meeting, winning 25-15.
In 2026, it’s been tough sledding out of the gates for Bound Brook in more ways than one. The defense has given up 75 points in the first couple weeks while only scoring a pair of touchdowns adding up to 12 points overall on offense.
But Manville had some issues last week, too, after a season-opening blowout at Keansburg. They missed two extra points and a two-point conversion on their three touchdowns, and wound up losing 21-18 at Brearley last Friday night.
So maybe Friday night’s meeting between the two arch-rivals is anyone’s guess. Either way, you can hear it on Central Jersey Sports Radio on our Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Kickoff is at 7 pm with Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau calling all the action. Pregame is at 6:45; click here to listen.
Moving forward, seventh-year head coach Dave LePoidevin says Bound Brook also needs to clean up the penalties on offense.
“We have to eliminate them and we have to do a much better job with that, something we try to work on everyday at practice,” LePoidevin said.
On the positive side, their running game led by senior Amero Diaz is something to keep an eye on moving forward.
“We thought we’d rely more heavily on the pass but we’re seeing that we’ve been doing a much better job with the run, so we’re looking to really build on that and watch it grow,” LePoidevin said.
Click below to hear Bound Brook head coach Dave LePoidevin talk about the Manville game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau:
St. Thomas Aquinas holds the Big Central Conference record for most consecutive league wins with 35, a streak that was snapped last season. That put Bernards in the catbird’s seat, and they entered 2026 just three wins away from tying that mark.
But the Mountaineers’ streak came to an end Friday, as Bernards dropped to 0-2 on the season, dropping their league opener at home, 31-24 to Cranford.
Of the top four active league win streaks, two came to and end this past weekend. Besides Bernards, Manville had a 12-game league stretch going, but the Mustangs lost their 2026 BCC opener as well, falling by a field goal at Brearley on Friday night, 21-18.
So who does that leave next?
New Providence now owns the league’s best current streak with 15 straight wins. They’re 1-0 this year, opening the season in fine form Thursday night, with a 27-7 home win over Voorhees, the first win for new head coach Anthony Conzentino. He took over for Chet Parelvecchio, Jr., who’s now the Defensive Coordinator at Delbarton. New Providence will look to extend that streak Thursday when they visit Johnson at 7 pm.
Next up is St. Joseph-Metuchen. The second-ranked Falcons have won nine-in-a-row, dating back to the start of last season, when they won all eight of their league contests. St. Joe’s will put that streak on the line Friday afternoon at 4 pm when they visit Gary Kehler Stadium in Westfield to take on the Blue Devils.
State leaders all from down South…
Around the state, Glassboro and Washington Township have the top two overall winning streaks, with no one else even close; that’s because they were thew only two non-Ivy teams (Super Football Conference squads with a “relief” schedule who are ineligible for the playoffs) to finish last year entirely undefeated.
Glassboro has won 29 straight; the Bulldogs are the two-time defending state Group 1 champions, and finished 13-0 in 2024, then 14-0 last year. They are off to a 2-0 start this season, their most recent win coming Friday at Mainland, 38-6. This week, they host Winslow at 6 pm Friday. The Eagles have won two straight state Group 4 titles, and 15 straight games, including their last 13 last season, and their first two this year, over Neptune and defending South Jersey Group 5 champion Kingsway.
In the regular season, Glassboro has won 21 straight – the best streak in the state – while Washington Township has won 13 regular season contests in a row.
As for losses…
The state’s longest active skid currently belongs to Dunellen, which will try and break it Friday when the Destroyers host Belvidere. Longtime mentor Dave DeNapoli stepped down after the 2024 season, and Phlip McGuane came in to take over, while also becoming the new AD in the middle of the school year. That turned out to be a transition year for football, with Kyle Baach becoming the head coach this off-season.
Dunellen dropped its opener at JP Stevens, 12-7, and they will have some opportunities to get off the schneid this season if they can develop what has always been a small group. Their last win came on October 19, 2023, a 34-28 win at Columbia Park over Brearley.
After that, it’s Orange and West Windsor-Plainsboro at 16, but the next two teams both snapped their skids last week. Long Branch had lost 14 straight, but is 1-1 now after a 51-0 win at Keansburg last Thursday. And Paterson Kennedy (an Ivy team) snapped its 13-game losing streak with a season-opening win at Ferris Saturday, 32-6.
The schedule might have been light Saturday afternoon, but there was plenty of action for the four Big Central Conference teams in action on the final day of Week Zero play in New Jersey high school football.
The biggest win went to No. 4 Piscataway in a battle of electrifying teams, as the Chiefs nearly gave up a two-score lead late, and hung on for a 26-20 victory at East Orange.
Meanwhile, Manville pummeled their hosts in the opening game of the “Battle of the Bridge” at Keansburg, while South River dropped the second game, 43-7, to Point Pleasant Beach.
Scroll through for recaps, audio and Saturday scores.
Chiefs hang on in a wild finish…
Fourth-ranked Piscataway needed a goal line stand to come away with a 26-20 win, one that nearly – and quite literally – almost slipped through their hands.
The Chiefs scored on their opening possession, with a 29-yard touchdown run by Zaire Young, but missed the extra point left. And they fell behind 7-6 when the Jaguars answered on a 35-yard TD scamper by Jaleel Halsey early in the second quarter. But Piscataway got one back with 4:15 left, when Cody Hardy jumped a route on the right sideline on an East Orange second-and-eight from the three, taking the interception into the end zone to go up 13-7 with the PAT.
Late in the third quarter, a bad snap on a punt went over kicker Patrick Novak’s head. He was able to get it off, but the Jags got good field position and scored to make it 14-13 East Orange. But the Chiefs would answer with another Zaire Young touchdown, leaping over a defender at the goal line to reach the end zone, making it 19-14 Piscataway with the point after. Another score by Jason Harrison put them up 26-14 with 3:32 left, and it looked like the Chiefs would come back home with a win.
And they did, but they had to sweat it out. East Orange completed a bomb of a pass to Eric Williams down the left side, who looked like he would score, but his momentum took him out at the one. Jaleel Halsey punched it in for the score, but going for the PAT, a bobbled snap resulted in a botched play, and a frantic attempt to toss the ball to the end zone for two failed.
Piscataway got its hands team out for the expected onside kick, but it bounced high off the finger tips of a Piscataway player and East Orange recovered at the Piscataway 47 with two time outs left. They used one as they got it down to the one-yard line for a first down with 22 seconds left, and got stuffed on a run with 13-seconds remaining before calling their final time out.
The Chiefs then stuffed the next run into the backfield, and with only three seconds left, East Orange tried to spike the ball, but couldn’t get the play off in time, leaving Piscataway with a wild 26-20 victory.
Next week, Piscataway gets Somerville (1-0) at home, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart on the call.
Manville wins 15th straight…
The Mustangs left little to doubt in their season opener, as Manville won its 15th straight regular season game – dating back to 2024 – picking up a 56-15 victory over host Keansburg in the “Battle of The Bridge” showcase down along the Bayshore.
Five different players scored rushing touchdowns for Manville: Matthew Gorbatuk and Aidan Johnson each scored twice, while Cassius Carter, Jovani Maldonado and Kevin Camacho each scored once. And QB Jonathan Gosk connected with Elijah Bennett for a passing TD.
Johnson also added a pick on defense, while Gorbatuk had a fumble recovery. The Mustangs visit Brearley (1-0) in Kenilworth next Friday night.
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
FRIDAY SCOREBOARD
THURSDAY SCOREBOARD
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:
Just like some of the large school divisions, no change was made on the opposite end of the spectrum by the Big Central Conference when it comes to the Freedom Silver Division, which will keep the same six teams it had last year.
Manville is coming off a 10-1 season and a year in which it scored the first playoff win in school history, but they will see some significant graduation losses that could allow others to make a move. Bound Brook and Belvidere are coming off .500 seasons, while Middlesex will look to gain some ground, South Hunterdon has a new coach – but one who’s been with the program – and Dunellen will enter its second year with head coach Phlip McGuane, who took the post last season after longtime mentor Dave DeNapoli retired.
Here are the preliminary schedules for the Freedom Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.
Manville Mustangs (10-1, 5-0, Freedom Silver Division Champions)
Head Coach: Dave Markowitch, 4th season (20-11)
It was a dominant year for the Mustangs in 2025, who went 10-1, beating Asbury Park for their first-ever postseason victory, before falling in the second-round at Burlington City. Manville posted four shutouts during the season, and never scored fewer than 31 points in league play. But, there are some big graduation losses, starting with senior quarterback Josh D’Ambrosio, who threw for 720 yards and nine TDs (with no picks!) while also rushing for 1,268 yards and 18 scores. No. 2 rusher Isaiah Bennett (925 yards, 17 TDs) also was the top receiver, with 262 yards and three TDs, but he’s also graduated. At QB, rising junior Aiden Johnson could get a shot. He threw just one pass last year, a 37-yard touchdown in a win over Highland Park. Senior tight end Collin Shimp is gone, too, and he was solid on the other side of the ball as well, logging three sacks and three TFLs last season. So is Evan Canica, who had three sacks and ten tackles for loss. But two freshmen who made an impact will return: linemen Levan Chankotadze (3 1/2 sacks, 8 TFLs) and Matthew Gorbatuck (3 sacks, 4 TFLS).
Bound Brook Crusaders (5-5, 4-1, 2nd place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Dave LePoidevin, 7th season (17-37)
The Crusaders are coming off their best season since the COVID-shortened year, when they went 5-2. Going 5-5 was a big step for Dave LePoidevin’s group, and they even made the playoffs, falling at Burlington City in the opening round. Rising senior Jayden Cruz should get a look at QB after the graduation of starter John Archer (829 pass yards and 7 TDs, 609 rush yards and 8 TDs), but he only threw one pass last year. The Brook also will have to replace top rusher Jake Markey, who carried 124 times (ten more than archer) for 910 yards and seven scores. But they will bring back top receiver, Zahmir Moore (22 catches, 347 yards, 4 TDs), for his senior season. The defense was very senior heavy, too, but Moore should continue to make an impact there, after logging three TFLs and three interceptions, including one for a touchdown last season. Rising junior Kayden Bailey (2 TFLs, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT) also could have an impact.
Belvidere County Seaters (5-5, 3-2, 3rd place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Jordon Schreffler, 5th season (16-23)
Primarily a running team, the Seaters should be set at the quarterback position, with sophomore Jake Enderley (457 yards, 8 TD) back for his junior year, with No. 2 Elijah White (162 yards, 1 TD) also back for his senior year. Top rusher Geoffrey Young is gone with his 729 yards and six touchdowns, but White could make an impact there, and on the receiving end, where he caught 10 passes for 157 yards, while rising senior Kayden Thorpe also is back at wide receiver, with 14 catches for 141 yards and two scores last season. Defensively, the loss of senior lineman Brayden Duckworth (5 sacks, 1 TFL) will have an impact, but sophomore Nick Muha (5 sacks) should make a bigger impact now as a junior, while White also had two picks and a fumble recovery playing defensive back last season.
Middlesex Blue Jays (2-8, 2-3, 4th place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Robert Swercheck, 3rd season (8-12)
The Blue Jays struggled last season, but were young, with a sophomore QB in Matthew Petti, Jr., who threw for 681 yards and seven touchdowns, while top rusher Gerard Boateng – also just a tenth-grade – rushed 70 times for 343 yards and two more scores. The experience should pay off there, and in the receiving unit. The top defensive players were a bit more senior-heavy, so Swerchek will have to work on that, looking to younger players like defensive back Tyler Orts, who ha d a TFL, two forced fumbles/recoveries and two interceptions last season. There’s talent, and Middlesex should be improved this season.
South Hunterdon Eagles (1-7, 1-4, 5th place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Kyle Hart, 1st season
The first new coach out in Lambertville in 16 years, Hart’s No. 1 job is to increase numbers in the program, part of what led to a one-win season last year. But he played for the Eagles, and has spent the last several years working under Jefferis, so he’s intimately acquainted with the scenario out there. The bright side is their QB last year, Tucker Hicks, was a junior. he threw for 284 yards and a touchdown last year, while top rusher Kellen Healy (119 carries, 541 yards, 5 TDs) is back for his junior year. Their defense was young, too, and will be more experienced in 2026. That includes freshman Brendan Paciulli (3 sacks), freshman Tommy Silagy (1 sack, 2 TFLs) and Healy, who had two interceptions, one for a touchdown. The Big Central notes Week 8 is open with the possibility of picking up an NJIC squad later in the year.
Dunellen Destroyers (0-9, 0-5, 6th place Freedom Silver)
Head Coach: Phlip McGuane, 2nd season (0-9)
The Destroyers were shut out four times last year, and scored in double figures just once, but the team was young. Never a big passing team, they only managed 90 passing yards and just a shade over 700 yards on the ground as a team, but Dunellen also was young. Of the three quarterbacks on their roster to play, two were sophomores and one was a freshman. Of eleven players to rush the football, only three were seniors. That could bode well for the program as many will be back, with another year experience under their belt. On defense, they’ll miss seniors line linebackers Kahbir Casey (3 1/2 sacks, 10 TFLs) and Jackson Portik (1 1/2 sacks, 14 TFLs), but freshman lineman Colin Reynolds had seven TFLs, and sophomore Ben Howard had 12, so the cupboard isn’t bare. Again, they’ll look to bank on a baptism by fire in 2025 to make 2026 a more successful season.
The coaches from the Skyland Conference have unveiled their 2026 All-Division teams, honoring 139 players from across its four divisions, including the 14 Somerset County schools in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area.
Here’s the full list of players honored, by division, with teams in alphabetical order:
SKYLAND CONFERENCE – DELAWARE DIVISION
First Team
Second Team:
Honorable Mention:
SKYLAND CONFERENCE – RARITAN DIVISION
First Team:
Second Team:
Honorable Mention:
SKYLAND CONFERENCE – VALLEY DIVISION:
First Team:
Second Team:
Honorable Mention:
SKYLAND CONFERENCE – MOUNTAIN DIVISION
First Team:
Second Team:
Note: The Mountain Division coaches did not choose any Honorable Mentions.
Both higher seeds advanced Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Somerset County Tournament, with 11-seed Bernards and 12th-seed Pingry both coming up with wins.
They’ll both move on the the second round, scheduled for Monday, with eight games on tap, and winners heading to Thursday’s quarterfinals, with all games at higher seeds.
(11) Bernards 13, (14) Bound Brook 3: In a ten-run rule walk-off, the Mountaineers (12-6) scored in every inning, including two in each of the first two innings, five in the third, one in the fourth, and three in the bottom of the fifth to end it when James Renz singled to left field, bringing in Casey Hocekele. Sean Arcelay had a 3-for-4 afternoon with a double, one RBI, two stolen bases and three runs scored in a complete effort; seven different players drove in runs, with James Ferrante and Sonny Liranzo each knocked in in a pair.
On the mound, starter Landon Farmer went four innings, giving up three runs, only one of them earned. He also fanned six, then Tucker Gallagher pitched a scoreless fifth.
Bound Brook falls to 2-11.
Next up, Bernards will visit sixth-seed Hillsborough (7-9) Monday afternoon in the second round at 4 pm. It’ll be their first meeting since 2023, a meeting the Mountaineers won 5-0.
(12) Pingry 8, (13) Manville 1: The Big Blue (8-9) never trailed, scoring one in the second and three in the fourth before the Mustangs (7-9) could get on the board. Freshman Connor Lahey drove in two runs and scored once on a 3-for-3 day, while Langston McDonald also went 3-for-3 on the afternoon, and scored twice.
Zach Zaslow improved to 3-0 with the win, going the distance and scattering four hits over seven innings, giving up one unearned run, while striking out seven.
On Monday, Pingry will head to 5th-seed Bridgewater-Raritan (6-14). The two have not met since at least prior to 2008, the last year for which records are available online.
Here’s the Monday Somerset County Tournament second round schedule, with a look ahead to projected quarterfinal matchups on Thursday, all at higher seeds:
