Tag: Marcus Borden

by Mike Pavlichko

H.S. Football analyst Marcus Borden brings “Borden’s Ballers,” analysis to Central Jersey Sports Radio

Marcus Borden coached the East Brunswick Bears for a long time: 30 years to be exact. His record was 143-142-1. He won two championships.

That is to say, he’s forgotten more about high school football – and he never forgets a play! – than most other people know.

And now, he’s bringing those years of expertise to Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Marcus will continue with his own personal tradition of “Borden’s Ballers,” his post-season All-Middlesex County team with fan voting in November on our Central Jersey Sports Radio website to determine who will be named Borden’s Baller of the Year.

During the season, he’ll join CJSR founder Mike Pavlichko for a weekly segment on the very latest in the Big Central Conference. The quick-hitting “Gameday with Marcus Borden” will debut Friday, August 25th and drop on cjsportsradio.com every Friday morning at 8 am.

Marcus also will continue to vote in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Media Poll, along with CJSR’s Mike Pavlichko, Dom Savino and Justin Sontupe, Korbid Thompson of the King James Radio Network, and legendary longtime Somerset County sportswriter Harry Frezza of MyCentralJersey.com.

And, of course, you can follow Borden on Twitter/”X” at @bordenfb4ever for updates from games around the Big Central every weekend. Postgame interview clips will be posted on social media, with Marcus’s full-length interviews featured exclusively on cjsportsradio.com all season long.

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden, Joe Bellamy and Greg Tufaro discuss the 2023 Marisa Rose Bowl

The total mount of money raised by the various iterations of what now is the Bellamy & Son Paving Marisa Rose Bowl was at $736,000 and counting heading into Thursday night’s 2023 edition, and that number is sure to climb.

Scroll down for information on how to make a donation to support the Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

The effort is no small task. Even the day after, when coaches were taking a breather, and the football players and cheerleaders could focus 100% on leaving for college, game organizer Marcus Borden – who began the event in 1994 as the Snapple Bowl – could be found washing game-worn uniform pants, and dropping off other equipment at various locations throughout Middlesex County.

The efforts of Greg Tufaro and his wife Cyndi – who founded the Marisa Tufaro Foundation in 2017 after the passing of their daughter, Marisa, from a rare form of cancer after enduring several open-heart surgeries and a transplant – have been unmatchable in that time, including their involvement in the game, and all the other charitable endeavors they undertake.

Throw in the massive sponsorship support of Joe Bellamy, the owner of Bellamy & Son Paving – also a founding and continuous sponsor of Central Jersey Sports Radio since its inception in 2000 – and you have all the makings of a successful game like the one played Thursday night at Nicholas Priscoe Stadium in Woodbridge, in which Team Rose beat Team Marisa 37-15, behind the arm and legs of North Brunswick’s Frankie Garbolino – the game’s MVP – who threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more.

READ MORE: Garbolino powers Team Rose to 37-15 win in Bellamy & Son Paving Marisa Rose Bowl

But it’s the kids who win. It’s the pediatric patients and families who benefit year-round from the Marisa Tufaro Foundation. It’s the kids at the Lakeview School in Edison, and the PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick who will benefit from Thursday’s gate, and all the game’s sponsors. They’re the ones who win.

Click below to hear sideline reporter Korbid Thompson talk to game founder and organizer Marcus Borden, Joe Bellamy of Bellamy & Son Paving, and Greg Tufaro of the Marisa Tufaro Foundation at halftime of the 2023 Bellamy & Son Paving Marisa Rose Bowl:

Click the image below to make a donation to the Marisa Tufaro Foundation:

by Mike Pavlichko

Tuesday Night Quarterback-Episode 12: The Vote (Special Edition)

On a special edition of the “Tuesday Night Quarterback,” Mike Pavlichko takes a deeper dive into Wednesday’s historic landslide vote to remove language from the NJSIAA’s constitution that prohibited state championships in football. The move paves the way for public school group champions to be crowned by way of a five-week playoff season as early as 2022.

Dom Savino joins Mike to discuss the vote and what it means for high school football, particularly as it relates to the Big Central Conference. Mike is then joined by several guests to discuss the meaning of the vote:

  • Hillsborough head coach and NJSIAA Executive Committee member Kevin Carty Jr.
  • Hackensack head coach, NJSIAA Executive Committee member and NJ State Assembly Deputy Speaker Benjie Wimberly (D-35)
  • Former East Brunswick head coach, two-time state champ and MyCentralJersey.com football analyst Marcus Borden
by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden – winner of two titles – says group champs won’t cheapen sectional crowns

Five years after East Brunswick beat Jackson to win its first state sectional title under Marcus Borden, the Bears were at it again.

In the snow at the College of New Jersey, they took home another Central Jersey Group IV title, beating Brick Memorial 9-0.

For a coach who remembers just about every play of every game he’s ever coached in (spend some time with him and you’ll see what I mean) that game especially sticks out.

With the NJSIAA membership voting Wednesday to allow public group championships by a large margin – 318-12, with six abstentions – some have worried it could make sectional titles less relevant.

Just don’t put Borden in that category. Listen below to his conversation with Central Jersey Sports Radio about the NJSIAA’s historic vote, and his own past efforts to get New Jersey to play to group titles: