Tag: Matt Bloom

by Nick Hart

Somerville is off to a good start, but now, a Top 5 matchup as No. 5 Pioneers visit No. 3 Piscataway

After an unceremonious end to the 2025-2026 campaign, Somerville got right back on track to start the new campaign with a convincing 40-21 victory over South Plainfield. But now things get even tougher.

Next up for the Pioneers is a matchup against Piscataway, a familiar foe or a brand-new one, depending on what year you went to high school.

The two squads matched up quite a bit over a 22-year stretch ranging from 1965 to 1987, playing every year. But since then, Somerville and the Chiefs (1-0) have not faced off on the gridiron.  

You can hear Friday night’s game – our Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week – live at 6 pm, with pregame at 5:45. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Hart are on the call; click here to listen.

While a lot has certainly changed since these two teams last met, not much has changed on the field for the Pioneers in the past season. Dylan Boehm returns as the signal caller in his sophomore season and is still producing at a high level for his offense. 

Boehm’s introduction to Somerville football was stellar, completing over 57 percent of his passes for 1,449 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Much to the delight of the Pioneers, Bohem showed no signs of slowing down to kick off this season, throwing for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week. 

Slowing down simply is not something that this Somerville team seems to do often, running a fast-paced offense every game. If it is not the pace of the offense and the passing threat of Boehm wasn’t enough to keep defensive coordinators on their toes, the Pioneers also sport a strong run game.

Senior Justin Bowen made his presence felt early this season, rushing for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Somerville’s opening contest. Last season, Bowen rushed for 446 yards and seven touchdowns while splitting carries with then-senior Aidan Vesuvio-Bush. 

With such a talented offense, it can be easy to overlook the Pioneers’ defense, unless they are your opponent for the upcoming week. Somerville surrendered 20 or more points in just three of its games last season and held opponents to an average of less than 15 points per game.

The Pioneers will have their work cut out for them on Friday, however, against a Piscataway team coming off of a seven-win season last year and an opening-week victory over East Orange last Saturday afternoon. Long-time head coach Dan Higgins, is no stranger to success with his program, sporting a 182-61 record in his 22 years with the team – along with seven state titles – and will surely have his squad ready to go against Somerville. 

With a talented Piscataway team waiting for the Pioneers, fourth-year head coach Matt Bloom knows that his team has to execute well in all three stages of the game in order to take home a victory on Friday.

Click below to hear Somerville head coach Matt Bloom talk about his team’s matchup against the Piscataway Chiefs with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart:

by Alec Crouthamel

Rutgers Prep boys basketball coach Matt Bloom steps down after nine years leading the Argonauts

There will be two new head coaches on the hardwood this upcoming season at Rutgers Prep.

Matt Bloom, the Argonauts’ boys basketball head coach, announced on Instagram Friday afternoon that he will step down from the position after nine years at the helm.

Bloom led Rutgers Prep to three Somerset County championships and seven finals appearances, and was named CJSR’s Boys Coach of the Year in 2022 after winning the Non-Public South A sectional championship and making the state final. A successor was not announced at the time of publishing.

His statement reads as follows:

“After much reflection, I have made the decision to resign from my position as RPS Boys Basketball Coach. This is a decision I have made thoughtfully and independently, and while it is not easy to step away from something that has meant so much to me and my family, I am confident that it is the right decision. It has been an honor to work with and advocate for our tremendous student-athletes and coaches. Some of my life’s most cherished memories have come from my time on the sidelines coaching the Argonauts. I am incredibly grateful for the relationships I’ve made and am very proud of the championship program we have built over the last nine seasons. While I will no longer be coaching basketball, I am excited to continue teaching at Rutgers Prep and remain an active member of this terrific community. I look forward to continuing to support our students and the school across a multitude of activities and programs. To the student-athletes I have had the privilege to coach—thank you for trusting me and know that I will always be proud to have been your coach.“

In all, Bloom compiled a 173-64 record during his nine-year tenure, led the Argonauts to its first sectional title in program history, and broke a long county title drought in 2020, the first of three they’d win under his guide.

A graduate of Teaneck High School, and later the University of Pennsylvania, Bloom spent all four years as a manager for the Quakers’ men’s basketball team under head coach Fran Dunphy.

He couldn’t stay away from basketball long even after graduating. Bloom spent three years on Fred Hill Jr’s staff at Rutgers, including two as the operations coordinator. He then stayed in the Division I ranks at La Salle after Hill’s dismissal, starting as a video coordinator before rising up to become the Explorers’ Director of Basketball Operations for his last three seasons in Philadelphia.

Then, when head coach Dr. John Giannini (now the AD at Rowan) left La Salle after 14 years, Bloom had to find another opportunity. That’s when he arrived at Rutgers Prep, and the rest was history.

The Argonauts went 18-10 and made it to the Somerset County Tournament final in his first year at the helm, then the semifinals in 2018-19. They finally broke through in Bloom’s third season, winning the program’s first Somerset County title since 1983.

That year, led by future Division I players Otega Oweh (Oklahoma/Kentucky), Nico Galette (Sacred Heart/Youngstown State), Trey Patterson (Villanova/Saint Peter’s/Rice) and Noah Harris (Marist), they went 27-2, won the county tournament as the top seed, and made it to the sectional final, where they lost to Wildwood Catholic.

Rutgers Prep also won back-to-back county tournaments in 2023 and 2024, giving Bloom and the Argonauts four titles in five years, when counting the sectional crown in 2022.

This past season, Rutgers Prep went 18-10, making it to yet another Somerset County Tournament final, before falling in the Non-Public South A semifinal to Bishop Eustace.

Always quick to give credit to his players, Bloom departs coaching the Argonauts, but noted in his statement he will remain in the classroom as a teacher at the school.

by Mike Pavlichko

As always, Somerville returns speed heading into 2026, with goal of another championship

As thrilling as things were around Somerville in 2024 – winning yet another sectional title – 2025 saw a very disappointing ending: a first round playoff exit at the hands of Matawan, at home, of all things.

You win some, you lose some. Last year, the Pioneers finished 8-2, with those two losses by a combined eight points.

But one thing will always be consistent as long as Matt Bloom is the head coach: the Pioneers will utilize every bit of speed they have.

That was on display – albeit not in the form of a 70-yard touchdown run – at Big Central Conference Media Day last Wednesday, when Bloom brought with him guys like running back Justin Bowen and linebacker Shyheim Hobbs-Harris.

Bowen is the top returning rusher this season, and will look to fill the shoes of graduated senior Aidan Vesuvio-Bush, who was a yard shy of 1,300 last season. Bowen ran for 446 yards and 89 carries in 2025, scoring seven touchdowns.

He’ll be getting the ball from freshman Dylan Boehm, who wasn’t perfect last year – but who is as a freshman? He threw for 1,449 yards and ten touchdowns a season ago.

Hobbs-Harris was third on the team in tackles with 49, while also notching three sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and he also has a nose for the ball, can grab it and take off. He recovered three fumbles in 2025, one for a score. Somerville also brings back defensive back James Hampton for his junior season, with his five picks, two of which went for six.

Yes, Somerville has talent back, but they also have a very tough schedule, playing much bigger schools like Sayreville, Hunterdon Central, Elizabeth and Piscataway (their first meeting with the Chiefs since 1987). And St. Thomas Aquinas is on the schedule, too.

How it all plays out will be fun to watch.

Click below to learn more about the Somerville Pioneers in 2026 from head coach Matt Bloom, senior runningback Justin Bowen and senior linebacker Shyheim Hobbs-Harris with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Conference Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rematch between Rutgers Prep, Montgomery kicks off Somerset County Tournament semis at Franklin Saturday

Montgomery’s last win over Rutgers Prep in boys’ basketball came in the 2018-19 season, with the Cougars winning twice that year. Since then, the Argonauts have won ten straight, but the majority – especially in recent seasons – have been close, including a three-point loss in the 2024 Somerset County Tournament final.

This Saturday, the second-seeded Argonauts (15-8, No. 9 in New Jersey) and the third-seeded Cougars (20-3, No. 10 in NJ) will square off at 10 at Franklin High School to open a full day of basketball in the Somerset County Tournament Semifinals, with all four games on tap.

You can hear that opener as part of our doubleheader broadcast Saturday, starting with pregame at 9:45 am, and tip-off at 10. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action, with the girls’ semifinal between top-seed Rutgers Prep and fourth-seed Bound Brook to follow. Click here to listen to both games.

Both teams have endured playing brutal scheduled. Prep has taken losses to the likes of Linden, St. Peter’s Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s, and even got knocked off by a pesky Pingry team in early January. Mongtomery had a particularly challenging three-game stretch around the same time with losses in three straight games to Linden, Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s.

The Argonauts lost to Linden by nine earlier in the season, while the Cougars fell by two a few weeks later.

And both have some great players.

Sophomore Will Brunson paces Rutgers Prep with 23.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game , with a team-best 27 blocks. But his 48 threes are just second on the team to the 65 Rocco Loomis has hit; he’s averaging 16.2 a game. And senior Nicholas Nsenkyrie is scoring almost 13, with 30 treys, on a team that has hit a whopping 245 times from beyond the arc. That’s tops in New Jersey.

Montgomery also has some young talent in the likes of Mike Simoborski – second in scoring at 17.9 – and lanky 6′ 9″ Shriyans Mallavarapu, who’s averaging seven boards a game and four blocks. Both are sophomores. Junior Connor Benedict had 46 triples to lead the Cougars – who still have 100 fewer than Prep as a team – and then there’s Ethan Lin.

The Penn-bound senior is the voice of experience, leading by example, and a settling influence if things seem like they’re getting out of hand. Besides his 19.9 points and four assists per game, it’s the intangibles that make him the player he is.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom with Chris Tsakonas
Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy with Mike Pavlichko

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 7 Somerville wins home finale, 40-28 over Plainfield on near 300-yard rushing night from Aidan Vesuvio-Bush

A strong regular season finish into the playoffs continued Friday night at Brooks Field in Somerville, where the seventh-ranked Pioneers won a bit of a see-saw battle – at least in terms of momentum – with visiting Plainfield, 40-28, in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The ‘Ville got a 288-yard rushing game from senior Aidan Vesuvio-Bush, who finished with three rushing touchdowns, and also added four catches for 76 yards.

The rest of the night went much better than his first touch, when Vesuvio-Bush fumbled on the first play from scrimmage trying to extend a long run. But Plainfield went three-and-out, and the Pioneers got the ball after a punt further up field than they had it on the prior possession.

Then the scoring began, as the teams totaled fifty first-half points.

The Pioneers got a 17-yard touchdown catch from Justin Bowen, but had the extra point blocked. Then Tylor Hunter caught a 17-yarder of his own, with a two-point conversion making it 8-6 Cardinals with 3:39 to go in the quarter. And Vesuvio-Bush answered on the next possession to make it 14-8, including a two-point conversion, with 40 seconds to go in the first.

On the ensuing kickoff, freshman Connor Kossowitz blooped one that was recovered about 20 yards downfield – in between two Plainfield players – by Shyheim Hobbs-Harris, setting up a drive that would end in a two-yard touchdown run by Bowen, making it 22-8 with another successful two-point try.

But Plainfield would get two of the next three scores, answering with a Kion Jones nine-yard TD catch, with Somerville busting off a 77-yard TD run out of a nothing play to keep it a two-score game 28-15. But the Cardinals got it right back with 61 seconds left in the half, on another nothing play run that turned out to be a 35-yard score on the ground by QB Devin Thomas. That left it 28-22 at the half.

After the break, Somerville slowed down its up-tempo, no-huddle offense, and that limited the possessions. They got a 34-yard touchdown catch by Justin Bowen – and a failed two-point run – to make it 34-22 with 9:22 to go in the quarter. Plainfield got it back – on a 16-yard strike from QB Devin Thomas to Tylor Hunter with 29 seconds left in the third, but they missed the extra point try with a bad snap, leaving it 34-28.

That’s when Somerville really ate the clock. They put together a 13-play, 5:16 long drive that only had to go 60-yards, with a steady diet of Vesuvio-Bush, who capped things with a one-yard touchdown run.

Somerville is now 7-1, winners of 5 straight heading into their regular season finale at Watchung Hills (3-5) next Friday night. Plainfield (3-5) will be at Linden, which was 2-5 heading into this weekend.

Click below to hear Justin Sontupe with postgame reaction from Somerville RB Aidan-Vesuvio Bush and head coach Matt Bloom, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Defending CJ3 champs, No. 7 Somerville, looking to close strong as Plainfield visits

Graduating a ton of talent as Somerville did last season, following a 12-1 campaign and a Central Jersey Group 3 championship, it would be easy to dismiss the Pioneers in 2025.

Their biggest offensive stars all finished high school. QB Brenden Pacheco threw for 1,742 yards and 27 touchdowns. Senior Terrell Mitchell tank for 1,306 and 18 scores. Senior receiver Josh Rodriguez and Brady Scheier combined for 73 catches, 1,165 yards and 15 touchdowns.

And on defense, they lost Spencer Carran and Mitchell, each with two interceptions, along with linebacker Max Nuzzi with his 3 1/2 sacks and 8 TFLs, and lineman Matthew Chubenko with four sacks and six tackles for loss.

But if you counted the Pioneers out, well, maybe you’ll want to stay away from the blackjack tables down in Atlantic City.

Because here they are, 6-1 in 2025 – their only loss coming to Montgomery – and in fourth place in the South Group 3 supersection, with a shot at a top-seed potentially still within their reach.

The names may change, but the results have been mostly the same. Their quarterback is a freshman, Dylan Boehm, and he’s already thrown for 874 yards this season along with seven touchdowns. The big damage on the ground has been done by Aidan Vesuvio-Bush, with 754 yards and eleven touchdowns. Five different receivers, led by junior Justin Bowen and sophomore James Hampton have at least 100 yards through the air.

And on the defensive side… senior linebacker Kieran McKenna already has three sacks, while senior Elijah Boyce has two, and Hampton in the secondary has five interceptions. Even more impressive, he’s brought two of those picks back for six.

With just two weeks left in the season, the Pioneers host Plainfield (3-4) Friday night in their final regular season home game of the season. Catch all the action of the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving at 6:30 pm, with pregame at 6:15. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe have the call. Click here to listen.

Click below to hear Somerville head coach Matt Bloom talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 5 Somerville hands Summit first defeat as Pioneers get everyone into the act in 41-20 win

For much of Saturday’s game at Investors Bank Field at Tatlock Park, Summit and fourth-ranked Somerville were in a closer game than the final score would indicate.

The Hilltoppers scored first, on a 79-yard pick-six by Gavin Schnall. The Pioneers tied it on a 66-yard touchdown reception by Justin Bowen, then went ahead on a 52-yard TD catch by Dario Lozano from QB Dylan Bohem.

Then Summit tied it on a 12-yard run in the second quarter.

But from then on, it was nearly all Somerville, as the Pioneers would score the next four touchdowns – one in the second, two in the third, and one in the fourth – to take a 41-13 lead, ultimately winning 41-20 to hand Summit its first loss of the season.

Both teams are now 5-1.

Of the game’s nine combined touchdowns between the teams, all but two were plays longer than 30 yards. Somerville’s James Hampton had a 64-yard touchdown catch, Aidan Vesuvio-Bush had a 61-yard TD reception of his own, and he ran for a 45-yard score on the Pioneers’ final trip into the end zone.

Connor Gawronski also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Somerville travels to North Hunterdon (1-5) Friday, after the Lions beat Monroe last night, 29-12, for their first win of the season. Summit will host Bernards in another battle of very good teams next Saturday afternoon.

Click below for postgame reaction from Somerville head coach Matt Bloom with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Cranford strikes first, but No. 2 Somerville finishes off Cougars, extending Pioneers’ regular season win streak to 12

Cranford may have gotten on the board first, and had a lead at halftime, but the final 24 minutes belonged to Somerville.

The Pioneers got three touchdowns from senior Adian Vesuvio-Bush to get past visiting Cranford, 28-12, Friday night at Brooks Field in Somerville.

John Fiore – the son of former Elizabeth, Spotswood and Montclair coach John Fiore – scored the game’s first touchdown in the first quarter, putting the Cougars up 6-0, but they missed the extra point.. Vesuvio-Bush answered with a 42-yard touchdown run in the second to go up 6-7, but Cranford answered back by blocking a Pioneer punt, and bringing it back 32-yards for a touchdown.

The Cougars went for two, but the pass was incomplete, and they led 12-7 at the break.

After that, the Pioneers took over.

Vesuvio-Bush scored from two-yards out in the third quarter, and ran in a two-point conversion to put Somerville up by an even field goal, 15-12. He then ran another in from a yard out in the fourth to make it 21-12; the kick failed. And then, for insurance, sophomore James Hampton picked off a potential touchdown pass a couple yards deep into the end zone, and brought it all the way across the opposite goal line to secure a 28-12 victory.

The Pioneers – who are 2-0 and are on a 12-game regular season win streak – will play host to Montgomery (1-1) next Friday night, while Cranford (0-2) will play its third straight road game to start the season, visiting Carteret (1-0) next Friday night.

Click below to watch postgame reaction and highlights from Marcus Borden with Somerville head coach Matt Bloom, senior Aidan Vesuvio-Bush and sophomore James Hampton, presented by Sportsplext at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top five foe stands in the way for Argonauts as Rutgers Prep boys to challenge St. Rose in Non-Public South B

One of two Top 15 matchups down at Jackson Liberty High School Monday evening – after their girls’ team takes on Gloucester Catholic for a title – the Rutgers Prep boys’ basketball team will have a tall order when the third-seed Argonauts take on No. 1 seed St. Rose of Belmar for the Non-Public South B championship.

Yes, there will be two great games on tap, and Central Jersey Sports Radio will be there with live coverage, beginning with the girls’ game at 5 pm, and the boys at 7. Mike Pavlichko will have all the play-by-play. Click here to listen.

Both teams have challenged themselves, playing and beating some top-flight competition. And they’ve also played each other, with the Purple Roses coming away with an 80-63 win on December 23rd.

But that was a long time ago, in basketball time.

Since then, Prep has played three tough games against Gill St. Bernard’s – twice in the regular season, and again in the Somerset County Tournament final; and, by the way, Gill plays for a title tonight, too, up in Paterson – and knocked off Montgomery, this year’s Central Group 4 champ, in the SCT semis.

Rutgers Prep (20-9) is ranked No. 11 statewide, the Purple Roses (22-7) are third. Both have taken losses against some tough teams. Prep lost its opener at the Tip-Off Showcase in Montgomery to Manasquan, 64-61, on a buzzer-beater – ironic, considering how the Warriors’ season ended in controversy last year – while St. Rose beat them by five two days later. They also beat Gill in early January in the Hoop Group Boardwalk Showcase, 50-48.

Prep is led by two sophomores, and a senior, in that order, in terms of scoring. And they’re all around the same mark: Jacob Canton is averaging 15.5 per game, Andrew Kretkowski 15.3, and senior Myles Parker is scoring at a 15.2 point per game clip. Together, they account for 65.5% of the Argonauts’ scoring in any game. But we’ll get back to them in a minute.

The Argonauts should have a height advantage over St. Rose, whose biggest losses to graduation are 6′ 8″ Matt Hodge and 6′ 6″ Gio Panzini. The Roses go as big as 6′ 6″ junior guard Jayden Hodge, an all-Shore Conference star who has offers from schools like Villanova, Maryland, Penn State and Rutgers, among a host of others. He’s averaging just over 19 points per game this season, and leads the team in rebounding, assists, blocks and steals.

But head coach Brian Lynch – a Christian Brothers alum who played with eventual Rutgers standout Geoff Billett in Lincroft, then faced him often while playing in the Big East at Villanova – runs nine-deep in his rotation, so a lot of players will get in.

And now back to the Big Three. Because 6′ 7″ sophomore Andrew Kretkowski – the team’s top rebounder, who’s second on the team in blocks with 29, and can step out and hit the three – sat out the sectional semifinals against Holy Cross Prep with an undisclosed injury, and is listed as day-to-day.

To make matters worse, 6′ 11″ junior Logan Franz has been out with an injury since February 19th, and won’t play either.

So maybe Prep won’t have that height advantage, but there enough talented players on both sides that this should be a hotly contested game.

That first meeting was on the road for Prep, in St. Rose’s tiny, loud, bandbox of a gym.

And seemingly ages ago, too.

Click below for previews of Monday’s Non-Public North B final with both head coaches:

Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom
St. Rose head coach Brian Lynch
by Mike Pavlichko

Last year’s final is this year’s semifinal, as Rutgers Prep and Montgomery rematch for trip to SCT championship game

If last year’s Somerset County Final and even this season’s regular season matchup are any indication, Saturday’s semifinal game in the Somerset County Tournament between Montgomery and Rutgers Prep very well may be the best game of the day.

It’s certain to be a doozy when the second-seeded Cougars and third-seeded Argonauts meet at 12:45 at Franklin High School. And you can hear it all on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame immediately following the 11 am girls’ semifinal between Rutgers Prep and Hillsborough. Click here to listen.

The last two meetings have all come down to the wire. After a 62-48 Prep win on January 30th of last season, they won the county final by three, 64-61. This year’s regular season was a 63-59 Argonauts’ victory.

In both games, Montgomery trailed at the half. They were down 37-29 at the break in the finals last season, and 40-25 at the half this year. Both times the Cougars rallied in the second half, but fell short, so getting out of the gate hot would be a good start this time around.

The Cougars had a legitimate shot at the tournament’s top seed, but that went to Gill St. Bernard’s, and the difference may have been a late win over Hudson Catholic, which Monty fell too in their opening game of the season, by four.

They have only lost three times since, coming in at 18-4 and on a five game win streak, that includes a 67-58 victory over an always-pesky Pingry squad in the quarterfinals last Saturday, and an impressive 48-45 regular season win over Ridge Tuesday. The Red Devils are the fourth-seed in the county tournament, and play top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s in Saturday’s semifinal finale, scheduled for 4 pm.

Monty’s top scorer is Ethan Lin, a junior who played in this year’s regular season matchup with Prep, but missed last year’s final after breaking his ankle a few weeks earlier. He’s averaging 19.7 points a game, while senior Bohdan Biekietov – in his second season since coming over from the Ukraine – is averaging 11.9 points per game.

For Rutgers Prep, it’s senior Myles Parking leading the show at 15.9 points per game, with sophomore Andrew Kretkowski – who had a big final last year as a freshman against Montgomery, with 17 points and eight rebounds – second at 15.5 points per game, and tops on the team at nearly 5.6 boards per contest. Sophomore Jacob Canton, with a team-best 116 assists in 24 games, can distribute the ball.

This is sure to be some hard-nosed basketball, and worth the price of admission.

Click below to hear both head coaches talk about Saturday’s SCT semifinal between 2-seed Montgomery and 3-seed Rutgers Prep:

Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy
Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom