Tag: Matt Bloom

by Mike Pavlichko

Perfect! Somerville makes it 12-0 with dominant 24-6 win over Delsea to take Central Group 3 title

All week long, people said Somerville would need to be ready for the vaunted Delaware Wing-T Delsea reinstalled as part of their offense to help them get in the playoffs and reach the Central Jersey Group 3 title game.

They were.

The top-seeded Pioneers only allowed one Delsea score – on the seventh-seeded Crusaders’ first possession of the game – but shut them out the rest of the way to earn a 24-6 win, claiming their first sectional title since 2017 and ninth overall, improving to 12-0 for the first time in school history.

Terrell Mitchel scored to cap the game’s opening drive, putting Somerville up 6-0 on a four-year touchdown run with 7:32 left in the opening period of the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy and Son Paving. The two point run failed.

Delsea (4-7) took nearly nine minutes and ran into the second quarter on their first possession, and finished off a 14-yard drive with a two-yard run by Dan Russo. Their PAT was a fake, and the two-point try failed as well.

In fact, Somerville, which scored the next three touchdowns, didn’t get any of their two-point attempts on the night, but it wouldn’t matter.

That’s because Brenden Pacheco put the team up 12-6 with 6:45 to go before the half on an eight-yard TD pass to Aidan Bush – who suffered a back injury later in the game, but was able to walk off under his own power. Less than five game minutes later, Pacheco hit tight end Max Nuzzi from 23 yards out to make it 18-6 before the break.

All the while Somerville’s defense was a crushing force on Delsea, which tried to spread the field left to right but could never turn the corner as the Pioneers controlled the line of scrimmage.

They allowed only three double-digit run plays from scrimmage all night, and the Crusaders threw the ball only once. Delsea finished with 166 yards of total offense, all on the ground, with 89 of those coming on their scoring drive.

Speaking of which, Somerville only punted once, scoring on every other possession, the last coming six seconds into the fourth quarter after Bush’s injury and a scoreboard malfunction. Josh Rodriguez took the snap at QB and run it in one yard for the score.

The 12 wins is a program record, and it was the third time the Pioneers won a sectional title with a perfect record. They were 11-0 in their state title seasons in 1983 and 1979. They also finished 9-0 in 1953 and 7-0-1 in 1929.

In 1909, they were also undefeated. But they only played one game that season – beating Bound Brook 16-5.

But the season is not done yet. The win puts Somerville in the Group 3 semifinals against South Jersey winner Mainland (9-3). The second-seeded Mustangs were 42-14 home winners over fourth-seed Seneca (8-4) Friday night. A win could make them the first Big Central team – Phillipsburg also will have a shot, depending when they play – the clinch a spot in a true state championship game.

The NJSIAA expanded to group champs in football two seasons ago, in 2022.

Click below for postgame reaction from Somerville’s win over Delsea in the Central Jersey Group 3 title game:

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerville gets past Ocean City, 30-14, to claim first sectional finals berth since 2019

Nearly all season long, the Somerville football team has looked in championship form.

Now, they’ll get a chance to prove it next week when they play in their first sectional title game since 2019.

The top-seeded Pioneers (11-0) were 30-14 home winners Friday night at Brooks Field over fourth-seed Ocean City (6-5), getting two touchdowns apiece from Brady Scheier, and another two from Terrell Mitchell.

Like most other games Somerville has played this year – many with a running clock, sometimes before halftime – the Pioneers scored early and often. Schier caught a ten-yard pass from Brenden Pacheco to open the scoring and another from four yards out that made the score 16-0 after one, with The ‘Ville going for its traditional two-point conversion, and getting both.

Then, Terrell Mitchell scored on a 16-yard run – and added his own two-point try – to make it 24-0 before Clay Compton’s 13-yard touchdown pass got Ocean City on the board.

Mitchell got it right back on a four-yard touchdown run, and the Raiders closed the scoring with another TD in the third.

The Pioneers will seek their first title since 2017, when they beat top-seed Rumson-Fair Haven at Rutgers, 20-15, with Jeff Vanderbeek as head coach. Current head coach Matt Bloom was on that staff.

Somerville will host seventh-seed Delsea (4-6) Friday night at 7 at Brooks Field in the Central Jersey Group 3 title game; the Crusaders are one of three two-win teams to qualify for the playoffs this season, but changed offensive schemes to the wing-T about a month ago, rejuvenating the team.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Somerville head coach Matt Bloom:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 Somerville shows no signs of slowing, firing on all cylinders as they host Ocean City for a trip to Central Group 3 title game

After so many down years, Jeff Vanderbeek and Company resurrected the once proud Somerville football program. That hit a lull after the 2020 COVID-shortened season, after Dallas Whitaker left.

Offensive line coach Matt Bloom was the last holdover, and the program saw a drop-off under Ian Pace, who didn’t last a whole season before Bloom was elevated to head coach with two games left in the regular season. They won both, salvaging a playoff berth, and now Bloom has the program back where they believe they should be every year: in contention for a state title, something that didn’t exist during the program’s most recent renaissance.

Friday night at 7, the top-seeded Pioneers will put their unbeaten record (10-0) on the line when they host fourth-seed Ocean City (6-4) in the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals. A win would have them playing against either 7-seed Delsea or 3-seed Cedar Creek – the team that knocked them out in the first round at their place last season – in the sectional title game, which would also be at Brooks Field.

The Pioneers get a lot of attention for their offense, which has been burying teams in just the first 24 minutes of games. They have had a running clock before halftime in four of their last five contests. Senior quarterback Brenden Pacheco has thrown for 1,325 yards and 20 touchdowns with just two picks. Fellow senior Terrell Mitchell has run for 1,102 yards and scored 15 rushing touchdowns, while adding four scores on the receiving end.

But none of that running clock stuff happens without a defense that has pitched three shutouts in its last six games, and allowed a grand total of 21 points in that span, no more than seven to any opponent. As they did in the glory days under Vanderbeek/Whitaker, they have been getting behind the line of scrimmage, with 15 sacks and 44 tackles for loss on the season, an average of 4.4 per game. And they have 13 picks on the year, including a team best three each from seniors Brady Scheier and Josh Rodriguez.

For Ocean City, meanwhile, three of their four losses have come to public schools still alive in the playoffs, and all good enough to be playing at home: Cedar Creek, Atlantic City and Mainland. Relying heavily on the ground game, they are led offensively by senior Walker Bailey (447 yards, 6 touchdowns) and junior Clya Compton (343 yards and 3 TDs).

Click below to hear Somerville head coach Matt Bloom talk about the Pioneers and this Friday’s playoff game against visiting Ocean City:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 3 Somerville blows past Summit, 41-0, in battle of undefeated teams at Brooks Field

Third-ranked Somerville remained undefeated Friday night, as the Pioneers improved to 6-0 with a 41-0 home win over Summit at Brooks Field, in a battle of undefeated teams.

Somerville scored three times in the first quarter to take a 20-0 lead on a Terrell Mitchel 21-yard touchdown run, a 57-yard TD pass from Brenden Pacheco to Brady Scheier, and a 65-yard strike to Max Nuzzi.

In the second, Pacheco found Nuzzi again from 18 yards away after the Pioneers got the ball on a Mitchell interception. A second strike to Scheier, again from 57 yards made it 34-0, then after a second Mitchell pick – with a running clock in play – Pacheco ran in a score from nine yards out to make it 41-0.

And with that running clock, Somerville and Summit (4-1) played a fast, scoreless second half.

Click below for postgame reaction with Marcus Borden, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Chris Tsakonas

No. 5 Somerville brings back major talent ahead of season opener against No. 3 Hillsborough

When Somerville takes the field for the season opener against Hillsborough on Thursday night, second-year head coach Matt Bloom will have plenty of familiar players to work with.

On the offensive side, Somerville will have an experienced passing game with starting quarterback Brendan Pacheco and two of last season’s three starting wide receivers in Josh Rodriguez (21 catches for 356 yards and two touchdowns) and Brady Scheier (26 catches for 347 yards and two touchdowns) back for another year. The Pioneers also bring back senior running back and Wake Forest commit Terrell Mitchell, who had 91 carries for 513 yards and a team-high ten touchdowns in 2023.

The Pioneers also bring back several key defensive contributors from 2023, including edge rusher and Tennessee commit Jayden Loftin. Linebackers Max Nuzzi (61 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks) and Sean O’Neill (41 tackles and two sacks) are expected to be factors in the middle of the defense, while the trio of Scheier, Spencer Carran and Zahid Lee Jackson will give Somerville an experienced pass defense this fall.

Thursday, they’ll face a senior quarterback in Ryan Seamon who’s making his first varsity start.

You can listen to the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving Thursday, with kickoff at 7 pm. Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas will call all the action; click here to listen live.

The Pioneers are coming off of a 5-5 finish in Bloom’s first full season in charge of the program, and his second full year will start by facing a Hillsborough team that came away with a 14-7 home win last October. Those Raiders finished the year 8-3 and have standout thousand-yeard runningback Jackson Jankowicz returning behind a bigger, more veteran offensive line

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep boys win another thriller, hanging on to beat Montgomery for 2nd straight SCT crown

How’d they do it?

It wasn’t mirrors, and it wasn’t magic.

In the end, it was defense.

The Rutgers Prep boys’ basketball team won its second straight Somerset County Tournament title Saturday, the top-seeded Argonauts (19-6) beating second-seed Montgomery (21-3) on the Cougars’ home floor, 64-61, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Rutgers Prep led most of the way, and an eight point halftime lead balooned to 14 in the third with Logan Franz hitting a pair of back-to-back threes and Rocco Loomis adding another.

But Montgomery – behind a raucous “home” crowd – chipped away, chipped away, and chipped away some more, eventually taking a lead in the fourth quarter by four, its first lead since the opening quarter.

Boghdan Bieketov was hitting shots, and even had a three in the fourth quarter. But he was in foul trouble most of the game, and fouled out with 25 seconds left.

The game was decided in other ways, but in the end game, with 19 seconds to go, Myles Parker drove to the hole, made the shot, but it was waved off on a charge. A technical foul was called on Josh Moore, and confusion ensued, but Jacob Canton hit two free throws to give his team a 62-61 lead it would not relinquish.

A pair of John Kelly free throws gave Rutgers Prep a three point lead, with Montgomery still having a shot down three with nine seconds to go. But the Cougars couldn’t get a good look at the basket, and a forced shot was deflected at the buzzer, if it even got off on time.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

Rutgers Prep freshman Andrew Kretkowski and head coach Matt Bloom
Rutgers Prep senior John Kelly
by Mike Pavlichko

SCT Boys’ Final Preview: Battle-tested Montgomery looking for first-ever championship, while Rutgers Prep defends its title

In one corner: the public school that is making its first appearance ever in the Somerset County Tournament.

In the other: the private school that has been to three straight finals, winning two of them.

Both are among the Top 15 ranked teams in the state, and either would be deserving of the title.

That’s what Saturday will boil down to when second-seed Montgomery battles top-seed and defending champion Rutgers Prep for the 2024 Somerset County Tournament title.

Sure, they’ve faced each other once already, and that game could have gone either way. Montgomery had the early lead and a one-point advantage at the half. But Rutgers Prep came out on top.

Now, we get the rematch.

Central Jersey Sports Radio will have coverage of Saturday’s entire Somerset County Tournament Championship Doubleheader, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the play-by-play. Coverage starts at approximately 2:40 pm for the boys’ game, with the girls’ final – between three-time defending champ Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernard’s – tipping off at 1 pm, pregame at 12:40. Click here to listen.

While the Prep girls now have to deal with an ankle injury to sophomore Ava LaMonica suffered in Thursday’s semifinal win against Franklin – though it’s not a break, she’ll at least be out for the county final Saturday – the Argonaut boys just got back someone they were looking to for senior experience this year in John Kelly. The 6-8 forward gives coach Matt Bloom additional length to work with. He’s slowly been finding his game legs, scoring nine points against Oratory Prep on February 10th, then eight against Pingry in the quarterfinals, and seven points and four boards against Hillsborough in the semis, also going 4-of-4 at the line.

As they did Thursday night against the Raiders – and have all year long – the Argonauts want to get up and down the floor, and often do it with ease. That wasn’t easy from the get-go when the teams first met on January 30th, a 62-48 Rutgers Prep win, though Montgomery led 27-26 at halftime.

Montgomery is also dealing with the injury to Ethan Lin, a talented sophomore guard, but the Cougars have won seven straight overall, six since Lin broke his ankle in two places against Hillsborough February third, ending his season.

And the 1-2 combo of Steve Donahue and Bohdan Bieketov – who only came to the U.S. a few months ago from the Ukraine – has been hard to stop of late. The two combined for 38 points in the semifinals against Watchung Hills, while Bieketov had a double-double with 11 rebounds.

Click below to hear both coaches talk about the semifinal matchup, and scroll down for more info on the game:

Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom
Montgomery head coach Kris Grundy

MORE ON THE SOMERSET COUNTY TOURNAMENT BOYS’ FINAL:

(1) Rutgers Prep (18-6) vs. (2) Montgomery (21-2)
When: Saturday, 3 pm
Where: Montgomery Township High School
Broadcast Team: Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas (LISTEN HERE)

COACHES: 

Rutgers Prep: Matt Bloom, 7th season (132-39)
Montgomery: Kris Grundy, 19th season (315, 185)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Rutgers Prep: The Argonauts beat 8th-seed Pingry, 82-56, in the quarterfinals at home on Wednesday night, getting 24 points from Myles Parker – to lead all scorers – while big Andrew Kretkwoski chipped in 11, and Rocco Loomis added ten. One night later in the semifinals, they topped four-seed Hillsborough, 69-58. Four players made it into double-figures, as Jacob Canton led this time with 22 points, while Parker added 16, Loomis scored 11, and Kretkowski added ten. Like their first meeting this season in Hillsborough back on January 23rd, by a similar margin of ten points, it was tight all the way, with Prep holding just a two point halftime lead against the Raiders two nights ago before finishing the job in the second half.

Montgomery: The Cougars had their hands full with 7th-seed Gill St. Bernard’s, which has struggled to find its footing after an almost complete roster overhaul in the offseason, but has been playing stronger of late, according to Montgomery coach Kris Grundy. But despite a 30-24 halftime deficit, the Cougars rallied to win, 58-51, behind 24 points from Steve Donahue and 11 from Josh Moore. In the semis, on Thursday, Monty beat third-seed Watchung Hills – in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio – 53-40. Bieketov had a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Donahue added 17.

TOP SCORERS:

Rutgers Prep: Jacob Canton (16.2 ppg, 47 treys), Myles Parker (14.8 points, team-best 60 treys), Andrew Kretkowski (10.8 ppg, 17 treys), Rocco Loomis (10.3 ppg, 46 treys)
Montgomery: Steve Donahue (15.7 ppg, team-best 48 treys), Ethan Lin (13.8 ppg, INJURED), Bohdan Bieketov (11.3 ppg, 2 treys)

TOP REBOUNDERS:

Rutgers Prep: Andrew Kretkowski (6), Jacon Canton (5.4), Myles Parker (5)
Montgomery: Bohdan Bieketov (9.4), Steve Donahue (5.6), Jack Fromelt (4.2)

RECENT MEETINGS: Montgomery has lost six in a row against Rutgers Prep dating back to the 2019-20 season.  But the year before, they beat the Argonauts twice.  In fact, the Cougars are the last Somerset County public school to beat Rutgers Prep in the regular season.  Watchung Hills beat the Argonauts in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, but that was in the “top” Blue Pod Semifinals in. The Warriors went on to beat Gill St. Bernard’s for the title.

SCT HISTORY:

Rutgers Prep: Rutgers Prep played in the very first full Somerset County Tournament title game in 1988, losing as the second-seed to top-seed Bridgewater-Raritan West, 94-66. (Before 1988, the SCT was split into two divisions, and there was an A and a B champion.) Overall, they’re 2-5 in the finals, losing their first four attempts at the trophy, in 2011, 2017 and 2018 in addition to the ’88 trip. They won it all in 2020, beating Watchung Hills, but lost in 2022 to Gill St. Bernard’s, before avenging the defeat last year in the county final. This will be Prep’s fourth straight visit to the SCT title game.

Montgomery: Montgomery is making its first appearance in the finals in school history. Of the current Somerset County schools in the GMC, they’re the 11th team to make an appearance in the finals. And that leaves three schools who’ve never made it: Bernards, Manville and Pingry.

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep boys will get to defend 2023 SCT title, clinching fourth straight finals berth with semifinal win over Hillsborough

Somerset County Tournament top-seed Rutgers Prep used the three-ball and teamwork to come from behind and advance to its fourth straight county title game, thanks to a 69-58 come-from-behind home win over fourth-seed Hillsborough on Thursday night.

The Argonauts will face Montgomery – making its first-ever trip to the county final – in the SCT title game Saturday at 3 pm, following the girls’ game at 1 pm between Rutgers Prep and Gill St. Bernards, with both games being broadcast live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

It was raining threes in the first half – primarily by the Argonauts (18-6) – who overcame a 10-0 deficit to start the game and successfully sunk five three-point baskets to take a 15-14 lead after the first quarter.

It was a three pointer from Jacob Canton that ended the drought for Rutgers Prep, equalizing a three point basket from the Raiders’ Zion Harrison on the other end.

There was a steady diet of fouls on both sides but plenty of aggressive movement in the paint by both offenses, stingy defense, and fast action up and down the court.

Junior Myles Parker led the way for Rutgers Prep with 12 first-half points including a pair of three pointers and a posterizing one-handed slam-dunk.

That was after he fell hard to the floor with just under 4:00 to play in the first quarter and was left holding his neck. But he came back into the game and led the charge the rest of the first half.

Parker was held in check in the second half to only five points, but had another posterizing dunk.

No Parker? No problem.

Seeing the tight defense on Parker, Jacob Canton took the baton and ran with it in the second half compiling 22 points overall on the night.

Senior Jayden Green was the bellcow for the Raiders (15-8) with ten points at the first half break, but he was held to just two points in the second half.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Vin Ebenau, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Rutgers Prep’s Jacob Canton and head coach Matt Bloom

by Mike Pavlichko

Top-ranked Rutgers Prep playing for SCT top seed Tuesday night at No. 4 Montgomery

Don’t get us wrong: this game won’t be easy for either team.

But when No. 1 Rutgers Prep visits No. 4 Montgomery in a huge Skyland Conference crossover battle Tuesday night – which can be hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio by clicking here – an Argonaut victory should clinch the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament.

The same is on the line for the Cougars, but they would likely also need to beat Hillsborough at home Saturday afternoon to wrap up that top seed.

Both teams are playing very good basketball late in the season. For Prep, there was a good deal of roster turnover, this season due to graduation, but they’ve made it work. Three of their four losses have come to top programs in showcases or one-offs like St. Benedict’s and St. Rose.

Historically, Rutgers Prep has won five straight against Montgomery, going back to the 2019-20 season. Since then, they are 23-0 against Somerset County public schools. But the last team to beat them was Montgomery – which did it twice – in 2018-19.

None of that matters now. None of those players are still around, of course. Now, it’s a matchup of the only two schools from the CJSR coverage area that are in the statewide Top 20. 

Now, it’s for the top-seed in the SCT.

Prep’s biggest challenge came to date came last week at Hillsborough. And though it was a tight game throughout, the Argonauts pulled ahead late and won on the road, behind a 25 point night from Jacob Canton, and 14 from Andrew Kretkowski.

Tuesday night’s game will be broadcast live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas calling all the action. Tip-off is set for 6:00 in Skillman, with pregame at 5:45 pm.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas talk with Rutgers Prep head coach Matt Bloom:

by Mike Pavlichko

“One day at a time” has worked well for Rutgers Prep as Argonauts visit Hillsborough for a big one

Losing as much talent as they did in the off-season, things could have gone the other way for Rutgers Prep.

But Matt Bloom has taken a tone of patience this year, not getting ahead of himself, and it’s led the Argonauts – the No. 1 team in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten the last few weeks – to a 10-4 record so far, unbeaten in Skyland Conference (6-0) and Delaware Division (5-0) play.

That mark may face its toughest challenge tonight when the Argonauts head to sixth-ranked Hillsborough (10-2, 4-0) for a game that could go a long way to determining who will get the top seed in the Somerset County Tournament, with the seeding meeting now less than two weeks away.

Hillsborough all but knocked Gill St. Bernard’s out of the race, beating the Knights twice. Rutgers Prep beat them in their only meeting before the SCT seeding; their rematch is the night after the seeding takes place. And both Boro and Prep still have to play Montgomery, which can make its claim in those games, too.

But as Bloom has said, “One day at a time.”

That patience has helped with players like junior Myles Parker (14.7 ppg, 2.8 steals per game) who can shoot, play defense, get steals and rebound. The senior leadership has come from guys like Husan Zakir and Jayden Jenkins. They may have scored fewer than 30 points between them, but Bloom says their influence is felt in other ways.

You can hear tonight’s game on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen calling all the action. Tip-off is at 7:00, pregame at 6:45; click here to listen.