Tag: Matt Donaghue

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge dominates mistake-prone Williamstown, 35-0, to earn second straight sectional final trip, behind 3 TD passes from Rios, 2 TDs from Rizzo

Top-seed Old Bridge took advantage of turnover-prone fourth-seed Williamstown, and the Knights wound up with a dominating 35-0 Friday night – heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – that sends them to the Central Jersey Group 5 title game for the second year in a row.

Senior runinngback Chase Rizzo carried 31 times for 171 yards, including a six-yard touchdown run, while also catching a ten-yard touchdown pass from senior QB Aiden Rios to open the scoring.

Rios also scrambled for a 37-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, while throwing three TD passes, one to Romeo Roman that deflected off his intended receiver, and another to Jordan Mercado with under four minutes to go to kick off a running clock.

Williamstown (7-4) committed five turnovers in the game – three fumbles and two interceptions – and two of those fumbles came on the first play of a drive, making it difficult to get any rhythm going offensively.

Old Bridge improves to 10-1 on the season, its second straight season of ten or more wins, equaling last year’s school record for victories, making this year and last their only seasons in school history – since the Madison Central/Cedar Ridge merger – with double-digit wins.

Old Bridge will host second-seed Rancocas Valley, which defeated third-seed Sayreville 42-0 down in Burlington County Friday night. That Central Jersey Group 5 title tilt will be played back at Lombardi Field in Old Bridge next Friday, mot likely at 6 pm.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Nick Hart with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue, senior RB/LB Chase Rizzo and senior QB Aiden Rios, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge guns for second straight CJ5 finals berth when Knights host Williamstown Friday on Central Jersey Sports Radio

Call the Old Bridge football team the Cardiac Kids.

After a season-opening loss to a very good Shawnee club down at the Battle at the Beach on Ocean City, the Knights have won nine straight. But it hasn’t been easy.

It’s not easy for most teams, but Old Bridge has been on the bring a few times this year.

With a 23-8 lead on St. Thomas Aquinas at halftime on September 18th, a third-quarter field goal helped the Knights withstand a furious Trojan rally for a 26-24 win.

The next week, they trailed Piscataway at home, 26-0 at the half, before scoring 27 unanswered points to stun the Chiefs and win by one.

And last week, in the opening round of the playoffs for the top-seeded Knights, they needed a five-yard touchdown pass from Aiden Rios to Jordan Mercado with 15 seconds to go to survive and advance, 20-15, over the eighth-seed Lenape.

Now, it’s the sectional semifinals, as Old Bridge (9-1) looks to return to the Central Jersey Group 5 title tilt, where they lost last season to Washington Twp. out of deep South Jersey. Their opponent: fourth-seed Williamstown (7-3), and you can hear it live on Central Jersey Sports Radio Friday night at 6 pm, with pregame at 5:40. Mike Pavlichko and Nick hart have the call; click here to listen.

The Braves’ program has struggled the last few seasons, as this year will be its first time finishing over .500 since the COVID-shortened 2020 season. They won titles in 2012, 2018 and 2019, winning the South Jersey Group 5 regional championship in ’19, after falling in dramatic fashion to Sayreville in that very same game in 2018.

The winner will face either the third-seed Bombers (8-2) or second-seed Rancocas Valley (10-0). That game also kicks off at 6 pm, but down in Burlington County.

Williamstown has some tough losses to Pennsauken and defending “Central Jersey” Group 5 champion Washington Twp, as well as Northern Burlington. But, like Old Bridge, they’ve won some close games, and maybe more of them. Of their six regular season wins, four came by a touchdown or less, two – against Kingsway and Eastern – came by just a single point.

Senior QB Kristopher Foster thrown for 1,537 yards and 13 touchdowns, but also ten interceptions, while as a group they have rushed for just only 15 more yards than they’re passing, led by sophomore Sincere Ebanks, with 167 carries for 917 yards and nine scores.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches:

Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue with Mike Pavlichko
Williamstown head coach Brian Leary with Nick Hart
by Mike Pavlichko

Rizzo saves the day for No. 3 Old Bridge with late pick to down No. 8 Sayreville, 14-12

Even the rain that burst from the clouds at halftime at Lombardi Field in Old Bridge couldn’t spoil the Knights’ evening.

The PA speakers blared Neil Diamond and Miley Cyrus singalongs, and everyone enjoyed themselves, even as No. 8 Sayreville got as close as within two with under four minutes to go in the third, and as they threatened to go ahead of No. 3 Old Bridge in the closing minutes.

But on a 4th-and-11 from their own 48, sophomore quarterback Marcus Butka threw a bomb down the right sideline that was picked off in stride by junior Chase Rizzo, who smartly slid to the turf at the ten knowing the Bombers had just one time out, and that his team could close out the victory with a knee.

Which they did – in the Big Central Game of the Week on Central Jersey Sports Radio, presented by Bellamy & Son Paving – to improve to 5-1, win their second straight over their neighbors, and keep them in the hunt for a top-seed in the playoffs in the South Group 5 supersection.

Senior quarterback Aiden Rios threw a six-yard TD pass to Amari Alsbrook to open the scoring on the game’s first possession, and ran for a 36-yard score of his own in the third quarter, enough to give the Knights the win. He finished with 80 yards rushing on ten carries, and was 6-of-7 passing with an interception for 114 yards, while Rizzo – the only other player to run the ball – finished with 120 yards on 20 carries.

For Sayreville, Philip Sayouwoh kicked two first-half field goals, a 20-yarder, then a 42-yarder – a career best – while Sherwin Appiah had a 52-yard touchdown run in the third; he finished with 117 yards on 17 carries.

Sayreville drops to 4-2 with the loss, and has a visit to Somerville looming next week, while Old Bridge will head down to Monroe.

Click below for postgame reaction from Alec Crouthamel with Old Bridge QB Aiden Rios, RB/LB Chase Rizzo, and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 3 Old Bridge has been through the wringer, but still passed nearly every test as No. 8 Sayreville visits Lombardi Field Friday night

The season hasn’t been perfect for the Old Bridge football team by any stretch of the imagination.

But where it ultimately counts – in the win column – they’ve been as solid as they come.

They say big players come up in big spots. And great teams sometime wins games they aren’t supposed to.

Two weeks ago, they led St. Thomas Aquinas 23-0 at the half, and nearly lost, as a key second-half field goal gave them enough to withstand a rally by the Trojans and win, 26-24. Last week, the script got flipped: they trailed Piscataway at the break, 26-0, but scored 27 unanswered second half points to win, 27-26.

This Friday, head coach Matt Donaghue would like to see all four quarters be solid ones, and they will likely need all that and then-some as ranked-again No. 8 Sayreville comes to Lombari Field in Old Bridge to play the third-ranked Knights in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Kickoff is set for 6:00, with pregame at 5:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the action. Click here to listen.

While he certainly had help, senior runningback Chase Rizzo led the second-half surge for Old Bridge last week, scoring all four touchdowns in the rally. He opened the second-half rally with a 74-yard touchdown run, then two more in the third: a one-yard run and a 20-yard reception from QB Aiden Rios. Then he got one more in the fourth, a 71-yard connection with Rios to provide the final score. He finished the game with 12 carries for 138 yards, while Rios eclipsed 100 as well, rushing for 117.

And Griffin Nugent had a late interception to seal the victory.

While Sayreville leads the all-time series 15-9 – remember, Old Bridge played its first season after the Cedar Ridge-Madison Central merger in 1994 – this has been back and forth for the past 15 seasons, with each team winning six times. And no one has won back-to-back since Old Bridge put together three victories in a row from 2013 through 2015.

And, in what could only be described as a scheduling tragedy, these teams have only met twice in six previous Big Central seasons, in 2021 and 2025.

The Bombers are a run-heavy team, led by senior Sherwin Appiah and his 682 yards and eleven touchdowns. He’s tied for the Big Central lead in rushing TDs, and fourth in rushing yardage, though all three backs ahead of him have at least 30 more carries than he does. Appiah is averaging 9.3 yards per carry, almost a first down on every touch.

Defense has been very much a team effort, and very good as well. They allowed six points each to Edison and Franklin coming off a 21-7 home loss to Ridge in Week One, before giving up 21 to a very offensive-minded St. Thomas club last Friday night.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the season and Friday night’s home game against Sayreville with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 4 Old Bridge builds early lead, hangs on to edge out No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas, 26-24

They might not be the powerhouse they were when they won a Big Central Conference record 35 straight league games from 2020 through 2025, but St. Thomas Aquinas is a very, very talented football team – playing more of the big boys every year – and creates a lot of headaches for a lot of opponents.

But it was No. 4 Old Bridge that likely gave the eight-ranked Trojans and their coaching staff headaches Friday night at Vince Lombardi Field, as the Knights built up a 23-0 lead before STA could get on the board, and it was enough to power a 26024 victory for Old Bridge.

The Knights opened the scoring at 6:38 of the first quarter on a three-yard touchdown run by Chase Rizzo to make it 7-0.

Then, just past the midway point of the second quarter, the Knights’ scored again, as QB Aiden Rios hit Amari Alsbrook for an eleven-yard touchdown strike. to make it 14-0 with 5:12 to go before the half.

Old Bridge called a time out with 3:30 to in the second anticipating an STA punt, and it helped the Knights punch in a one-yard run from Rizzo with 41.6 to go to make it 23-0. But that was enough time for Aquinas, which got on the board with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Zymere Weaver to Tristan Bester as time expired, and a good two-point try made it 23-8 at the break.

In the second half, the Trojans were not done. They got a touchdown closer at the 6:31 mark of the third, when Weaver hit Aaron Crooms for a 69-yard touchdown pass, with a two-point run making it 23-16.

But with 1:34 to go in the third, Old Bridge got perhaps its most important score of the game: a 34-yard field goal by Arain Mezera to put them up by ten, and they would need almost all of it.

That’s because with 8:23 to play, Tristan Bester picked off a pass from Rios, and the ensuing drive resulted in a Zymere Weaver one-yard touchdown run at 7:46 left to make it 26-24 with their third two-point conversion of the game.

Old Bridge, though, would chew up clock the rest of the way, and win the game to improve to 3-1, with all three wins in BCC play. St. Thomas fell to 3-1 on the year.

Click below for postgame reaction with Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue, senior RB/DB Chase Rizzo and junior QB Aiden Rios, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rizzo, big plays key No. 4 Old Bridge past South Brunswick, 21-0, in BCC National Gold opener

After averaging 42 points a game in their first two contests, the Old Bridge offense was held in check save for a couple of big plays Friday night in Monmouth Junction.

But those big plays were enough to power the fourth-ranked Knights to a 21-0 win at South Brunswick in the Big Central National Gold Division opener for both schools, on the Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The first big play came on the second play from scrimmage. After a six-yard run by Chase Rizzo, he hauled in a touchdown pass going 57 yards to open the scoring and give the Knights a 7-0 lead just 12 seconds in.

South Brunswick put together a five minute drive and moved the ball, but had a field goal blocked to end it, a microcosm of what their night would be like.

But their defense held firm for a while. They held Old Bridge to a turnover on downs, then had a nearly six-minute drive, but also turned it over on downs, and Old Bridge did the same on their end.

In the closing minutes of the first half, with a fourth-and-20 at the South Brunswick 39, Griffin Nugent came on to punt, but it was a fake, and a completed pass set up the Knights near the goal line, where Rizzo ran it in for his second score of the game with 1:05 left before the break, to make it 14-0 at halftime.

In the second half, it was much of the same: long drives by the Vikings, and an inability to score, but on defense, they again held firm, keeping Old Bridge to a pair of three-and-outs by early in the fourth quarter.

More late chances led to missed opportunities, including two more interceptions by South Brunswick QB Brendan Shearstone, and Old Bridge punched in one more score – on another big play, a 59-yard touchdown run by Rizzo – to provide the final margin.

For Old Bridge, they were also without the services of starting QB Aiden Rios for a bit of the first half and the entire second. The coaching staff told Central Jersey Sports Radio after the game that he banged up his non-throwing shoulder. And his status for a home game next Friday against No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas is unknown.

Click below for postgame reaction from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue, junior Chase Rizzo and senior Griffin Nugent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Alec Crouthamel

No. 4 Old Bridge travels to South Brunswick looking to limit mistakes, continue growth

Even with similar scores, it’s been a tale of two games for Old Bridge football in 2026, particularly on one side of the ball.

The No. 4 Knights (1-1) have two high-scoring games under their belt, both flipped by special teams.

In a 43-35 loss to Shawnee in the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, two kick return touchdowns propelled the Renegades to the opening-week victory, even after a fierce fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Old Bridge.

In Week One’s 49-21 victory over Montgomery, Old Bridge made the big special teams play, a blocked punt taken back for a score in the third quarter, breaking a 21-21 halftime tie and giving the Knights a lead it would not relinquish.

Sixth-year head coach Matt Donaghue has preached eliminating the mistakes, especially considering how explosive Old Bridge’s offense is on a weekly basis.

The Knights will take that growth away from home for the third straight week, heading to South Brunswick on Thursday for a 6 pm game that’s the BCC National Gold Division opener for both teams. You can hear it live as one of two Bellamy & Son Paving Games of the Week this week, with pregame at 5:45. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel are on the call; click here to listen.

Gone is star quarterback Brody Nugent — the 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Offensive Player of the Year — along with his 3,538 yards and 39 touchdowns of offense. He’s now a first-year wide receiver at Monmouth at the FCS level.

But much of the core that led Old Bridge to its first sectional final appearance in a decade last year is back and off to a fast start.

Junior Aiden Rios made the move to quarterback after starting at wide receiver for his first two years, going from one of Nugent’s top targets to his replacement. He’s started well, throwing for over 200 yards and multiple scores in both games, while completing 70 percent of his passes through two games.

Senior Chase Rizzo also returns for his senior season at running back for his fourth year on varsity, rushing for 101 yards in each of the first two games. Junior Amari Alsbrook remains the top receiver in the passing game, after recording 923 yards and ten scores in 2025. He’s also started fast, with 91 yards in the season opener, and 109 yards with a touchdown against Montgomery last week.

All in all, the Knights’ high-powered offensive attack hasn’t missed much of a beat through two games, despite losing one of the Big Central’s top players. It’s a tip of the cap to the development and returning production already in place, with a mix of returning veterans and exciting youngsters getting some of their first taste of varsity action.

On the defensive side, a similar mix of youth and experience comes into the fold, with some timely playmaking involved as well.

They’ll have another tough task at hand facing off against a spread-out, receiver-heavy offensive attack, similar to Old Bridge’s own.

First-year coach Mike Gerst, coming from Fort Lee, also has his team at 1-1, coming off a rivalry win over North Brunswick in Week One.

But as any coach will say — Donoghue included — it’s all about shoring up everything within

Click below to hear Old Bridge football head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the Knights’ season so far and upcoming matchup against South Brunswck, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

Well-balanced, battle-tested Old Bridge set for GMC final – whenever it is – seeking second title in three seasons

Note: Due to rain in the forecast, the GMC Championship game has been moved to Saturday, May 30 at 12 noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School.

Look for one particular star, one who rises far above the talent of everyone else on the ballclub, and you won’t find one on the Old Bridge baseball team.

And that’s perfectly fine with head coach Matt Donaghue.

He’s had teams like that in the past, and those have been fine, too. They won the GMC in 2024 and Central Jersey Group 4 in 2023, with ace pitchers like Justin Hascup J.T. Meyer, and Frank Papeo, all of whom had ERAs under two.

But this year’s team is a different story. Any pitcher could win on any given day, and though they’re hitting just .278 as a team there’s balance top to bottom, and every grade seems to be participating, too.

Sophomore Matt Chin leads the lineup, hitting .429, with junior Jared Volpe at .317, and senior Chris Crosta at .293. Balance.

Next Saturday afternoon, May 30th – a week’s delay due to rain in the forecast for this Sunday – the third-seeded Knights will play nine-seed Monroe in the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Championship game.

First pitch now is set for noon at East Brunswick Magnet School’s Ray Cipperly Field. That was the original site until about a week ago, when the GMC worked out a deal to move the finals to Rutgers, at last for one year. You’ll be able to hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on the call. Listen at this link, or watch the game live on our YouTube channel.

Junior Brady Meyer is expected to get the start for Old Bridge, coming in at 3-1, with a 2.95 ERA. He got the start in the semifinals for the Knights, tossing 6 2/3 innings of six-hit ball, allowing two earned runs.

Old Bridge led 3-0 until the seventh, when Middlesex got three in the home half of the inning to send it to extras, only to see Old Bridge score six times in the top of the eighth to emerge with a 9-3 victory, and a ticket to the championship.

The Knights swept Monroe two games this year – getting a 9-5 home win April 23rd, and a 12-1 road win six days later. the first of those matchups was the one where Saturday’s original starting pitchers met, and neither had particularly great starts.

Meyer went 3 2/3, but threw 75 pitches, allowing just three hits and one earned run, but he walked six and struck out four, while Ben Faigin of Monroe went 2 2/3 and allowed four hits, six runs, five earned, walking three and striking out four.

But if the way they both pitched in the semis is any indication – Faigin threw seven one-hit, shutout innings in a 1-0 semifinal win over five-seed South Plainfield last weekend – this one will look a little different if they face each other again.

With the final moved, Old Bridge’s next game – after winning their ninth straight on Friday, a 1-0 Senior night victory over Sayreville – will be in the state tournament, where they open up Central Jersey Group 4 play Wednesday as the top-seed against 16th-seed East Brunswick, a team they swept in the regular season.

Click below to hear from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue on the GMC title game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

After Middlesex forces extras, Old Bridge explodes for three in eighth for 9-3 win, berth in GMCT finals

For the second time in three years, Old Bridge is on to the GMC Tournament title game.

And they’ll look to win their fourth title overall when the third-seeded Knights face nine-seed Monroe next Sunday in the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament final at Rutgers University’s Bainton Field ion Piscataway.

After Old Bridge broke a scoreless tie in the fifth with a run, and got two more in the sixth, Middlesex rallied with three in their final at bat in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

  

But in the top of the eighth, Old Bridge put together a rally of their own. They scored six in the inning to take a 9-3 lead, then retired the Blue Jays to win the game.

Like the first game, Middlesex started Dom Long and Old Bridge starter Brady Meyer were locked in a pitchers duel for five innings.

Old Bridge broke through in the fifth.  Nick Natale walked with one out, and two batters later with two out, Adrian Lutomsmi drove him in with a single.

In the sixth, Matt Chin led with a walk.  After two strikeouts, R.J. Pluchine singled, and Michael Chiarella made it 3-0 with a double.

Down to their final at bat, Middlesex came up and got back-to-back singles from pinch hitters Devin Jackson and Dalton Michael.  Marcus Lavornia reached on an E6, bringing in one run.  Still with nobody out, Luke Jones grounded to second to make it 3-2, and Sean Hughes single to tie the game at 3-3.  But Dom Long grounded to second to end the inning.

And then came the eighth.

After a grounder to second by Matt Chin for the first out, Jared Volpe reached on an error at third, and Erich Schnikschneit doubled to give the Knights a 4-3 lead.  As it turned out, that was all they would need, but they sent 11 men to the plate and scored five more runs on four more hits and another error, to take a 9-3 lead.

In the middle of all that, left fielder Lucas Blanco injured himself crashing into the wall and left field on that Schickschneit double, and had to come out of the game. 

And though Middlesex got a two out walk from Jaremiah Acker, he was stranded at third when Daniel Ianiero grounded two second base to end the game.

Long took the loss for Middlesex, while Chris Crosta, who came in during Middlesex’s rally in the seventh, got the win for Old Bridge.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe with Old Bridge right fielder Michael Chiarella and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by justinsontupe

Third-seed Old Bridge clicking at the right time heading into Middlesex tussle in Saturday’s GMC Tournament semis

Old Bridge has picked the right time of year to play its best baseball.

Eight straight wins, and eleven 12. Offensive explosions. Pitchers’ duels. Run-rule blowouts. Extra innings nailbiters.

For the past three weeks, everything has come up purple – and in all shapes and sizes, too.

For Matt Donaghue and the Knights, that has become the norm. When May comes, Old Bridge wins. Last year, they were Central Jersey Group 4 finalists. Two years ago, they were GMC Tournament champions. In 2023, Central Jersey Group 4 winners – and then all the way to the state finals in Hamilton.

Some years they have been led by elite pitching and other years it’s been an unstoppable offense.

This year, it has been a little bit of both.

While the offense – led by Matt Chin, Michael Chiarella, Jared Volpe, and Chris Crosta – has been consistently strong, the pitching has keyed the GMC tournament run. Brady Meyer threw a complete game four-hitter in a 1-0 opening round win over Sayreville, and then Blake Dunleavy went the distance two nights later in a 1-0 extra inning win over Woodbridge in eight. 

This side of Middlesex, which is 20-2 and seeded second in the GMC Tournament, no one in the county is playing better baseball at the moment than Old Bridge. 

And fittingly, with a spot in the GMC final on the line, it is the Blue Jays who await Old Bridge in Saturday’s second GMC semifinal at East Brunswick Magnet School. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 pm following the opener between five-seed South Plainfield and nine-seed Monroe in the other semifinal.

Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will have the call on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with coverage beginning at 11:40 am. You can listen to the game here, or watch it all on our YouTube Channel, by clicking here.

Click here to listen to Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe: