Tag: Matt Donaghue

Knights win at Rowan in The Battle at the Beach
by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge seeks first sectional title as Knights head down to deep South Jersey to face Washington Twp. in Central Jersey Group 5 final

The 2025 season has been an outstanding one for the Old Bridge football team, but the Knights still have one more big accomplishment on their list to achieve: their first-ever state titles.

Two prior Championship Weekend appearances – in 2001 and 2015 – bore no fruit, and this year’s berth will no doubt be quite the challenging one, but if any Old Bridge team could do it, it might be this one.

Defensively, they may give up some points, but boy can they score. Quarterback Brody Nugent has is a two-thousand yard passer and a thousand-yard rusher. Defensively, they have 23 takeaways – 12 picks and 11 recovered fumbles. And they’ve won a program record ten games.

All that has brought them to this weekend, the goal of every team when they first put the pads on in Week Zero: to play for a championship.

The Knights will get that opportunity Friday night way down in the far reaches of South Jersey – South of Philly even – when third-seeded Old Bridge (10-1) takes on top-seed Washington Twp. (11-0) down in Sewell, NJ, for the Central Jersey Group 5 championship.

The Minutemen are the No. 1 seed in Central 5 due to the NJSIAA’s seeding procedure, which no longer includes pre-set geographical sections.

And they are no joke. Senior QB Cole Aquino has thrown for just shy of 1,300 yards this season, with 19 touchdowns and just three picks. The defense has pitched five shutouts this season and held eight teams in the teens or better. And they are strong up front on both sides of the ball.

They Minutemen also are the defending champions, but it hasn’t been a particularly long run. They made it to Championship Weekend in 2023 as well, losing to juggernaut Toms River North, but before that had not been to the finals in 19 years.

Click below to listen to Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the Knights’ season and Friday’s Central Jersey Group 5 final at Washington Twp. with CJSR’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge wins 28-27 thriller in CJ5 semis at Sayreville on late TD catch by Alsbrook and PAT, to clinch first title game berth in a decade

It was September 1994 when Old Bridge High School officially opened its doors, a merger between Cedar Ridge and Madison Central. Seven years later, they made their first sectional title game, falling 10-7 to JP Stevens.

They’d go again in 2015, falling to South Brunswick.

For the first time, since they are back.

The third-seeded Knights (10-1) beat second-seed Sayreville (9-2) Friday night in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals, 28-27, to advance to the title game next week. They’ll visit top-seed Washington Twp, which is 11-0 after beating Rancocas Valley, 44-26, Friday evening at 6:00.

Sophomore wide receiver Amari Alsbrook had the game-tying touchdown with 1:33 remaining, and the PAT by Michael Firetto made the difference, giving Old Bridge a slim, one-point lead that would turn out to be all they needed.

The Knights led 14-7 at halftime, with senior QB Brody Nugent involved in both scores, the first a 12-yard run, the second, a 33-yard pass to Alsbrook for his first of two TD catches on the night. Those were sandwiched around a 22-yard TD run by Sayreville’s Shaun Jackson, and OB led 14-7 at the break.

Things were looking good when Chase Rizzo caught a 43-yard pass from Nugent to take a two-score lead at 21-7 in the third.

But that’s when Sayreville woke up.

They would score three straight touchdowns. Jackson had a four-yard run to cut it to 21-14. Then, in the fourth, Joseph Curbello picked off a Nugent pass and returned it 76 yards for a score, then Jackson scored from 37-yards out to give his team the lead. But it won only by six, 27-21, as the PAT failed.

Shaking it off, Nugent led the game-winning drive, eventually hitting Alsbrook for the second time, and getting Firetto’s extra point for the one-point lead.

Click below for postgame reaction from Amari Alsbrook, Justin Valinotti and head coach Matt Donaghue with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Marcus Borden:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge takes late lead, hangs on for 38-31 home win over Freehold Twp. in CJ5 1st round

The NJSIAA counts power points, and Strength Index, but luckily for Old Bridge, style points aren’t a thing, only the points on the scoreboard.

And that’s where the Knights were a winner Saturday evening, as third-seed Old Bridge topped sixth-seed Freehold Twp., 38-31, on a late Brody Nugent touchdown and a fumble recovery on the Patriots’ ensuing drive.

Nugent scored from 32 yards out with 6:32 to play to give his team a 38-31 lead. But a bad snap exactly a minute later on the clock went right over the Freehold quarterback’s head, and Justin Valinotti fell on it to give Old Bridge the ball back, allowing them to eventually ice the victory.

The win was Old Bridge’s first in the playoffs since 2017, when they beat Trenton in the opening round of Central Jersey Group 5.

Nugent got the Knights on the board first at 6:44 of the first quarter with a two-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0, and the period ended that way. But just 45 seconds into the second, Dakota Lasater ran in a score from a yard out, and a fake PAT netted two to make it 8-7 Patriots.

Lasater then gave Freehold Twp. a 14-7 lead on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Lorenzo just over three minutes before halftime to make it 14-7, Nugent tied it up at 14-all with a 19-yard run, but a 37-yard Freehold field goal with 1.2 ticks left before the break made it 17-14 at halftime.

After halftime, Michael Firetto hit from 28-yards out on a field goal to make it 17-all with 6:54 to go in the third, then Brody Nugent took back the lead with his third touchdown of the game, this one from 68-yards out, making it 24-17 with 4:58 to go in the third.

And after Xavier Diaz picked off a long Freehold pass downfield, Chase Rizzo scored from 61 yards out to give the Knights some breathing room: a 14-point lead with just under 14 minutes to go in the game.

That proved to be important, as Freehold Township would get the next two scores in a nine-second span of game action to even it at 31 late in the third, recovering an onside kick after Lasater hit Jake Schultzel for a TD. The two hooked up again for the second score right after.

But then Nugent took over, and his run from 32-yards out with 6:32 left gave Old Bridge a 38-31 lead, after which Justin Valinotti recovered a Freehold Twp. fumble with 5:40 to go. And yet, it still wasn’t over. Old Bridge failed to score, then Freehold did, too, and the Knights were able to run out the final 1:36 thanks to a big first down run from Nugent.

The win sends Old Bridge (9-1) to the semifinals of Central Jersey Group 5 next Friday at 6 pm at second-seed Sayreville (9-1), which beat seventh-seed Trenton 36-0 Friday night. Freehold Township’s season ends at 5-5.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden in Old Bridge, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Nugent carries Knights, gets Old Bridge 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in Battle at the Beach

Expectations around Old Bridge football this year are high, and maybe even higher for senior quarterback Brody Nugent.

Anyone who might have dared to question either of those statements probably has a stomach full of crow right about now. Nugent scored all three touchdowns Saturday afternoon in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek on Day Three of the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro, and was named the game’s MVP.

Nugent opened the scoring with a one-yard touchdown run with 4:04 to go in the first quarter.

Old Bridge senior QB Brody Nugent holds the MVP belt, and gets the “Hat’s Off” honor from South Jersey sportswriter Mark Trible after a three-touchdown performance in a 21-7 win over Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Glassboro on August 30, 20205. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The Pirates tied it at seven in the second as quarterback Frenchmon Bethea hit Justus Payton from four yards out for a touchdown, but Nugent and Old Bridge answered right back with a 68-yard touchdown run.

A Knights’ interception by senior defensive back Xavier Diaz – his second of the game – four seconds before the half with Cedar Creek near midfield helped preserve the lead heading into the locker room.

Meanwhile, the Old Bridge defense played superbly. Sophomore DB Justin Burch grabbed another pick on Bethea. All that effort gave Nugent the chance to put the game away, which he did, with a 48-yard touchdown run with 3:04 to play that made it 21-7, the final.

Nugent finished just shy of 200 yards rushing in the game on just 15 carries.

Click below to watch postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Old Bridge senior quarterback Brody Nugent and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2025 Camp Caravan:  Old Bridge already focused on Cedar Creek in Battle at the Beach

The 2025 Camp Caravan resumed Wednesday for Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden with a trip to Old Bridge on Wednesday morning. And while preseason practice is meant to get ready for the year, the Knights are super focused on a very tough opening opponent: Cedar Creek in the Battle at the Beach at Rowan University in Week Zero.

Watch Borden’s full coverage below, including clips from camp, and interviews with head coach Matt Donaghue, as well as seniors Brody Nugent (QB), Jayden Endaz (RB/SS), Justin Valinotti (MLB) and Thomas Kasoff (LB).

Click below to watch Marcus Borden’s Camp Caravan visit to Old Bridge!

by Mike Pavlichko

Oh, Penkala! Old Bridge walks it off after Hascup surprise relief appearance holds off Edison for 4-3 win in 8 to send Knights to CJ4 title tilt

Where do we start?

In the first inning of the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, third-seed Old Bridge decided it had to attack one of second-seed Old Bridge’s two aces in John Smith.

Little did they know they’d end up facing both in one game.

Edison got three runs right off the bat, swinging at first pitches, but Smith settled in, even as Old Bridge got two back in the fourth.

But in the fifth, Smith felt something in his arm after one out and a first pitch ball to Eagles’ shortstop Anthony Calantoni, and he had to come out of the game. Not wanting to save him for a title game that might not be otherwise, Knights’ head coach Matt Doanghue went to his other ace, Justin Hascup, who finished off a strikeout of Calantoni, then fanned Robert Roma to get out of the inning.

Old Bridge’s Justin Hascup pitches in the 6th inning against Edison in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals at Fred Cole Field on June 3, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Edison’s leadoff hitter Darren Tirado started the game getting hit by a pitch, then Calantoni singled, and a Rob Roma single scored Tirado. Calantoni came home on a wild pitch, and Rom scored from second after Murphy walked and Ray Tavarez hit a ball to first that Old Bridge’s Eric Shickschneit threw into center field trying to get a force at second.

Old Bridge had gotten within a run in the fourth on a two-RBI single by Noah Balbuena.

In the sixth, Old Bridge tied it. Chris Crosta led off with a triple, and was driven in two batters later by Shickschneit on a sac fly to center.

Hascup could have come back Thursday – if Old Bridge had won – had he stayed under 50 pitches, but there was no way he was leaving this game, even if he had to pitch through the 12th.

That wasn’t a far-fetched scenario. After splitting two regular season meetings, each team winning by four runs, Edison beat Old Bridge in the first round of the Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament 2-1 in 12 innings, a four-hour affair.

But this would be over much more quickly.

After a scoreless seventh, Hascup got the Eagles 1-2-3 in the eighth, and had the two through four hitters due up.

Chris Crosta reached on an E4. Hascup walked. Edison decided to intentionally walk Shickschneit, not to get to the next batter, but to get a force at any base with no one out. On an 0-1 pitch, Akhil Penkala laced a single just inside the third base bag to score Crosta for a 4-3 win, and set off delirium in the Old Bridge dugout.

And on the other side, heartbreak for Edison, which lost 7-4 in the GMC final on a walk-off grand slam by St. Joseph’s JP Zayle in the seventh.

Old Bridge will host 9th-seed Hillsborough – a 10-0 winner in five innings over 12-seed Montgomery in the other CJ4 semifinal Tuesday – this Thursday in the title game at Fred Cole Field at 5 pm.

The win went to Hascup (7-2) in relief – who also logged his 200th career strikeout in the eighth – for Old Bridge (18-10), while Dom Innocenti (1-1) took the loss in relief for Edison, which fell to 17-11.

Click below for postgame reaction from Old Bridge’s Akhil Penkala, Justin Hascup and head coach Matt Donaghue, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge picks up signature win over state-ranked Seton Hall Prep, hands Pirates first loss

Playing in the Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division is tough enough – with the likes of St. Joseph, Monroe, Woodbridge, South Plainfield and more – but many teams still like to challenge themselves out of their conference.

Defending GMC Tournament champion Old Bridge did just that on Saturday, as the Knights – No. 8 in the Bellamy and Son Paving Top Ten – entertained Seton Hall Prep at Fred Cole Field.

The Pirates came into the game undefeated at 7-0, and ranked third in the NJ.com Top 20. But they headed back up Route Nine with their first loss of the season.

After taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first – only to see Seton Hall Prep get one back in the third and two more in the top of the sixth to tie it at 3-3 – Old Bridge went to work in the bottom of the inning, and scored six to come up with a 9-3 win that will make waves in the state rankings, and possibly the Bellamy & Son Paving rankings as well.

Reliever Brody Nugent got the win in relief, his first decision of the year, throwing an inning and two-thirds, getting the Knights out of the top of the sixth, keeping the score tied.

Akhil Penkala, Anthony Jannucci and Chris Crosta each drove in two runs for Old Bridge (7-4), which has now won three straight heading into a Tuesday meeting with Monroe, then a Thursday-Saturday home-and-home with first-place GMC Red Division foe Woodbridge (8-1).

The Barrons took their first loss Saturday, falling 7-3 to South Plainfield, but remain 2.5 games ahead of the Tigers and Knights, who are tied for second in the division at 5-3. Monroe is a game behind them at 4-4 in the Red.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the win:

by Mike Pavlichko

Old Bridge earns split in split series with Edison, 6-2 behind solid start from Penkala

Old Bridge senior Akhil Penkala last took the mound for the Knights in his sophomore season, splitting a grand total of six innings over two games.

But you couldn’t tell as he worked into the seventh inning Tuesday of a GMC Red Division game at Edison.

While Penkala wasn’t overpowering, the righty went the longest he’s every gone on the mound at the varsity level. And while his team’s offense pieced together a run here, and a run there, he held Edison mostly at bay.

The Knights topped Edison 6-2 Wednesday in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 3-3 on the young season.

At the plate, senior John Smith drove in three runs, the first on a 4-3 double-play in the third, the other two with a one-out single in the fifth.

Smith hit a two-out double in the first, then scored on an RBI single by Erich Shikschneit, giving Old Bridge a 1-0 lead. They added a run in the third on that DP Smith hit into, but Edison got it back when Brody Ferrer – who lead off with a walk – was sacrificed home on a fly ball to left by Anthony Calantoni.

Old Bridge picked up another run in the fourth, when Anthony Jannucci led off with a double, then came in from third when Jared Volpe hit into a double play. Then, in the fifth, the Knights got two more to make it 5-1. Brody Nugent and Chris Crosta both got on via infield errors, then scored on a single by Smith.

The Knights got one more on the top of the seventh when Volpe hit a ball right through the third baseman’s legs into left field, scoring Shikschneit.

Then, in the bottom of the inning, Penkala came out to finish out, but only lasted two batters, after Dom Innocenti led off with a triple to left and Connor Murphy scored him with a double to left-center. That’s when Noah Balbuena came in and closed the deal, getting two fly ball outs, then after a single, got a fly out to center to end it.

Edison falls to 2-3 with the loss; freshman starter Brayden Roma took the defeat, but only allowing three earned runs. Penkala picked up the win.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen with Old Bridge pitcher Akhil Penkala and head coach Matt Donaghue:

by Mike Pavlichko

Edison vs. Old Bridge home-and-home finale moved to Wednesday due to rain in forecast

Starting the season 0-2 wasn’t ideal for the Edison baseball team, which dropped its first two games to last season’s GMC Red Division champions, South Plainfield.

But the Eagles bounced back Saturday evening, rallying from three runs down in the seventh against defending GMC Tournament champion Old Bridge, then scoring four in the eighth to go ahead.

Junior Robert Roma closed it out for Edison (1-3), which will look to pick up right where it left off when the two teams meet Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm on the Eagles’ red-and-gold field, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame starts at 3:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Dylan Allen have the call; click here to listen.

The game was originally scheduled for Monday, but moved due to rain in the foreacast. Edison fell 2-1 to Monroe Tuesday in a regularly scheduled GMC Red Divsion affair.

Roma was supposed to go against Old Bridge (2-3), which planned to have its ace, Justin Hascup, on the mound as well. But both went Tuesday, instead, as Roma started against Monroe, and Hascup started what ended up a 4-3 loss to South Plainfield.

Instead, the Eagles will go with Roma’s younger brother, freshman Brayden Roma. Old Bridge has yet to announce a starter.

The Knights and Edison started out on opposite ends of the spectrum. While Edison dropped its first two before picking up a win, Old Bridge started 2-0, with a Red Division win against East Brunswick, then a 7-3 crossover victory against Spotswood. But they’ve lost their last three now, falling to the Bears 3-1 on the road before Saturday’s 10-6, eight-inning loss to the Eagles, and Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of the Tigers.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches ahead of Wednesday’s game. (Note: Both were recorded Sunday before the originally scheduled game):

Edison head coach Vinnie Abene
Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue
by Mike Pavlichko

Defending GMC Tourney champion Old Bridge looks for more in 2025, but will need to replace three key pitchers to top last season

Despite a GMC Tournament championship in 2024, the season didn’t end the way the Old Bridge baseball team would have liked.

Then again, whose does? Only a handful of teams – sometimes even fewer – win a sectional title, and even fewer go all the way like Bridgewater-Raritan did in 2014, sweeping their division, the SCT, their state section, and the group title.

But for the Knights, who won Central Jersey Group 4 in 2023 and went to the state finals in Hamilton, it was still a disappointing end.

All that said, Old Bridge will have some question marks when it comes to the 2025 season, which opens next Tuesday at 4 pm when the Knights host Red Division foe East Brunswick, against whom they’ve won three straight, two via shutout.

On the mound, Justin Hascup returns. The senior threw 57 2/3 innings last year, more than anyone on the staff, and he’ll anchor the crew again this season. But Justin Meyer, Frank Papeo and Luke Hagen are gone; they combined to throw 110 innings in 2024. Head coach Matt Donaghue says it will be tough to replace them, but is confident he has some arms.

He plans to have senior John Smith as his No. 2 starter behind Justin Hascup. Donaghue calls him a “high-end” pitcher, who only threw an inning last year, mainly playing shortstop. He has other guys who can throw strikes, and as Donaghue says, “that’s half the battle.”

Offensively, Donaghue also is excited about John Smith, who hit .412 last year and was tied with now-graduated Michael Altman for the team lead in RBIs with 17. Donaghue believes he’s the best all-around player in Middlesex County. Akhil Penkala – who hit a team best .443 last season – Justin Hascup and Akhil Penkala also will be top-of-the-order guys for the Knights.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk more about the upcoming 2025 season for the Knights with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: