Tag: Metuchen

by Mike Pavlichko

First Saturday of New Year adds some wrinkles in GMC, Somerset County boys’ hoops

Saturday was blustery cold in Central Jersey, but boys’ high school basketball is clearly heating up.

In the Greater Middlesex Conference, there was the first big clash between 2025 GMC Tourney runner-up Piscataway and the new-look St. Joe’s, South Plainfield and Sayreville tussled in a critical Red National Division game, and Metuchen put its perfect record on the line.

Over in Somerset County, unbeaten Bridgewater-Raritan was idle, while Montgomery put its perfect record on the line, and Rutgers Prep faced some top-flight competition.

So, let’s take a look at how it all shook out…

SOMERSET COUNTY

Cougars take first loss down the Shore…

Two-time defending Central Jersey Group 4 champion Montgomery took a perfect 8-0 record into the New Year, but that went away Saturday with a slim two-point loss.

In their first eight games, the Cougars – now 8-1 – had been averaging almost 71 points of game, winning by an average of 28.4 points. But the closest game of the year for the fifth-ranked team in the state (No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten) turned out to be a two-point loss to the state’s No. 9 team, Linden.

Monty fell behind 14-9 after one, played a solid two middle quarters – rallying to go into the break up 24-22 – but got outscored by six in the fourth to fall 53-51 to the Tigers. Penn-bound senior Ethan Lin led all scorers with 20. It shouldn’t have too much of an impact in the race for a top-seed in CJ4, with Montgomery in first heading into the weekend.

Rutgers Prep falls, too…

The No. 2 team in the Bellamy Top Ten – the Argonauts – also suffered a close loss Saturday, this one to St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City. Rutgers Prep was tenth in the state this week, the Marauders third. And the boys from Somerset did more than hang in there.

In fact, they led 23-15 after one, but that lead shrunk to one by halftime, and the third quarter was the decisive one, as the Argos got outscored by eight, and wound up losing 78-72 to fall to 5-2 on the season. Five players scored in double figures, led by William Brunson with 18, and Rocco Loomis with 16.

The game was a good test for Prep, which is in Non-Public Group B and wouldn’t play St. Peter’s in the states, and the loss shouldn’t hurt them much as they look to improve their standing in the South B section, where they made the sectional finals last year, falling to St. Rose of Belmar

But Gill St. Bernard’s wins again…

After the NJBCA Tip-Off Classic win and two league victories, the Knights have played all showcase games, including a fifth straight Saturday, then a sixth on Sunday when they play Trenton (4-2) up at Newark Collegiate in the New Year’s Jump Off. Saturday, they beat Don Bosco Prep in the Big Jersey Basketball Showcase II, getting 22 points from Dorsett Mulcahy.

The Ironmen are just 2-5 on the season, but interestingly, three of their losses have come to the Skyland Conference Delaware Division’s top three teams: Montgomery in the Tip-Off Classic opening weekend, Rutgers Prep on December 20th, and now Gill, which improved to 6-2 on the season.

Big Week Ahead in the Delaware Division…

The week of the 12th, Bridgewater-Raritan (currently 7-0, and idle this weekend) will get its turn against the best in Somerset County, but this coming week will be a big one with major implications for Somerset County Tournament seeding, which takes place January 26th, three weeks from Monday.

First, on Tuesday night, Montgomery travels to Rutgers Prep for a 7 pm game. Thursday night, Gill travels down to Skillman to take on the Cougars in a 5:30 tilt you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Bookmark this link to listen on gameday.

Bridgewater-Raritan, meanwhile, visits Watchung Hills Tuesday, then has home games with Immaculata and Hillside Thursday and Saturday before getting their crack at the non-publics: at Rutgers Prep on Tuesday, the 13th, and hosting Gill at 5:30 Thursday, the 16th.

Montgomery and Bridgewater-Raritan won’t play until February 5th, after the SCT is already seeded.

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE

St. Joe’s lands a big punch in race for GMC Tourney top-seed…

Despite a 6-16 record a year ago, once St. Joseph-Metuchen brought back Mark Taylor – and he began bringing in some new pieces to the puzzle – expectations shot through the roof. It was hard to tell what they would look like after a season-opening rout of Wesley College out of Australia on December 8th, which they won 103-36.

They won at Old Bridge by 19, then looked good, but not great, in a 58-40 home win over Colonia. Next was the Winter Showcase at Paul VI up in Wayne, where they beat Middle Township 69-37 and St. Mary’s Ryken (MD) by 21. All of those still weren’t great measuring sticks.

Saturday, they traveled to Piscataway for a battle of unbeatens against the 2025 GMC Tournament runner-up. And we got a much better idea of how the Falcons fit in the conversation this winter.

A high school basketball game in action, featuring players from St. Joseph's and Piscataway. The player in the foreground dribbles the ball while teammates and an audience watch in the background.
Alijah Murphy of St. Joseph-Metuchen controls the ball in a GMC Red American game at Piscataway on January 3, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Though the Chiefs led by 18 at the half on stifling defense, forcing turnovers seemingly every other possession, St. Joseph turned the table as first-year (of his second stint) head coach Mark Taylor whipped out some zone defense, a 1-3-1, and it befuddled Piscataway. More than the execution was the height advantage, and extra long wingspan of guys like junior Andrew Kretkowski (6′ 7″) and sophomore Joel Patrick (6′ 10″), the second of whom was a monster on the boards, and had 12 rebounds to go along with eight points, while blocking six shots.

No amount of excellent Piscataway defense – and they are very good – can combat that length when the tallest player on the floor is Donald Nwaigwe at 6′ 4″. It all led to a 64-53 overtime win for St. Joe’s, keeping them unbeaten at 6-0, while the Chiefs drop to 9-1.

So, where does this leave things in the GMC?

Piscataway took Colonia out before the holidays in double overtime for its first win over the Patriots in 13 years, but now has its first loss, and it’s in the Red American Division. With no guaranteed seeds, the seeding will be all about head-to-head. St. Joe’s won’t get any easier to deal with when 6-7 transfer Aiden Carter becomes eligible this weekend, and they’ve really fired the first salvo. The rematch is less than two weeks away, when the Chiefs visit the Falcons on January 15th.

With the Red split into American and National divisions, but mandatory crossovers (ideally for better comparisons at the seeding meeting) on the schedule, watch out for East Brunswick. The Bears host St. Joseph on Thursday, January 22, and while they don’t have a lot of height either, they can knock down the three – something the Chiefs couldn’t do Saturday.

The Bears have beaten the two teams right behind them in the division on their first pass-through – Sayreville on December 18th and South Plainfield on the 20th, both by five points – and will rematch with them in the same order next Saturday at 1 and on the 13th at 7, both on the road. They also

Right now, the Falcons seem to have the early inside track on the top-seed in the county tournament. A second win over Piscataway could really lock it in, unless East Brunswick can knock them off. The Bears also visit Piscataway Tuesday, January 27th, a week before the seeding.

Assuming no head-scratching losses, Piscataway would likely have to beat the bears and split with St. Joseph to have a shot, while East Brunswick would likely have to win out by sweeping Sayreville and South Plainfield, and beating both St. Joe’s and Piscataway.

And the only other unbeaten team left in the GMC is…

Metuchen! The Bulldogs beat Carteret on the road Saturday, 53-43, to improve to 6-0 on the season, and haven’t won a game by fewer than seven points, as happened against Voorhees back on Tuesday, a 59-42 win that gave them the championship of their own Artie Flaherty Holiday Tournament.

Cameron Hayes-Durina – also an excellent football player, and a Borden’s Baller – scored 14 to lead all scorers in Saturday’s victory. He’s averaging 22.7 points per game this season and nearly nine rebounds; the 14 was his lowest output all year, and the first time under 20, but the Bulldogs won anyway, and led by nine at the half.

The Bulldogs go back on the road for two more this week – Monday at North Plainfield and Thursday at Middlesex, before returning home for JFK Saturday afternoon.

by Mike Pavlichko

Mid-Week Girls’ Basketball Update: Several small schools off to good starts, while traditional powers keep things moving along

There’s not much you can say for the old standbys, and this is when they get particularly challenged.

Just barely a week into high school basketball season, Rutgers Prep is 2-0, Gill St. Bernard’s is 1-0, and heavy GMC favorite St. Thomas Aquinas is 2-1. They’ll all load up plenty more wins as the season goes on, and maybe even a few losses as they fan out to showcases on weekends, bookending their conference slates.

But what about some of the smaller schools, or those not always in the mix? A few have gotten off on the right foot.

Fewer schools in Somerset County have played multiple games yet; in fact, of the Skyland teams in our coverage area (Somerset County), everyone has played just one game besides Gill, Prep, and Hillsborough (1-1). So, we’ll be looking more at the Greater Middlesex Conference.

Smaller schools tearing it up…

The way the GMC has muddled their divisions – going away from Red, White, Blue, Gold (and sometimes Silver) to The Red, Blue and White American and National Divisions – there are no more “small school” or “big school” divisions. But two smaller schools in the White National are off to good starts, with Metuchen and Carteret both 2-0.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 21-5 season, but have won their first two games of the year for the first time in thee seasons. They topped Highland Park Monday in their opener, 49-30, before coming back Wednesday to beat JFK, 37-21.

Victoria Zaniecki was the top scorer in both games, respectively. She scored 30 and grabbed 11 rebounds against the Owls, then put in another 13 – and recorded four blocks – in the win over the Mustangs. She’s now just 81 points from cracking the thousand-point milestone.

Carteret, meanwhile, outscored its first two opponents 94-21, beating Kennedy 44-13, and Timothy Christian 50-8 with balanced scoring throughout. Five different players have already scored ten ore more points, led by seniors Anilah Diggs (9.5 ppg) and Samatha Woode (8.5 ppg), while the team has 27 steals already, and eight of the ten players on the varsity roster have more than one.

South River on the rebound…

After a 2-23 record last season in Year One under head coach Nicky Curran – a year in which they lost 21 straight until picking up mid-February wins against Keyport and Woodbridge Magnet – don’t look now, but the Rams are 2-0.

And, going back to last year, have won four of their last five games. They beat Mother Seton 22-20 Monday in their opener, then took a 41-24 decision from Wardlaw-Hartridge Wednesday. Sophomore Arianna Perez leads the team in scoring, pacing South River with 16 points in their most recent win.

The Rams host Calvary Christian (1-1) Saturday morning at 11.

First three-win team is over the bridge…

Maybe, they know how to schedule in South Amboy, but with three games under their belt, the girls are doing just as well as the boys: 3-0.

They opened with a 24-9 win over New Brunswick in the Friends of South Amboy Charity Games Saturday, then beat Woodbridge Magnet 45-24 Monday, and Perth Amboy Magnet 36-19 the next day. Junior

Gabby Evanski has been having a field day, hitting six times already from beyond the arc, and scoring 46 points in three games, while grabbing 30 rebounds. She had 8 points and 11 boards against the Zebras, flipped it against Woodbridge Magnet with 21 and 8 – including four treys – then had a double-double against Perth Magnet, going for 17 points and 11 rebounds, including 7-of-11 from the foul line.

Freshman Valerie Figueroa has scored 26 of her first 31 varsity points in the last two games.

The Tech School Parade continues Friday, when East Brunswick Magnet (1-1) comes to town.

Piscataway Magnet also is off to a 2-0 start, picking up wins against their fellow tech schools: 54-12 over Perth Amboy Magnet Monday, and 44-21 over EB Magnet Wednesday. Freshman Alaina and Alivia Tucker and senior Eva Hernandez all have 24 points scored on the season.

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s time for you – the fans – to pick the Central Jersey Sports Radio 2025 “Highlight Reel Play of the Year!” Watch, then vote!

Central Jersey Sports Radio is giving YOU the chance to weigh in on your favorite play of the 2025 high school football season, as submitted by Big Central Conference coaches!

All our finalists are in the montage below…

Watch the video below, then scroll down
to vote for your favorite!!
Voting ends at NOON on Monday, 8th.
Remember: Vote early, vote often!

The winner will be announced during our Big Central Conference
Postseason Awards Show on Thursday, December 11 at 7 pm!

2025 Highlight Reel Play Of The Year

Sorry, voting is closed.

Good luck to your favorite school and player for the 2024 Highlight Reel Play of the Year!

by Mike Pavlichko

Roselle rallies in final minute on Anderson’s brilliant TD grab; Rams take Saturday afternoon tussle at Metuchen, 18-12

There might not have been a lot of scoring in the Brainy Boro, but Roselle made the key plays it needed to down the stretch in an 18-12 win at Metuchen Saturday afternoon.

Rams’ junior Raekwon Anderson caught the game-winning touchdown pass at the goal line against double coverage, pulling it almost out of thin air after both defenders got a hand on it, then turned into the end zone to put his team up 18-12 with just 18 seconds to go.

And even then, it wasn’t quite over. Roselle’s kickoff to Metuchen went deep, but it went off of Matt Jelleme’s hands, and the Rams’ Kevin Sanchez jumped on it to seal the win with just 13 ticks remaining on the clock.

Anderson got Roselle on the scoreboard at 9:47 of the first quarter with a touchdown catch, but the Rams would only have a 6-0 lead after their two-point try failed. Metuchen knotted the score with a one-yard run by Cam Hayes-Durina with 3:12 to go in the second quarter, but they got the extra point to go up 7-6, a score that would hold through the final horn of the first half.

In the third, Quarterback Deion Nelson then found Shymir Burgess with seven second left in the third to go up 12-7, but with 1:20 left in the game, a one-yard run by Hayes-Durina put the Bulldogs up 13-12, leaving Roselle in need of a late score to survive.

Indeed. they even survived a big sack with the ball just inside the 50 by Metuchen’s Kyle McPartlan. But the drive continued, and eventually led to Anderson’s heroics, his second TD of the day putting Roselle up for good.

Click below for postgame reaction with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Week 2

Now that high school football is in full swing, things are really starting to heat up in the Big Central and around the state, so let’s talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden!

Mike and Marcus look back at the week gone by, including Aidan Vesuvio-Bush and Somerville’s win over Cranford, Bernards’ two-day win at Hillside, and then look ahead to this week’s matchups, which sees the fourth-ranked Mountaineers face Delaware Valley in a battle of 2-0 teams in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Then, Marcus will be at another big clash in Flemington between unbeatens Hunterdon Central and Phillipsburg, before traveling to Metuchen Saturday for a small-school meeting between the Bulldogs and Roselle.

Also on the show, Mike and Marcus discuss similarities between the Week 0 and Week 1 “Bellamy & Son Paving Players of the Week,” the mindset of kickers who also play on offense, and the most scenic high school football stadium in the Big Central!

Click below to listen to the Week Two edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2025 Camp Caravan: Manville and Spotswood scrimmage at Metuchen

Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst Marcus Borden continued Week Two of his 2025 Big Central Camp Caravan with a visit to a quad scrimmage at Metuchen, which welcomed fellow BCC squads Manville and Spotswood, along with Point Pleasant Beach out of the Shore Conference.

Below is a list of teams, players and coaches from the August 19, 2025 quad scrimmage at Metuchen High School:

Manville: Head Coach Dave Markowitch and seniors Collin Shimp (FB/MLB), Evan Canica (C/ILB), Isaiah Bennett (RB/OLB) and Josh D’Ambrosio (QB/S).

Metuchen: Head Coach Jordan Leitner and seniors Cameron Hayes-Durina (QB/DB), Justus Leitner (WR/DB), Avery Torres (RT/DE) and Danny Montemurno (OG/MLB).

Spotswood: Head Coach Chris Meagher and seniors Se’mir Tolbert-Brimage (QB/DE), Gavin Pereira (PK/P) and Sebastian “Seb” Saracino (RB/LB), plus sophomore Ryan Foster (WR/DB).

by Mike Pavlichko

2025 Big Central Preview: Patriot Silver Division

Another four-team division, one of the two smallest in the Big Central Conference, there was much parity here a year ago, with everyone winning at least four games.

A.J. Johnson out of Clark comes in as the defending champion, going 7-2 overall, 3-0 in the division. And Anthony Del Conte is gone as head coach, with Athletic Director Gus Kalikas stepping into the role. He’ll have his son, Jack, running the triple-option at QB for the Crusaders.

Second-place New Providence went all the way to a sectional final last year, finishing 9-3 overall. While they lose QB T.J. Munn, A.J. Whitehead is a key skill player who returns.

Metuchen also had a fine 2024 and head coach and alum Jordan Leitner’s team is tough. They’ll compete again, while Roselle won four games despite Tyrone Turner not joining the team as head coach until late in the game.

Click below to hear our preview of the Patriot Silver Division from Big Central Conference Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2025: Patriot Silver Division expected to be solid again with talent returning

Competitively speaking, overall, the Patriot Silver Division was one of the top groupings in the Big Central Conference last season. The top three teams all won at least seven games, and even the one that finished in last place – Roselle, at 4-7 – was 4-4 out of their division.

A.L. Johnson won the division, going 7-2 overall, with Delaware Valley their only Big Central loss. New Providence went 9-3 and reached the North 2 Group 1 finals, their first trip to a title game since 2011. Metuchen was 7-3 in Year Three under Jordan Leitner.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Patriot Silver Division teams – in alphabetical order – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge. Please note game dates and times may be changed without notice as the season approaches. Division games marked with an asterisk (*).

A.L. Johnson Crusaders (7-2, 3-0, Patriot Silver champs in ’24)
Head Coach: Gus Kalikas (1st season)

  • Week 0: Madison (Thursday)
  • Week 1: Brearley
  • Week 2: at New Providence*
  • Week 3: at Roselle* (6p)
  • Week 4: Metuchen*
  • Week 5: Governor Livingston
  • Week 6: at Delaware Valley
  • Week 7: at North Plainfield
  • Week 8: Perth Amboy

After the departure of Anthony DelConte as head coach, Athletic Director Gus Kalikas steps in to take the reins, and he’ll have the starting quarterback and the Crusaders’ top-rusher return from a team that lost just one Big Central game last season. That includes QB Robert Gallagher, a dual threat who threw for 742 yards and 7 TDs as a junior, while going for 634 on the ground with eight touchdowns. Runningback Ryan George also is back for his senior year after going for 656 yards and 10 TDs last season. The defense was a little more senior-laden, and will have some big shoes to fill, like those of linemen Sebastian Perez (6 sacks, 1 forced fumble) and Mark Hansen (3 sacks, 1 forced fumble), who graduate.

Metuchen Bulldogs (7-3, 1-2, 3rd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Jordan Leitner (15-15, 4th season)

  • Week 0: Delaware Valley (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 1: at South River (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 2: Roselle* (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 3: New Providence (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 4: at A.L. Johnson
  • Week 5: at Highland Park
  • Week 6: JP Stevens (6p)
  • Week 7: at Brearley (Thurs, 6p)
  • Week 8: North Plainfield (Sat, 1p)

Alum Jordan Leitner has truly done well at Metuchen, where it wasn’t long ago the program was struggling with numbers. Symmetrically, he took a 3-7 team his debut season to 5-5 in 2023, and flipped the numbers last year, going 7-3. And there’s no reason they can’t continue to improve. While senior Evan Toth – the team’s top rusher at 746 yards and eight touchdowns – graduates, his younger brother Ryan is back after a sophomore year at QB where he went 56 of 91 for 651 yards and 10 touchdowns. And there are other receivers back like Josiah Bourne and Matt Jelleme, Justus Leitner and Kyle McPartlan, who all will be seniors. The defense, however, loses a number of seniors, like Kyle Johnston (4.5 sacks, 14.5 TFLs) and Michael Montemurno (3 sacks, 6.5 TLFs) that will be tough to replace.

New Providence Pioneers (9-3, 2-1, 2nd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Chet Parlevecchio, Jr. (51-31, 9th season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: at Governor Livingston (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 2: A.L. Johnson *
  • Week 3: at Metuchen* (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 4: Roselle*
  • Week 5: at Middlesex
  • Week 6: Verona
  • Week 7: Bound Brook
  • Week 8: at Delaware Valley

Coming off their first trip to a sectional final in 14 seasons, the Pioneers will have a mixed bag on offense in 2025. They’ll lose senior quarterback T.J. Munn to graduation. He threw for over 600 yards, but more importantly ran for over a thousand last season. But junior running back A.J. Whitehead, who also rushed for over 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns is back, and should be the focal point of the offense. There are some good receivers in the stable, too, and Kevin Reilly – who saw action in just two games last year as a sophomore – could be an option at QB. A number of key contributors on defense return, including lineman Drew Gullo (3.5 sacks, 1 TFL) and junior Mike Petses (5 TFLs, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT, 1 safety) among others.

Roselle Rams (4-7, 0-3, 4th place in ’24)
Head Coach: Tyrone Turner (4-7, 2nd season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: at Spotswood (6p)
  • Week 2: at Metuchen* (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 3: A.L. Johnson* (6p)
  • Week 4: at New Providence*
  • Week 5: Hillside (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 6: at Newark Collegiate
  • Week 7: at Delaware Valley
  • Week 8: at JP Stevens (6p)

In Turner’s first season with the Rams, they maintained their win total from the previous season. Can they take a step up in 2025? That will be tough losing senior QB Brandon Puryear, who threw for 1,130 yards and eleven touchdowns last season, but junior Deion Nelson saw significant time last season, too, and should compete with fellow rising senior Tyrone Smalls, Jr. Puryear also led the team in rushing at 579 yards, but some younger backs return as well, including Davon Rhodes and Raekwon Anderson. Defensively, lineman Jaeden Shorey (2 sacks, 3 TFLs, 2 INT, 1 fumble recovery) should be back for his senior year, along with fellow senior Mike Hnderson (also 2 sacks, 3 TFLs).

by Mike Pavlichko

Jim Muldowney GMC Tournament Quarterfinal Preview: Eight teams seek trip to Saturday’s semis in wide open playoff

Some years, you can have a pretty good idea who’s a favorite to win the county tournament. Others it’s wide open.

This year may be as wide open as any other in the Greater Middlesex Conference, following a first round Monday that saw four extra-inning games, five one-run games, two decided by just two runs, and four “upsets.”

We put upsets in quotes there because they might not really be. In a league where no one has been utterly dominant, and teams have beaten up on each other, there’s much parity in the GMC, and that has continued into the Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament.

The event hits the quarterfinals – the round of eight – Wednesday at North Brunswick Community Park, but only if the weather cooperates. And it’s not just a matter of whether it will be raining at game time, it’s more about how much rain fell Tuesday, and how much more will on Wednesday, and whether the natural grass fields can take all that water.

The GMC has said if the games can’t be played Wednesday, they would shoot for Thursday at Community Park, and if that’s not feasible, games would go to higher seeds, or fields with turf. That would leave Spotswood hosting, as the high seed, as they have turf, but could leave St. Joseph of Metuchen and St. Thomas Aquinas – both higher seeds, but both with grass fields – playing on the road at Metuchen and Edison, respectively, both of whom have turf. Middlesex and South Plainfield both have grass, and could host, or find another school at which to play.

Regardless, we know the matchups, and at some point, they will play, with the winners advancing to Saturday (maybe – the weekend weather is another story) and the semifinals at East Brunswick Magnet School. So, scroll through for our preview of the quarterfinals.

(8) Spotswood (13-8) vs. (16) South River (14-5)
4 pm on Field 2 (Listen Live on CJSR)
Announcers: Dom Savino and Dylan Allen

This is an old-fashioned rivalry here, as Spotswood students used to attend South River High School up until Spotswood opened its own building in 1976. Yes, it’s been almost 50 years, but the rivalry is still strong.

These are two of the veteran mentors in Middlesex County. Mike Lepore Jr. of the Rams is now in his 28th season, while Glenny Fredricks of the Chargers is in his 21st, and both coaches are over the 300-win mark. In fact, both cracked that milestone in 2024, Fredericks first, in a 10-6 win over Paulsboro on April 19th of last year, then Lepore, in a 12-1 win over Princeton on May 21st.

But this one isn’t about the coaches. It’s about some really good baseball players.

Spotswood won’t throw senior Carter Cumiskey – their ace who beat Monroe back on Monday in the opening round, but he can do plenty of damage at the plate. On a team hitting .271 as a group, he’s at .425 with 16 RBIs and three homers. Fellow senior Will Buchan is hitting .338, second on the team, but leads the Chargers with 17 runs batted in and four home runs.

Spotswood senior Carter Cumiskey bats against South Amboy on Opening Day, March 29, 2025 in Spotswood. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

On the other side, South River has an ace pitcher who can blast the ball as well. While Cumiskey is going to Seton Hall, senior Julius Rosado will be headed to Rutgers in the fall. The senior, like Cumiskey, is also an excellent shortstop. That’s where he’ll play for Steve Owens, and he’s been relied upon a bit less this year, with James Zsorey, getting the workload of a No. 1 starter. He gave up one run in 8 2/3 innings Monday in the Rams’ 2-1, nine-inning win over top-seed Woodbridge Monday, the first team to knock off a No. 1 seed in the first round of the GMCs since JFK upset top-seed Monroe in in 2021.

Back to Rosado’s offensive prowess, he’s hitting close to .500 on the year: .474 with 25 RBIs – tied for the team lead with Zsorey – while hitting three home runs, tied with junior Hunter Krainski. He also leads the team in extra base hits, with 15, including eight doubles and four triples. What’s ironic is that this isn’t even his best year at the plate. He hit .594 last season – 120 points higher – and is a career .544 hitter.

South River has won six straight games, their best stretch of the season, including a play-in round game last Saturday, a 13-1 win over South Brunswick. Spotswood has won nine of its last 12, with their most recent defeats coming by a single run – 1-0 at Florence, 2-1 at Allentown – prior to GMC Tournament play.

Spotswood, meanwhile, has won six straight against South River, the Rams’ last won in 2021, sweeping the season series. Ironically, the two were scheduled to play Thursday in a regular season crossover. If Wednesday gets rained out, they’ll still play on Thursday, but it’ll be their GMCT game.

Click below to hear preview interviews with both head coaches:

Spotswood head coach Glenny Fredricks
South River head coach Mike Lepore, Jr.

(3) St. Thomas Aquinas (13-6) vs. (11) Edison (11-9)
7 pm on Field 2 (Listen Live on CJSR)
Announcers: Dom Savino and Dylan Allen

This one has two of the three high schools based in Edison, how can you go wrong here? St. Thomas Aquinas is the GMC White Division champion, and last year won the Non-Public North B title, falling in the state Group B championship game to powerhouse Gloucester Catholic. This year, along with Spotswood, they moved up to the White, and have had great success.

But the Trojans almost didn’t get here. They trailed 14-seed North Plainfield 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh in Monday’s first round, but won it in walk-off fashion with a pair of bases loaded walks. Hitting .302 as a team, they’re led by senior Jack Valenzuela at .391, while fellow senior Donovan Epps is among six players with at least ten RBIs; he has 16 to lead the team. Louis Rizzolo also is a factor offensively, leading the team in runs scored with 23, doubles with 16, and walks with 17, while also swiping a team-best ten stolen bases.

Edison is led by Robert Roma, who’s hitting .375 with a team-best 17 RBIs, seven doubles and 18 walks. He’s an ace pitcher, but right up there with him is Connor Murphy, though even he won’t get the start in the quarters. That’s going to go to Braydon Roma – Robert’s younger brother, a freshman – who is 1-4 with a 3.80 ERA, but just hasn’t gotten much run support. Of the five games he’s pitched that Edison has lost, three of those games saw the Eagles score two or fewer runs, and one of those was a shutout at Woodbridge.

Edison lines up before its home opener against South Plainfield on April 3, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Edison has won five straight coming in, including a 2-1 win in 12 innings at sixth-seed Old Bridge in Monday’s first round, as the elder Roma got the game-winning hit. St. Thomas lost to Old Bridge, 8-5, in their last game before the GMCs, but went on a seven-game win streak over an eleven-day span in mid- to late-April.

These two don’t regularly play each other, although the Trojans did play up twice to the GMC Red this year, and – in addition to the loss to Old Bridge last Thursday – they also fell 13-11 to East Brunswick two Friday’s ago

Click below to hear pregame interviews with both head coaches:

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tom D’Agostino
Edison head coach Vinnie Abene

(5) St. Joseph-Metuchen (11-6) vs. (13) Metuchen (15-6)
4 pm on Field 1 (Follow Alec Crouthamel on Twitter for updates)

After a down year last season and just seven wins, new head coach Dennis McCaffery – who came over from Cranford after stepping down there at the end of last season – has the Falcons back on track. The might be playing their best baseball of the year, on their longest winning streak of 2025, now at five games heading into the quarterfinals. They needed nine innings to get past 12-seed Sayreville on Monday in the first round, on an RBI single by Walter Christian to walk it off.

The Falcons are a good-hitting team, batting .331 on the year, with three hitting over .400 this season. Junior Kris Almanzar leads the pack at .455, while senior Bobby Christensen is at .400 with 15 runs batted in. Luke Palermo is hitting .423, and has knocked in 18 runs, while senior JP Zayle has a team-high 19 RBIs and is hitting .447 on the year.

Logan Ring of St. Joseph-Metuchen rips a double to right field in the third inning against Old Bridge in the Autism Awareness Challenge at Fred Cole Field on April 13, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

The pitching staff has a 3.39 ERA, so Joe’s is getting the job done on both ends, and McCaffery will have a number of options against the Bulldogs.

As for Metuchen, they had lost three straight heading into the GMCT. While that’s certainly not ideal, they won two games in the tourney to get here, beating 20-seed South Amboy 13-0 in a ten-run rule play-in game, then knocking off fourth-seed East Brunswick out of the Red, 7-6 in nine innings on Monday in the first round.

And the Bulldogs can hit and pitch, too. Battig .343 asa a team, junior Simon Rosal is hitting .457 with 13 runs batted in, and fellow junior Matt Jelleme is hitting .456 with 18 RBIs. As a team, with 167 runs scored, they’re one of just two Blue Division teams who’ve scored more than 100, so they can put up some runs. On the mound, they have an ERA well under three, at 2.55 for the team, with four pitchers having ERAs below that mark.

They’re 1-2 against the Red this year, with losses to Edison and Monroe besides Monday’s win over East Brunswick, which finished higher than both the Eagles and Falcons in the division. Go figure?

These two teams rarely play each other, with Metuchen being a Group 2 and Joe’s being a large school, but they have met twice in the last 13 years, with the Falcons winning both: 12-2 in the GMCT second round in 2023, and 4-3 in the GMCT first round in 2012.

(2) South Plainfield (13-8) vs. (11) Middlesex (14-4)
7 pm on Field 1 (Follow Alec Crouthamel on Twitter for updates)

This might be one of the best games of the day. Despite the double-digit seed, Middlesex appears to be again in the mold of its late 2010s and 2021 team, the latter of which won Central Jersey Group 1 and the Group 1 championship, winning all of its final three games in its final at bat, including the Group semi over Woodstown on a walk-off grand slam by Bobby Ulmer, and in 13 innings in the state final against New Providence.

And if you’re still not convinced, last week, the Blue Jays went up to Delbarton to face the No. 7 team in the state, and came away with a 5-3 win. Impressed now?

They scrap, and that was they way they won their first-round game, knocking off the 7-seed Colonia. (Lucky 7s?) Against the Patriots, they manufactured runs. Their first came on a single to right that Dylan Ianiero tried to extend to a double, and though he was out, in the confusion, it allowed Dom Parenti to score after initially holding on third. And in the sixth, after Parenti walked to lead off the inning, he took advantage on a miscue in centerfield and scored all the way from first on what turned out to be an Ianiero single, and a two-base error.

But it’s the pitching that may be most impressive. The team ERA is 1.68, led by Chris Kozak – whose older brother, Aiden, played on the 2021 title team. He’s got an ERA of just 0.89, and then there’s sophomore Dom Long at 1.37 – with 39 Ks to 19 walks – who’s picked up the second most innings on the team behind Kozak.

Dom Parenti of Middlesex teases a break for home in a GMC Tournament first round game at Colonia on May 12, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

South Plainfield was the Red Division champ last year, and the top seed in the GMCT, but lost in the finals to Old Bridge. This year, they finished second to Woodbridge, but beat the Barrons twice in the regular season.

The Tigers are hitting a respectable .265 on the year, with the highlight being Dom Massaro, a junior batting .405 on the season with one of the team’s two home runs – senior Dave Butrico has the other – and 14 RBIs. Aiden McCarthy – also an excellent pitcher – has a team-high 20 RBIs, while also leading the Tigers with a whopping 21 walks. And these guys steal bases, very aggressive on the base paths; senior Nick Irizarry has 30 on a team that has 77 swipes. (Middlesex, which also is aggressive on the bases, has 43 by comparison.)

And though the team ERA is a solid 3.15, the guys who’ve thrown the bulk of the innings are well under three. Mike Castagna, Jayden Jiminez, McCarthy and Kevin Penny all give head coach Scott Gleichenhaus piece of mind when they take the mound.

South Plainfield had lost three straight heading into the GMC before an 11-0 first round win over 15-seed Perth Amboy (in 5 innings), while Middlesex is red hot, on an eight-game winning streak. Besides the stunner over Delbarton, they also beat 10-10 North Hunterdon out of the Skyland Conference’s Delaware Division, among the best in the state, on Senior Night last week at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater. The Lions are scheduled to play Hunterdon Central Wednesday in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament final.

Though not often in the same division, the two play fairly frequently. South Plainfield has won six straight against Middlesex, dating back to 2015. Middlesex last won in 2013, and they last met in the GMC Quarterfinals in 2012. The Blue Jays – the third-seed – took that meeting, 5-0, and went on to win the county championship, beating No. 1 seed Sayreville 10-4 in the final.

by Mike Pavlichko

Wild first round of GMC Muldowney Championship Tournament sees four upsets; South River shocks top-seed Woodbridge in nine

When the Jim Muldowney GMC Championship Tournament was seeded Friday, as the room emptied, the thinking was this could be as wide open a tournament as ever. And if Monday’s results in the first round were any indication, that assessment was spot on.

Four of the eight games resulted in upsets, headlined by 16th-seed South River knocking off GMC Red Division champion and top-seed Woodbridge, 2-1, in nine innings. Three other games also went extras, two ending in upsets, featuring wins by 13-seed Metuchen and 11-seed Edison. St. Joseph-Metuchen also won in extras. Five games were decided by a single run, two by one run.

Now, you might wonder when the last time was that a No. 1 seed in the GMC Tournament got knocked off in the first round. Well, it wasn’t that long ago. In fact, it wasn’t even before COVID.

In 2021, 16th-seed JFK beat top-seed Monroe 5-4 in the first round, but fell 8-2 to 9-seed North Brunswick in the quarterfinals. Read our story and hear from then-Kennedy skipper Tim Ballard here.

Here’s a full recap of Monday afternoon’s action, with winners moving on to the quarterfinal round at North Brunswick Community Park. That’s scheduled for Wednesday, but with rain in the forecast, that could get pushed off to Thursday.

For now, several GMC teams are enjoying their big wins. Here’s the full roundup:

(16) South River 2, (1) Woodbridge 1 (9 inn.): Everyone knows the kind of pitcher Julius Rosado has been, but his innings have been somewhat limited, and he won his longest outing of the year Saturday in the play-in round, a 13-1 win over South Brunswick. That put James Zsorey on the mound, and the Rams’ ace (1a and 1b with Rosado) didn’t disappoint. He allowed just one run through 8 2/3 innings, but more on that later.

South River (14-5) got on the board in the top of the first when Noah Borrero walked with the bases loaded to take a 1-0 lead, but that’s all they would get for a while. Meanwhile, Woodbridge (13-5) scored in the bottom of the third when Ryan Leach grounded to shortstop. Rosado got the force at second, but when they tried to turn two, an error on the first baseman allowed Gavin Slicner to score. No one could get on the board for the next five innings. But in the top of the ninth, South River loaded the bases, and a walk brought in Borrero to make it 2-1. The Barrons got first and third with two out in the ninth, and the pitch count meant Zsorey had to exit. In came Brendan Lell, and on one pitch, he got Xavier Diaz to ground out back to him to end the game and set off a wild celebration.

Click below to hear South River head coach Mike Lepore, Jr., talk about the win:

South River will move on to play eight-seed Spotswood at 4 pm on Field 2 Wednesday at North Brunswick Community Park.

(8) Spotswood 3, (9) Monroe 1: The Chargers (13-8) led 3-0 after two, and starter Carter Cumiskey allowed just one run the rest of the way on three hits in a six-inning effort that Will Buchan closed out for the save. Buchan was at the plate for the first two runs, as Ryan Orth scored on a wild pitch while he was batting, then Buchan drove in Steve Spisso with a sac fly to center. They added one more in the third on an RBI single by Cumsikey. The Falcons (8-11) got a run on a groundout in the fifth, but that was all they could muster against Cumiskey. Spotswood faces 16-seed South River at 4 pm on Field 2 at North Brunswick Community Park on Wednesday.

(5) St. Joseph-Metuchen 1, (12) Sayreville 0 (8 inn.): The Falcons (11-6) won it in walk-off fashion on a single in the eighth inning by Walter Christian, who finished the day 2-for-4. Richard Zangara got the win for the Falcons, going the distance, allowing just four hits through eight, walking two and striking out ten. The Falcons will move on to face 13-seed Metuchen in the 4 pm quarterfinal on Field 1 at North Brunswick Community Park on Wednesday afternoon. Sayreville drops to 7-12 with the loss.

(13) Metuchen 7, (4) East Brunswick 6 (9 inn.): The Bulldogs pulled off the second small school upset of a big school Monday. We’ll have more details on this game as they become available. The Bulldogs will play another Red Division school, St. Joseph from right down the road, in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at North Brunswick Community Park, at 4 pm on Field 1.

(3) St. Thomas Aquinas 5, (14) North Plainfield 4: The Trojans (13-6) came from two runs down in their final at bat to pull out a first round win over a game Canucks squad. Down 4-3, two singles by Jack Valenzeula and Adrian Sanchez and a hit batter – Declan DiCarlo – after a fly ball out loaded the bases with two down. That’s when Lucas Cassino, down 1-2 in the count, worked out a seven-pitch walk to bring in Valenzuela to tie the game. Harrison Eng then walked on five pitches to end the game. North Plainfield falls to 12-6 on the season, and St. Thomas moves on to play in-town rival and 11-seed Edison in the quarterfinals at North Brunswick Community Park, Wednesday at 7 pm on Field 2.

(11) Edison 2, (6) Old Bridge 1 (12 innings): The Eagles (11-9) pushed past the Knights (11-9) in the longest game of the day, a marathon at Fred Cole Field. Each team scored a run in the third, and that’s where it stayed for nine innings until Edison got one across in the top of the seventh and held off Old Bridge in the bottom of the inning for the win. Ray Tavarez got the win in relief for the Eagles, while John Smith took the loss for the Knights. Robert Roma went 3-for-3 with an RBI for Edison, with Dom Innocenti knocking in the go-ahead run in the 12th on a base hit up the middle. Edison gets St. Thomas Aquinas in Wednesday’s 7 pm quarterfinal on Field 2 at North Brunswick Community Park.

Click below to listen to Edison head coach Vinnie Abene talk about the Eagles’ win:

(10) Middlesex 3, (7) Colonia 1: This one lived up to the hype, with the two teams splitting the season series by a grand total of three runs. Read the full story and hear postgame reaction here. The Blue Jays will move on to play second-seed South Plainfield in the 7 pm quarterfinal on Field 1 at North Brunswick Community Park this Wednesday.

(2) South Plainfield 11, (15) Perth Amboy 0 (5 inn.): Aiden McCarthy brought the hammer Monday at the plate and on the mound in a rout of the Canucks (5-11), going 2-for-3 with four runs batted in, in a mercy-rule 5-inning game. The Tigers (13-8) got six in the second and five in the third to cruise to the win as McCarthy scattered two hits over five innings of work. The win puts South Plainfield in Wednesday’s quarterfinals at North Brunswick Community Park, at 7 pm on Field 1.

WEDNESDAY’S QUARTERFINAL ROUND:
All games at North Brunswick Community Park

4 PM Games
(5) St. Joseph-Metuchen (11-6) vs. (13) Metuchen (15-6) on Field 1 (follow Alec Crouthamel on Twitter for updates)
(8) Spotswood (13-8) vs (16) South River (14-5) on Field 2 (LIVE on CJSR)

7 PM Games
(2) South Plainfield (13-8) vs. (10) Middlesex (14-4) on Field 1 (follow Alec Crouthamel on Twitter for updates)
(3) St. Thomas Aquinas (13-6) vs. (11) Edison (11-9) (LIVE on CJSR)

NOTE: Saturday’s semifinals are at 12 and 2:30 pm at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Magnet School. The highest remaining seed will play in the 2:30 game.