Tag: New Brunswick

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2025: Tight United Silver Division could be jam-packed again

Of the five United Gold Division teams in 2024, three of them finished 3-1 in divisional play, a symbol of parity in the group, even though North Plainfield and New Brunswick both struggled overall.

But it was a tight race between Governor Livingston, South Plainfield and JFK, as the three ended up tied for first, with the Highlanders beating the Tigers, the Tigers beating JFK and the Mustangs beating Governor Livingston. Are we having fun yet?

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Liberty 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 (*).

Governor Livingston Highlanders (5-5, 3-1, tied for 1st with South Plainfield, JFK in ’24)
Head Coach: Pete Ramiccio (15-15, 4th season)

  • Week 0: Lakeland (Thurs, 4p)
  • Week 1: New Providence (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 2: at JFK* (6p)
  • Week 3: at North Plainfield* (Sat, 12p)
  • Week 4: South Plainfield* (Sat, 6p)
  • Week 5: at Johnson
  • Week 6: Voorhees (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 7: at Bernards
  • Week 8: New Brunswick (Sat, 12p)

It will be quite the challenge making up for some of the Highlanders who graduated this June, including starting QB Lucciano Santamaria (844 yards, 7 TD), runningback Jack Dally (1,195 yards, 15 TD) and their top three receivers, led by Ryan Honey (386 yards, 3 TDs). There’s a little more back on the defensive side, including junior two-way lineman David Dorsett, who logged three sacks and seven TFLs last season, along with two fumble recoveries. Linebacker Max DiDonatto and soph lineman Joey Switlyk could be players to watch as well for GL.

JFK Mustangs (4-6, 3-1, tied for 1st with Governor Livingston, South Plainfield in ’24)
Head Coach: Michael Henderson (7-22, 4th season)

  • Week 0: at Perth Amboy (6p)
  • Week 1: Voorhees (6p)
  • Week 2: Governor Licingston* (6p)
  • Week 3: at New Brunswick*
  • Week 4: Monroe (6p)
  • Week 5: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Week 6: at North Plainfield*
  • Week 7: Middlesex (6p)
  • Week 8: at South Plainfield* (6p)

Unlike Governor Livingston, the top three offensive returnees are all back for Mike Henderson, and that could make for a fun year in Iselin. QB Richie Trotman threw for 1,297 yards and 17 TDs last season as a junior – but will need to cut down on the picks this year – while top rusher Fieheem Howell, Jr., (1,307 yards, 12 TD) and No. 1 WR Grant Lorentzen (48 catches, 632 yards, 9 TD) also return, as do several key backups. There’s plenty to work with there, but the defense will lose big chunks of numbers, although Jamir Campbell (3.5 sacks, 4 TFLs, 1 INT) could be a big key on that side of the ball. Lorentzen is also a solid kick returner, averaging nearly 25 yards per return last season.

New Brunswick Zebras (0-9, 0-4, 5th place in ’24)
Head Coach: Geoffrey Chrisman (first season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: at Plainfield
  • Week 2: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
  • Week 3: JFK* (6p)
  • Week 4: North Plainfield* (6p)
  • Week 5: at Carteret
  • Week 6: South Plainfield* (6p)
  • Week 7: Rahway (Sat, 12p)
  • Week 8: at Governor Livingston* (Sat, 12p)

The results have not been good for Zebras football in many years, and in the last two seasons under Steve Gluchowski, scoring just 33 points in 2023, 32 last season, and going a combined 0-18. The program is lacking numbers, and now it’ll be Geoffrey Chrisman’s turn to try and fix it. Chrisman, whose joined the district as a teacher for 2024-25, but hasn’t coached football since 2019, when he was an assistant at North Hunterdon. His biggest job? Finding kids in the halls to play football for a Group 5 school whose numbers look more like a small Group 1.

North Plainfield Canucks (3-6, 1-3, 4th place in ’24)
Head Coach: Derrick Eatman (5-24, 4th season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: Belvidere (6p)
  • Week 2: at South Plainfield*
  • Week 3: Governor Livingston* (Sat, 12p)
  • Week 4: at New Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 5: at Voorhees (6p)
  • Week 6: JFK* (6p)
  • Week 7: Johnson
  • Week 8: at Metuchen

All three QBs the Canucks played last year are graduating, including Mohammad Ahsan, who threw for just under 600 yards. North Plainfield struggled to put up points against good teams last season, and they’ll do the same this year unless some new talent emerges. Senior RB Aaron Potts (913 yards, 14 TD) is gone to graduation, too. The defense will have to shore up as wel, allowing 35 points or more in five of their six losses.

South Plainfield Tigers (5-5, 3-4, tied for first with Governor Livingston, JFK)
Head Coach: Bill Hamilton (19-20), 5th season)

  • Week 0: at East Brunswick (Thurs, 6p)
  • Week 1: at Delaware Valley
  • Week 2: North Plainfield* (6p)
  • Week 3: at Cranford
  • Week 4: at Governor Livingston (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 5: Bernards (6p)
  • Week 6: at New Brunswick (6p)
  • Week 7: South River (Thurs, 6p)
  • Week 8: JFK* (6p)

If the Tigers can start 2025 the same way they finished 2024 – with four straight wins – or anything close to it, they’ll compete for a division title. Senior QB Ryan Balent is gone, and returnee Jordan Magazine only threw one pass last year as a sophomore. The good news is that he, or whoever else Coach Hamilton goes with, will have Dom Massarro back to run the ball; he went for 1,049 yards last year on 105 carries and scored nine touchdowns, while Jaydon Jones also returns after a sophomore year rushing for 543 yards and four scores, while junior King Hills went for 504 and two scores. That’s more than 2,000 rush yards back from a team that ran for over 2,700 last season. The defense has some standouts back, too. Massari had two INTs, one for a touchdown, while junior Erick Hernandez (4 TFLs, 1 fumble recovery) and Kaydin Daniel (4 TFLs) could be players to watch.

by Mike Pavlichko

New Brunswick names Geoffrey Chrisman new football coach to revive program

Several months after Steve Gluchowski stepped down as head football coach at New Brunswick, the district has hired Geoffrey Chrisman as the Zebras’ new leader.

Chrisman – who just joined the district as a teacher last school year, according to his LinkedIn bio – most recently was the head girls’ lacrosse coach and assistant field hockey coach at The Hun School in Princeton, but had been an assistant football coach at North Hunterdon for two seasons – 2018 and 2019 – under head coach Jared Mazzetta. He’s also been at Princeton High and had a prior stint as teacher and assistant coach in New Brunswick, while also serving three years as an assistant and two seasons as head coach in 2015 and 2016 at West Windsor-Plainsboro South, which now is a co-op with West Windsor-Plainsboro North.

Gluchowski came to New Brunswick from Spotswood, where he was an assistant, but the Zebras didn’t muster a win in his two seasons, going 0-9 in both 2023 and 2024. New Brunswick has dealt with historically low numbers in recent years, despite being a Group 5 school.

New Brunswick football hasn’t had a winning record since Don Sofilkanich coached them to a 9-2 season in 2015, where they reached the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals and lost to Old Bridge. They won just four the next year, and only reached four wins once more, in 2019 under former Zebra standout Nate Harris.

A request for an interview was referred to the school’s Athletic Office for approval, but has not been returned as of this writing.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY:  Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final: (5) New Brunswick 5, (2) East Brunswick Magnet 2

New Brunswick won its first tournament championship of any kind since taking the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group 1 title in 1985 and 1986, as the fifth-seeded Zebras beat second-seed East Brunswick Magnet, 5-3, to win the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the action, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio from Edison High School on May 23, 2025:

GAME STORY: New Brunswick claims Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational with strong mound work from starter Garcia, Henderson closing it out

by Mike Pavlichko

New Brunswick claims Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational with strong mound work from starter Garcia, Henderson closing it out

The New Brunswick baseball program had one title to its credit coming into Friday’s Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final against East Brunswick Magnet: the Central Jersey Group 1 pennant in 1986.

But other than that, they’d never been to a county final of any kind, not in the invitational – now in its sixth season – nor the main event,

But by 2:30 or so Friday afternoon, they had some more hardware to put in the trophy case..

The fifth-seeded Zebras used a three-run third inning and a strong start – after a shaky first – from Yeuri Garcia to beat second-seed East Brunswick Magnet 5-2, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, and videostreamed live on our YouTube channel.

The Zebras staked Garcia to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, getting a two-RBI single by Ronaldy Peralta, who blooped a ball into no man’s land that fell to the red turf in short right field. But the Tigers got it right back in the bottom of the inning on a two-RBI double by Stephan Zoppolo.

After each team went out 1-2-3 in the second, New Brunswick would score the decisive run – and two more for insurance – in the third.

Kelvin Heuston led off with an infield hit, and after his older brother Devin struck out, DH Jacob Henderson laced a double to drive in what ultimately would be the winning run. Alex Rodriguez then reached on an E1, scoring another run, and a sac bunt by Peralta drove in Rodriguez to make it 5-2.

And Garcia, who had some control issues – he walked five, but also struck out five – settled in. He got in some jams, including a second and third situation with two out in the fifth, but got out of it.

He was pulled in the sixth with a 2-0 count on seven-hitter and opposing pitcher Anthony Bienvenue, but Henderson came in and needed just three pitches to strike him out, overpowering with a fastball that had more juice that what Garcia had been throwing for 6 2/3 innings.

And despite allowing two on in the seventh, he closed it out for the save.

Jacob Henderson gets the final out of the sixth for New Bruinswick, then got the save in a 5-2 win over East Brunswick Magnet in the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final on May 23, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

New Brunswick improved to 15-2 with the win, while East Brunswick Magnet fell to 20-5. The two teams shared the Gold Division title this year, both 12-2 in the division.

The win went to Garcia, who’s now 4-1. Henderson got the save. Bienvenue took the loss for the Tigers to drop to 9-2.

Click below for postgame reaction with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

New Brunswick pitchers Jacob Henderson and Yeuri Garcia
New Brunswick head coach Nico Vargas
by Mike Pavlichko

East Brunswick Magnet, New Brunswick earn trips to Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Final with Monday semifinal wins

The finals of the Ray Cipperly GMC Invitational Tournament are set for this Friday, with 2023 champion East Brunswick Magnet set to take on New Brunswick, after both teams won their semifinal games on Monday afternoon.

(3) East Brunswick Magnet 8, (2) North Brunswick 7: The Tigers rallied from a 7-3 deficit heading into the seventh to win behind a five-spot in the top of the inning at North Brunswick. The Raiders (5-14)trailed 2-1 after 3 1/2 innings, but got two in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead, and after East Brunswick Magnet tied it at three in the top of the fifth, the Raiders added three in the fifth and one in the sixth to lead 7-3 after six on an RBI double by Connor Levine and two RBI singles that followed.

In the decisive top of the seventh, Tommy O’Neill – who ended up getting the win in relief – led off by reaching on an error on the centerfielder, getting all the way to second. Nomar Carreras struck out, and Jack Clements grounded out, bringing in O’Neill with the first run after he’d stolen third, cutting it to 7-4.

The rest of the rally all came with two outs. Braeden Cullen followed with a double, and Stephen Zappola reached on an infield hit that scored courtesy runner Braeden Chase Myers. Another double by Joshua Carreras moved Zappola to third, then a walk to Anthony Bienvenue loaded the bases. Andrew Teleposky got plunked to make it 7-6, Jedwin Crespo reached on an E6 to make it tie the game, and O’Neill walked to make it 8-7, before Nomar Carreras struck out looking to end the inning.

O’Neill – who got the last two outs in the sixth, threw a 1-2-3 seventh – with a strikeout, groundout and a strikeout – to preserve the win.

(5) New Brunswick 4, (1) JP Stevens 2: The Zebras (14-2) took a four-nothing lead with two runs apiece in the second and fourth, and held off the Hawks, who managed two runs in the sixth, but that was all.

In the second, Jose Encarnacion reached base on an E3, driving in Ronaldy Peralata, then Joel Ramos scored from third on a wild pitch with Jose Omar Abreu batting. The runs in the fourth came from Ramos on a dropped third strike, and another wild pitch that brought home Encarnacion.

JP Stevens got its runs in the sixth on a single by Collin Casey, and a balk.

First Pitch for Invitational Final moved up…

Baseball tournament director Mike O’Donnell told Central Jersey Sports Radio that Friday’s final – originally set for 4 pm at Edison High School, has been moved up to a noon start. O’Donnell says a number of schools – including East Brunswick Magnet and New Brunswick – had unused snow days, and this Friday happens to be one of the days both schools now have off. So, the game was moved earlier, likely a good idea also since the forecast calls for some rain Friday. And while it’s too early to tell, better to try and start early if there’s a window to play, than to sit around and wait for a later start that might not happen.

Central Jersey Sports Radio has tentative plans to broadcast the final, so long as it doesn’t conflict with the Somerset County Tournament final. That’s scheduled for Wednesday at 6 pm at TD Bank Park in Bridgewater, but the weather Wednesday – and Thursday, too – doesn’t look great, and the rain date is Friday. If that doesn’t happen, the SCT might not get to have it’s title game until next week, with backup site Diamond Nation in Flemington often full of youth baseball events on weekends. Their Memorial Day classic, featuring seven different age groups from 9U to 15U, is schedule for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

by Mike Pavlichko

Late coaching departures leave several Big Central schools looking for new football coaches

Ridge, Linden, AL Johnson, New Brunswick, Dunellen and now St. Thomas Aquinas. Although that last one didn’t last long.

Most high school football coaches who decide to leave – or aren’t brought back – depart in December or January, with new mentors coming on board in January, February or even March.

But at one point this week, a half-dozen schools are in various stages of looking for head football coaches and it’s already early May.

The reasons are as wide and varied as the type of schools still searching for new football leadership. Here’s a closer look at each:

St. Thomas Aquinas: The latest coach to step down was Jonathan Germano, who came down from Bergen Catholic to replace Tarig Holman, who was not brought back by the school after an unprecedented run in three seasons, going 27-6. But while school principal Harry Ziegler said in a Wednesday message to the school community obtained by Central Jersey Sports Radio that a new head coach would be named “in the coming days,” they wasted no time, announcing the hiring of Shamir Bearfield from St. Peter’s Prep less than 24 hours later. Read that story – and hear our one-on-one interview – here.

New Brunswick: Steve Gluchowski told the school back in December he wouldn’t be coming back for a third season. The Zebras went 0-18 in his two campaigns, plagued mainly by dwindling numbers – from about 40 at the start of each season to fewer than two dozen by the time it was all over. New Brunswick has lost 23 straight games, dating back to 2022, and the search there continues.

Linden: Al Chiola stepped down in March from the Tiger program, and his resignation was accepted by the Board of Education at its April 29th meeting. He’ll likely spend some time watching his son Tyler, who will be a senior this season, but he has no plans to coach this season. Chiola was 44-49-1 in ten seasons with Linden, going 4-6 last season after a 6-3-1 campaign in 2023. Listen to our one-on-one interview here.

Dunellen: Dave DeNapoli has had a long career at Dunellen, and while he’ll remain as Athletic Director, he retired from coaching the Destroyer football program last month after 29 years as the program’s mentor. He finishes his career with a record of 133-172-1 over that time span. He took the reins in August 1996, at the age of 39, and followed a legend in his own right, Pio Pennisi, who brought the school a Central Jersey Group 1 championship in 1993 and had just stepped down to become vice-principal at the high school. He played quarterback for Dunellen, graduating in 1975, and has lived in town all his life. The search for a successor is ongoing.

Ridge: Andy West stepped down earlier this spring after five seasons at the helm of the Red Devil program earlier this spring. Coming off back-to-back 8-2 seasons, West’s went 6-2 in his initial campaign in 2020 – while many programs struggled during the COVID-shortened season – then went 7-3 each of the next two seasons, and 8-2 each of the past two. He finishes 36-12, with a .750 winning percentage, and never missed the state playoffs in four seasons. (There were no state playoffs in 2020 due to COVID.) We’re hearing a new coach may be named shortly.

AL Johnson: Anthony DelConte is out after eleven seasons leading the Crusaders, the last three of which were among their best, winning six games each in 2022 and 2023, then going 7-2 last season. DelConte’s best season was an 8-3 campaign in 2017, and he went 56-48 during his tenure there. No word yet on a replacement. School officials say the job posting closes shortly, and the goal is to have a new coach approved by the Board of Education at its next meeting later this month.

by Mike Pavlichko

12th Annual Friends of South Amboy event continues to raise funds for charity, more than a decade after Superstorm Sandy

What started as a way to raise money for those along the Jersey Bayshore devastated by Superstorm Sandy is now a charitable event that’s run for over a decade.

Hard to believe, it’s been 12 years since Sandy hit New Jersey, wreaking havoc in so many places. It destroyed homes, washed out bridges, and turned life upside down for so many.

In the immediate aftermath, a group spearheaded by Tom Reilly put together the Friends of South Amboy. And one of their first orders of business was a showcase of high school basketball games to benefit those in need locally after the storm.

That event raised more than $30,000, all of which went to area families, with the help of local police who helped

“The tears, and the happiness, and the pure thankfulness of what we did really affected me,” Reilly told Central Jersey Sports Radio this week.

And with that, they continued with the event. While the majority of the money may not go to Sandy victims more than a decade later – one went to a volunteer fireman in need, another went to a local girl with leukemia – Reilly is there to make sure that as many people as possible can benefit from the event.

Scroll down for the full schedule of games, which will include Central Jersey Sports Radio covering the 8:00 nightcap live between No. 3 Montgomery (2-1) and No. 5 St. Joseph-Metuchen (1-1). Pregame is set for 7:45; click here to listen.

Click below to hear Friends of South Amboy founder and President Tom Reilly talk about the event with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Scotch Plains cruises past New Brunswick; Johnson earns first win as Raider coach

Scotch Plains-Fanwood scored early and often Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, as the Raiders won a Big Central Conference crossover game 42-0 at New Brunswick.

After a scoreless first quarter, Jaden Richards got SPF on the board first with a six-yard touchdown run with 10:08 to go in the second quarter. Less than four game minutes later, he broke a 50-yarder, taking it all the way to paydirt, to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead.

T.J. Raspberry punched in one more score from three yards out with 13 seconds to go in the half to make it 21-0 going into the locker room.

   

And on it went in the second half, with the running clock starting after the Raiders’ second score of the half – another TD run by Raspberry – with Scotch Plains tacking on one more to win it 42-0.

It was the first win as head coach for Shawn Johnson at his alma mater, where he was a standout on the gridiron. He also has coached the Scotch Plains-Fanwood PAL youth team, leading them to a Super Bowl victory, and retired last year as a juvenile detective as a sergeant, spending 25 years with the department.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

2024 Big Central Preview: United Silver Division

Carteret and JP Stevens are out in the United Silver Division of the Big Central Conference, while JFK and New Brunswick move in.

The Mustangs and Zebras will be in with South Plainfield, North Plainfield and Governor Livingston.

The Highlanders finished second to the Ramblers last year, as head coach Pete Ramiccio really got things going after starting late in his debut season in 2022, making the playoffs for the first time since 2009. South Plainfield is likely their biggest challenger, while JFK is counting on some good experience in ’23 to pay off this season.

North Plainfield struggled a year ago, and New Brunswick was winless, but they’ve been working on improving numbers – a rare challenge for a large school – and are hoping for increased depth this season.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

2023 Big Central Preview: National Silver Division

North Brunswick won the National Silver Division in 2022, but Edison beat them in a wild game in the playoffs en route to its first sectional title in 31 years. Both teams have lost significant players, but both return some key parts, too.

The Raiders and Eagles should be right there again, along with Sayreville, now under the direction of veteran coach Don Sofilkanich.

The division actually has three new coaches this year, as veteran Carteret coach Matt Yascko – who was Edison’s Offensive Coordinator for three seasons – takes over for the retiring Matt Fulham, while Steve Gluchowski comes over from an assistant role at Spotswood to helm struggling New Brunswick. Blair Wilson, in his second season at Franklin, will also try to turn the Warriors around.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko’s preview of the National Silver Division from the Big Central Conference’s inaugural Media Days: