Tag: New Providence

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 1 still goes to St. Joe’s, but seven other teams move around as upsets rock Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Top Ten heading into Cutoff

There was a second straight week of major upheaval in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Top Ten, with Montgomery handing Sayreville its first loss, No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen ending St. Thomas Aquinas’s 35-game league winning streak, and Woodbridge falling to unranked Summit for the Barrons’ first loss of the season.

The result saw the Falcons stay at No. 1 with perhaps the two biggest wins of the season by any team in the league, but nearly everyone else moved around, with No. 6 Bernards the only other team to hold its position.

St. Joseph-Metuchen kept its perfect regular season alive with two games to play – remember, the non-publics play an extra week before the playoffs are seeded – with a 41-19 win at then-No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas. Next up, the Falcons host No. 5 Woodbridge (7-1) Saturday afternoon, before closing on Halloween at Donovan Catholic.

Up two places to No. 2 is Phillipsburg (6-1), right behind the Falcons after their defeat in Metuchen two weeks ago. The Stateliners were 42-0 winners over Union at home Friday, and are at Maloney again this week when they host Bridgewater-Raritan (6-2).

Montgomery (6-2) shot up this week with their second win over a ranked team this season, a 43-15 win at then-No. 5 Sayreville. The Cougars visit Rahway (5-3) this Friday night at 7 pm in the Bellamy & Son Paving “Big Central Game of the Week,” which you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino on the call.

Somerville (7-1) moves up from seventh to No. 4 after a 40-28 home win over Plainfield, heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The Pioneers will travel to Watchung Hills (3-5) Friday for their regular season finale.

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Down three spots to fifth is Woodbridge (7-1), which took its first loss Friday, 10-7, to Summit. And it’s a tough task ahead for the Barrons, who will travel to top-ranked St. Joseph-Metuchen (7-0) Saturday afternoon.

Holding court at No. 6 is Bernards (8-0). The Mountaineers extended their regular season win streak to a state best 33 games with a 35-7 home win over Governor Livingston back on Friday, and host Carteret (3-4) this Friday. Bernards now has won 31 in a row in Big Central play, four away from tying the league record, which just ended Friday.

That’s St. Thomas Aquinas (5-3), which drops to seventh after falling 41-19 at home to No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen on Friday. The Trojans’ had their 35-game Big Central win streak go by the boards in the process, and they’re back in action against No. 8 Sayreville (7-1), which dropped three spots this week after falling 43-15 at home to then-No. 10 Montgomery.

Down one place each – due to Montgomery’s rise – are Piscataway and Old Bridge. The Chiefs are 6-2 after a 21-7 win at Hillsborough Friday, and are at Monroe (1-7) this Friday . The Knights are 7-1 – but that loss is to Piscataway – after a 45-29 win at Hunterdon Central. Old Bridge closes at home against Colonia (6-2) this Friday night at Lombardi Field.

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No one dropped out this week.

In the Also Considered category are Voorhees (7-1), New Providence (7-0) Ridge (5-2), and Manville (8-0), all the same schools as last week.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Seven Top Ten:

Image of the Week Seven Top Ten rankings for the Big Central Conference, featuring team names, records, and previous rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph-Metuchen win over Phillipsburg in battle of unbeatens shuffles nearly entire Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Top Ten

So much for consistency.

While some teams have moved around a bit, Phillipsburg has spent the entire season at No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central rankings, but that changed this week.

Saturday, No. 6 St. Joseph of Metuchen blanked the No. 1 Stateliners at home, 21-0, to dethrone the Big Central’s top-ranked team. Phillipsburg had occupied the top spot since last year’s final poll, overtaking Somerville after becoming the first BCC team to reach a state final, where they lost the Group 4 title to Winslow Twp.

And that move caused a seismic reshuffling of the rankings here in Week 6. For some, a move down wasn’t necessarily due to a loss, but other teams moving up.

And so, the No. 1 ranking this week goes to St. Joseph-Metuchen (6-0). It’s the first time the Falcons have ever been No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving/Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, going back to CJSR’s inaugural 2020 season. In fact, it’s the first time in the history of the program they have been ranked No. 1 in rankings put together by Mike Pavlichko, dating back to the WCTC years (2000-2019), with the program’s first varsity season being played in 2013.

But it’s the second time head coach Bill Tracy – who won his 150th career game Saturday – has had a team of his earn a No. 1 ranking. The last time was in 2013, when he was at Ridge. The Red Devils won the North 2, Group 4 title over Union at Rutgers, finishing a perfect 12-0.

St. Joseph will visit No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas (5-2) this Friday night.

The next two spots were the only ones to remain unchanged.

Woodbridge (7-0) held at No. 2 after a come-from-behind, 41-31 win at then-No. 8 Montgomery. The Barrons are back in action Friday at home against Summit (5-2), which has lost two straight after a 5-0 start.

And St. Thomas Aquinas (5-2) holds steady in third. The Trojans won 41-6 at Edison Friday, and this week host St. Joe’s (6-0) Friday night.

Phillipsburg drops to fourth after the loss to the Falcons. Now, 5-1, the Stateliners host Union (1-6) back at Maloney Stadium this Friday night.

Up two spots to No. 5 is Sayreville (7-0). The Bombers were 37-28 winners at Franklin back on Friday, and this week host No. 10 Montgomery (5-2).

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Checking in at No. 6 – down two spots, mainly because other teams moved up – is Bernards (7-0). The Mountaineers gutted out a 17-14 win at Summit Saturday afternoon, and are back home at Olcott Field to take on Governor Livingston (3-4) Friday night.

Somerville (5-1) also goes down two spots to No. 8 despite a 43-14 win at North Hunterdon Friday night. The Pioneers will be featured on the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving Friday night, as they entertain Plainfield (3-4), with kickoff set for 6:30 pm.

Up two spots to No. 8 is Piscataway (5-2), which got past East Brunswick at home 35-0 Friday. The Chiefs travel Friday to Hillsborough (3-4), which has won two straight and put itself back in the playoff picture after a 1-4 start.

No. 9 is Old Bridge (6-1), up one spot. The Knights got a shutout win, 35-0, at Monroe Friday night, and they’re back on the road Friday when they visit Hunterdon Central (4-3).

And checking in at ten this week is Montgomery (5-2), down two spots after the loss to Woodbridge. The Cougars’ other loss is to a solid Summit team that has been in the “also considered” category most of the year, dropping out this week after the Bernards loss. Montgomery will travel to No. 5 Sayreville (7-0) this Friday.

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Dropping out this week was No. 9 Bridgewater-Raritan, which lost 30-18 at Hillsbroough back on Friday.

In the Also Considered category are Voorhees (6-1), New Providence (6-0) Ridge (4-2), and – new this week – Manville at 7-0. Small schools are always tough to fit into a league-wide top ten, especially with 59 schools, but we think they deserve some recognition for their best start since 1968, when they finished the season a perfect 9-0.

Manville closes the regular season with Highland Park this week, then at Bound Brook the Friday of Cutoff Weekend in a game that will determine the Freedom Silver Division title.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Six Top Ten:

Graphic displaying the Week Six Top Ten rankings for the Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Conference, featuring team names and their records.

by Mike Pavlichko

Group 1 Playoff Chase: A tale of two unbeatens, as New Providence plays for a top-seed, but Manville is stuck in the middle of the pack

For as much as the NJSIAA’s playoff formula does its best to balance competing ideas – getting the best teams in, but cutting down on travel – the Big Central Conference has two unbeaten teams in Group 1, but they are in very different circumstances.

New Providence (5-0) is one of the two top seeds in the North supersection, but Manville (6-0) is eighth overall in the South.

Some of that has to do with strength of schedule, and some has to do with the South having very strong teams. Manville’s OSI is a 39.64, while New Providence is at 54.10. Manville is boosted by its power point average; at 9.50, it’s fifth best in the section, but their OSI is ninth.

Table displaying football team standings and statistics for North 1 and North 2, Group 1, including wins, losses, ties, power point averages, and rankings.

New Providence is the only area team in the North, but they’re not guaranteed of anything yet. They’re just 2.4 points ahead of Kinnelon with three very winnable games, but none that should hurt them too much: Verona, Bound Brook and Delaware Valley. The fact that the Crusaders have been a pleasant surprise this year is a big boost, just as it’s been for Spotswood in Group 2.

A table displaying the standings for Central Group 1 and South Group 1 teams in a sports league, including columns for wins, losses, ties, power point average, OSI average, UPR, Northing, UPR rank, and N rank.

On the South side of things, we’ve got three Big Central teams in the hunt right now. Manville – should the Mustangs win out – are very likely to hold on to a top four spot in Central Jersey Group 1, and being one of the Northernmost teams in the supersection, will stay there regardless of what happens. At seven and eight in Central Group 1 are Highland Park (2-3) and Bound Brook (4-2).

The Crusaders have a brutal schedule the rest of the way. After Middlesex this week, they have two teams that have yet to lose a game: New Providence and Manville. Then again, losses may not kill them, but they have to at least beat the Blue Jays this week and maybe win one of two against either the Pioneers or Mustangs.

As for Highland Park, they have a big one Friday night at home against Roselle Park. They missed the playoffs last year at 6-3, so they can’t take anything for granted. There are even some three-win teams out of the picture who could bump them if they slip, including Maple Shade and Gateway (both 3-3) and KIPP Cooper Norcross (3-2). And who knows, maybe Middlesex (10th, 3.2 UPR out of the playoffs) could make a run. Highland Park likely has to win one of the next two – they’re at Manville next week – to stay in, as even a win at South River (0-6, SI 30.34) on Cutoff Weekend may hurt them.

Middlesex closes with Bound Brook home, JFK on the road, and home to Belvidere on Cutoff Weekend.

by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Week 6

We continue to barrel toward Cutoff Weekend in New Jersey high school football, with just three games to go in the regular season for the public schools, including this week. And it’s time to talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden!

Mike and Marcus look back at the week gone by, including undefeated Sayreville’s big win over Piscataway, Hillsborough’s comeback win Saturday at Westfield, and Somerville’s win at Summit, handing the Hilltoppers their first loss of the season.

Also on the show, Mike and Marcus talk about look at the playoffs, where six Big Central teams currently sit with top seeds, but only two of those are undefeated. The other six unbeatens are either in the running – like Sayreville and Bernards – or well out of the chase, but still in the field of 16, like unbeaten Spotswood and Manville.

We also look at this weekend’s games, including Coach’s Friday trip to Montgomery to see the one-loss Cougars take on unbeaten Woodbridge, and Saturday’s Bellamy & Son Paving “Big Central Game of the Week,” featuring a battle of unbeatens, as Phillipsburg travels to St. Joseph-Metuchen.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

First six hold steady, Phillipsburg still No. 1, but Sayreville-Piscataway result shuffles bottom half of Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten

Consistency again was the name of the game in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week Five, as one result – Sayreville’s 42-24 win over Piscataway – caused a shift in the bottom half of the rankings, but St. Thomas Aquinas’ loss to Paramus Catholic in a non-conference game didn’t yield any changes.

Phillipsburg (5-0) stays in the top spot after a come-from-behind, 24-20 win over West Orange, a battle of two teams very much in play for playoff top seeds in their respective supersections. The Stateliners are back in action Saturday afternoon when they visit No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm at Brenner Family Field.

Holding at No. 2 is Woodbridge (6-0). The Barrons pounded Perth Amboy 41-0 back on Friday night, and have a big showdown this Friday night at No. 8 Montgomery (5-1). CJSR analyst Marcus Borden will have coverage of that game.

In third is St. Thomas Aquinas (4-2), despite taking a Week five loss. That came out of conference to North Jersey parochial Paramus Catholic, 42-14. This week, the Trojans stay in town again, but play Edison on the road Friday evening.

In fourth still is Bernards (6-0), which narrowly escaped a road trip to South Plainfield with a 7-0 win as A.J. MacKracken became the first freshman to start at QB for the Mountaineers in 50 years, according to head coach Jon Simoneau. Bernards will visit Summit Saturday.

Speaking of Summit, the Hilltoppers were handed their first loss of the season Saturday by Somerville (5-1), which holds at No. 5 this week. The Pioneers were 41-20 winners, and return to action Friday at North Hunterdon, which beat Monroe Friday for its first win of the season.

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At No. 6 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (5-0). The Falcons hold serve after a 42-7 win at North Brunswick Friday, and host No. 1 Phillipsburg Saturday at 1:00 on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Sayreville (6-0) moves up to No. 8 in the rankings after a 42-24 win at previous-No. 7 Piscataway Friday night. The Bombers have gotten 100-plus yards in all six games from Shaun Jackson, and the Bombers will take their act to Franklin this Friday night.

The next two teams behind Sayreville also notched up a spot this week. Montgomery (5-1) moves from nine to eight after a 22-16 home win over Linden Friday night, the first game at the newly-dedicated Zoran Milich Field at Cougar Stadium. They’re back home again Friday night when No. 2 Woodbridge visits on a 15-game regular season winning streak, tied for fourth-best in the state.

And Bridgewater-Raritan (5-1) is back on the winning track, rising after a 34-23 win over Elizabeth Friday night. The Panthers travel to Hillsborough Friday in the Battle of Route 206.

Falling down to tenth and tying with Old Bridge (5-1) – who they beat in Week Two – is Piscataway (4-2). The Knights were 24-0 winners out of conference over Morristown, an host Monroe Friday night, while the Chiefs fell at home, 42-14 to then-No. 9 Sayreville. Piscataway will entertain East Brunswick this Friday.

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Again no one dropped out, and the same four teams remain in the “Also Considered” category. Summit is still there at 5-1 – despite dropping their first game of the season Saturday, to Somerville – with New Providence at 5-0 and Voorhees 5-1, while Ridge at 3-2 is still in the mix.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Five Top Ten:

Table displaying the Week Five Top Ten rankings for the Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Conference, showing team names, records, and previous rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

State’s “perfect” teams whittled down to 29, with nine left in Big Central; Summit, Manville put streaks on the line Saturday

Of the 29 teams left in New Jersey high school football with unblemished records, nine remain in the Big Central Conference.

How that translates in the postseason is anyone’s guess, but at this point of the season, it’s a remarkable number, considering how the rest of the state has gone.

The Super Football Conference has ten remaining unbeatens, with four going down Friday night and two more to play Saturday. The West Jersey Football league is down to five after four of its teams fell Friday. The NJIC has three, with one to play Saturday, and the Shore Conference has two.

Here’s a closer look at the undefeated teams left in the Big Central, and a list of the perfect squads remaining statewide:

BIG CENTRAL CONFERENCE:

  • Bernards, 6-0: The Mountaineers narrowly escaped Frank Jost Field with a 7-0 win over South Plainfield that extends its state-best active regular season win streak to 31 games, and its second-best Big Central streak to 29, five behind St. Thomas Aquinas. Last 3 games: at Summit, Governor Livingston, Carteret.
  • Manville, 5-0: The Mustangs have yet to play this week, traveling to JP Stevens for a 10 am game Saturday. Last 3 games: Dunellen, Highland Park, at Bound Brook.
  • New Providence, 5-0: With a big 46-7 win at Middlesex on Friday, the Pioneers will head out of conference next week before closing with two Big Central Conference games, one at home, the last one away. Last 3 games: Verona, Bound Brook, at Delaware Valley.
  • Phillipsburg, 5-0: The Stateliners needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to beat West Orange Friday, 24-20 to keep their perfect streak in tact. Last 3 games before the Cutoff: at St. Joseph-Metuchen (Saturday on CJSR), Union, Bridgewater-Rarirtan.
  • Sayreville, 6-0: The Bombers dominated up front and pulled away from Piscataway in the second half, for a 42-24 road win heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Last 3 games: at Franklin, Montgomery, St. Thomas Aquinas.

  • Spotswood, 6-0: The Chargers are in the thick of the playoff hunt, but if they keep wining, they’ll be guaranteed to get in no matter where they seed. They also could be in the hunt for a first-round home game. They beat Bound Brook Friday night, 36-7. Last 3 games: at Dayton, at South Hunterdon, Roselle Park.
  • St. Joseph-Metuchen, 5-0: The Falcons cruised past North Brunswick on the road Friday night, 42-7. Last 4 games: Phillipsburg (Saturday on CJSR), at St. Thomas Aquinas, Woodbridge, at Donovan Catholic.
  • Summit, 5-0: The Hilltoppers host a dangerous Somerville team Saturday afternoon at 2 pm. Last 3 games: Bernards, at Woodbridge, Scotch Plains-Fanwood.
  • Woodbirdge, 6-0: The Barrons were 41-0 winners over Perth Amboy in their second shutout victory of the season. Last 3 games: at Montgomery, Summit, at St. Joseph-Metuchen.

SHORE CONFERENCE (2):

  • Red Bank Catholic, 6-0
  • Southern, 6-0

WEST JERSEY FOOTBALL LEAGUE (5):

  • Burlington Twp., 6-0
  • Cherry Hill East, 6-0
  • Glassboro, 6-0
  • Paulsboro, 6-0
  • Washington Twp., 6-0

SUPER FOOTBALL CONFERENCE (10):

  • Belleville, 5-0
  • Don Bosco Prep, 5-0
  • East Orange, 5-0
  • Fort Lee, 5-0 (Ivy Division)
  • Hanover Park, 6-0
  • Hoboken, 6-0
  • Kinnelon, 6-0
  • Mount Olive, 5-0 (Saturday at Morris Knolls)
  • St. Peter’s Prep, 5-0 (Saturday vs. Seton Hall Prep)
  • West Morris, 6-0

NJIC (3):

  • Butler, 5-0
  • Rutherford, 4-0 (Saturday vs. Cresskill)
  • Wood-Ridge, 6-0
by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Week 5

With just four more weeks to go in the regular season, high school football is in crunch time in New Jersey. And it’s time to talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden!

Mike and Marcus look back at the week gone by, including St. Thomas Aquinas and a big win over Elizabeth, then we get Coach’s mid-season report card! No grades, but Borden talks about leading candidates – from big schools and small – for Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Year, along with a couple of MVP and Coach of the Year candidates. It’s not a full list, but it’s a fun listen!

Also on the show, Mike and Marcus talk about how the new playoff formula could shake out, rundown the nine unbeaten teams left in the league, what Big Central Conference stadiums Mike hasn’t been to yet, and the Friday game Coach Borden will be covering – Brearley at South Hunterdon – as he gets to see his 59th and final team of the last two seasons, representing every team in the BCC!

It’s a long one, so get comfortable!

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Top two – Phillipsburg, Woodbridge – stay put, but rest of Bellamy & Son Paving Week 4 Top Ten shifts with Bridgewater-Raritan’s first loss

It was just one game, and it didn’t exactly cause major upheaval in the Bellamy & Son Paving Week Four Big Central Top Ten, but it did move some teams around.

Only four of the eleven teams in the Week Three rankings stayed in the same spot this week (there was a tenth place tie last week). Additionally, nobody dropped out.

Phillipsburg (4-0) remains No. 1 following a 50-29 road win at Hillsborough Friday night. The Stateliners are winning by an average 32.5 points per game through their first four, and host West Orange (4-1) in a non-league game this Friday night at Maloney Stadium. Phillipsburg is second in the latest UPR playoff standings in the North Group 4 supersection, which puts them in line for one of the top two seeds. West Orange is in the same spot in North 5, right behind Bridgewater-Raritan.

Woodbridge (5-0) remains at No. 2 after a 27-20 victory at Linden Friday night. The Barrons are back home this Friday against winless Perth Amboy (0-5).

Moving up a spot this week to three is St. Thomas Aquinas (4-1). Their lone loss came out-of-state, and the Trojans beat a solid Elizabeth school at home Friday night, 35-21. They’re back to an out-of-conference game this week as Paramus Catholic (1-4) comes to North Edison Friday night.

Switching places with STA is Bernards (5-0), checking in at No. 4. After a 39-0 cruise past JP Stevens, the Mountaineers go to South Plainfield (2-3) this Friday night, carrying with them the No. 2 spot in the North Group 2 supersection, putting them in line for a top-seed in the playoffs.

Holding steady at No. 5 is Somerville (4-1). The Pioneers were 21-7 winners Friday over Watchung Hills, and play a very good undefeated Summit (5-0) team on the road this Saturday afternoon.

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Checking in at No. 6 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (4-0). The Falcons blanked Westfield at home Friday night under the temporary lights – an annual tradition at St. Joe’s – 24-0, and are back in action this Friday with a road trip to North Brunswick (0-5).

Holding at seven is Piscataway (4-1), which also had a shutout win this week, 28-0 at South Brunswick. The Chiefs will host Sayreville (4-1) in an old-fashioned GMC rivalry game at 6 pm, the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Piscataway also will honor early 2000s standout Kyle Wilson at halftime; he went on to star at Boise State and play in the NFL with the Jets and New Orleans.

Up a spot to No. 8 is Sayreville (5-0). The undefeated Bombers were 46-7 winners over North Brunswick at home Friday night, and as mentioned above, visit Piscataway this Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Up one to ninth is Montgomery (4-1). The Cougars were 36-7 winners over Watchung Hills at home Friday night, and will host Linden (1-4) this Friday.

Old Bridge (4-1) remains in tenth, tied again this week, this time with Bridgewater-Raritan (4-1), which falls from sixth after a 33-14 loss at Ridge, without senior QB Declan Kurdyla, who missed the first of at least three games with a knee injury. He’ll be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the Panthers will host Elizabeth (2-3) Friday, while the Knights will play Super Football Conference opponent Morristown (2-3) at home this Friday night.

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While no one dropped out, a fourth team is now in the “Also Considered” category. Summit is still there at 5-0, with New Providence at 4-0 and Voorhees 4-1, while Ridge at 2-2 joins the fray. The Red Devils beat Bridgewater-Raritan this week, and their two losses have both come to unbeaten teams in the Top Ten: St. Joseph-Metuchen and Phillipsburg.

As for next week, Summit hosts Somerville (5-0) on Saturday, New Providence is at Middlesex (2-3), Voorhees hosts North Plainfield (2-2) and Ridge travels to Union (0-5).

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Four Top Ten:

Table displaying the Week Four Top Ten rankings for Central Jersey Sports Radio's Big Central Conference, including team names, records, and previous rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

More than four dozen NJ football teams remain undefeated as regular season reaches midpoint; Big Central has ten perfect squads left

They surely won’t all maintain their perfect records through the end of the regular season, as many will play each other in the coming weeks as we head toward Cutoff Weekend and the 2025 playoffs, but as we head into Week Four of play here in New Jersey, there were 49 teams still yet to see a blemish on their record. (There are now 48, as Dickinson of Jersey City took its first loss Thursday night.)

Ten of those teams are in the Big Central Conference, spanning small schools and big.

There are also now 18 undefeated teams in the Super Football Conference, as well as 13 in the West Jersey Football League, three in the Shore Conference and four in the NJIC. None of the handful of independents are undefeated.

Here’s a closer look at the undefeated teams in the Big Central, followed by a list of those remaining perfect, by division, around the rest of the state.

  • St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-0):  The Falcons are No. 8 in the Central Jersey Sports Radio/Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten. They host Westfield (2-2) Friday night before going to North Brunswick, then facing perhaps the most challenging stretch of their season: Phillipsburg home October 11th (LIVE in CJSR at 1 pm), at St. Thomas Aquinas on the 17th, and home to Woodbridge the Saturday of Cutoff Weekend. The Stateliners and Barrons are both undefeated, while Aquinas is 3-1 and has won 33 straight Big Central Conference games. (Correction: A previous version of this story had the St Joe’s-Westfield game on Saturday. It is Friday night)
  • Phillipsburg (3-0): The BCC’s first-ever true state finalist hasn’t skipped a beat despite losing some significant parts to graduation, and the No. 1 ranking is theirs until they decide they don’t want it anymore. Right now, they’re the class of the Big Central, even though there are some very good teams behind them. The Stateliners visit struggling Hillsborough (1-3) Saturday, and their biggest two tests likely will be the aforementioned October 11th game at St. Joe’s, and a Friday Cutoff Weekend matchup at home against Bridgewater-Raritan, which could have QB Declan Kurdyla back from a knee sprain by then.
  • Bridgewater-Raritan (4-0): Obviously, both the No. 6 Panthers and Stateliners won’t be able to run the table, since they’re division mates and will meet in a few weeks, but Bridgewater has looked very good. They’ll be tested Friday night at Ridge (1-2) in their first full game without Kurdyla, who’s out at least three weeks before he’ll be re-evaluated, which also includes a home game with Elizabeth next week and a road trip to Hillsborough on October 10th. And their regular season closes out at Maloney Stadium on the Friday night of Cutoff Weekend.
  • Spotswood (5-0): The Chargers played Thursday night, and remained perfect with a 34-3 shutout win over Highland Park. Next week, they get a much-improved Bound Brook team (3-1) at home before heading to Dayton and South Hunterdon, before closing it out with Roselle Park. Spotswood sat in 17th place in the South 2 playoff standings before the win over the Owls, which will help them. But if they can finish unbeaten, they’ll automatically be in the playoffs, regardless of where they stand. That’s a distinct possibility.
  • Manville (4-0): The Mustangs’ toughest remaining game might be Highland Park or Bound Brook, the first of which is home, the second of which is on the road, in the regular season finale. This week, it’s a trip to South Hunterdon (0-3). The Mustangs have allowed just six points all season – a touchdown in their opener at Keyport – but since then have pitched three straight shutouts and the defense has logged 14 consecutive scoreless quarters.

  • Woodbridge (4-0): The No. 2 Barrons lost a lot, too, but also seemingly haven’t missed a beat. They travel to Linden (1-3) this week for a Friday tilt, then host Perth Amboy, but the schedule gets decidedly tougher after that. They’ll be at No. 10 Montgomery, home to Summit (also considered for the Top Ten) and at No. 8 St. Joseph-Metuchen on Cutoff Weekend. They should be heading into that stretch at 6-0, but how will they come out of it?
  • Sayreville (4-0):  The Bombers have been very consistent all season. They scored between 26 and 28 points in three of their four games, and have allowed no more than 18 and no fewer than 14 points in that stretch, with wins over Colonia, Linden, Edison and Hillsborough. All but the Patriots are below .500 though, and after a home game with North Brunswick this week, the back-loaded schedule kicks in, with  trip to Piscatway next week (on CJSR) a road game at Franklin on October 10th, followed by home games the next two weeks against No. 10 Montgomery and No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas.
  • Bernards (4-0): The Mountaineers lost all-world defensive end Thomas Diemar to a season-ending injury in the Delaware Valley game two weeks ago, but they still beat Voorhees in a battle of unbeatens on the road last week, 31-21. This week, it’s JP Stevens (0-4) at home, and their toughest matchup should come against a very good Summit team on the road, Saturday October 17th. The Hilltoppers have a mobile QB, and the test will be if the remaining healthy defensive players can limit Alex Schwark.
  • Summit (4-0): They’re not in the same division as Bernards, so, again, only one of these teams can finish undefeated since they face each other head-to-head. But the Hilltoppers’ remaining schedule is more challenging. After facing a tough Cranford team (2-2) this Friday night up in Union County, they host Somerville the week before Bernards comes to Tatlock Field, and then have a road game at Woodbridge the week after. Big tests.
  • New Providence (4-0): The Pioneers’ have looked very good this year, with a shutoout last week at Metuchen and a 42-7 win at Governor Livingston in Week 1. They get Roselle (1-2) at home this week, then visit Middlesex before an out-of-conference game against Verona, a home game with Bound Brook, and the regular season finale at Delaware Valley. Will that schedule – even if they go unbeaten – allow them to hold on to one of the two top seeds in the North 1 supersection? They have it now, but for how long?

Here’s a look at the rest of the leagues in the state, and their unbeaten teams:

Super Football Conference

  • 4-0 Teams (12): St. Peter’s Prep, High Point, Dumont, Hanover Park, Northern Highlands, West Morris, Kinnelon, Hoboken, Old Tappan, Wayne Hills, St. Joseph-Montvale, Bergen Catholic
  • 3-0 Teams (6): East Orange, Fort Lee*, Belleville*, Mount Olive, Boonton, Don Bosco Prep

West Jersey Football League

  • 5-0 Teams (3): West Deptford, Paulsboro, Cherry Hill East
  • 4-0 Teams (8): Washington Twp., Rancocas Valley, Glassboro, Burlington Twp., Delran, Burlington City, Sterling, Holy Cross
  • 3-0 Teams (2): St. Joseph-Hammonton, Bishop Eustace

North Jersey Interscholastic Conference

  • 4-0 Teams (2): Wood-Ridge, Glen Rock
  • 3-0- Teams (2): Butler, Rutherford

Shore Conference

  • 4-0 Teams (2): Red Bank Catholic, Southern
  • 3-0 Teams (1): Holmdel
by Mike Pavlichko

Six unbeaten teams make the Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with Phillipsburg, Woodbridge, Bernards still 1-2-3; Sayreville joins

It was back to a sense of stability in the top half of the Week Three Bellamy & Son Paving high school football rankings, with the top six teams all staying put, and teams eight and nine moving up after wins. Undefeated Sayreville joins the fray this week, too with eleven teams ranked again for the second week in a row.

Phillipsburg (3-0) remains No. 1 after a 28-6 home win over Ridge, behind another solid defensive effort. The Stateliners visit Hillsborough (1-3) this Friday.

Holding at No. 2 is Woodbridge (4-0), which won it’s bragging rights game with Colonia, 34-21 at home on Friday night. The Barrons – who have won 13 straight regular season games dating back to lsat season’s opener – go to Linden (1-3) this Friday night.

In third is Bernards (4-0), which remains there after a 31-21 win at Voorhees, as the Mountaineers adjust to life without Thomas Diemar, their all-time sack leader, who injured his ACL and meniscus a week ago Friday in a win over Delaware Valley. Winners of 29 straight regular season games – the best in the state – and 27 straight in Big Central play – second-best in the league – Bernards hosts JP Stevens (0-4) Friday night.

St. Thomas Aquinas (3-1) holds in fourth. A 57-45 shootout home win over Franklin Friday night extends their Big Central record win streak to 33 games heading into Friday’s home game with Elizabeth (2-2).

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Holding in fifth is Somerville (3-1), which rebounded from its first loss of the season last week to then-unranked Montgomery with a 20-7 victory at Rahway Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers come back home to host Hillside (1-2) at Brooks Field Friday evening.

At six again this week is Bridgewater-Raritan (4-0), which was a 43-7 winner over then-7th-ranked Hunterdon Central Friday night in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. But starting QB Declan Kurdyla went down in the game with a leg injury, and his status for next week is unknown. The Panthers travel to Ridge (1-2) Friday night.

The next two teams both moved up a spot.

Piscataway (3-1) is up to seventh after a 16-8 win Saturday afternoon over a very tough Ridgewood squad, which employs the Wing-T offense. The Chiefs are at South Brunswick (2-2) Friday, and will have two transfers from St. Thomas Aquinas ready to play, in Josiah Zayas and Mickeye Simmons, who had to sit out 30 days due to NJSIAA transfer rules.

Up one to No. 8 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-0). The Falcons are 3-0 for the third time in four seasons under head coach Bill Tracy, following a 41-20 win Saturday afternoon over Elizabeth at Brenner Family Field. They visit Westfield (2-2) Saturday afternoon.

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New this week at No. 9 is Sayreville (4-0), which has beaten Colonia, Linden, Edison, and – last week – Hillsborough, 28-14, the third straight game the Bombers have allowed just 14 points. The Bombers are back in action Friday night at War Memorial Stadium when North Brunswick (0-4) comes to town.

And again this week, two teams are tied for tenth. Montgomery (3-1) held after a 24-8 win over North Hunterdon. While the Lions are 0-4, it was their first loss this season by more than eight points. The Cougars host Watchung Hills (2-2) this Friday night at the newly-named Zoran Milich Field.

Old Bridge (3-1) is the other team in tenth with Monty, rebounding off a loss to Piscataway with authority, picking up a 45-7 win over South Brunswick. This Friday, they’re at East Brunswick (1-3), which just got its first win last week for new head coach Zack Gega, a 36-25 victory at Monroe.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Three Top Ten:

Image of a table displaying the Week Three Top Ten rankings for the Big Central Conference, detailing team names, records, and previous rankings.

Dropping out this week was previous No. 7 Hunterdon Central (2-2), which lost its second straight game Friday, falling 43-7 at No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan.

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In the “Also Considered” category, Sayreville jumped into the Top Ten, while Voorhees (3-1) and Summit (4-0) remain, while New Providence is back in, too. The Vikings remain despite a loss to Bernards at home, 31-21 Friday, while the Hilltoppers won at Carteret Friday, 21-0, in the Ramblers first game back at Walt Overholt Stadium after summer renovations. New Providence (3-0) was a 30-0 winner at Metuchen on Saturday.