For the second week in a row, New Providence got three touchdown runs from senior quarterback T.J. Munn, as the second-seeded Pioneers beat third-seed Hasbrouck Heights 21-14 in the North 2, Group 1 sectional semifinals. New Providence will visit top-seed Cedar Grove next Friday night in its first trip to a sectional title game since 2010.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Max Scheiner call all the play-by-play live from Leiber Field in New Providence on November 8, 2024:
With eleven public schools from the Big Central Conference in action in the sectional semifinals of the state playoffs Friday night – and St. Thomas Aquinas winning its opening round game – it’s time for a bonus edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden!”
Mike and Coach Borden look back at all eleven sectional semifinals involving Big Central teams this weekend, as well as the Trojans and their non-public playoff opener against St. Mary-Rutherford, their first postseason victory since 2001.
Click below to listen to the Sectional Semifinal Playoff Bonus Edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:
Four Big Central Conference teams will play for sectional titles next week – the second-best showing in the league’s four-year playoff history (with no playoffs in its inaugural 2020 season due to COVID) – while Woodbridge suffered its first loss of the season and was knocked out of the playoffs.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas won its first playoff game in 23 years, crushing St. Mary-Rutherford in North Edison Friday night.
Here’s a look at Friday night’s action, and a projection ahead to next week’s sectional title games for Phillipsburg, Somerville, Bernards and New Providence.
Group 5
All four Big Central teams left in Group 5 were eliminated Friday night.
In the North 2 section, fourth-seed Bridgewater-Raritan got thumped by top-seed Union City – a heavy favorite to win the group – 61-10 on the rooftop up in Hudson County. The Panthers trailed 34-10 at the half before Union City scored 26 unanswered in the second half. Joe Squicciarini kicked a 44-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Nicholas DiEsso caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Declan Kurdyla in the same frame. Bridgewater finishes its season 4-7, while Union City (9-1) will go on to play host to third-seed Passaic Tech in the sectional finals. PCTI topped second-seed Elizabeth on the road, 35-26. The Minutemen countered every Bulldog punch through three quarters, trailing 22-20 heading into the fourth on two touchdown runs from Arique Fleming and a touchdown pass to Antoine Blount. But Passaic Tech outscored Elizabeth in the fourth for the win.
In North 1, Group 5, third-seed Piscataway was handled by second-seed West Orange, as the Mountaineers shut out the Chiefs 35-0. After a scoreless first quarter, West Orange put up 21 in the second quarter and added two more scores in the third. The Mounatineers (9-2) will host fourth-seed East Orange (8-2) in the final, after the Jaguars upset top-seed Ridgewood on the road, 14-3.
And in South Group 5, third-seed Hillsborough fell at second-seed Rancocas Valley, 35-30. Read the full recap with postgame audio from Raiders’ head coach Kevin Carty here. The Red Devils will visit top-seed Toms River North (11-0) next week; the Mariners escaped 5th-seed Kingsway Friday night, rallying from a 14-7 second quarter deficit to come out with a 21-14 win.
Group 4
Of the three Big Central teams left in Group 4, only Phillipsburg came out a winner. The top-seed in North 2, Group 4 beat fifth-seed Chatham 31-14, and will play host next Friday night in the title game to third-seed Northern Highlands, which handed second-seed Woodbridge its first loss of the season Friday night, 26-7.
Click here for the recap and postgame reaction from Phillipsburg’s win.
Click here to for the recap and postgame reaction from Northern Highlands’ win over Woodbridge.
Meanwhile, in North 1, Group 4, Ridge was knocked out in the sectional semifinals for the sixth year in a row, as the second-seeded Red Devils were knocked off by third-seed Ramapo at home, 28-27, ending their season at 8-2. Ridge led 20-7 at the half, and 27-14 after three, but Liam Hayward’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns – a 22-yard run and a 13-yard catch – proved to be the difference. Connor McLachlan threw a touchdown pass in defeat, while Aidan Stieglitz rushed for 187 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns. Ramapo will play the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal game in that section, which features fourth-seed Mount Olive at top-seed Morris Knolls in a 1 pm game.
Group 3
Somerville advanced to its first sectional final since 2019, as the top-seeded Pioneers topped Fourth-seed Ocean City 30-14 at Brooks Field. Click here for a recap and postgame reaction from head coach Matt Bloom. Somerville will host seventh-seed Delsea (4-6) Friday night at 7 at Brooks Field in the Central Jersey Group 3 title game; the Crusaders are one of three two-win teams to qualify for the playoffs this season, but changed offensive schemes to the wing-T about a month ago, rejuvenating the team.
Also in Group 3, in the North 2 section, fourth-seed Cranford fell at top-seed Old Tappan. Quarterback Zach Miceli had touchdown runs in the first and third quarters, while throwing a 14-yard TD strike in the second, to build a 22-0 lead. Cranford battled back in the fourth with a six-yard run from Amari Petgrave, and a 44-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery by Brandon DiPaolo, but it was not enough. The Cougars end their season at 7-3, while the Golden Knights (9-1) will host second-seed West Essex, a 28-14 winner over third-seed West Morris at home Friday night.
North 1, Group 2
For the first time in school history, Bernards is in the sectional finals back-to-back years. A year after winning its first sectional title in the playoff era – in three tries – the second-seeded Mountaineers topped third-seed Pequannock to reach the finals. Click here for a recap and postgame reaction from head coach Jon Simoneau. Also for the second year in a row, Bernards will host the final after an upset in the other semifinal, which saw fifth-seed Shabazz (8-2) shock top-seed Westwood on the road, 14-6. The final will be Friday at 7 pm.
North 2, Group 1
Second-seed New Providence clinched its first finals berth since 2010 – in its first sectional semi since 2011 – with a 21-14 home win over third-seed Hasbrouck Heights. The Pioneers got three touchdown runs from impossible-to-bring-down senior quarterback T.J. Munn. Click here for a recap and postgame video reaction, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen. The Pioneers will play at top-seed Cedar Grove (11-0) Friday night at 7 after the Panthers took out fourth-seed Verona – one of only two teams to beat New Providence this season – 42-14 in the other semifinal.
Non-Public Group B
The only non-public in the Big Central Conference in action Friday night was St. Thomas Aquinas, and the fifth-seeded Trojans left no doubt about their opening round game. With offensive coordinator Chris Young – the father of star back Chase Young – back on the sidelines after a weeks-long stay in the hospital, the Trojans blew out 12th-seed St. Mary-Rutherford in what very well may be one of the earliest running clocks this season. They put up 41 points in the first quarter alone en route to a 61-6 win. That puts them in the quarterfinals on the road next week against fourth-seed Holy Spirit down in Absecon. The Spartans were a 38-0 winner over 13th-seed Donovan Catholic Friday night in their opening round game.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Here are projected sectional title game matchups next week involving Big Central Conference schools, as well as the next round of non-public matchups. Dates and times are estimated based on earlier round game times and days, and may be subject to change.
North 2, Group 4
(3) Northern Highlands (6-4) at (1) Phillipsburg (9-1)
Friday at 7 pm
Central Group 3
(7) Delsea (4-6) at (1) Somerville (11-0)
Friday at 7 pm
North 1, Group 2
(5) Shabazz (8-2) at (2) Bernards (11-0)
Friday at 7 pm
North 2, Group 1
(2) New Providence (9-2) at (1) Cedar Grove (11-0)
Friday at 7 pm
Non-Public Group B
(8) Paul VI at (1) DePaul, Friday at 6 pm
(5) St. Thomas Aquinas at (4) Holy Spirit, Friday at 6 pm
(3) Paramus Catholic vs. (6) Pope John/(11) Camden Catholic, Friday at 7 pm
(10) St. John Vianney at (2) Red Bank Catholic, Friday at 7 pm
Non-Public Group A
(8) Seton Hall Prep at (1) Bergen Catholic, Saturday at 1 pm
(5) St. Peter’s Prep at (4) St. Joseph-Montvale, Saturday at 1 pm
(6) St. Augustine at (3) Delbarton, Saturday at 1 pm
(7) St. Joseph-Metuchen at (2) Don Bosco Prep, Friday at 7 pm
It’s early November, and the playoff field has been cut in half for the public schools, while a number of non-publics open up play this weekend.
Eleven Big Central public schools out of the 28 that made it are in action this weekend. Some like New Providence, and Ridge are looking for their first trip to a title game in a while, others like Phillipsburg, Cranford, Hillsborough have been there more recently.
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We’ve got the full schedule for Big Central Conference teams this weekend below, along with links to game previews of all teams playing in the sectional semifinals this weekend, and links to coverage.
North 2, Group 5
(4) Bridgewater-Raritan at (1) Union City, 7 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
(3) Passaic Tech at (2) Elizabeth, 6 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
North 1, Group 5
(3) Piscataway at (2) West Orange, 7 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
South Group 5
(3) Hillsborough at (2) Rancocas Valley, 6 pm Friday (PREVIEW). (Follow Vin Ebenau on Twitter for updates)
North 1, Group 4
(3) Ramapo at (2) Ridge, 7 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
North 2, Group 4
(5) Chatham at (1) Phillipsburg, 7 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
(3) Northern Highlands at (2) Woodbridge, 6 pm Friday (PREVIEW) (Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates)
North 2, Group 3
(4) Cranford at (1) Old Tappan, 6 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
Central Group 3
(4) Ocean City at (1) Somerville, 7 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
North 1, Group 2
(3) Pequannock at (2) Bernards, 7 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
North 2, Group 1
(3) Hasbrouck Heights at (2) New Providence, 6 pm Friday (PREVIEW) (LISTEN LIVE on CJSR)
Non-Public B
(12) St. Mary-Rutherford at (5) St. Thomas Aquinas, 6 pm Friday (PREVIEW)
The NJSIAA state playoffs are in the semifinals for public schools – with the field of 160 slashed in half to 80 and we talk about it this week on “Gameday with Marcus Borden!”
Mike and Coach Borden preview all eleven sectional semifinals involving Big Central Conference teams this weekend, as well as St. Thomas Aquinas and their non-public playoff opener against St. Mary-Rutherford.
Click below to listen to the Sectional Semifinal Playoff Edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:
It’s been a minute since New Providence has played for a state title, but they’re a win away from getting that opportunity.
And if this week’s North 2, Group 1 semifinal game for the second-seeded Pioneers (8-2) against third-seed Hasbrouck Heights (7-2) goes anything like last week’s opening round playoff game, they will get that chance.
New Providence scored seven touchdowns last week, three off turnovers, never punted, and reached the end zone every single possession except for the two that ended each half. They won the turnover battle (+3) and their quarterback T.J. Munn and starting runningback A.J. Whitehead chewed up yard after yard in a 49-24 win over Boonton Saturday afternoon.
You can hear that game as our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, with kickoff at 6:00 Friday night and pregame at 5:45 pm. Mike Pavlichko will be on the call with analyst Max Scheiner; click here to listen.
Munn has thrown for just 528 yards this year as the Pioneers focus on the ground game, where he’s second on the team in rushing with 925 yards to Whitehead, who leads the team with 971 yards on the ground, along with 12 touchdowns. Munn has rushed for a team-best 13 TDs.
The Avaiators, meanwhile, are even more focused on the run game, throwing for barely 800 yards as a team while rolling off almost 2,400 yards on the ground. Defensively, they have a beast defensive end in Joseph Russo, who’s tallied an eye-popping 13 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Eoin Maloney (pronounced “Owen”) and Nico Nipitella each have three interceptions on the year.
New Providence last made the finals in 2010, finishing 11-1 and winning the North 2, Group 1 title with a 21-8 win over Lincoln under the legendary Frank Bottone. The program’s founder, Bottone retired after that game; he passed away in 2017.
Click below to hear previews of Friday’s game from both coaches:
The playoffs are underway! Just eleven public schools remain from the Big Central, with the two non-publics – St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph-Metuchen – now seeded as well.
CJSR veteran reporter Mike Pavlichko takes a look back at the opening round, and a look ahead to the public sectional semifinals – on this week’s edition of “The Big Central in Two Minutes!”
Click below to listen to this week’s edition of “The Big Central in Two Minutes”:
Two Big Central Conference teams advanced, and two were knocked out in Saturday high school football playoff action.
Piscataway looked like the Chiefs of old, dominating the ground game in the second half en route to a 42-13 win over Bayonne in the North 1, Group 5 opening round. James Bodley rushed for 185 yards on 20 carries, with two touchdowns, a fumble recovery for a score and an 85-yard kick return for a touchdown. It was the Chiefs’ first playoff win since 2018.
New Providence kept it on the ground almost exclusively, and picked up a 49-24 win over Boonton in North 2, Group 1 action. The Pioneers got three touchdown runs and a TD pass from quarterback TJ Munn, who also had a pick on defense to set up another score.
North 1, Group 4
Eighth-seed Colonia saw its season come to an end with a 43-13 loss at top-seed Morris Knolls. It was nearly all Golden Eagles in the first half, as they got their first touchdown in the opening quarter, then scored three more in the second to take a 29-0 lead before Colonia’s Julien Jones caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Chiera to make it 29-7 at the break. Knolls got two more third quarter touchdowns before Chiera hooked up with Jones again in the fourth.
Morris Knolls (9-0) now will entertain fourth-seed Mount Olive (6-3) next weekend in the semifinals, with the winner getting either second-seed Ridge or third-seed Ramapo in the sectional final.
South Group 1
Sixth-seed Manville opened the scoring Saturday morning in an early 11 am start at third-seed Paulsboro, but it was mainly all Red Raiders after that. Kevin Villegas booted a 29-yard field goal in the first quarter, but Paulsboro got the next three scores to close the half with a 22-3, and added another in the third quarter. Naquavere Thomas caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Josh D’Ambrosio for the other score for Manville, which finishes its season 7-3. The Mustangs were the only Big Central team in that section.
Here are next week’s matchups in all five public groups. Start times are based on this week’s matchups, where applicable, and are Friday at 7 pm unless otherwise noted. Central Jersey Sports Radio will announce coverage plans this coming week.
North 2, Group 5
(4) Bridgewater-Raritan at (1) Union City
(3) Passaic Tech at (2) Elizabeth
North 1, Group 5
(4) East Orange at (1) Ridgewood
(3) Piscataway at (2) West Orange
Central Group 5
(4) Southern at (1) Washington Twp., 6 pm Friday
(6) Cherokee at (3) Atlantic City, 6 pm Friday
South Group 5
(4) Howell at (1) Toms River North, 6 pm Friday
(3) Hillsborough at (2) Rancocas Valley, 6 pm Friday
North 1, Group 4
(4) Mount Olive at (1) Morris Knolls, Saturday 1 pm
(3) Ramapo at (2) Ridge
North 2, Group 4
(5) Chatham at (1) Phillipsburg
(3) Northern Highlands at (2) Woodbridge, 6 pm Friday
Central Group 4
(4) Marlboro at (1) Millville, 6 pm Friday
(6) Jackson Memorial at (2) Brick Memorial, 6 pm Friday
South Group 4
(4) Manalapan at (1) Winslow, 1 pm Saturday
(3 Shawnee at (2) Middletown North
North 1, Group 3
(4) Montville at (1) Pascack Valley
(7) River Dell at (3) Passaic Valley, 6:30 pm Friday
North 2, Group 3
(4) Cranford at (1) Old Tappan, 6 pm Friday
(3) West Morris at (2) West Essex, 6:30 pm Friday
Central Group 3
(4) Ocean City at (1) Somerville
(7) Delsea at (3) Cedar Creek, 6 pm Friday
South Group 3
(4) Seneca at (1) Hopewell Valley, 6 pm Friday
(3) Holmdel at (2) Mainland, 6 pm Friday
North 1, Group 2
(5) Shabazz at (1) Westwood
(3) Pequannock at (2) Bernards
North 2, Group 2
(4) High Point at (1) Glen Rock, 6 pm Friday
(3) Ramsey at (2) Hanover Park
Central Group 2
(4) Delran at (1) Rumson-Fair Haven
(3) Haddonfield at (2) Wall
South Group 2
(5) Willingboro at (1) Camden, 6 pm Friday
(3) Manchester Twp. at (2) Pt. Pleasant Boro
North 1, Group 1
(4) Glen Ridge at (1) Butler
(3) Mountain Lakes at (2) New Milford
North 2, Group 1
(4) Verona at (1) Cedar Grove
(3) Hasbrouck Heights at (2) New Providence, Friday (time TBA)
Central Group 1
(5) Pennsville at (1) Woodstown
(6) Woodbury at (2) Shore
South Group 1
(5) Riverside at (1) Glassboro, 6 pm Friday
(3) Paulsboro at (2) Schalick, 6 pm Friday
Senior quarterback T.J. Munn ran for 231 yards on 12 carries, scoring three touchdowns, threw for another and hand an interception that helped salt away their 49-24 playoff win over Boonton Saturday in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 opening round.
The performance has the second-seeded Pioneers (8-2) a win away from their first berth in a sectional final in 14 years, as they’ll take on third-seed Hasbrouck Heights (6-2) out of the NJIC next Friday night in the semifinals, with game time to be determined.
Boonton won the toss and deferred, and New Providence took the ball, a move that paid off, as the Pioneers scored first and had the Bombers playing catch up all afternoon.
New Providence kicked off the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown from A.J. Whitehead on the game’s opening drive. Boonton answered with a nearly ten-minute drive that spanned into the second quarter, settling for a 26-yard field goal.
The Pioneers added another score on their next drive, a 24-yard TD run by TJ Munn. The Bombers then answered with another long drive, this time finding the end zone, with Josiah Chapman hitting paydirt from six yards out.
With a 14-10 halftime lead, Boonton got the ball first, but fumbled at their own 29 on a pitch play, and just three plays later, Whitehead scored his second touchdown of the game – from six yards out – to make it 21-10. Boonton answered on a one-yard run by Metin Ahmedi, but the Pioneers came right back with a four-play drive that ended with Munn’s 45-yard run to the end zone, making it 28-17.
The Bombers came back again in the early fourth quarter, and scored on a 29-yard TD pass from Ahmedi to Sylas White, but New Providence would get the next three scores to finish off Boonton.
Munn hit Mike Petses for a 29-yard score with 8:20 to go, then off another fumble, Munn went 66-yards for his third TD of the day, and on the next Boonton possession, he picked off Ahmedi and set up an 11-yard Petses run to make the final 49-24.
Click below for postgame reaction from Mike Pavlichko in New Providence, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
With the high school football playoffs beginning this week, it’s time for one of our most popular stories of the year: a look at who will be sitting on a bus for a long ride down to South Jersey. But, hey, we’re not just looking at our Big Central teams’ gas money here; some deep South Jersey teams have to come up here, too!
This didn’t happen much pre-2019, when the NJSIAA had teams in geographical sections, but when the UPR formula was instituted and the state was split into North and South supersections in each group, and teams assigned to sections based on seed rather than location. (Actually, the changes began in 2018, but that first year, teams were slotted by Northing number.)
And travel is more of an issue in the southern part of the state than in North Jersey. If you split the state in the middle, the North would have many more teams, but in the interest of balance, the line shifts higher, meaning the Central and South playoff sections have the same number of teams, but cover a wider geographical area.
These trips may not be long enough to watch “Gone With the Wind” – with a three hour, 58 minute running time – but with traffic, they’ll take a while. We looked at each trip on Google Maps at 10 am, when traffic is generally light, so expect to add some more time for those Friday afternoon trips!
Hunterdon Central at Washington Twp, 6 pm Friday (1 hour, 29 minutes, 75.8 miles): This is the longest trip for a Big Central team in terms of time, but still six minutes less than last year’s longest first-round Big Central trip, which saw Johnson with a one-hour, 33-minute trip to Pleasantville, near Atlantic City. The Red Devils would take Route 31 down to I-295 to the Philly area, then cut further south. They can shave five minutes off by cutting through Pennsylvania on I-95, but at rush hour? Not advisable. And who’s paying the EZ Pass to cross the bridge at Yardley?
Manville at Paulsboro, 11 am Saturday (1 hour, 23 minutes – 72.7 miles): The Mustangs will be at their school at 7 am to board the bus for this one; that’s an early wake-up call on SAT day, where many teams are playing at 2 pm. This is a trip down I-295 to play Paulsboro, which is just south of Philadephia. It’s the second-longest Big Central trip in terms of time.
Hillside at Haddonfield, 7 pm Friday (1 hour, 17 minutes – 79 miles): A bit shorter than Manville’s sojourn to Paulsboro, this is the longest trip by miles for a Big Central team, taking the Turnpike town to play the Bulldawgs. But let’s ask an honest question: how is the second-northernmost Big Central school in South Jersey? The answer, of course, is there are way more Group 2 schools up North than down South, so there’s a big skew. For comparison’s sake, Summit – the northernmost school in the BCC – is in the North. (More on them in a bit.)
The rest of the Big Central teams on the road all generally have travel times of about an hour or less, but some teams coming up to this neck of the woods have long rides, too.
Absegami at Somerville, 7 pm Friday (1 hour, 37 minutes – 107 miles): This looks like the longest trip in the state to us: Absegami will be riding 107 miles up the Parkway to I-287 to play at Brooks Field, a ride that, in rush-hour on a Friday, is more likely to take two hours. The 14 miles they’ll have to travel on 287 might take a half-hour alone at that point. The Pioneers had one of the longest trips in the league last year, going down to Seneca for a first round game that was “only” 64.6 miles away, but an hour-and-33 minutes. This time, they get to roll in from home.
And who’s got the shortest trip?
Summit at Cranford, 7 pm Friday (22 minutes – 8 miles): It’s a hop-skip-and-a-jump for Summit as the Hilltoppers and Cranford rematch their regular season contest, which Summit won 21-7 at home back on September 28th. Doesn’t everyone wish they could be this close? Montclair visits neighboring East Orange Campus, just 4.3 miles apart, but that’s not even the closest trip. In North 2, Group 1, Wood-Ridge could easily walk the 1.5 miles to Hasbrouck Heights!!
