Tag: North Plainfield

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2025 Camp Caravan: Dunellen travels to nearby North Plainfield

Week two of the 2025 Big Central Camp Caravan continued Friday for Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst Marcus Borden. This time, it was a visit to Dunellen, where the Destroyers and first-year head coach Phlip McGuane welcomed in their neighbors from up the road, North Plainfield.

Below is video from the August 22, 2025 scrimmage at Columbia Park in Dunellen:

North Plainfield: Head Coach Derrick Eatman and seniors Alexander Kruszczynski (WR/RB/LB), Jhonnie Parker (MLB/DE), Julius King (WR/DB) and Luis Spagnuolo (RB/LB), as well as sophomore Anthony Costello (WR/DB).

Dunellen: Head Coach Phlip McGuane and seniors Kahbir Casey (FB/LB), Jackson Portik (TE/LB), Devyn DaSailva (HB/SS), Zahmir Dixon (OL/DL) and Jamael Davis (QB).

by Mike Pavlichko

2025 Big Central Preview: United Silver Division

Just like the Patriot Silver Division – which we previewed yesterday – the United Silver Division of the Big Central Conference also was defined by parity in 2024, for the most part.

Three teams shared in the division title, going 3-1, led by Governor Livingston, which was 5-5 overall, and should be right in the mix again this year.

South Plainfield has a solid defense, and JFK loses a good deal on defense, but also has much experience back. North Plainfield is coming off a 3-6 season, but also expecting to improve.

New Brunswick is another story, having gone winless in each of the last two seasons. But they have a new coach in Geoffrey Chrisman who seems poised to at least bring a new culture to the program, that hasn’t existed in a long time. The results may or may not show up in wins and losses, but it will be interesting to watch.

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

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

Mostly routs as all higher seeds win in GMC Muldowney Championship play-ins; First Round tourney matchups set for Monday

The full first round of the Greater Middlesex Conference Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament is set, as South River, Perth Amboy, North Plainfield, and Metuchen moved on with play-in round wins on Saturday afternoon.

Monday’s first round will feature all 16 remaining teams, with the winners moving on to Wednesday’s Quarterfinals at North Brunswick Community Park, where Central Jersey Sports Radio will have full coverage including play-by-play of two of those games.

(16) South River 13, (17) South Brunswick 1 (5 inn.)

Julius Rosado got the nod and went the distance, allowing just one hit and striking out eleven en route to a ten-run rule, five-inning win. Rosado also was two-for-three with two RBIs as the Rams worked out eleven walks against Viking pitchers. All but one South River batter scored a run in the game and four scored twice in two big innings; the Rams got seven across in the second and four in the sixth after South Brunswick got its only run in the top of the inning.

South River (13-5) now has won five straight and moves on to play at top-seed and Red Division champion Woodbridge Monday afternoon at 4:15. South Brunswick falls to 3-16.

(13) Metuchen 13, (20) South Amboy 0 (5 inn.)

The Bulldogs scored in all four innings in which they hit in a mercy rule-shortened game, getting one in the first and exploding for an eight-spot in the second before plating two more runs each in the third and fourth en route to the shutout. Junior Lucas Malamung went the distance in the win, scattering five hits and striking out six. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate, knocking in three runs, including a two-run single in the big second inning.

South Amboy fall to 5-12. Metuchen (14-6) snaps a three-game skid with the win, and moves on to visit four-seed East Brunswick Monday at 4:15 pm.

(14) North Plainfield 2, (19) JFK 0

The Canucks scrambled for one run apiece in the third and sixth innings to claw out a home win over the Mustangs at Krausche Field. Tommy Zotollo drove in the first run with a two-out double, scoring Victor Ceda, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple. The insurance run came in the sixth on an Iam Lameira double, scoring Zotollo. Meanwhile, starter Bennie Sokolowski went the distance, allowing just three hits in seven innings of work, striking out 12 in a whitewash of the Mustangs, who fall to 9-9.

North Plainfield (12-5) moves on to play at third-seed St. Thomas Aquinas in North Edison Monday at 4:00 Monday afternoon.

(15) Perth Amboy 10, (18) Carteret 0

The Panthers blew up for five runs in the second, for more in the fourth, and one more to walk it off in the sixth with a ten-run rule win over the Ramblers. Chris Rodriguez, Yendy Tomas each knocked in two runs for Perth Amboy, with Rodriguez going 4-for-4. Justin Foy threw six solid innings, needing only 78 pitches to get the win, striking out nine while walking none.

Carteret drops to 8-9 on the season. Perth Amboy (5-1) will visit second-seed South Plainfield Monday afternoon a 4:00.

Here’s the full schedule of First Round games Monday in the GMC Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament:

  • (16) South River at (1) Woodbridge, 4:15
  • (9) Monroe at (8) Spotswood, 4:00
  • (12) Sayreville at (5) St. Joseph-Metuchen, 4:00
  • (13) Metuchen at (4) East Brunswick, 4:15
  • (14) North Plainfield at (3) St. Thomas Aquinas, 4:00
  • (11) Edison at (6) Old Bridge, 4:00
  • (10) Middlesex at (7) Colonia, 4:00
  • (15) Perth Amboy at (2) South Plainfield, 4:00

by Mike Pavlichko

GMC Jim Muldowney Tournament Play-In Round Preview: Four games on tap Saturday

With the Greater Middlesex Conference seeding the Jim Muldowney Championship and Ray Cipperly Invitational on Friday – with Woodbridge getting the overall top seed – the Championship tourney will get underway Saturday with the play-in round, while the Invitational will kick off on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the four Saturday games in the Championship bracket, including a look ahead to who’s next. Scroll to the end for the first round Invitational matchups.

(17) South Brunswick (3-15) at (16) South River (12-5), 12 pm: This is the type of game that’s impossible to pick, a double-digit team from the Blue Division against a Red Division team with just three overall wins, and one in its own division. The Red has been competitive just about from top-to-bottom, with six of the eight teams cracking the ten-win mark, and besides South Brunswick, Monroe has eight victories. So, it’s tough to tell. Couple that with the fact that the Rams have one of the top pitchers in the league in Julius Rosado, who will be playing not far away at Rutgers next Spring. Does Mike Lepore throw him Saturday, since you have to win that game to advance? Does he save him for Monday’s first round against top-seed and GMC Red champion Woodbridge – in which he would give the South River a fighting chance – but risk not getting a win Saturday, leaving him on the table? Or does he start him, cap him at 50 pitches, allowing him to only take one-day rest, leaving him with 90 against the Barrons? Rosado has only thrown 90 or more pitches once this year, in a 4-3 win over JP Stevens on April 23rd, and he hasn’t thrown more than 25 in four appearances since. Maybe this is what they’ve been saving him for? The Vikings have struggled at the plate, hitting just .227 on the season, and only Timothy Christian (21) has scored fewer runs that South Brunswick, which has 49, as does North Brunswick (2-13). The winner travels to face the Barrons Monday.

(19) JFK (9-8) at (14) North Plainfield (10-5), 12 pm: Here’s two teams more on a par with each other in an all-Blue Division matchup. And this one could be a toss-up. Kennedy gotten some good pitching, but little run support. The workloads have gone to junior Myles Ulaky (1.83 ERA) and Grant Lorentzen, who has allowed just one earned run, four overall, all season in 36 1/3 innings pitched for a barely-noticeable 0.19 ERA. North Plainfield is on its first losing streak of the year – just two games – showing how solid a season they’ve had. The Canucks have gotten decent pitching – with a team ERA of just 2.23 – but they’re hitting just .204 on the year, with no single player batting better than .300 on the season. The winner goes to GMC White champ and third-seed St. Thomas Aquinas Monday.

(18) Carteret (8-8) at (15) Perth Amboy (4-10), 12 pm: Is the fact that the Panthers have just four wins in the white and the Ramblers eight wins in the Blue an equalizer? Sometimes, when comparing teams from different divisions, the GMC seeding committee considers what one team might do in the other division. Add in that this is a classic rivalry – their all-time football series having been the longest running in Middlesex County – and this should be a good one. Perth Amboy comes in strong. After a 3-10 start, the Panthers have won three straight: two over North Brunswick and one over South Brunswick. They scored just 12 runs on that eight game skid, but have scored an average of ten over the last three games, hitting .337 in that span. And it doesn’t matter the opponent, baseball people know hitting is contagious. Yet, the Ramblers will be a tougher opponent. Winners of five of their last seven, Carteret is hitting a healthy .283 and led by senior Eric Thompson, batting .370, while Joneil Martinez has knocked in a team-best 12 runs and is hitting .345 on the year. The winner goes to No. 2 South Plainfield Monday.

(20) South Amboy (5-11) at (13) Metuchen (13-6), 2 pm: It’s an all-Blue Division matchup between the sixth-place Governors and the pennant-winning Bulldogs. South Amboy is hitting .278 as a team, led by senior Benjamin Smith, batting .434, tied for a team-high in RBIs with Jeremy Vasquez, who also has five of the Guvs’ seven home runs. Pitching has been an issue, with a team ERA just over six, and no single pitcher lower than a 4.43 ERA. Metuchen is an interesting story. They were 11-2 before May first, but have lost four of their last five and three straight, although two of those losses came to Red Division foes in Edison (a 4-3 loss) and Monroe (a 7-2 defeat). Metuchen is the beat-hitting team of the eight in the play-in round (as well as the highest-seeded, so maybe they should be?) and has just a 2.62 team ERA, with a number of options to choose from on a staff that doesn’t have a single senior and is dominated by juniors. The winner gets four-seed East Brunswick on the road Monday.

GMC RAY CIPPERLY INVITATIONAL – 1st ROUND
TUESDAY, MAY 13

  • (9) Highland Park (3-13) at (8) Piscataway Magnet (8-8), 4 pm (Winner at (1) JP Stevens on Thursday)
  • (11) Timothy Christian (0-11) at (6) Dunellen (12-6), 4 pm (Winner at (3) East Brunswick Magnet on Thursday)
  • (10) Perth Amboy Magnet (3-11) at (7) Somerset Tech (7-6), 4 om (Winner at (2) North Brunswick on Thursday)
by Mike Pavlichko

Power Points Analysis: South, North Plainfield and Colonia still bunched up at the top of North 2, Group 3 standings

We’re exactly two weeks from the NJSIAA cutoff for the state playoffs – May 17th – and teams across the area continue to jockey for position in the standings. Here’s a closer look beyond the numbers at where teams stand and what their chances are, based on NJ.com’s official standings as of games played on May 2nd. For a full explanation of the new power point formula, click here.

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3: The same three teams that headed up this section last week are exactly where we left them standings-wise, but the lead is a little slimmer now. South Plainfield (12-5, 22.028) is first, while neighboring North Plainfield (10-4, 21.477) is second and Colonia (11-3, 21.038) is third. That’s 0.99 points separating the three, whereas last week the margin between them was a shade under four. All three are going to have to keep winning these final two weeks, and all would seem to have a shot at the top overall seed, plus the fourth-place team, Millburn, which is just 7-8, but has 20.778 power points.

One of the big developments here is that JFK made a big jump this week, despite just going 2-2 since our last update. Now 8-5 (17.754), the Mustangs jumped from seventh to fifth place, and while they’re a tinge more than three points out of the top four, they’d have to go on some kind of win streak to crack that group. And yet, they’re actually closer to falling out of the top eight than they are to making the top four. That’s because Somerville (7-6, 16.193) is about 1.6 points away, and still in ninth. They have a good shot to make the top eight if they finish strong.

The other big mover is Carteret, which soared from eleventh to seventh place this week, again, even on just a 2-2 week. The Ramblers are 7-9 with 16.46 points, but still could fall back to the bottom eight, so they also might need to finish strong to stay there.

by Mike Pavlichko

South River scores early and often to knock off GMC Blue leader North Plainfield, 7-0

About 15 minutes before game time, when asked how he felt about his team this year so far, veteran South River skipper Mike Lepore Jr. seemed happy overall, but noted his team has struggled sometimes against good pitching.

Well, on Friday afternoon, they faced North Plainfield starter Ian Lamiera – who was 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA coming into the game – and got five runs in the first two innings, all of them unearned, en route to a 7-0 win at first place North Plainfield in GMC Blue Division action.

It all started in the top of the first, when Jeremiah Sanchez reached on a throwing error by Lamiera, then Rutgers-bound senior Julius Rosado knocked him in from first with a double off the wall in left-centerfield. Rosado stole second, and after James Zsorey struck out, Travis Maloney knocked him with a sac fly to left to make it 2-0. That play would have been the third out of the inning, so both runs were unearned.

In the second, the Rams picked up three more runs, and – again – they were all unearned. Starting pitcher Brendan Lell led off with a single, and after a strikeout, Dylan Pasion was hit by a pitch and Sanchez walked to load the bases. Rosado struck out for the second out of the inning, and then Zsorey hit a ball to second that was booted into right field. It should have been the third out, but plated two more runs.

With first and third, Zsorey tried to steal second with Maloney at the plate. The throw didn’t get him, but Sanchez came in to steal home without a throw to make it 5-0.

At that point, Lamiera settled down a bit for the Canucks, not allowing another hit – and only three more base runners – through the end of the fifth.

The Rams got two more insurance runs off him in the sixth. Sebastian Deerson walked to lead off the inning, then after two strikeouts, North Plainfield intentionally walked Rosado. Zsorey came up and promptly hit a hard triple that plate both before Maloney grounded out to second to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Lell was cruising on the mound. He allowed two first-inning hits – the second an infield hit on a knuckler off the end of the bat that ended up like a good bunt down the third base line – but Lell got a strikeout and two flyouts on ten pitches to get out of the inning.

Otherwise, he scattered a few walks, but didn’t allow another hit until the sixth. The Canucks actually loaded the bases after a one-out single and a hit batter, then a pop foul, as DH Jake Six singled to fill the bags, but Luis Ceda grounded back to Lell to end the threat.

Lell took the mound in the seventh looking like he would finish the game. In the seventh, he struck out the nine hitter to lead it off, but then walked Mark Fultz and gave up a single to Victor Ceda. Lepore made a change, and brought in the hard-throwing Zsorey from first to pitch, and he got Davyn Ciriaco to ground into what looked like a double play to short, but the throw to second was too late. He then got Tommy Zotollo to ground back to him, ending the game.

Lamiera fell to 0-2 with the loss, while Lell improved to 3-1 on the season and brought his ERA from just over five to a 3.55. It was his first shutout performance through at least four innings since a five-inning, 12-0 complete game shutout over East Brunswick Magnet on May 5, 2023, his freshman season.

For the time being, the win knocks North Plainfield (8-3 overall) into second in the GMC Blue Division at 8-3, one full game behind Metuchen (8-2, 7-3 Blue), pending its game at Piscataway Friday afternoon. It also gets the Rams to 7-3 in the division (8-3 overall), but they remain in third by a half-game with a game in hand on the Canucks, but with one extra game than Metuchen pending that Piscataway result. (We’ll update this once that score is reported.)

The Rams have two losses already to Metuchen, but the Bulldogs have two losses against North Plainfield. South River will rematch with the Canucks at home on Monday afternoon at 4 pm.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen with junir starting pitcher Brenden Lell and head coach Mike Lepore Jr.:

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – GMCT Girls Semifinals: (1) St. Thomas Aquinas 108, (13) North Plainfield 46

Top-seed and five-time defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas got a team-high 29 points from Trista Whitney, along with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds from Leah Crosby, as the Trojans rolled past 13-seed North Plainfield, 108-46, in the GMC Tournament semifinals.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 18, 2025, from Monroe High School.

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas cruises past North Plainfield 108-46, will meet Monroe in Friday’s GMCT final

Straightforward and business-like. A well-oiled machine. Superb.

All of those adjectives could be used to describe the St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball team on just about any night in the cold months of winter, as they roll through the GMC schedule, seemingly year-after-year.

Tuesday night was yet another example, a typical Trojans game.

Top-seed St. Thomas Aquinas clinched its sixth straight trip to the GMC Tournament final with a 108-46 win over 13-seed North Plainfield, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, giving them a chance to go and win an unprecedented sixth straight GMC Tournament title.

They did it with everyone getting into the scoring column, and a lot of them juniors. Jordan Barnes scored 16. Trista Whitney led the way with 18. Leah Crosby – back from a year at Rutgers Prep – added 15. Sophomore Lauryn Downing had 14, including three treys, and senior Adrianna Summerset had 11. Senior Morgan Jottka came off the bench to score nine, all from beyond the arc.

This one was over fairly early. Aquinas built a 28-7 lead after one – North Plainfield briefly had a 3-2 lead – and the Trojans led 61-15 at the half.

In the second, both both teams having all their starters in, Aquinas head coach Tim Corrigan called off the defense, and the game got quite entertaining, with both teams throwing up wild threes and hitting them, some with sweet kisses off the glass, to the delight of those who remained all the way to the end.

Aquinas (21-6) will face second-seed Monroe in Friday night’s 6 pm final back at Monroe High School, a game that can be heard on CJSR, followed by the boys’ title game at 8. The Canucks fall to 8-17 with the loss.

Click below for postgame reaction from St. Thomas Aquinas junior Trista Whitney and head coach Tim Corrigan, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Tall task ahead for North Plainfield girls, as Canucks take on powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in GMCT semifinals

The St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball team is the No. 1 seed in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament for a reason, and it’s not just because they were the first place team in the Red Division.

They were, of course. They were the best team in the league by far all year, defeating fellow Red Division foes by an average of 45 points in 14 games, winning all of them. In fact, the Trojans haven’t lost to a GMC foe from any division since January 2022, a string of 65 straight games.

Now, it’s up to anyone to prove them wrong.

That’s the job that awaits North Plainfield Tuesday night, when the 13th-seeded Canucks (8-16, 4-10 in GMC Red, 7th place) take on Aquinas (20-6, 14-0, GMC Red Champs) in the second of two GMC Tournament semifinals at 7 pm.

You can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio – presented by the George Street Playhouse in downtown New Brunswick – with Mike Pavlichko and Vin Ebenau on the call, immediately following the 5 pm game between second-seed Monroe and third-seed Middlesex. Click here to listen.

North Plainfield’s big star is Layla Gutierrez, who’s averaging 14.8 points per game and leads the team in assists with 74. But there’s an up-and-comer right behind her in freshman Jordyn Patrick, who’s scoring 13.7 points per game, averaging 6.5 rebounds, and has a team best 74 steals.

But they’ve also had their share of injuries, leaving them without Amaliyah Jean-Louis, a 5′ 10″ sophomore averaging almost six rebounds per game, out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. And the status of Liaha Paynter (5.5 ppg) is also in question for the remainder of the season, though she won’t suit up Tuesday night either.

That’s not great news considering how deep St. Thomas is. The Trojans have won the last five county tournaments, and while they’ve done it as a young group in the past, they have even more experience now.

One big addition had been a subtraction the year before: Leah Crosby, who transferred after he sophomore year to Rutgers Prep, is back in North Edison, and leading the team with 16.5 points per game and 7.9 rebounds.

The rest reads like a laundry list of stars: Junior Trista Whitney (12.4 ppg), senior Gianna Chuffo (10.3 ppg, team-best 47 treys), and Jordan Barnes (9.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg). And there are four more players averaging at least five points a game.

North Plainfield coach Derek Eatman – in his third season, coinciding with the arrival of Gutierrez and the school’s move from the Skyland Conference to the GMC in 2022-23 – says defense will be the key, limiting STA’s possessions, if they can. They want to keep the score down.

Easier said than done, but that’s why they play the games.

The Canucks will be playing for their first-ever trip to a county final. Besides their first two years in the GMC, they never made the Somerset County Tournament final since the event moved to one tournament in the late ’80s.

Click below to hear previews with both head coaches:

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tim Corrigan
North Plainfield head coach Derrick Eatman