Tag: Phillipsburg

November 6, 2025November 5, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Veteran Colonia heads out to Phillipsburg for first meeting in a decade, with trip to North 2, Group 4 finals on the line

Last week, under the lights on a cold night in a do-or-die playoff game at Ridge, every time Colonia needed to make a play, a senior stepped up and delivered.

Down 6-0 early and back on defense in the second quarter, senior R.J. Wortman’s pick-six helped give Colonia its first lead. Down 13-7 late in the first half, senior Julien Jones rumbled in from six yards out to tie the game just before the break.

Then, on the first drive of the second half, Wortman caught a short touchdown pass from senior quarterback Dylan Chiera to put Colonia ahead 20-13. Even when Ridge scored again early in the fourth quarter, senior Harsimran Mann blocked his second extra point of the night to keep the Patriots ahead, 20-19.

With Ridge driving to win late in the fourth quarter, it was Julien Jones again leading the charge on a fourth down stop on Colonia’s own 29-yard line to seal the deal.

Senior, senior, senior, senior.

The result: a 20-19 road win over the fourth-seeded Red Devils in the first round of the North 2, Group 4 playoffs and a date with top-seeded Phillipsburg Friday night in an all-Big Central sectional semifinal.

The Stateliners will present all types of challenges. For one, it’s an hour-plus bus ride west for Colonia on Friday afternoon. For another, Phillipsburg is 8-1, ranked 2nd in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, and their only loss is to No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen.

Last year, the Stateliners captured the North 2, Group 4 title over Northern Highlands on a 46-yard field goal by Alexie Moreira – who’s back this year – as time expired. Colonia head coach Tom Roarty called Phillipsburg “a top-five team in the state every year.”

At this stage of the season, though, experience is everything. And Colonia has it in droves. Dylan Chiera has thrown for over 2,185 yards and 22 touchdowns. R.J. Wortman has over 1,160 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns. Julien Jones has 6 touchdowns on offense and 8 sacks on defense. Harsimran Mann, George Simpson, and Yisrael Custudio all have double-digit tackles for loss. All are seniors.

“Now we’re 7-3, but our three losses are to Sayreville, Woodbridge, and Old Bridge. They’re all in the second round of the playoffs, too,” said Colonia’s 13th-year head coach Tom Roarty. “I told the kids ‘Why not us?’ We have to believe we’re a good team and we’re just as good as anybody that we play.”

The senior-laden Patriots will have a huge opportunity to prove it and advance Friday night at Phillipsburg in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. You can hear the game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with pregame at 6:45 and kickoff at 7:00. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will be on the call; click here to listen.

It’ll be the first meeting between the schools since they faced each other in the semifinals of this very same section in 2015, a 28-13 Colonia loss. They also played the year before in the finals at Rutgers, with the Patriots falling in overtime, 28-21, when a fourth-down pass play fell short of the line-to-gain.

Click below to hear Colonia head coach Tom Roarty preview the game with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Justin Sontupe:

November 6, 2025November 5, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg seeking fourth straight sectional final bid when Colonia comes to Maloney Friday

Discipline. Ignore the Noise. Grit.

Every team has a slogan, a manta, and this is Phillipsburg’s.

D.I.G.

Perhaps more than most teams in the state, that middle part may be the most important for the Stateliners.

They are the equivalent of a Michigan, a Southern Cal, an Alabama. It doesn’t matter the coach or the players, they are football royalty. They could be 0-8, but a win over them is to be celebrated. They are a name program.

Of course, they’re never 0-8. (Well, they’ve only lost that many games four times since their inaugural season in 1899!) But one thing Phillipsburg gets is a lot of attention, whether it be around town, or in the press. And there’s a lot of press that “follows” Phillipsburg. Not just covers them a few times a year. Follows them.

Tuning it all out is a process, ingrained in Phillipsburg football early on. Focus on the game, all the rest will take care of itself.

And that will be no different this Friday, when the top-seeded Stateliners (8-1) take on five-seed Colonia (7-3) at Maloney Stadium in Phillipsburg in the North 2, Group 4 finals. And the ‘Liners will be looking to make it to their fourth straight sectional final, after falling in the North 2, Group 5 final in 2022 and 2023, then beating Northern Highlands last year on a field goal as time expired by Alexie Moreira to win North 2, Group 4.

You can hear the defending sectional champions and the Patriots do battle here on Central Jersey Sports Radio, in our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Kickoff is at 7, but Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe join you from Maloney at 6:45 with the pregame show; click here to listen.

Phillipsburg is coming off a 55-14 blowout win over 8th-seed Newark Central, a team that was overmatched in every facet of the game last week, despite being a six-win team out of the Super Football Conference. Head coach Frank Duffy was emptying the bench early in the second quarter.

And while that certainly was the sportsmanlike thing to do, it wasn’t without its advantages for the Stateliners, as Duffy and his staff got to evaluate his backups and third-team under the lights in live game action. That’s something that happens often around these parts, and its one reason this year’s team is as successful as it is, considering the graduation losses of players like Jett Genovese, Felix Matos, and Matthew Scerbo, Jr., the most decorated receiver in ‘Liner history.

Against Colonia, they will be challenged. This is a Patriot team that knocked off fourth-seed Ridge, 20-19, last Friday night in the opening round, thanks in large part to Harsimran Mann, who blocked not one, but two extra points, in a game the Pats won by one.

Click below to hear Phillipsburg head coach Frank Duffy talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the Stateliners’ playoff matchup with Colonia:

October 31, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Both Big Central top-seeds advance, as Bridgewater-Raritan cruises past Linden, Phillipsburg blows out Newark Central; Woodbridge, Montgomery and Colonia also win in North 2, Group 4

The two Big Central Conference teams that earned top-seeds in the NJSIAA playoffs this season both won their opening round games handily Friday night.

Phillipsburg – the top overall seed in North Group 4 – won its first round game in the North 2, Group 4 section, blowing out eight-seed Newark Central at home, 55-14.

And Bridgewater-Raritan – the No. 1 seed in North 2, Group 5 – was a 35-6 winner over eight-seed Linden at Basilone Field.

Denzel Amoafo opened the scoring for the Panthers not even four minutes in with a 32-yard touchdown run, then after a Linden fumble late in the quarter, QB Declan Kurdyla scampered for 18 yards to make it 13-0. He then hit tight end Jack Cifuentes from six out, then ran another in from 17 to make it 28-0 with 5:52 to go before the half.

One more touchdown pass – eleven yards to Mikey Bratus – made it 35-0 at the break, a deficit the Tigers could not recover from, though they would get two second half scores with the running clock in effect for the final 24 minutes.

Bridgewater-Raritan (7-3) will host fourth-seed Union City (6-3) Friday night. The Soaring Eagles – who beat the Panthers 61-10 in the same round last year up at their place – edged five-seed Irvington at home Friday night, 21-14.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with head coach DJ Catalano and senior quarterback Declan Kurdyla, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

Meanwhile, out at Maloney Stadium, it was all Phillipsburg in this one, as the top-seeded Stateliners scored the game’s first seven touchdowns en route to a 55-14 win. Tyler Wargo scored twice on runs of five and eight yards, while Eddie O’Neill had a two-yard fumble return for a TD, and three others scored in the first half, including a Xavier Campbell-Graham 57-yard run, a six-yard run by Sincere Gilmer and a two-yard fumble return by Elian Cuevas.

Gilmer had a late 50-yard TD run in the fourth, while Thomas LaBella had a 14-yard run in the third quarter.

The Stateliners (8-1) will play fifth-seed Colonia (7-3) next week at home in one semifinal, after the Patriots topped Ridge, 20-19 on the road.

That game was a back-and-forth affair, with no one down by more than a touchdown throughout. After a scoreless first quarter, each team scored twice in the second to make it a 13-13 game at the half.

Jack Donley scored on a 44-yard touchdown for Ridge (5-4) to open the scoring, but the kick was blocked by Harsimran Mann. RJ Wortman answered with a 22-yard pick-six, Nick Pfenning got it back for the Red Devils on a seven-yard run, while Julien Jones tied it with a six-yard run, which also saw a blocked kick.

In the third quarter, Wortman scored again, this time on a four-yard run, and with a few minutes left in the game, Lenny Paolilo got Ridge within one with a 14-yard touchdown run that capped a long drive. But Mann came up big again, blocking the extra point.

“The second one was the biggest one I’ve ever seen,” said head coach Tom Roarty.

Click below for postgame reaction from Colonia head coach Tom Roarty with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

The other semifinal in North 2, Group 4 will feature second-seed Woodbridge (8-2) against third-seed Montgomery (7-3), a rematch of a game from three weeks ago that the Barrons won 41-31 in Somerset County. Second-seed Woodbridge topped seventh-seed Rahway (6-4), 21-7, while Montgomery was a 32-10 home winner over sixth-seed Westfield (4-6).

October 31, 2025October 31, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

The playoffs are here! More than two dozen Big Central public schools open postseason play this weekend, with 20 games on tap. Here’s Part One of our preview on Groups 4 and 5

It’s time for the playoffs!

We got through opening weekend in the sweltering heat of the late dog days of August. We didn’t really have much of a fall, but the weather mostly nice. And Cutoff Weekend last weekend saw some teams sweating it out, some disappointed, and others rewarded for their play during the season.

Now, it’s time to get it all going!

Here’s Central Jersey Sports Radio’s look at all the playoff games involving BCC schools this weekend, section by section in Groups 4 and 5, including game dates and times. Games are Friday, except where noted.

Find our preview of Group 1, 2 and 3 schools will by clicking this link.

NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 5:

#8 Linden (3-6) at #1 Bridgewater-Raritan (6-3), 6pm: The Panthers, after making the playoffs out of a strong division with no more than four wins each of the last three seasons, broke through in Year Three under the young, energetic DJ Catalano as head coach. And they survived two games without QB Declan Kurdyla, a Rutgers lacrosse committ whose season it was thought might be over after a lower body (knee) injury against Hunterdon Central in Game Four. It turned out to be not as serious as originally thought, and he was back three weeks later. A win over Piscataway – a two-seed in the same section – may have been their best of the year. As for Linden, Mark Ciccotelli’s took over for Al Chiola, and the Tigers struggled a bit out of the box, starting 0-3, and going 1-5 through their first six. But they won two of their last three, beating Perth Amboy and Carteret, then lost by one to a super-talented, if inconsistent Plainfield team last weekend. Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for updates and we’ll have video postgame reaction late Friday night.
#6 Bayonne (6-3) at #3 Elizabeth (5-4), 6 pm: When you have a three-year starter like the dynamic Arique Fleming in quarterback – a three-year starter who’s still only a junior – you have to like the Minutemen and their chances. After a 2-1 start, they lost three straight, but have won three in a row over Morristown, Watchung Hills and Union, the win over the Warriors – on the road – being the most impressive. But Bayonne comes in hot, too. The Bees won just one of their first four games, but have reeled off five straight coming into the playoffs. But that one win they had early? It came over Elizabeth, 26-21, at Williams Field. Can the Minutemen return the favor?
#7 Plainfield (4-5) at #2 Piscataway (7-2), Saturday 1 pm: This is our Saturday “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Click here to listen, with pregame starting at 12:45. The Chiefs are looking like their old selves again, that is, a team that’s capable of winning a championship, even if they have to clean up some penalties and miscues. They and Plainfield both have talent over the field. Landon Pernell can get the ball to receivers like Josiah Zayas, who came back to the program from St. Thomas Aquinas, and Zaire Young can do things on the ground. Devin Thomas – the Plainfield quarterback is dynamic, having thrown for over 2,000 yard – with 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions – and leading the team in rushing at 466 yards. This is going to be a game with a lot of big plays. Read our full preview and hear from both head coaches at the link.

CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP 5:

#5 Hillsborough (4-5) at #4 Rancocas Valley (5-4), Saturday 12 pm: This is a tough draw for the Raiders, being on the road, but they’re also familiar with the West Jersey Football League, playing fellow Group 5 squad Washington Twp. in the Battle at the Beach down at Rowan back in August. That 43-12 loss came to a team that was 9-0, but don’t discount the Red Devils, even though they’re “just” 5-4. They have a run-heavy attack led by Jameer Bellamy (864 yards, 11 TDs), and have a sophomore in Michael Beasley and a junior in David Ogunsola who have combined for 22 1/2 of the team’s 29 sacks this year. Hillsborough will have to protect senior QB Devon Khurana – who already played the early part of the season with a broken pinkie – and will be challenged to get thousand-yard rusher Andrew Schwarz the numbers they’d like. Fun fact: This will be the third “Red Devils” opponent for the Raiders this year, who lost 28-7 to Ridge, but beat Hunterdon Central in Flemington last week, 33-8.
#6 Freehold Twp. (5-4) at #3 Old Bridge (8-1), Saturday 6 pm: The Knights have one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the area in Brody Nugent, the senior QB who has thorwn for 1,811 yards and 15 touchdowns, while rushing for a team-best 799 yards and 15 more scores. He’s a points machine for a team that has been perfect in the six games since they lost 28-21 at Piscataway on September 12th, a full month-and-a-half ago. Freehold Township had won three straight before falling to Manalapan last week. A pass-heavy offense that has thrown for nearly 2,000 yards between two quarterbacks could make this a very entertaining game, indeed.
#7 Trenton (6-3) at #2 Sayrveille (8-1), 7 pm: The Bombers rebounded from a 43-15 loss to Montgomery two weeks ago with a 33-26 win over St. Thomas Aquinas that ended their Big Central-record 35-game winning streak. Shaun Jackson has been the offensive weapon all season long, with 1,650 yards and 20 touchdowns on 162 carries. Almost on the nose, he touches the ball a little more than every other play. The Tornadoes have a more balanced attack, with junior QB Keith Williams throwing for 1,210 yards, and have won three straight coming in. This will be the Bombers’ first opponent from Mercer County since 2008, when they beat West Windsor-Plainsboro South in the Central Jersey Group 4 semifinals, before losing in the title game to Brick Memorial.

NORTH JERSEY, SECTION 2, GROUP 4:

#8 Newark Central (6-3) at #1 Phillipsburg (7-1), 7 pm: The Stateliners get to defend their North 2, Group 4 title, and the beginning of theat defense starts with an explosive Blue Devil club out of Newark. They have a sophomore quarterback who has thrown for almost 1,400 yards in Zahyir Taylor, but while he’s thrown 14 touchdown passes, he’s also been prone to throwing picks, with nine on the season. This is a very balanced attack, but Central doesn’t play nearly the schedule Phillipsburg does. They are still humming along even after a 21-0 loss at St. Joseph-Metuchen a couple of weeks ago, with another sophomore QB in Dominic Bracco playing traffic cop with the ground game, which has reeled off nearly 2,300 yards and 30 touchdowns this season.
#5 Colonia (6-3) at #4 Ridge: (5-3), 7 pm: This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, and both have had fine seasons. The Patriots had won four straight before a Cutoff Weekend loss to Old Bridge, but it’s also been the most comfortable Cutoff Weekend Colonia has had in the last few years, since they had a playoff berth already locked up coming in. It’s a solid senior group that has put up big numbers through the air, with Dylan Chiera tossing for 1,971 yards and 21 TDs with just two picks all season, and favorite target RJ Wortman already over a thousand-yards receiving. Ridge will need to keep an eye on Julien Jones, who has racked up nine of the team’s 19 sacks on the season. Ridge also had won four in a row before falling to Westfield last week This will be Colonia’s passing game against the Red Devils’ ground attack, which has amassed 1,802 yards on the season. They’ve run it 334 times compared to 114 passing plays. Oh, and their defense can get after it, too. They have five picks, one for a touchdown.
#6 Westfield at #3 Montgomery, 7 pm: The last meeting between these schools was ten years ago, as the schools finished a home-and-home that saw the Cougars win in 2014, the Blue Devils in 2015. That being distant history, the Cougars are a bit banged up right now after the Rahway game, in which senior QB Jack Kristjanson went down with what appeared to be a lower leg injury late in the game after a sack. They’ve got some big wins, over Somerville and Sayrville, and in overtime in their opener against a solid 7-2 Hopewell Valley squad. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, are looking for their first back-to-back wins of an up-and-down season. But if they can play like they did against Ridge last week, when they netted a 14-7 upset win at home – their first win over the Blue Devils since 2017 – they can pull this one off. Senior Jordan Walsh is the reigning Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week, coming up with big plays late in that win.
#7 Rahway (6-3) at #2 Woodbridge (7-2), 6 pm: The side story here is that this is the “Russo Bowl.” Rahway head coach Brian Russo is a Woodbridge grad, won a state title there, coached there, and his son, Sean, is a senior wide receiver for Joe Goerge. The main storyline here is: this should be one damn good football game. The Indians were physical in a 28-7 upset win over No. 3 Montgomery last Friday night, a win that got them in the playoffs, and senior Andrew Avent – who’s now the school’s all-time rushing leader at 4,395 career yards and 79 overall touchdowns – can change the game in a hurry. But they can get to the quarterback, too, with the defense coming up with at least four sacks last week alone. The Barrons have been one of the best teams in the Big Central the last two years, with just one regular season loss, that coming to St. Joe’s a couple of weeks ago. Joshua Allen is also a great back; the senior has gone for 1,355 yards and 18 scores this season. Can they limit Rahway on the scoreboard? Though the Barrons have pitched two shutouts, those came against Union and Perth Amboy. But the rest of the schedule has all scored at least 18 points against them in every game.

October 25, 2025October 25, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Cutoff Weekend Friday Playoff Update – Group 4: Phillipsburg claims overall top seed, seven Big Central teams will be in North 2, Group 4

With Friday night’s Cutoff Weekend high school football games all in the books, Central Jersey Sports Radio is updating the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings as we head into Saturday action.

We’ll have further analysis late morning into the afternoon Saturday, with our 2025 “Playoff Projection Show” scheduled for 6 pm where we give our bracket projections. The full tournament for the public schools will be unveiled on Sunday by the NJSIAA via Gridiron New Jersey. We’ll have them shortly after. The brackets become official at noon on Monday.

NORTH GROUP 4

Phillipsburg got the best-case scenario, even if we didn’t think this would be the result. Not only did they beat Bridgewater-Raritan at Maloney Stadium – and we figured a Mount Olive loss would get them to two, but not one, even with a Northern Highlands loss – they both took defeats Friday night, and it appears the Stateliners will get the overall No. 1 seed, and be the top-seed in North 2, Group 4 as a result, a chance to defend last year’s sectional title, won over Northern Highlands on a field goal by Alexie Moreira as time expired.
A lot of teams juggled around here, as Montgomery‘s loss to Rahway dropped them back to eighth, while Woodbridge ticked up one spot to sixth, and they still have to play. They get undefeated multiplier St. Joseph-Metuchen on the road Saturday. They would get 70% for a loss to a Group D multiplier, but all the teams between them and Phillipsburg will be in North 1 Group 4, while the Barrons will be in North 2. So we think they max out at two in the section, and likely stay there.
Ridge held in 9th and Westfield fell one to 15th, but they play Saturday at Kehler Stadium at 1 pm. We think they’re in, as even a loss to a good Ridge team and a Hackensack win wouldn’t knock them out.

Despite a loss to Old Bridge, the Knights are strong, and Colonia pulled up from 11 to 10 in the supersection, but even with a Ridge loss, the Red Devils wouldn’t drop below the Patriots.
Rahway clinched a playoff berth with its 28-7 win over Montgomery Friday night, heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. They went from a shaky 16 to a solid 13 in the supersection.
With not many changes expected at the bottom, we think the field is mostly set, and it’s just a matter of the order. Right now, it looks like seven of the eight Big Central teams here will be in the North 2, Group 4 section, currently ordered with Phillipsburg at the top, followed by Woodbridge, Montgomery, Ridge, Colonia, Rahway, Newark Central and Westfield.

SOUTH GROUP 4

No Big Central teams here, but Winslow and Brick Memorial both won and remain Nos. 1 and 2, which should be how they finish, since all the top teams played Friday. Hamilton is the only team in the running that hasn’t played yet, but at 17 – and with Princeton ineligible due to DQs – they just have to finish 17th to get in. They visit Ewing Saturday.

October 22, 2025October 22, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

Cutoff Weekend Group 4 Playoff Update: Phillipsburg in play for a top-seed in North 2 section packed with Big Central squads; Rahway and Watchung Hills face “play-in” games

It’s Cutoff Weekend in New Jersey high school football, and we’re taking a look at the playoff scenarios for every Big Central team in contention.

This week, Strength Index values are locked in, and out-of-state opponent SI values also have been updated by Gridiron New Jersey, which does all the official calculations of the NJ UPR formula for the NJSIAA. And we’ve double- and triple-checked our own standings to make sure they match with Gridiron’s.

We’ll have another update to the standings after Friday night’s games – yes, there are Thursday games, but none in the BCC, and we’ll only update if there are significant changes.

And, of course, Central Jersey Sports Radio will have its annual “Playoff Projection Show,” airing LIVE on Saturday at 6 pm. Mike Pavlichko hosts with analyst Marcus Borden, and they’ll run through all the projected brackets. Plus, you’ll hear from some of the league’s coaches as well.

Here’s our breakdown of the Group 4 supersections. We won’t be getting into how the brackets look just yet, but we’ll do that with our update after Friday night’s Week 8 action. Click the supersection header to see the official standings on Gridiron New Jersey.

NORTH GROUP 4

This is a very difficult supersection to nail down since there are a ton of Big Central teams here, just about every other team from three on down, with Phillipsburg there, Montgomery fifth, Woodbridge at seven, Ridge at nine, and Colonia 11th, with Westfield at 15 and Rahway at 16 heading into Cutoff Weekend. And the teams are tightly packed, too. There are so many ways this can go, with each team dependent on several others above and below them. We could very well end up with six or seven teams from the Big Central in North 2, Group 4, once it all shakes out by geography, so there’s a very good chance we get sectional champion here from the BCC.

Phillipsburg: Phillipsburg (6-1) has a tough one Friday night at Maloney as Bridgewater-Raritan (6-2) comes in, with Declan Kurdyla now playing his third game back at QB after suffering an injury earlier this season against Hunterdon Central. A win could get them the top seed if No. 2 Mount Olive loses, even if No. 1 Northern Highlands wins. But, they would not get it the other way around, with a win, a Highlands loss and a Mount Olive win. They need help to get there. And if both those teams above them lose, they could end up No. 1 overall with some other help. A loss, and the Stateliners dip to four, and could fall even further back if Montgomery wins at Rahway.
Montgomery: The Cougars (6-2) visit Rahway (5-3) in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving Friday night at 7, with major playoff implications for both. If the Montgomery can win, and they get help from above, like losses from Phillipsburg and Ramapo, they can get as high as third overall, which would give them a two-seed in North 2, Group 4, guaranteeing home games for at least the first two rounds, into the semifinals. A loss could drop them to eight or lower overall, unless they get some help from the teams around them.
Woodbridge: With a win by the Barrons (7-1) at St. Joseph-Metuchen (7-0), Woodbridge could vault as high as fourth, but probably not any higher. But the Falcons are a multiplier, which is worth 70 percent of the SI value instead of 50 percent. That means a loss – on its own – keeps them at seven. We think, at the very least, Woodbridge is a two- or three-seed in North 2, Group 4.
Ridge: The Red Devils (5-2) are at Westfield (3-5) Saturday, and with the Blue Devils being a middle-of-the road team in terms of power points and SI, a win or loss doesn’t bump Ridge too far up or down. They should stay in the middle of the pack of 16 here, and likely begin the playoffs on the road; they’d have to pass Montgomery, but as we talked about, even a loss doesn’t kill the Cougars too much, so Ridge is a bit limited in where it can move. Should be a road team in the first round.
Colonia: The Patriots (6-2) should be in the playoffs regardless of what they do at Old Bridge (7-1) Friday night, since the Knights are a strong team SI-wise, and still give Colonia six power points even for a loss (their seventh win came in their eighth game, and only the first seven count for residuals). A win would be gargantuan, potentially moving them up to nine overall, and maybe higher if some things break their particular way, and they could even jump Ridge. With a loss, depending on the teams behind them, they likely won’t drop more than a spot or two, but even that might not move them in the North 2, Group 4 section.
Westfield: A loss to Ridge likely doesn’t hurt the Blue Devils too much, since the Red Devils are 5-2 and highly-rated in terms of SI. A win could pull them up to 12. We think they’re likely a seven seed – definitely a bottom four, first-round road team – in North 2 Group 4 unless some other games affect it.
Rahway: In the game we have on the air Friday night, the Indians (5-3) host Montgomery (6-2), and a win on its own gets them all the way up to 11th place. We don’t think there’s a way enough teams could pass them to knock them out, so we’ll call this a “play-in” for Rahway. But that also means if they lose, they’re probably out. They’d fall to 20 regardless of any other games, and would probably need a lot of help. It;s not impossible, they’d just need everything to break right ahead of them.
JFK: We tried a lot of numbers, but we think even if the Mustangs (6-2) beat South Plainfield (4-4) they can only get to 17 with a lot of help. It’s possible there’s a way, and it might be clearer after Friday night.
Watchung Hills: Don’t count out the Warriors (3-5), even though they start the weekend in 22nd place. Somerville is one of the top 35 SI teams in the state and has seven wins, so it’s a big jackpot if Watchung Hills can come up with a win. That may be easier said than done, but a victory could get them as high as 13 if things break right. We’re not sure if it’s a lock that they get in with a win, as they could still finish around 15 or 16, and if they finish 16 to Rahway’s 17, the Indians have the tiebreaker on head-to-head. But that’s if everything breaks wrong. Good chance they’re in with a win

October 20, 2025October 19, 2025 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.

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.

October 18, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: No. 7 Somerville 48, Plainfield 20

In a Big Central Conference crossover game, the No. 7 Somerville Pioneers got three touchdown runs from Adian Vesuvio-Bush – from nine, one and 77 yards – en route to a 48-20 win over the visiting Plainfield Cardinals.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the play-by-play live from Brooks Field in Somerville, NJ, on October 17, 2025:

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October 13, 2025October 11, 2025 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).

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.

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.

October 12, 2025October 11, 2025 by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen 21, No. 1 Phillipsburg 0

In a Big Central Conference crossover game – and a battle of undefeated teams – No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen got two touchdowns from Michael Willett III and a solid defensive effort in a 21-0 win over visiting No. 1 Phillipsburg.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Max Scheiner call all the play-by-play live from Brenner Family Field in Metuchen, NJ, October 11, 2025:

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