Tag: Rahway

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY:  Rahway 28, No. 3 Montgomery 7

Rahway made it a three-way split for the Liberty Silver Division title in the Big Central as the Indians got three touchdown passes to three different receivers from senior quarterback Jaquan Robinson, en route to a 28-7 victory over No. 3 Montgomery.

Logo for Bellamy & Son Paving, promoting the Big Central Game of the Week, featuring bold text in red and yellow colors.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino call all the play-by-play live from Madden Field in Rahway, NJ, on October 24, 2025:

1st Half
2nd Half
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

A colorful table displaying the standings for high school football teams in North Group 4, including team names, wins, losses, points average, and rankings.
  • 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

Table displaying the standings for South Group 4 high school football teams, including win-loss records and performance metrics.
  • 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.
by Mike Pavlichko

No. 3 Montgomery, looking to finish strong in bounceback season, visits Rahway as Indians need “play in” win

For the fans, and yes, some of the coaches, Cutoff Weekend is about more than the football game itself.

You still may have to go out and win a game. Few teams are locked in like they used to be when we used just regular old power points. But everyone wants to know where they can finish, who they might play, and if they’re going to get a home game or not.

So, Friday night’s league matchup – where No. 3 Montgomery (6-2) visits Rahway (5-3) in the Bellamy & Son Paving “Big Central Game of the Week” on Central Jersey Sports Radio – has a lot more meaning to it than just what goes on out there on the field.

The Cougars are having a big bounce-back year, after an 8-1-1 senior-heavy team in 2023 gave way to a 1-9 season last year.

With many of the same players – like QB/WR tandem Jack Kristjanson and favorite target Trey McFadden – and the elevation of Offensive Coordinator Sean Carty to head coach – the Cougars are having another fine year, and have beaten two top-ten teams. Earlier in the season it was Somerville, last week it was undefeated Sayreville. (Uh-oh! What if they played Millville in a Group 4 final??)

As for their playoff standing, a win locks up a home game, a loss could leave it in doubt.

As for Rahway, it’s fairly simple. Win and get in. Lose, and it’s time to get the rosary beads, rabbit’s foot, and lucky dice while watching the scoreboard, because they would likely need an immense amount of help to get in, if it’s even possible.

But when you have a guy like Andrew Avent at runningback, who’s gone for over 4,000 yards in his career and now owns the single-season rushing and career total touchdowns and total points records, you have a shot in just about any game on the schedule.

Ah yes, this is life on Cutoff Weekend, however, and any team would love to be playing meaningful football in late October.

Both teams are in the North Group 4 supersection, and will land in the North 2, Group 4 section, when seeding is sorted by geography.

You can hear Friday night’s game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino calling all the action. Kickoff is at 7:00 from the Madden Sports Complex in Rahway, with pregame at 6:45. Bookmark this link to listen.

Click below for preview interviews with both head coaches:

Montgomery head coach Sean Carty with Dom Savino
Rahway head coach Brian Russo with Mike Pavlichko
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

by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Big Central Roundup: Rahway’s Andrew Avent shatters school, personal rushing marks in 41-6 win at New Brunswick; Belvidere also comes up a winner on light afternoon

After a busy night with a number of critical results on Friday night in the Big Central, things cooled down a little bit – the calm before the storm of Cutoff Weekend – with just two games on the docket.

One of them was a historic occasion, indeed.

Rahway 41, New Brunswick 6…

Senior Andrew Avent set three Rahway football program records in a 41-6 win at New Brunswick that was over pretty early at Memorial Stadium.

On just nine carries, Avent ran for 240 yards and four touchdowns against the Zebras. Personally, he topped 4,000 yards for his career, now with 1,520 yards over 37 games across four varsity seasons. That’s also a single-season best for Avent.

And then there are the school marks:

  • Avent’s 1,520 yards this season is five over the school’s single-season record of 1,515 set by Harold “Butchie” Young in 1981. That team finished 8-1-2.
  • With four TDs Saturday, Avent now has 54 total career touchdowns, and he’s now one better than the mark of 51 overall set by Joe Williams. Avent also has once receiving touchdown, and another on defense.,
  • With the 24 points scored by Avent Saturday, he’s now got 330 in his career a dozen more than the 318 scored by Williams.

Williams played for Rahway from 1956 through 1957, with the team going 21-4 in that span, including 8-0 in 1958, when they were declared North 2, Group 3 champions by the NJSIAA – in the days before the playoffs – with 630 points in the Colliton system.

As for the 2025 team, Rahway sat in 16th place in North Group 4 after Friday’s results, and it’s unclear yet – at least until all scores are reported – if they’ll dip further (since New Brunswick remains winless with an SI under 25) or move up.

Either way, it likely sets up a “play in” type of situation for Rahway next Friday, when they host ranked Montgomery at Madden Field for a 7 pm kickoff. Central Jersey Sports Radio will broadcast the game live, with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino on the call. Bookmark this link to listen live!

Click hear to listen to Rahway senior Andrew Avent talk about his record-setting day with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

In the only game of the day involving a Big Central Conference school, Belvidere beat North Warren at home, 22-12, to improve to 4-4 on the season.

FRIDAY’S GAMES:

  • No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen 41, No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas 19 (coverage from Marcus Borden)
  • Summit 10, No. 2 Woodbridge 7 (recap with audio)
  • No. 4 Phillipsburg 42, Union 0
  • No. 10 Montgomery 41, No. 5 Sayreville 15 (recap with audio)
  • No. 6 Bernards 35, Governor Livingston 7
  • No. 7 Somerville 40, Plainfield 28 (recap with audio)
  • No. 8 Piscataway 21, Hillsborough 7
  • No. 9 Old Bridge 45, Hunterdon Central 29
  • Franklin 40, Monroe 22
  • Bridgewater-Raritan 28, Westfield 7
  • Colonia 40, Cranford 15
  • JFK 42, Middlesex 0
  • Roselle Park 49, JP Stevens 6
  • New Providence 49, Bound Brook 3
  • Perth Amboy 34, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 14
  • East Brunswick 13, North Hunterdon 10
  • Ridge 57, North Brunswick 20
  • Elizabeth 28, Watchung Hills 14
  • Delaware Valley 21, Roselle 18
  • Spotswood 41, South Hunterdon 8
  • Dayton 48, Dunellen 0
  • Voorhees 6, Hillside 0
  • Manville 48, Highland Park 14
  • AL Johnson 36, North Plainfield 0
  • Linden 27, Carteret 10

by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Week 3

As the high school football season in New Jersey rolls on, the games – and the stakes – get bigger, so let’s talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden!

Mike and Marcus look back at the week gone by, including No. 1 Phillipsburg’s continued success, Bernard’s loss of Thomas Diemar to a season-ending injury, and Roselle’s thrilling win over Metuchen on a wild TD catch by junior Raekwon Anderson.

Also on the show, Mike and Marcus discuss look ahead to key Week Three games, including Coach Borden’s visit to Sayreville Friday night – where the Bombers host a Hillsborough team that needs a win – and our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, featuring No. 7 Hunterdon Central at No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan, Plus, a look at the “bragging rights” game between Colonia and No. 2 Woodbridge, as well as No. 5 Somerville at Rahway!

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils preseason Big Central Conference Top Ten: Mainstays mostly remain, while newcomers will have to earn it

This was an easy Top Ten to figure out, but it wasn’t. Probably even more than the 13 teams presented here – ten ranked, three “also being considered” – will be in and out of the rankings all season.

For now, the 2025 preseason Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten features many of the same teams in the final 2024 rankings, with one exception. And the few we have on the outside looking in could be just as worthy as anyone else, but we’ll leave it like that for now, and see if they can earn their way in.

After all, it’s not where you start the season – everyone is undefeated on August 25th – but where you finish.

So if the team you root for – or the team you play on – isn’t here, go get some of those dubs, and the rankings will take care of themselves.

And now, the preseason Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Top Ten for 2025:

Just like those “also being considered” will have to earn their way in, the top spot is Phillipsburg‘s to lose. The Stateliners finished last year 11-3, and though they didn’t win their division, they did win the North 2, Group 4 title, and became the first Big Central team to make the state finals, in its third season of existence in 2024. Gone are some big names – Jett Genovese, Felix Matos, Matthew Scerbo, Jr. – but they have plenty left, and that’s not even counting the newcomers. P’burg doesn’t rebuild, they just reload.

The next couple of teams lost a lot, too. That starts with No. 2 Somerville, which went 12-1 last year – with an undefeated regular season – and won the Central Jersey Group 3 title as well as the Liberty Silver Division flag. But like the ‘Liners, they also lose some huge talent in Brenden Pacheco, Terrell Mitchell and Brady Scheier. But this is an excellent coaching staff, and the teams behind them that were their peers last year are in much of the same boat.

Woodbridge remains at No. 3 to start the year, after a 10-1 campaign, a perfect regular season, and a Liberty Gold Division title. The Anderson twins – Derek and Bryan – are gone, but there are still experienced players on the roster, and now Joe Goerge – in his second year as head coach – will run more option than he did last year, when he deftly sprinkled it into an offense that already was running well, and just got better.

Bernards went 11-1 last year and also had a perfect regular season; they won the Patriot Gold Division and made the North 1, Group 2 finals. This program is humming along right now, and like the others, loses some key pieces, but has some big ones back, too – including the school’s sack leader, Thomas Diemar. Opposing quarterbacks better stock up on ice.

St. Thomas Aquinas has the longest active win streak against Big Central competition – 31 games, while Bernards is No. 2 at 23 – but has a new coach and lost some key players to transfer, and drops one spot to No. 5. Still, the defending National Silver Division champs should be very good, and new mentor Shamir Bearfield – out of St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City – has an outgoing attitude that should work well in North Edison.

Ridge holds at No. 6 after an 8-2 year in which they beat Phillipsburg in the regular season, and wound up winning the American Silver Division. Andy West stepped down as head coach after the season, and fellow alum Jeff Sutherland takes over. Gone is bulldog rusher Adian Stieglitz – also a great baseball pitcher – but Ridge also is a well-oiled machine, and they could stick around in the rankings much of the year.

The winner of last year’s tongue-in-cheek “OMG! He’s Back Another Year” award was Andrew Avent, who this year officially becomes a four-year starter at runningback for Rahway. Last year, he was six carries shy of 200, logging 1,412 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Indians check in at No. 7 this year, and could very well make some noise.

Piscataway finished 7-4 last season, and is looking to take one more step up this year, and maybe take home a championship for the first time since their 13-0 season in 2018, when they won the North Group 5 “bowl game” over Ridgewood. With a number of returnees back – and the addition of Josiah Zayas, who has transferred back to his hometown school from St. Thomas Aquinas, but will have to sit the first few weeks – the Chiefs could just do it.

Old Bridge is the only team in the preseason rankings that didn’t finish there last year. But the Knights have high expectations with senior quarterback Brody Nugent returning, and word on the street is this could be a big year for them. We’re not the only one who thinks so, so we’ve put them in at No. 9.

And then, a smaller school at No. 10: New Providence. The Pioneers were 9-3 last season and finished strong, reaching the North 2, Group 1 finals. While exciting dual-threat quarterback T.J. Munn is gone, star runningback A.J. Whitehead and there’s plenty of talent on the roster from a team that put up a lot of points last year, and also turned in some solid defensive efforts.

Here’s the complete 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central preseason Top Ten:

As for the teams “also considered,” Hillsborough (7-4) finished at No. 9 last year, but loses the player who broke all kinds of records no one ever thought would fall. Jackson Jankowicz, winner of last year’s “Unbreakable Record” award. He topped Shawn Mayer’s rushing TD record of 24, and tied Tommy Amankwaa’s record of 30 total touchdowns in a single season. Head coach Sean Carty – who also coached Amankwaa, and his brothers, said last December, “I thought that might stand forever.” Bottom line: Jankowicz is tough to replace, and the Raiders may be very good. So, right now, they’re being considered.

Cranford (7-3) also had a very solid year, and will lose some key parts, but they always tend to have some good line play, and top runningback Gabe Worrell rushed for over 800 yards last year – as a sophomore! The Cougars made the North 2, Group 3 semifinals last year; we’ll see if they can climb even higher.

And St. Joseph-Metuchen may have finished just 5-5 last year, but they started out hot at 5-0. Things took a turn after a mid-season road loss at Phillipsburg, and just never recovered. But Bill Tracy is a solid coach, and some late-season injuries didn’t help either. Justin Scaramuzzo threw for 1,953 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior last year. He’s back, and we think the Falcons will finish stronger in 2025.

by Mike Pavlichko

2025 Big Central Preview: Liberty Silver Division

The Big Central Conference Liberty Division should be an interesting one this year.

Somerville won the division in 2024, en route to a program record 12 wins and a Central Jersey Group 3 title. But many key guys are gone, and the Pioneers will need the next crop of seniors to step up.

Challenging them will be Rahway, which also lost some key pieces (who doesn’t?) from a team that gave up just 115 points in ten games last season, the second lowest total in the Big Central.

Then there are three teams who all could improve this year. Watchung Hills was 5-5 overall in 2024, but always is a tough out. North Hunterdon – which won a sectional title in 2022, then lost nearly everyone to graduation, and saw their coach step down – went from winless to a 4-5 season in ’24 under second-year head coach Ben Ibach.

And in Montgomery, offensive coordinator-turned-head coach Sean Carty takes the reins from Zoran Milich, who retired in the off-season, and is looking at a bounceback year after a senior-laden 2023 campaign.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Marcus Borden’s 2025 Camp Caravan: Quad scrimmage with Carteret, North Brunswick and Rahway at Colonia High School

Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst Marcus Borden kicked off Week Two of his 2025 Big Central Camp Caravan with a visit to a quad scrimmage at Colonia, which also featured Carteret, North Brunswick and Rahway.

Below is a list of teams, players and coaches from the August 18, 2025 quad scrimmage at Colonia:

Carteret: Head Coach Kevin Freeman, senior Ronelle Nimneh-Gilbert (RB/TE/LB) and junior Nick Gomm (TE/MLB)

Colonia: Head Coach Tom Roarty, seniors Rynal “RJ” Wortman (WR/DB), Julien Jones (LB/ATH), and George Simpson (RB/SS), junior Dylan Chiera (QB)

North Brunswick: Head Coach Mike Cipot, seniors Zach Cipot (QB/LB), Reddrick Robinson (OL/DL), and Ruhan Sriram (OL/DL), junior Sal Fama-Linn (WR/DB)

Rahway: Head Coach Brian Russo, seniors Andrew Avent (RB/LB), Ryan Gourdet (OL/DL), Syncier Toussaint (WR/DB) and Ziare Fields (WR/DB), juniors Jalen Eastman (TE/DE), Jaquan Robinson (QB), Jyvon Cooper (RB/LB/ATH) and Triston Driscal (WR/DB)