Tag: Robert Swercheck

by Mike Pavlichko

Middlesex seeking first playoff win in seven years when Woodbury visits from South Jersey Friday

The last time the Middlesex football team won a playoff game, they won three in one year, capping an 11-1 season in 2017, and bringing home the Central Jersey Group 1 title. It was their fifth playoff championship in five finals berths.

That was under PJ Jankowicz, who is now helping out at Hillsborough, where his son is the star, senior runningback for the Raiders.

Two coaches later, North Brunswick alum Bobby Swercheck has the Blue Jays (6-3) positioned as the three-seed in Central Jersey Group 1, where they will take on sixth-seed Woodbury (3-5) out of the West Jersey Football League in the opening round Friday night.

It’s the Big Central Game of the Week, presented by Bellamy and Son Paving, with kickoff slated for 7 pm, and pregame at 6:45 with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe. Click here to listen, with no paywall!

The Blue Jays have quietly put together a solid year. While everyone pays attention to the Somervilles, Woodbridges and Bernards of the world, Swercheck has led a solid group through his first season here in 2024.

The focus has mainly been on the ground game, and Middlesex has a senior QB in Dom Parenti who can “run the rock.” Dom Parenti is the team’s leading rusher at 758 yards on 109 carries and 13 touchdowns, but he can also throw it, and accurately, too. He’s 39-for-81 with ten touchdowns, and has thrown just one interception all year.

Defensively, Middlesex has given up some points in the last few weeks. After holding Roselle Park, South Hunterdon and Dunellen to single digit scoring in the first half of the season, they have allowed 94 points in their last four games, something they’ll need to clamp down on to have success in the postseason.

The best win on Middlesex’s resume came against Manville, a 27-14 win over the Mustangs, who finished 7-2. Woodbury has beaten Penns Grove (2-7), Gateway (4-5) and Salem (0-9); they’re 0-5 against teams with .500 or better records.

Click below to hear Middlesex head coach Robert Swercheck talk about the Blue Jay’s 2024 season, and Friday’s matchup with Woodbury:

by Mike Pavlichko

Parenti, Jarvis help Middlesex to 42-8 home win over Roselle Park as Swercheck gets first W

Coming off a tough 14-6 loss at Metuchen in its opening game of the season, Middlesex used a steady diet of Dom Parenti and Jax Jarvis to cruise to a 42-8 home win over Roselle Park Thursday night, earning new head coach Robert Swercheck his first victory with the Blue Jays.

Middlesex scored early and often. Parenti scored on touchdown runs of 91 yards and one yard, while throwing a TD pass to Sean Downes, to make it 20-0 Jays after one quarter.

In the second, the third time was a charm for Jarvis – who had had two touchdowns called back – as he picked up a 50-yard TD reception on a screen pass, and a two-point conversion made it 28-0. Then Parenti threw another TD strike to make it 35-0, putting the running clock in play for the second half.

New this year is a change to the NJSIAA running clock rule, which no longer goes back to normal, no matter how close the game gets.

It didn’t get much closer. Jarvis ran for another score from nine yards out with 4:36 to go in the third to make it 42-0, while Roselle Park added a late score and two-point conversion to make the final 42-8.

Middlesex improves to 1-1, while Roselle Park dropped its season-opener.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with the victorious Middlesex Blue Jays, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Swercheck approved by Middlesex Board of Ed to replace McGuane as Blue Jays football coach, following cancer diagnosis

This one’s not part of the coaching carousel that’s already been in motion, from Woodbridge to South Brunswick to Roselle, but it may have started a new one.

Robert Swercheck has been named the new head football coach at Middlesex High School, coming over from Scotch Plains-Fanwood. His hiring was approved Wednesday evening by the Board of Education.

He takes over for Phlip McGuane, who was 11-8 in his two years at Middlesex. McGuane, however, was recently diagnosed with cancer, and Athletic Director Mike O’Donnell says though he’s feeling fine, McGuane didn’t know how he would respond to potential treatments during the year, and wanted to make sure the football program was in good hands.

Swercheck had been working under Austin Holman last year, when Holman abruptly stepped down. Swercheck became interim head coach in mid-September, with the Raiders 1-3. They went 2-4 the rest of the way to finish 3-7, with wins in their last two games against JFK and South Plainfield.

Swercheck is a North Brunswick alum who played defensive tackle and tight end for the Raiders, and was later an assistant there prior to the arrival of current head coach Mike Cipot, who coached him there as an assistant under Mark Zielinski in 2007.

He later played at Kean and was a freshman on the 2009 team that 9-2 and was the ECAC Southwest Bowl Champions, as well as a junior on the 2011 team that was 10-2, NJAC Champions, and made the second round of the NCAA Division 3 Tournament.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with new Middlesex football coach Robert Swercheck:

by Mike Pavlichko

North Brunswick alum Swercheck poised to take over as interim football coach at Scotch Plains-Fanwood after Holman resignation

On Monday, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood gymnastics team squeaked out a the narrowest of wins over Hillsborough.

Tuesday afternoon, the boys’ soccer team dominated state-ranked No. 8 Delran in a 4-0 win.

There was some good news around the high school this week, that’s for sure.

On the other side, football head coach Austin Holman officially resigned Tuesday evening, paving the way for assistant Bobby Swercheck to be named the interim head coach. That’s expected to be made official at the Board of Education’s regularly scheduled meeting this Wednesday night.

Swercheck’s name first appeared on Tuesday afternoon in the space for the head coach’s name on Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s page on Gridiron New Jersey. The site is responsible for running all of the NJSIAA’s official playoff qualification formulas, and has a page for every team in the state with their schedule and results.

Swercheck is a North Brunswick alum who played defensive tackle and tight end for the Raiders, and was later an assistant there prior to the arrival of current head coach Mike Cipot, who coached him there as an assistant under Mark Zielinski in 2007.

He later played at Kean and was a freshman on the 2009 team that 9-2 and was the ECAC Southwest Bowl Champions, as well as a junior on the 2011 team that was 10-2, NJAC Champions, and made the second round of the NCAA Division 3 Tournament.

Holman coached his team’s first three games, after which the team was 1-2. He did not coach last week’s loss at Rahway, and told Central Jersey Sports Radio in a text message this morning when reached to prepare for a broadcast of Friday’s game against Westfield that he “had to step away from (the) team for personal reasons.”

Athletic Director Ryan Miller told Central Jersey Sports Radio Holman’s official resignation was tendered until Tuesday evening.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Westfield will meet for the 60th time this Friday at 7 pm, the first meeting in the series ever to be played under the lights. You can hear the game on Central Jersey Sports Radio beginning with pregame at 6:45, with Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe on the call. Click here to listen.