Tag: Rutgers

by Mike Pavlichko

Photo Gallery: We stopped by the new home of the NJSIAA state baseball finals at Rutgers, and all seemed to be having a good time

Free parking, free admission, a day in the sun with seat-back chairs, or a chance to spread out on a blanket on the grassy hill in left field.

That pretty much summed up a beautiful (if not on the warm side) Sunday afternoon at Rutgers University’s Bainton Field in Piscataway, where the NJSIAA held its four public state championship games, just a few days after crowning the Non-Public champions on Wednesday night.

Back when this reporter was calling Rutgers baseball games on student radio station WRSU 88.7 FM in New Brunswick, the field – not yet named Bainton – was a lot different: natural grass, smaller bleachers, and an uncovered platform behind the plate on ground level for a press box.

But in recent years, the field was completely turfed, and a video board and lights were added for night baseball. And this past off-season, the bleachers were replaced and expanded, including several hundred seat-back chairs behind home plate. The press box was relocated to the top of the bleachers, with room for media, a broadcast booth, and stadium operations booth, along with additional wings on the side for press.

Those upgrades, and the central location – with easy access from Routes 287 and the Turnpike – made it a no-brainer for the NJSIAA to move the finals to Rutgers from Veterans’ Park in Hamilton, where the natural grass surface limited play after rain, parking was limited, and a curfew affected some late-running games.

Let’s call the move to Bainton a home run for the NJSIAA and the 12 teams that got to play for state championships there. (Scroll down for all the state finals results.)

Here’s a photo gallery from our visit to the opening game of the day, the Group 3 state final, in which Old Tappan beat Brick Memorial 5-0 to win its second state title in program history:

A panoramic view of Bainton Field at Rutgers, home of the 2026 NJSIAA state baseball finals. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Fans watch Old Tappan and Brick Memorial play in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
A Brick Memorial meeting on the mound during the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brody Moore throws a pitch for Brick Memorial against Old Tappan the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Fans watch Old Tappan and Brick Memorial from the stands at the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Old Tappan players watch the state Group 3 final against Brick Memorial from the dugout at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Fans watch Brick Memorial play Old Tappan in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Old Tappan players watch the state Group 3 final against Brick Memorial from the dugout at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Caden Yoon of Old Tappan lays down a bunt against Brick Memorial in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brick Memorial and Old Tappan play in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brody Moore of Brick Memorial pitches against Old Tappan in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brick Memorial hits against Old Tappan in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

A.J. Aiello of Old Tappan earns a walk against Brick Memorial in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Old Tappan hist against Brick Memorial in the state Group 3 final at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
The new video board at Rutgers’ Bainton Field. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Brick Memorial players watch from the dugout in between innings of the state Group 3 final against Old Tappan at Rutgers’ Bainton Field on June 14, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Bainton Field at Rutgers, home of the 2026 NJSIAA state baseball finals. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

NJSIAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES:

Wednesday, June 10:

  • Non-Public A: Delbarton 4, St. Augustine 1 (10 inn.)
  • Non-Public B: Gloucester Catholic 11, St. Mary-Rutherford 1 (5 inn.)

Sunday, June 14:

  • Group 4: Ridgewood 7, Kingsway 6
  • Group 3: Old Tappan 5, Brick Memorial 0
  • Group 2: Ramsey 4, Governor Livingston 2
  • Group 1: Point Pleasant Beach 10, Pompton Lakes 4
by Mike Pavlichko

Back in Red (Scarlet): Edison alum Jaxon Appelman leaves Coastal Carolina, commits to Rutgers baseball

When Jaxon Appelman puts on his baseball jersey again, it will have a familiar color.

The Edison alum who graduated in 2024 after a four-year varsity career – with 296 strikeouts and a career ERA of 1.95 – spent the last two years at Coastal Carolina, but this spring entered the NCAA transfer portal, and now has found a new home.

He’s committed to play for Rutgers baseball.

Appelman saw limited action for the Chanticleers his freshman year, but this spring as a sophomore, he made 17 appearances, starting four games. He ended the season 0-3 with a 6.39 ERA, but logged 39 Ks, and only allowed opposing hitters a highly-respectable .224 batting average.

And he’ll be on a staff with another former GMC standout, the dominating Zack Konstantinovsky, who played at North Brunswick, as well as former Raider and shortstop Yomar Carreras, who was on Appelman’s travel ball teams back in the day.

In the end, that and the chance to play at home around family and friends at Rutgers – the first school to offer him a scholarship when he was still with the Eagles – was too much to pass up for his final two years of eligibility.

Click below to hear Edison alum Jaxon Appelman talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about committing to Rutgers:

by Mike Pavlichko

55th annual Bill Denny awards dinner honors local football standouts, coaches, and more

More than three dozen high school football players from Middlesex and Somerset Counties, along with several coaches, administrators, educators and officials were honored Sunday at the 55th annual awards dinner of the Bill Denny/Rutgers Football Letterwinners Chapter of the National Football/College Hall of Fame at the Pines Manor in Edison.

The local chapter also awarded several scholarships, now having given out more than $380,000 in funds to deserving Middlesex and Somerset County Scholar-Athletes, over a span of nearly six decades.

The ceremony was presided over by Fred Roselli, chapter president, with awards presented by Tom Bara and Frank Noppenberger.

Read on to learn more about all the honorees.

Distinguished American: This award went to South River’s Rich Marchesi, the longtime Rams’ skipper and alum who will be heading into his 39th season this fall. Marchesi’s record is 228-154, with four Central Jersey Group 1 titles, in 1991, 1995, 2000 and 2001. He also played with with future Penn State All-American and NFL standout Kenny Jackson on the vaunted 1979 undefeated team as a senior, which went undefeated and was a state champion, ending the season ranked No. 3 in New Jersey. A five-time Bill Denny Coach of the Year, he is the winningest coach in South River football history, eventually surpassing Denny. Marchesi was inducted in the the New Hersey Coaches Hall of Fame in 2001.

Edward “Red” Losiewicz Distinguished Official: Given to the official who has “demonstrated sportsmanship, integrity and character in interscholastic athletics,” Tim McDonald was this year’s recipient. An East Brunswick resident, he started officiating football in 1997, and also has been an official for lacrosse, softball and basketball.

Chester Zdrodowski Distinguished Educator (Middlesex): Old Bridge Athletic Director Dan DiMino was the recipient of this award, A Monroe resident, he was named AD in 2016 and has overseen an athletics program that was won 31 division titles, 26 conference championships, 14 NJSIAA sectional crowns, and nine New Jersey state titles. DiMino also is on the Greater Middlesex Conference Executive Committee, and manages scheduling for the entire league. Among several charitable endeavors, DiMino helps lead the Old Bridge Holiday Knight Toy Drive around the holidays, partnering with the Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

Chester Zdrodowski Distinguished Educator (Somerset): This one goes to Michael Hoppe, the Athletic Director at Bernards. Hoppe is a Mountaineer through and through, an alum who has been at his old stomping grounds since graduating from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) in 19984. Starting out as a teacher and coaching three sports, he has been the AD for the last 26 years.

Coach of the Year (Middlesex): Matt Donaghue just wrapped up his fourth season as the Old Bridge football coach, promoted to the head job after Anthony Lanzafama stepped down. At 25-17 in that span, this past fall was a breakout year, following a 6-4 campaign in 2024, as the Knights went all the way to the “Central Jersey” Group 5 final, where they fell to Washington Twp. out of South Jersey. Donaghue also is the head coach of the baseball team at Old Bridge, which won the Central Jersey Group 4 title in 2023, and was a finalist a year ago.

Coach of the Year (Somerset): Montgomery’s Sean Carty takes home the award in his first year on the job, after being promoted from Offensive Coordinator under Zoran Milich, who stepped down as the school’s first and only football coach after the 2024 campaign. The Cougars went 8-4 this past fall, with signature wins over Somerville and Sayreville, and went all the way to the North Jersey, Section 2 Group 4 title game – their first ever – where they fell to defending champion Phillipsburg. A Rutgers graduate and four-year letterwinner, he played for his father, Hall of Fame coach Kevin Carty, at Somerville. His brother, Kevin Jr., is the head coach at neighboring Hillsborough, with his other brother, Ryan, is the head coach at the University of Delaware.

Sporstmanship School of the Year: Highland Park, Bridgewater-Raritan

STUDENT-ATHLETE HONOREES:

Rutgers: Jai Patel (South Brunswick)

Middlesex County:

  • Jonathan Hughes, Carteret
  • Dylan Chiera, Colonia
  • Jackson Portik, Dunellen
  • Noah DeJesus, East Brunswick
  • Robert Roma, Jr., Edison
  • Stamatis Hantsoulis, Highland Park
  • Grant Lorentzen, JFK
  • Esteban Reyes, JP Stevens
  • A.J. Crisci, Metuchen
  • Sean Hughes, Middlesex
  • John Lawless, Monroe
  • Jeffren Paulino, New Brunswick
  • Zachary Cipot, North Brunswick
  • Mark Fultz, North Plainfield
  • Brody Nugent, Old Bridge
  • Sebastian Medina Moreno, Perth Amboy
  • Brady Gallogly, Piscataway
  • Joseph Curbelo, Sayreville
  • Jacob Walczyk, South Brunswick
  • Kenneth Young, South Plainfield
  • Filipe Granadiero, South River
  • Gavin Pereira, Spotswood
  • Tom Myers, St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Anthony Perez, Jr., St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Josh Allen, Woodbridge

Somerset County:

  • Justin Simpson, Bernards
  • Moaaz Abdelmonem, Bound Brook
  • Stephen Pikulin, Bridgewater-Raritan
  • Francis Flores, Jr., Franklin
  • Shane Khurana, Hillsborough
  • Bo Almeida, Immaculata
  • Collin Shimp, Manville
  • Michael Bellamy, Montgomery
  • Ryan Moye, Pingry
  • Anthony Valera, Ridge
  • J. Griffin Kaye, Somerville
  • Jake Herring, Watchung Hills

Pop Warner (Middlesex): Daniel Crowley, Edison Jets

Pop Warner (Somerset): Vincent Sandomenico, Watchung Hills Wolverines

by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA saying so long to Veterans Park for state baseball championships, heading to Rutgers, per report

As George Carlin once said, when comparing baseball and football in a legendary bit, “Baseball is played in a park. The baseball park!”

But starting this season, as first reported by P.J. Potter of NJ Advance Media, the NJSIAA is leaving the park – Veterans Park in Hamilton, specifically – and taking its state baseball championships up the Turnpike, off Exit 9, to the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, where Bainton Field will be the new home of the six non-public and public school title games played in June.

Bainton Field, the home of the Scarlet Knights, is in the midst of a huge renovation project this off-season. Past years brought in a turf field, flashy video board, and lights.

Original rendering of Bainton Field improvements in recent years, which saw the Rutgers baseball facility get lights for night games and a splashy video board. (Photo courtesy Rutgers Athletics)

The current project improves seating, and raises the press box from ground level – directly behind the backstop – to the top of the bleachers behind home plate, with room for media, a broadcast booth, and ancillary broadcast locations on either side, covered with a roof to protect from the elements. The new setup is expected to have seating for 1,300 fans.

Potter writes that NJSIAA Baseball Director Tony Maselli calls it “a natural fit,” adding “I think we outgrew Veterans Park, but we have nothing but positive things to say about the facility.”

It was indeed a great atmosphere. Baseball in a huge park, with people running, walking dogs, or playing other sports. Food trucks would line the parking lot, and people could roam in and out of the stands as they wished. The sightlines were great, too, with a scoreboard that included a full line score, and even a pitch count tracker.

NJSIAA officials decide whether or not to give it a go in the Group 1 state final at Veterans Park between Middlesex and Midland Park on June 14, 2025. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

But in recent years, as attendance grew, parking became an issue, even for those who had paid in advance. There have been issues with games running too late at night – and running into Hamilton Township curfews. And rain could be an issue, too, on the natural grass field, as it was for Middlesex this past year, which only got one half inning of their Group 1 final in against Midland Park on a Saturday afternoon before it had to be finished two days later up in Bergen County.

Cell service also has been a problem. It delayed some fans from entering last year when their pre-paid parking couldn’t always be digitally verified on devices that couldn’t pick up a cell signal, and it even made broadcasting from Bob DeMeo Field a challenge, with several nearly-dead cell zones.

Potter’s report says all games will be free for the public to attend, and the NJSIAA will not be selling tickets. There was no mention of whether there would be a fee for parking.

Middlesex College in Edison also is building a brand new, $70 million baseball stadium, expected to be ready this September, with plenty of time to spare, in time for the 2027 Colts’ season. It’s likely the Greater Middlesex Conference could end up playing its semifinals and finals there – since it’s a county-operated facility – but it could also be an option for the NJSIAA for future events.

But the state shouldn’t run into any conflicts with Rutgers baseball. Typically, the Big Ten Tournament is held in Omaha in late May, while the NJSIAA finals are in early June, meaning the Scarlet Knights’ home season is done almost a month earlier. But even if Rutgers advanced to the NCAA Tournament and made a deep run, the team has an indoor practice facility on campus between Bainton and Jersey Mike’s Arena, home of the basketball and wrestling teams.

by Mike Pavlichko

Former Hillsborough coach, Rutgers basketball walk-on Ian Progin passes away at age 47

In many ways, after receiving a brain cancer diagnosis in 2011, Ian Progin shouldn’t have lived as long as he did, and yet it wasn’t nearly long enough by any stretch of the imagination.

Through it all he kept coaching, took on new challenges, spent plenty of time with his family, and more. Sadly, he passed away Friday, at the age of 47. The news was first reported by Jerry Carino of Gannett New Jersey.

Progin was a 1996 graduate of Hillsborough High School, played college basketball at Widener, and later transferred to Rutgers as a walk-on. After his eligibility expired, he also became a member of the Sports department at the campus radio station, 88.7 FM WRSU, where he was an analyst on basketball broadcasts; he graduated with a degree in Journalism and Mass Media.

He went back to Rutgers to become a teacher, and earned his Master’s from Rider, then came back to Hillsborough as a guidance counselor, also becoming the school’s head basketball coach.

The cancer diagnosis came in the midst of that 12-year run as basketball coach, in 2011. It was a glioblastoma brain tumor – stage four – with a five-year survival rate. But it didn’t stop him, or his program. He coached all through his treatment. And it paid off with an upset of top-seed Gill St. Bernard’s to win the 2014 Somerset County Tournament, then an amazing run to the Central Jersey Group 4 title in 2015, before stepping down.

Two men standing together in a formal setting, one holding a certificate. They are in a room with flags and a seal in the background.
Hillsborough boys’ basketball coach Ian Progin is honored with a proclamation recognizing his coaching career by the Township Committee, here with Deputy Mayor Greg Burchette in May, 2015. (Source: Hillsborough Twp. website.)

Oh, and he even coached his son’s travel league.

It wasn’t long after his diagnosis that good friend Kris Grundy – who started at Montgomery around the same time as Progin at Hillsborough – began the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, which this year raised $20,000 for the Rutgers Cancer Institute, according to Carino’s story.

But even after stepping down, Ian couldn’t stay away long. After a year, he came back and coached the girls’ basketball team from 2016 to 2020 – predecessor to current coach Courtney Tierney – while also coaching gymnastics for three seasons.

Back in March, though he couldn’t attend, Progin was inducted into the Hillsborough Athletics Hall of Fame.

Ian leaves behind his wife of 20 years, Courtney, and two children. His daughter, Payton, will graduate from Hillsborough High School this June, before heading to the University of Vermont. His son, Jeffrey, is a sophomore at Hillsborough. You can find the full obituary here.

Click here to listen to Chris Fox, Progin’s longtime assistant boys’ basketball coach, talk about Ian with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko.

According to his obituary, a memorial service to celebrate Ian’s life will be held this Tuesday, May 6th, at Mary Mother of God Church in Hillsborough. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 11:30 am, with a mass immediately to follow. Burial and repast will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Ian’s memory to Imagine, whose mission is to “support children and families coping with loss and to foster resiliency and emotional well-being for all those who grieve”

We’ll have additional comments from coaches and former players in a story that will be out Tuesday morning, including an interview following the 2015 Central Jersey Group 4 title win over Freehold Township.

by Mike Pavlichko

As high school football players get ready to sign, Hillsborough’s Thomas Amankwaa announces transfer from Rutgers

One of the most decorated players in Hillsborough football history – who came to Rutgers after playing his final high school game there in 2021, a win over Kingsway in the South Group 5 Regional Championship to finish 13-0 – has announced he’s leaving the Scarlet Knights.

Thomas Amankwaa will be entering the transfer portal next Monday, announcing the decision on Twitter Wednesday, just as National Letter of Intent Early Signing Day was getting underway.

Amankwaa was on the most successful Hillsborough football team in program history, helping lead the Raiders as a senior to an undefeated campaign, setting a program and county record with their 13 wins.

The Central Jersey Sports Radio Two-Way Player of the Year in 2021, Amankwaa was sparsely used at Rutgers, but put up big numbers at Hillsborough. He finished with 2,127 career receiving yards, 93 catches and 24 touchdowns. His senior year, he also ran the ball, going for 861 yards and 13 TDs on 73 carries, after rushing just 14 times combined in his sophomore and junior seasons.

Amankwaa will have two years of eligibility remaining.

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick’s Patel earns Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors for Rutgers

Back in high school, Jai Patel was 78-for-78 on PAT attempts. After his senior year, he was named Central Jersey Sports Radio Special Teams Player of the Year for 2021.

This past Saturday night for Rutgers he was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in a 36-7 win over Temple, earning himself Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He’s the first Scarlet Knight to be honored in that category since they joined the league in 2014.

While his season long field goals as a junior and senior for the Vikings were in the 40s, Patel nailed a 51-yard field goal in the second quarter Saturday to give RU a 10-0 lead. It was the seventh longest field goal in program history, and the first RU field goal of 50-yards or longer since 2019.

READ MORE: Patel’s Perfect! 78-of-78 on PATs, strong FG kicking game, nets South Brunswick senior Special Teams Player of the Year honors

He also kicked a field goals of 43 and 23 yards later in the game, while going 3-for-3 on PATs, logging 12 points in the game.

Patel – in his second season at Rutgers – earned the starting placekicker job this season. At South Brunswick, he finished with school records for extra points, field goals (22) and touchbacks (67).

Rutgers is back in action Saturday for a 3:30 home game against Virginia Tech.

by Mike Pavlichko

Future Rutgers stars Goldan and Konstantinovsky: the unflappable vs. the unhittable

Andrew Goldan is hard to rattle. As a sophomore, in his first varsity season at St. Joseph of Metuchen, he calmly, coolly, and collectedly, went the distance in the 2021 GMC Tournament championship game for the win.

In this year’s semifinals, with Donovan Zsak laboring through three innings, still getting a little twinge in that Tommy John-repaired elbow, Goldan – a full-time starter – jumped in as a reliever and kept Woodbridge off the board for the final four innings en route to a 9-1 win and a berth in this weekend’s finals.

Zack Konstantinovsky is hard to hit. The North Brunswick junior had an impressive sophomore campaign, striking out 70 and walking only ten. That’s a tough act to follow.

But follow it, he did. This year? Heading into Saturday’s GMCT finals, he’s racked up 101 strikeouts. And he’s walked only a single solitary batter.

Just one.

How impressive have both of them been? Well, both are going to play major Division I college baseball in the near future. And neither will be playing too far from the high school fields they currently call home.

Click above to learn more about how to be an umpire and join the NSJFU.

Goldan’s family just has to head a little further down Route 27, and Konstantinovsky’s just up Routes One and 18 to Piscataway, where both will soon call Bainton Field home, as they play for the Steve Owens’ Scarlet Knights.

Goldan will join them next year; Zack in a couple of years. They’ll be joined by JT Kroner of Colonia, another solid GMC arm.

And when they get there, they’ll find Chris Brito, a Perth Amboy alum who is RU’s full-time first baseman this season as a redshirt junior.

The two will square off this Sunday as the starting pitchers in the GMC Tournament Championship Game, which will be played at noon at Ray Cipperly Field at East Brunswick Tech. It was rescheduled from Saturday, due to thunderstorms in the forecast.

You can hear the game on Central Jersey Sports Radio with pregame beginning at 11:30 am. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will call all the action; click here to listen.

Click below to hear Zack Konstantinovsky and Andrew Goldan talk about their decisions to go to Rutgers, their connection with the GMC, and Saturday’s matchup:

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers’ WRSU celebrates 40th anniversary of Lady Knights’ AIAW National Championship with Grentz, Coyles and more

As the NCAA tournament rolls on, Monday will mark 40 years to the day since Rutgers won a hiostoric national championship.

On March 28, 1982 at the Palestra in Philadelphia, the Lady Knights – led by players like Mary and Patty Coyle, Chris Dailey, June Olkowski, and trailblazing head coach Theresa Grentz – beat heavily-favored Texas to win the final AIAW national title, in a year that was a crossroads for the sport.

That was also the first year the NCAA sponsored a national women’s basketball tournament, and women’s basketball programs were split. Some went with the NCAA, others stuck with the AIAW.

The Rutgers Lady Knights won the AIAW National Championship 83-77 over Texas at The Palestra in Philadelphia in 1982. (Source: Rutgers)

Since then, RU’s national title has largely been ignored. The NCAA, obviously, doesn’t recognize it, and Rutgers never really embraced it, particularly after Grentz left for Illinois in the mid-’90s (Athletic Director Fred Gruninger let her walk) and C. Vivian Stringer promised “the Jewel of the East.”

But in 2017, Rutgers’ campus radio station WRSU had the good fortune to connect with Jim Berman, Class of ’82, who had a cassette of the original audio broadcast. A few interviews and a lot of research later, the station aired a documentary – written and narrated by WRSU Sports junior Dom Savino – featuring the full game broadcast on Rutgers Day that year.

From that project, Berman and his classmates Jon Newman and Geoff Sadow had the idea to produce a film documentary on the team, calling it “Forgotten Champions.” The film would be completed over several years, narrated by U.S. National Soccer star (and Rutgers alum) Carli Lloyd, and it was set to debut this Winter at a gala in New Brunswick, but those plans were waylaid by the Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Rutgers women’s basketball coach Theresa Grentz (back, left) and some of her players pose with their 1982 AIAW national championship trophy, nearly 40 years later, at The Palestra in August, 2018. (Photo by “Forgotten Champions”)

This Monday, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the historic title, WRSU will rebroadcast the original documentary, which includes the full game broadcast, at 6 pm. Immediately following, at 8:30 pm, a special “Alumni Knightline” will follow, hosted by Newman and Sadow, along with Berman and Savino, and they’ll be joined in studio by Grentz and the Coyle twins. Several other teammates and prominent figures from the era will phone in. And listeners are invited to share their memories by calling in at 732-932-8800.

To listen, tune in to 88.7 FM or click on wrsu.org.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko – Rutgers Class of ’00 and WRSU’s full-time faculty advisor – talk with 1982 alum Jim Berman about Monday’s show and the “Forgotten Champions” documentary:

by Mike Pavlichko

Amankwaa set to graduate Hillsborough early, join Rutgers in January

Thomas Amankwaa – now a state champion – plans to graduate Hillsborough High School early and enroll at Rutgers for the Spring semester, once he signs his National Letter of Intent on December 15th, the first day of the “early” signing period.

Amankwaa spoke of his decision exclusively with Central Jersey Sports Radio Wednesday afternoon.

Amankwaa and the Raiders are coming off a perfect 13-0 season, the first in school history, and their first state championship in 21 years. That came three weeks ago when they beat North Brunswick for the Central Jersey Group 5 title at Noonan Field.

READ MORE: Hillsborough’s Amankwaa gets offer from Rutgers, verbals to Knights, all within 48 hours

Not only was it an all-time best year for Hillsborough – the first school in Somerset County ever to win 13 games in a season – but Amankwaa had a record-setting career. He owns the school marks for touchdown catches (28), total TDs (50), and total points scored (304), as well as receiving yards, breaking Jackson Parham’s mark (2014-17) in Saturday’s regional championship game win against Kingsway, finishing with 2,184.

This season, he began taking the ball at running back to help replace some of the productivity of the graduated Sean Levonaitis, and had career bests at both positions: 853 receiving yards and 12 TDs, along with 1,125 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

Amankwaa had a number of Power 5, FBS and FCS offers heading into this season, but was waiting for an offer from Rutgers, which came in-person from Scarlet Knight head coach Greg Schiano when the Hillsborough senior was on the field for the Delaware game. He committeed two days later.

Click below to hear Tommy Amankwaa talk about his decision to graduate high school early, and enroll at Rutgers for the Spring: