Tag: Sayreville

by Alec Crouthamel

No. 8 Sayreville makes short trip to No. 3 Old Bridge in playoff rematch, with nearly as much on the line

No. 8 Sayreville football has gotten off to another strong start with the 2026 regular season past its midway point, but heading into this weekend, how 2025 ended surely looms large.

In former alum and former quarterback Mark Poore’s third year as the head coach, the Bombers (4-1, 3-0) are off to their second excellent opening stretch of the season, after starting 7-0 in 2025.

They went 8-1 in the regular season and earned the second seed in the Central Jersey Group 5 tournament. But Sayreville’s season came to a close at home to third-seeded Old Bridge. The Bombers rallied from a 21-7 deficit with 20 straight points to take the lead back, but the Knights got the last laugh, as star quarterback Brody Nugent found receiver Amari Alsbrook for a 13-yard score with 90 seconds to play for a 28-27 win.

But now, it’s a new season with a new team, and another good one at that. Even though Sayreville saw heavy graduation — including all five starters among the offensive line — it looks poised to make another postseason run.

The Bombers have played their best ball of late, as well. After a 21-7 loss to Ridge in Week 1, they’ve won three straight, scoring at least 37 points in all three games and allowing just six points twice. They also re-entered the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten rankings at No. 8 this week for the first time since that loss to the Red Devils.

This week, Sayreville comes to Lombardi Field in Old Bridge to play the third-ranked Knights in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Kickoff is set for 6:00, with pregame at 5:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the action. Click here to listen.

As with most teams, it took a couple weeks for the Bombers to find their footing and really get going.

Part of that was a mix of new — and some familiar — faces in new roles. Gone is star running back Shaun Jackson, now a freshman at FCS New Haven, as well as those five in the trenches. Also gone are eight starters on last year’s defense, a unit that didn’t allow 20 points in a game for the first month.

But many of this year’s standouts have seen snaps over their high school careers and have stepped up to take the reigns, creating a strong pipeline for development.

At quarterback, sophomore Marcus Butka takes the reigns from his older brother Tyler, and Poore says there’s still room to involve the younger signal-caller even more in the offense, as his confidence continues to rise with more snaps.

In place of Jackson are primarily three returning upperclassmen — junior Dion Osae and seniors Gabriel Manson and Sherwin Appiah — who all saw heavy snaps last season and have kept the run game going. At wideout, seniors Andrew Provenza and Jorge Zapata return as Butka’s top targets on the outside, playing as part of the Bombers’ Wing T offense.

On defense, Sayreville brings plenty of size and toughness along the front seven, along with athleticism and playmaking abilities in the back-end. Junior safety Christian Woodard is among the returning starters leading the way with 45 tackles, three for loss.

Day by day, the Bombers have taken steps forward as a team and their efforts have been rewarded with big wins over Edison, Franklin, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

But it’ll be a tough test on the road against Old Bridge, another high-octane offense. The Knights aren’t short on playmakers on both sides of the ball, and many of those top contributors that took down Sayreville 11 months ago remain Matt Donaghue’s top options.

The rematch is set for Friday, as the postseason picture grows closer and clearer, with both teams certainly in the mix.

Click below to hear Sayreville head coach Mark Poore talk about the Bombers’ season and Friday night’s road game at Old Bridge with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

No. 3 Old Bridge has been through the wringer, but still passed nearly every test as No. 8 Sayreville visits Lombardi Field Friday night

The season hasn’t been perfect for the Old Bridge football team by any stretch of the imagination.

But where it ultimately counts – in the win column – they’ve been as solid as they come.

They say big players come up in big spots. And great teams sometime wins games they aren’t supposed to.

Two weeks ago, they led St. Thomas Aquinas 23-0 at the half, and nearly lost, as a key second-half field goal gave them enough to withstand a rally by the Trojans and win, 26-24. Last week, the script got flipped: they trailed Piscataway at the break, 26-0, but scored 27 unanswered second half points to win, 27-26.

This Friday, head coach Matt Donaghue would like to see all four quarters be solid ones, and they will likely need all that and then-some as ranked-again No. 8 Sayreville comes to Lombari Field in Old Bridge to play the third-ranked Knights in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Kickoff is set for 6:00, with pregame at 5:45 as Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the action. Click here to listen.

While he certainly had help, senior runningback Chase Rizzo led the second-half surge for Old Bridge last week, scoring all four touchdowns in the rally. He opened the second-half rally with a 74-yard touchdown run, then two more in the third: a one-yard run and a 20-yard reception from QB Aiden Rios. Then he got one more in the fourth, a 71-yard connection with Rios to provide the final score. He finished the game with 12 carries for 138 yards, while Rios eclipsed 100 as well, rushing for 117.

And Griffin Nugent had a late interception to seal the victory.

While Sayreville leads the all-time series 15-9 – remember, Old Bridge played its first season after the Cedar Ridge-Madison Central merger in 1994 – this has been back and forth for the past 15 seasons, with each team winning six times. And no one has won back-to-back since Old Bridge put together three victories in a row from 2013 through 2015.

And, in what could only be described as a scheduling tragedy, these teams have only met twice in six previous Big Central seasons, in 2021 and 2025.

The Bombers are a run-heavy team, led by senior Sherwin Appiah and his 682 yards and eleven touchdowns. He’s tied for the Big Central lead in rushing TDs, and fourth in rushing yardage, though all three backs ahead of him have at least 30 more carries than he does. Appiah is averaging 9.3 yards per carry, almost a first down on every touch.

Defense has been very much a team effort, and very good as well. They allowed six points each to Edison and Franklin coming off a 21-7 home loss to Ridge in Week One, before giving up 21 to a very offensive-minded St. Thomas club last Friday night.

Click below to hear Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the season and Friday night’s home game against Sayreville with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

As six ranked teams fall, one new team joins, another re-enters, but Phillipsburg still atop Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week Five

Week Four was nothing but more chaos in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, but in the end, Phillipsburg remains at the top of the heap in the Week Five rankings. Previous No. 2 Piscataway lost to No. 4 Old Bridge, the No. 1 Stateliners held off No. 5 St. Joseph of Metuchen, and teams seven through ten – Somerville, Rahway, St. Thomas Aquinas and Ridge – all lost as well. Still, there was only room enough for two new teams to join the rankings.

This week’s rankings are a day late because of the Falcons game against Phillipsburg, which was moved to Monday due to rough weather Saturday from the Nor’easter that gripped New Jersey all weekend. But the Stateliners improved to 4-1 with a 42-31 win over the Falcons. It’ll be a quick turnaround for P’burg, which will visit No. 10 Ridge Friday night.

Elizabeth (5-0) moves up to No. 2, after a 28-23 win at Ridge last Friday. The Minutemen – looking for their first 6-0 start since 2012, a year they went undefeated and won the first-ever North 2, Group 5 state title – host neighbor Linden this Friday night.

Old Bridge (4-1) edges up one spot from four to three, after coming back from a 26-0 halftime deficit with 27 unanswered points to beat then-No. 2 Piscataway, 27-26. The Chiefs dropped from second to fourth with the loss. Old Bridge will host Sayreville (4-1) Friday night at 6 in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, while Piscataway renews its rivalry with longtime Thanksgiving foe Franklin (1-4) after a two year hiatus. The Warriors got their first win of the season Monday, in another rescheduled game from the weekend, beating North Brunswick at home, 55-21.

In fifth is St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-2), which stays put after going toe-to-toe with – but losing to – No. 1 Phillipsburg Monday, 42-31. The Falcons have less of a quick turnaround – but a turnaround nonetheless – as they visit Delbarton Saturday afternoon for a non-league game.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

Also holding at six is Bridgewater-Raritan (4-1). The Panthers blanked Westfield Saturday afternoon – the only Big Central teams the play – 20-0, and this week host Hunterdon Central on Friday night at Basilone Field.

Undefeated Cranford (4-0) makes its season debut in the rankings at No. 7, after a 14-7 win over then-No. 8 Rahway Friday night. The Cougars are back in action Friday night against Montgomery, which knocked off previous No. 8 Somerville last week for the second year in a row.

Sayreville (4-1) rejoins the rankings after being knocked out in Week Two. The Bombers had an impressive win over No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas last Friday, 37-21, and will travel to No. 3 Old Bridge Friday night at 6:00 for a game you can listen to on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The last two spots remain the same as last week, as St. Thomas Aquinas (3-2) holds the ninth position, despite the loss to Sayreville; they play Friday night at Somerville. Ridge (2-2) remains at No. 10, and this Friday will host top-ranked Phillipsburg.

After no one dropped out either of the last two weeks, Somerville (3-2) falls out of the rankings, as does No. 8 Rahway (4-1).

Below is the complete 2026 Week Five Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

No change atop the Week 1 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, but two new teams join the list

There was little change from the preseason in the latest Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with Phillipsburg remaining atop the rankings, while two other teams flip-flopped and two others near the bottom dropped out with losses in their opening games.

Phillipsburg remained at No. 1 after a season-opening 28-21 win over Parkland (PA) at Maloney Stadium. The Stateliners open the season with three straight Pennsylvania opponents, and this week, they cross the “state line” to go play Emmaus (PA) Friday night at 7.

St. Joseph-Metuchen was idle, and remains in the No. 2 spot. The Falcons will welcome in No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan (1-0) Saturday for a 1 pm matinee to kick off their 2026 campaign.

Piscataway won its opener, hanging on with a goal line stand to win 26-20 at East Orange, moving them up one spot to No. 3 in the rankings. They’ll play host to No. 5 Somerville – their first meeting since 1987 – Friday night at 6 in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Old Bridge dropped a tough 43-35 decision to Shawnee out of the West Jersey Football League Friday down at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City. The drops them one spot to fourth this week. Friday night at 6, they visit Montgomery.

Rounding out the top five is Somerville. The Pioneers beat South Plainfield in their opener at Brooks Field, 40-21, on Friday night, and this week, travel to No. 3 Piscataway. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 6 pm.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

Bridgewater-Raritan holds in the No. 6 position after opening the season with a dominating 28-7 win at then-No. 8 Woodbridge Friday night, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. This week, it’s a tough test at No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, Saturday at 1 pm at Brenner Family Field.

Sayreville also won its opener, beating Plainfield 23-19 Friday night. That lets them keep the seventh position. The Bombers will host Ridge this Friday at 6:30 pm.

Summit moves up a spot to No. 8 after beating Colonia at home Friday afternoon, 23-21, with Jackson Marx intercepting a two-point conversion just outside the goal line late in the fourth-quarter to help preserve a lead that ended up being the final margin. This week, they visit Rahway for a 6:00 start Friday night.

Jumping in at nine is Elizabeth, one of two new teams in this week’s rankings. The Minutemen were 53-6 winners at Carteret on Friday night, and will visit Plainfield this Friday for a 6 pm kickoff.

The other new team is St. Thomas Aquinas, which won its opener out in Sheepshead Bay over Frank J. Macchiarola (NY), 36-12. The Trojans are back in action Friday, when Westfield visits North Edison for a 6 pm kickoff.

Below is the complete 2026 Week One Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

Dropping out this week are previous No. 8 Woodbridge and previous No. 10 Bernards. The Barrons lost to Bridgewater-Raritan, 28-7, Friday night, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, while the Mountaineers fell 26-20 at Rutherford Friday night.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg starts 2026 where it ended 2025: Atop the Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten

Most seasons, in most sports – at least as far as we’re concerned – are a crap shoot when it comes to preseason rankings.

It is, of course, impossible to get to see all 59 teams we cover in the Big Central Conference. There are scrimmages, but no true preseason games like in the pros. Coaches are going to talk up their teams, whether they were 1-8, 5-5, or 14-0 and state champs. Sometimes that 1-8 team will have a big turnaround, sometimes a sectional champ will lose a lot of players.

We do our best to weigh who’s coming back, and who graduated, but more often than not, we’ll give the top teams from the year before the benefit of the doubt: a place in the Top Ten is theirs to lose.

And of course, it’s never where you start, but where you finish. And rankings based on opinion are just that: opinion – no matter how objective we try to be.

Nevertheless, there’s a little bit of both in the 2026 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football Preseason Top Ten, starting at the top.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

Phillipsburg opens the season at No. 1, coming off a 10-3 season a year ago in which they reached their fourth straight sectional final, and won their second straight North 2, Group 4 title. Though they’re expected (official classifications are not out yet) to bump up to Group 5 this year due to the “success formula” for open-enrollment and similar type schools, that doesn’t affect who they play in the regular season. They’ve got a bunch back, and should be solid again.

St. Joseph-Metuchen begins the year at No. 2, up one spot, coming off a very good 8-2 season in which they beat all eight of their Big Central Conference opponents before falling in their regular season finale to Donovan Catholic, and in the opening round of the playoffs to Bergen Catholic.

Old Bridge has lost some key talent, but the Knights are coming off a 10-2 season in which they were one of only two BCC schools in Group 3 or higher to win ten games. The Knights – who went to the Central Jersey Group 5 title game last year, will start the season at No. 3.

Right behind them at No. 4 is Piscataway, which was 8-3, and beat to Old Bridge in the regular season by a touchdown, but was knocked out of the playoffs in the sectional semis. The Chiefs, however, bring back an experienced group led by Landon Pernell at quarterback.

Checking in at No. 5 is Somerville. The Pioneers had a surprising early exit from the playoffs in the first round last year, but finished 8-2 and are expected to be right back in the mix for the division and a sectional title this year. At 20-3 over the past two seasons under Matt Bloom, with a Central Jersey Group 3 title in 2024, that’s the expectation every year, and they have the horses.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

Checking in at No. 6 is last year’s North Jersey, Section 2 Group 4 champion, Bridgewater-Raritan. The Panthers were 6-3 heading into the playoffs last year, but won all three games in their section – including a thriller in the final against Bayonne – to claim their first-ever sectional title. Still, they face some significant losses, and they’ll work to earn their way back up in ’26.

Sayreville will begin the year at No. 7, taking a huge blow in the loss of Shaun Jackson, who led the Big Central in rushing each of the last two seasons. Still, that’s a program, and alum Mark Poore has done a great job his first two years, and they will remain in the mix this season.

Woodbridge – which will start at No. 8 – finished out of the Top Ten at the end of 2025, but coming off an 8-3 season in Year two under veteran mentor Joe Goerge – after going 10-1 his first year – we know the Barrons are well-coached, and that Goerge can adapt his offensive system to the talent he has, and there certainly is talent in the cupboard.

Summit checks in at No. 9, coming off a 9-3 season and a trip to the North 2, Group 3 final last year, where they lost to West Morris. They dealt with all kinds of injury adversity last year, and this well-coached program will again be highly-competitive.

Bernards comes in at No. 10, and another tremendous regular season, despite a firs-round playoff loss. The numbers speak for itself: The Mountaineers haven’t lost to a Big Central opponent since September of 2022, a defeat at the hands of Hillside. Since then, they have won 32 straight BCC contests, three shy of the record 35 set by St. Thomas Aquinas, which came to an end last year. Since the start of 2022, Bernards has an overall record of 40-5, by far the best in the league over that stretch.

Below is the complete 2026 preseason Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2026: Sayreville, St. Thomas Aquinas to duke it out in National Silver, while Edison, Franklin, North Brunswick hope to make strides

The National Silver may no longer feature the team with the longest Big Central win streak – a distinction that now belongs to Bernards – but St. Thomas Aquinas should be right up there with Sayreville in challenging for the division title in 2026.

The Bombers showed big improvement in Year Two under alum Mark Poore, who went from 4-6 to 9-2 in 2025, falling by one to Old Bridge in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals. But the Trojans also should be improved with more continuity under second-year head coach Shamir Bearfield. Franklin has boosted its coaching staff and should present a real challenge in the division, while Edison and North Brunswick are looking for bounceback years.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the National Silver Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.

Sayreville Bombers (9-2, 4-0, National Sliver Division Champions)
Head Coach: Mark Poore, 3rd season (13-8)

  • Week 0: Plainfield
  • Week 1: Ridge
  • Week 2: Edison*
  • Week 3: Franklin*
  • Week 4: at St. Thomas Aquinas*
  • Week 5: Old Bridge
  • Week 6: at Somerville
  • Week 7: at North Brunswick*
  • Week 8: Piscataway

Like Old Bridge – which the Bombers lost to in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals last season – Sayreville had just one regular season loss, and that came 43-15 to Montgomery after a 7-0 start. But they will have much to replace this season, including senior runningback Shaun Jackson, who finished his career just 23 yards shy of a two-thousand yard rushing campaign in 2025. Poore will look to rising junior Sherwin Appiah (401 yards, 8 TDs) and rising sophomore Dion Osae (534 yards, 3 TD) to fill the gap for a squad that carried it to the tune of 3,335 yards and 40 scores on the ground last season. And tough standouts like DL Julian Perez (5 1/3 sacks, 1 FR) and Adrian Ciesla (3 1/2 sacks) there are some young-uns who contributed last year on defense expected to be back, like risking juniors Kellan Bowers, Grady Walsh and Christian Woodard, each of whom recorded two sacks last season, with Woodard also recovering two fumbles.

St. Thomas Aquinas Trojans (5-6, 3-1, 2nd place National Silver)
Head Coach: Shamir Bearfield, 2nd season (5-6)

  • Week 0:  at Sheepshead Bay (Brooklyn)
  • Week 1: Westfield
  • Week 2: at Franklin*
  • Week 3: at Old Bridge
  • Week 4: Sayreville*
  • Week 5: at Somerville
  • Week 6: North Brunswick*
  • Week 7: at Edison*
  • Week 8: St. Joseph-Metuchen
  • Week 9: OPEN

Shamir Bearfield didn’t get hired until May after a period of turmoil for the Trojan program where Tarig Holman was not retained, and STA’s initial hire changed his mind. So last year’s 5-6 record comes with a little bit of an asterisk. But there’s no doubt Aquinas has the talent to compete again the way they did when they won 32 Big Central Conference games in a row, starting with the late Brian Meeney as head coach with the last win of the COVID season in 20210. Just start with quarterback Zymere Weaver, a sophomore who threw for 2,236 yards and 24 TDs – with just three picks – last year. But while he hit five difference receivers for over 300 yards apiece last year, only one – junior Tristan Bester (338 yards, 4 TDs) will be back, the rest having graduated. The defense returns a ton, including five of the eight players who logged sacks and all four players who totalled five interceptions as a group last year, though the loss of top tackler and linebacker Anwar Witherspoon will be tough to replace with just one person.

Franklin Warriors (4-6, 1-3, 3rd place National Silver)
Head Coach: Blair Wilson, 5th season (11-28)

  • Week 0: Ewing
  • Week 1: Colonia
  • Week 2: St. Thomas Aquinas*
  • Week 3: at Sayreville*
  • Week 4: North Brunswick*
  • Week 5: at Piscataway
  • Week 6: Edison*
  • Week 7: at South Brunswick
  • Week 8: at Woodbridge

It’s a challenging schedule for the Warriors, who opened last year 3-0, but only won one of their final seven games. Wilson has beefed up the coaching staff, bringing on two former head coaches: Derrick Eatman from North Plainfield, and Ibrahim Halsey from South Brunswick, who will coach against his former Vikings in Week Seven. The talent is there to make the push, too, with sophomore QB Jah’naad Cady throwing for 1,040 yards and 13 TDs last year. And on the ground, only one runningback last year – who had two carries – graduates from a group that ran for 1,420 yards last season. He’ll have plenty of targets to throw to as well. A host of solid defensive players should be back, too; freshman Jaden Dublin impressed last year with three sacks and four TFLs, along with a fumble and an INT, while top tackler Maurice Langford registered 62 (23 solo) along with a sack and a fumble recovery.

Edison Eagles (2-8, 1-3, 4th place National Silver)
Head Coach: Matt Yascko, 4th season (10-20)

  • Week 0: Union
  • Week 1: Woodbridge
  • Week 2: at Sayreville*
  • Week 3: North Brunswick
  • Week 4: at Summit
  • Week 5: East Brunswick
  • Week 6: at Franklin*
  • Week 7: St. Thomas Aquinas*
  • Week 8: at Rahway

The Eagles were in a lot of games last year, but just couldn’t get over the hump, or close them out, including a dramatic 33-28 home loss to Franklin where the Warriors scored at the final horn, and two late-season losses right before the cutoff, by one at South Brunswick and two at Paterson Eastside. Flip a few of those this year, and it’s a different season for Edison, whose schedule is manageable. Top rusher Shaun Garland, who had 555 yards and seven TDs (and can also catch the ball) is back for a team that rushed for over 1,700 yards as a group, and has four starters back up front. Garland should also be a big factor defensively, after racking up four sacks, eight TFLs and a forced fumble last season. Other, younger players, however, will have to step up into key roles.

North Brunswick (0-9, 0-4, 5th place National Gold)
Head Coach: Mike Cipot, 10th season (58-32)

  • Week 0: Snyder
  • Week 1: at South Brunswick
  • Week 2: Monroe
  • Week 3: at Edison*
  • Week 4: at Franklin*
  • Week 5: Carteret
  • Week 6: at St. Thomas Aquinas*
  • Week 7: Sayreville*
  • Week 8: East Brunswick

After a 4-6 season that was a downturn for North Brunswick after six straight seasons of seven or more wins, The Raiders went winless last season. But that’s where the program came from when head coach Mike Cipot resurrected it nearly a decade ago, so he’ll be looking to do that again; such is they cyclical nature of high school sports. But he’ll have to find a new quarterback after his nephew, Zach, threw for over a thousand yards last year. The top three receivers – junior Sal Fama-Linn (625 yards, 2 TD), sophomore Kaji Brown (286 yards, 1 TD) and junior Jayvon Dozier (176 yards, 2 TD) should all return for whoever is throwing it to them; sophomore Jasiah Hogans had the most QB experience behind Cipot last year, going 19-of-32 for 234 yards. Brown also had two forced fumbles at defensive back, and linebacker Alie Sakoh (1 fumble recovery, 1 INT) should be among key returnees.

by Mike Pavlichko

Piscataway Magnet earns program’s first win in GMC Championship Tournament, outlasting JFK 10-5; Spotswood, Sayreville, South River all advance to Monday’s first round

The “open” format of the Greater Middlesex Conference baseball tournament ended in 2019, when the league split its signature event into the Championship Bracket – now known as the Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament – and the Invitational, now named for former East Brunswick Tech (now Magnet) AD and coach Ray Cipperly.

Now in its seventh year, Piscataway Magnet – having its best year program history – not only made the championship bracket for the first time ever with a record of 18-1, and a Gold Division title (12-0) under its belt, but on Saturday, they picked up their first win ever in the championship tournament.

The 17th-seeded Raiders were 10-5 road winners at 16th-seed JFK in Saturday morning’s preliminary round, making them 19-1. And it may even be their first win ever in a GMC championship bracket – open or otherwise – with the only other victory we could find in readily available online records being a 5-2 decision over Perth Amboy Magnet in the first round of the 2023 Invitational.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with Piscataway Magnet head coach Greg Sampson and junior pitcher Kyla Malchiodi:

Each team scored twice in the first inning, then the Raiders got one in the top of the second and the Mustangs (6-14) got one in the bottom of the third to make it 3-3 heading into the top of the fourth, when as it turns out, Piscataway Magnet would get all the runs it needed. Kyle Malchiodi drove in a run with a sac fly, Vincent Canavan scored on a wild pitch, and Elvis Rodriguez hit a ground ball to short, reaching on an error, scoring two more runs to make it 7-3 Raiders.

Piscataway Magnet junior Kyle Malchiodi pitches against JFK in the GMC Jim Muldowney Championship Tournament preliminary round on May 9, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

For good measure, Piscataway Magnet picked up three more insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Freshman Trey Lyerly drove in two with a hard single to left, and Malchiodi singled to drive in another run, making it 10-3.

Back out on the mound to try and finish it off in the home seventh, Malchiodi gave up a single and a walk, then another single scoring two runs, cutting the lead to 10-5. Head coach Greg Sampson went to the bullpen and brought in Brody Guthrie, who walked one to put runners at first and second.

That’s when things got interesting.

Myles Ulaki took a 2-2 pitch, getting hit on the elbow. But the home plate umpire quickly stepped in and said Ulaki leaned over the plate with his elbow, and called him out for the first out of the inning.

After a brief argument – to no avail – Michael Rosales came up, and swung and missed at a 1-2 pitch for the second out. Catcher Colton Lyerly dropped the ball, but with runners on first and second, Rosales couldn’t run down to first. But Lyerly saw the runner on second, Fremy Peralta, far off the bag, threw down, and the tag applied by his younger brother, Trey, ended the game.

The victory sends Piscataway Magnet into Monday’s first round, where they will visit top-seed Edison (14-5), with first pitch set for 4 pm.

OTHER PRELIMINARY ROUND RECAPS:

(13) Spotswood 11, (20) North Plainfield 1: The Chargers (11-11) scored early and often in a five-inning ten-run rule win over the Canucks (16-7). Spotswood scored in every inning, starting with five in the first, highlighted by a two-RBI Ryan Orth double and a two-RBI single from Sebby Saracino. They picked up four more in the fourth, two in the third, and one in the fourth, not needing to bat in the bottom of the fifth with a 10-1 lead.

Starter Jack Korneski was efficient, going four innings with six strikeouts, no walks, allowing just one unearned run; he needed only 46 pitches to do it. Jack Abrams needed just seven pitches to lock it down in the fifth.

The win gives Spotswood just its second win streak of the year in an up-and-down season, after having won four straight in mid-April. They advance to Monday’s first round, where they will play at fourth-seed Metuchen (14-5), which swept two White Division games from the Chargers this season: 10-2 on April 4 and 4-0 on April 7.

(14) Sayreville 6, (19) Carteret 1: The Bombers had a 6-0 lead – with a run each in the first and second and two each in the fourth and fifth – before the Ramblers (14-4) could get on the board. Logan Kaufman went 1-for-3 with two RBI, both coming on a single to left in the fourth, while also tossing six four-hit innings, allowing one unearned run, striking out five to improve to 3-4 on the season..

Sayreville improves to 9-10 on the season and will travel to Old Bridge Monday at 4 pm to face the third-seeded Knights for the first time this season. Old Bridge has won two straight against the Bombers, including a 6-5 regular season game last year, and a 4-0 decision in 2024 in the Central Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals.

(15) South River 5, (16) JP Stevens 2: The Rams (16-5) got another solid start from Jullien Borusevic, who needed just 76 pitches to go the distance, allowing just two runs – one unearned – while striking out three to improve to 4-3 on the season.

South River took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, on a two-RBI Burosevic double and a Noah Barrero single. But Stevens (13-7) cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the second, the first run coming on an error of a bunt play, the other on a sacrifice fly by Soham Prajapati.

But the Rams came right back with two more in the bottom of the third, on a Noah Barrero single and a Brendan Lell fielder’s choice. Borusevic would only allow three more JP baserunners the rest of the game, on two singles, and an error.

South River will go on the road in the first round Monday at 4 pm, facing second-seed Middlesex (18-2), which won a regular season game Saturday, topping Rutgers Prep 7-1.

MONDAY’S FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE:

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

by Alec Crouthamel

Sayreville comes from behind, grinds out GMC Tournament win over Perth Amboy for Wojcik’s 200th

Midway through the second quarter, it appeared Sayreville basketball coach John Wojcik would be stuck at 199 career wins for at least another couple of days.

The seventh-seeded Bombers (15-9, 4-4 GMC Red National) trailed 25-13 to tenth-seeded Perth Amboy at home, as the Panthers (21-5, 12-0 GMC White American) controlled the physicality on both sides of the floor in the early goings.

But Sayreville rallied on its home floor and had to survive late in the game for a 59-53 victory in the GMC Tournament’s round of 16, giving a relieved Wojcik a milestone victory, and an extremely hard-fought one at that.

Senior guard Sam Jones — the school’s all-time leading scorer — finished the game with 23 points to lead all scorers. He knocked down a trio of three-pointers and hit clutch free throws late as the Bombers nursed a one-score lead in the final minute. Senior forward Chidi Chukwurah battled foul trouble all night long, including three first-half fouls, but scored all but one of his 19 points in the second half, even while dealing with four fouls for much of the half. It was an extremely physical matchup all night long, with both teams combining for 44 personal fouls (22 apiece). Eight players finished the night with at least three fouls.

Senior guard Ziyan Jones scored 14 points — including nine in the second half — to help make up nearly all of Sayreville’s scoring. Sophomore guard Trevor Yan knocked down a transition three in the second quarter — just his third basket and 13th point of the entire season — to help the Bombers weather the storm, and was the only Sayreville basket not from the trio of Sam Jones, Chukwurah, and Ziyan Jones.

Perth Amboy put together an impressive opening quarter with a 19-9 lead after eight minutes, led by a balanced scoring effort and hard-nosed play at the basket. Senior guard Bryham Paulino knocked down two of his five three-pointers in the opening stretch, and the Panthers got five and four points from Kasey Abreu and Yandel Susana, respectively. The Bombers struggled to consistently get into their half-court offense to start the game thanks to a hounding perimeter defensive effort from Perth Amboy, and the Panthers were able to get easy baskets early with their ball movement against the opposing zone.

Those trends continued into the second quarter, as the lead continued to grow. Ricardo Reyes scored three times at the rim and it appeared that Perth Amboy had Sayreville rattled on its home floor.

But the Bombers finally got going on defense, and started putting together productive drives at the basket to either score or set up an open shooter. Jones hit a three and a midrange jumper, as Sayreville put together enough momentum to trail 27-20 at the half.

And whatever Wojcik said at halftime worked pretty well.

The Bombers stormed out of the gate with two straight baskets sandwiching a forced turnover to bring it to a one-possession game, and Sayreville controlled the rest of the quarter. Chukwurah made his presence felt amid foul trouble, battling through double- and even triple-teams in the post and avoiding the eliminating fifth foul countless times. He added ten points in the quarter, and the Jones duo scored five apiece as Sayreville matched its first-half point total of 20 in the third quarter alone. It also held Perth Amboy to seven — all from Susana — and took a six-point lead into the final eight minutes.

The Panthers weren’t quite done yet, though.

Both teams turned up the pace as Perth Amboy knocked down big shot after big shot to prevent the Bombers from truly pulling away, led by a trio of threes from Paulino, each more critical than the last. Susana continued his savvy scoring with drives to the basket, and all of a sudden, Perth Amboy found itself back in the lead with under four minutes to play.

But just like the third quarter, both Jones’s hit timely shots as Chukwurah controlled the post, and by the end of the frenzy, Jones knocked down two critical free throws with 30 seconds to play to put the Bombers up by four, a lead they would not relinquish.

Sayreville moves on to the GMC Tournament quarterfinals, where it will travel to Piscataway and face the second-seeded Chiefs on Saturday, February 14th at 1 pm. They defeated 18-seed North Plainfield 95-40 on Thursday. Piscataway defeated the Bombers 73-62 in last year’s GMC Tournament semifinals.

Click below for postgame reaction with Sayreville senior guard Sam Jones and head coach John Wojcik in his 200th victory, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sayreville’s Sam Jones sets Bombers’ overall scoring record less than a week after breaking boys mark, in 57-49 win over Colonia

Rhonda Rompola set the girls’ basketball scoring record at Sayreville in 1978, finishing with 1,608 points in her senior season, before going on to play at Old Dominion, where she won a pair of AIAW national championships in the pre-NCAA days.

Steve Makwinski set the boys record four years prior in 1974, finishing his stellar career with 1,546 points. He played with current head coach John Wojcik’s father, and still attends every game.

Those records stood for a combined 100 years. But as of Thursday night, both have been surpassed.

Senior Sam Jones broke the boys’ record on a first-quarter three at New Brunswick over the weekend, and Thursday night, he broke the all-time record set by Rompola with a layup following a steal, and a feed by Chidi Chukwura with 4:03 left in a gutty 57-49 home win over Colonia. Jones needed 16 coming into the night to tie, 17 to pass her. He finished with 18, and 1,610 career points. (Scroll down for video of the record-setting basket, and on-court recognition.)

And he’s not done yet.

So, to recap, that’s two records – one boys’, one girls’ – set 52 and 48 years ago – that went down in the span of a week.

And if you think that’s impressive, Chukwura – also a senior – is sure to pass both Makwinski’s and Rompola’s marks as well. He had 1,502 coming into Thursday night’s home game against Colonia, and scored 24 in the game. That leaves him 20 behind Makwinski, which he very well could reach Saturday when the Bombers host St. Thomas Aquinas for a 1 pm tip. He’s also just 82 behind Rompola. And with a scoring average around 20, that may not take long.

He’s still chasing his teammate, though, and Thursday night belonged to Sam Jones.

Click below to hear from Sayreville senior Sam Jones, who’s now the Bombers’ all-time scoring leader – boys or girls – along with head coach John Wojcik:

Watch this video – sent to Central Jersey Sports Radio – of the record-setting layup and recognition by PA announcer Gary Andrewshetsko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top Ten losses reshuffle the entire deck in Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball rankings

For the first time this season, the entire Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten got a complete reshuffle.

It was a challenging week to be sure, as a few top ten teams suffered multiple losses this week, whether in conference play or at showcase games. And the end result is one new team in the rankings, and a new No. 1 squad.

Gill St. Bernard’s (9-3) is the new top team after getting through a heck of a schedule this past week. They opened with a 79-46 win over Ridge, then passed tests from two of the Skyland Conference’s elite – winning 64-53 Thursday at Montgomery (in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio) and again Saturday at home over Rutgers Prep, 90-84. The Knights should have the inside track at the top seed in the county tournament, but first will have to get by Pingry Tuesday; the Big Blue knocked off Rutgers Prep Thursday, and would have a legitimate argument for that top seed if they can beat Gill on the road.

Meanwhile, St. Joseph-Metuchen moves up to No. 2, as they remain undefeated at 10-0. The Falcons went 4-0 in the week gone by; they were 61-45 winners over St. Thomas Aquinas at home Tuesday and beat Old Bridge 75-35 on Thursday in GMC play. Then, Saturday at the Iverson Classic Breakout Series at Paramus Catholic, they beat Archbishop Carroll (PA) 61-50. And on Sunday, they beat Wings Academy (NY), 77-36.

With an upset of Rutgers Prep Thursday, Pingry enters the top ten at No. 3. The Big Blue are 7-2, and last week, knocked off one of the league’s heavyweights in the Argonauts at home. That followed a Tuesday win over then-No. 10 Immaculata, which came back Thursday to hand Bridgewater-Raritan its first defeat of the season. Pingry took a loss Saturday, however, at Oratory Prep, 60-58.

Falling one spot to fourth was Rutgers Prep (6-5), which opened the week with an 89-73 win over Montgomery, but then lost three straight – at Pingry on Thursday, 64-58; Saturday at Gill, 90-84, and Sunday, 79-64, to St. Francis (NY) at their Shooting Stars Shootout showcase event.

Falling from No. 1 back behind Prep is Montgomery, which lost two league games during the week, at Rutgers Prep on Tuesday, then to Gill at home on Thursday. But the Cougars ended a three-game skid with a 66-45 home win over an eight-win Overbrook team from the Tri-County Conference in their own Coaches vs. Cancer Classic down in Skillman.

East Brunswick (11-1) has won five straight, and rises one spot to six this week. The Bears beat Woodbridge 80-54 on Tuesday, Monroe 72-40 on Thursday, then used a big second-half rally to win at Sayreville, 48-47, on Saturday, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Immaculata (6-2) climbed to No. 7 this week from ten. After a loss to Pingry, 64-59, back on Tuesday, they rebounded by knocking off undefeated and then-No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan on the road, 64-57. They also won Saturday, beating Hamilton 77-42.

Down two spots to No. 8 is Bridgewater-Raritan (9-1), which took its first loss of the year Thursday against Immaculata at home. That was sandwiched in between a pair of wins: Tuesday, 69-50, at Watchung Hills, and Saturday at Hillside, 69-54.

Piscataway (9-3) is down to nine after a two-loss week. They fell 68-67 Thursday to previously-ranked Sayreville, then lost Sunday afternoon to East Orange at nearby Plainfield in the Stay Public Basketball Showcase, 74-53.

And down one spot to tenth is Somerville (8-2). The Pioneers lost Tuesday 48-24 to Delaware Valley, but bounced back with a pair of wins: Thursday at home over College Achieve Central, 71-26, then Saturday, 52-20 over Westfield in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery.

Dropping out this week is No. 8 South Plainfield. The Tigers (8-3) beat Colonia Tuesday at home, 56-42, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, then Woodbridge 88-68 on Thursday, but fell twice over the weekend: Saturday to Ramapo 54-30 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery, then Sunday 67-46 to Westfield in the Stay Public Basketball Showcase at Plainfield.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Boys’ Basketball Top Ten for Week Five: