Tag: Scotch Plains-Fanwood

by Mike Pavlichko

2025 Big Central Preview: United Gold Division

Here’s how challenging the Big Central Conference’s United Gold Division was in 2024:

Cranford finished with the best overall record at 7-3. Summit beat them in the regular season and swept four games to win the division, but the Cougars got them back in the opening round of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Hillside – which went 5-5 – narrowly beat Carteret 7-0, while Cranford edged them by ten.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood should be improved in its second-year under head coach Shawn Johnson, who’s knowledgeable about his players from his years coaching youth football, and the Comets have a new coach, too, in six-year NFL veteran Isa Abdul-Kuddus.

It all should make for an interesting 2025 in the United Gold.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2025: Plenty of room to grow in United Gold Division for defending champ Summit and others in one of the best top-to-bottom divisions

The 2024 football season for the Big Central’s United Gold Division was on overall solid good one.

While the league had a few winless or one- or two-win teams, nobody won fewer than three games in the United Gold – with Scotch Plains-Fanwood going 3-7 – while the rest had relatively solid or better campaigns. As a whole, the division was 26-25, for a .510 win percentage, one of just five out of the 12 BCC groupings to win more games than they lost, in total.

While Summit won the United Gold, going 4-0 against the Raiders, Carteret, Hillside and Cranford, they finished 5-4, while the Cougars had he best overall record at 7-3. Hillside went 5-5, and one more win would have gotten the Ramblers to .500 on the year.

And there should be some good parity again in 2025.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the United Gold Division teams – in alphabetical order – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge. Please note game dates and times may be changed without notice as the season approaches. Division games marked with an asterisk (*).

Carteret Ramblers (4-6, 1-3, 4th place in ’24)
Head Coach: Kevin Freeman (18-13, 4th season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: at Perth Amboy (6p)
  • Week 2: Cranford*
  • Week 3: Summit*
  • Week 4: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood*
  • Week 5: New Brunswick
  • Week 6: at Hillside* (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 7: Linden
  • Week 8: at Bernards

True to form at Carteret, the Ramblers were more of a run-first team in 2024, but they will lose talented senior Jakir Thomas and his 1,311 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns from last season. The only likely returnee at quarterback is Al-Naiquan Boseman, a sophomore who threw one pass in 2024. A few receivers should be back, though, including rising senior Jeremiah Arrington, who caught six balls last year for 134 yards. A number of underclassmen contributed on defense last season, with junior Ronelle Nimneh-Gilbert (2 sacks, 9 TFLs, 1 forced fumble/recovery) and Anthony Bilbao (2 sacks, 2 TFLs) making their marks. The Ramblers will look to start things out with a fourth straight win in their rivalry game with Perth Amboy after a Week Zero bye.

Cranford Cougars (7-3, 3-1, 2nd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Erik Rosenmeier (136-68, 21st season)

  • Week 0: Bernards
  • Week 1: at Somerville (6:30p)
  • Week 2: at Carteret*
  • Week 3: South Plainfield
  • Week 4: Summit*
  • Week 5: Rahway
  • Week 6: Scotch Plains-Fanwood*
  • Week 7: at Colonia (6p)
  • Week 8: at Hillside* (Sat, 1p)

The bad news is the Cougars’ starting QB Tyler Veltre (937 pass yards, 4 TD) and top receiver Luciano Firoenza (265 yards, 0 TD) are gone, but Cranford didn’t really throw the ball much either. And while three of their top four runningbacks are gone to graduation, Gabe Worrell – who lead the team with 805 rushing yards and ten touchdowns – is back, and he’s just a junior. But he’s a nice piece to build around, as sophomore Aidan Capizzi is the only returning QB to throw a pass. The defense will see some changes, however, after a senior-heavy unit in 2024. But let’s not forget, Cranford went 7-3 in 2024, and there’s a reason Erik Rosenmeier is the dean of Union County coaches, with only two other Big Central mentors at their current schools longer: Rich Marchesi of South River entering year 29, and Dan Higgins at Piscataway going into his 22nd season.

Hillside Comets (5-5, 2-2, 3rd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Isa-Abdul Quddus (1st season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: Bernards (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 2: at Summit* (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 3: Scotch Plains-Fanwood (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 4: at Somerville (6:30p)
  • Week 5: at Roselle (Sat, 2p)
  • Week 6: Carteret* (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 7: at Voorhees (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 8: Cranford* (Sat, 1p)

It’s sort of a coach swap here, as Barris Grant left to take the Union coaching job, while Isa-Abdul Quddus – a former standout for the Farmers who played in the NFL – now takes the reins at Hillside. Senior Justin Ashford – who only threw three passes last year – should get the top crack at the starting QB job after the graduation of thousand-yard passer Zion Risher, who also tossed 12 touchdown passes. Top back Mitchell Jenkins rushed for 938 yards and 11 TDs as a sophomore, and with the Robinsons – Kamari (40 catches, 419 yards, 6 TDs) and Quaron (25 catches, 319 yards, 1 TD) coming off solid junior campaigns, Quddus will have a lot to work with on offense. The defense has expected returnees like DL Uyi Igiehon (1 sack, 1 TFL) and LB Ian Shillingford (1 sack, 9 TFLs) and defensive back Shakeam Gatweeod (2 forced fumbles, 2 INT, 1 blocked kick) back.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders (3-7, 0-4, 5th place in ’24)
Head Coach: Shawn Johnson (3-7, 2nd season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: Rahway
  • Week 2: New Brunswick
  • Week 3: at Hillside* (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 4: Carteret*
  • Week 5: JFK
  • Week 6: at Cranford*
  • Week 7: at Perth Amboy
  • Week 8: at Summit (Sat, 1p)

The Raiders have struggled the last several years, and with three coaches in three years, consistency has been the issue. Austin Holman stepped down in the middle of the 2022 season, replaced by interim Bobby Swerchek, who coached the team for 2023 but left after the season to take over for Phlip McGuane at Middlesex, who left after a cancer diagnosis and just took over for Dave DeNapoli, who retired at Dunellen. Got all that?

Last year’s team never stuck together back-to-back wins, beating New Brunswick, JFK and Perth Amboy, and they haven’t beaten a team that finished with a winning record since 2021, when they upset Woodbridge, 34-33. Last year’s was a senior-laden club, other than returning junior QB Callum Fynes, who was 3-12 for 17 yards and one interception in four games. The defense was somewhat young – few juniors, but a mix of seniors and sophomores – and they should be more experienced this year, even if they went through baptism by fire in ’24.

Summit Hilltoppers (5-4, 4-0, United Gold champs in ’24)
Head Coach: Kevin Kostibos (82-38, 13th season)

  • Week 0: bye
  • Week 1: at Montgomery
  • Week 2: Hillside* (sat, 1p)
  • Week 3: at Carteret*
  • Week 4: at Cranford*
  • Week 5: Somerville (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 6: Bernards (Sat, 1p)
  • Week 7: at Woodbridge
  • Week 8: Scotch Plains-Fanwood* (Sat, 1p)

Oscar Marx is a solid receiver the Hilltoppers will lose to graduation, along with his 23 catches and six touchdowns, but many others are back on offense, including rising senior QB Cole Sabol, who was 43 yards show of a thousand last year, but more impressively, threw ten touchdowns and just one pick last season. Their top two runningbacks are expected to return in junior Gavin Schnall (472 yards, 2 TD), and senior Alex Schqark (434 yards, 7 TD), as are the next two on the list. And a good number of players return on defense, including LB Matt McKeever, who had three sacks and five TFLs last season as a sophomore, while Junior Connor Gawronski had the team’s lone INT last year. This year’s D could be even better.

by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Big Central Roundup: Colonia rallies to win Chiola Bowl, St. Joe’s handles Union, two new coaches pick up their first wins

Though there are fewer games on any given Saturday in the Big Central Conference than Friday nights, there was no shortage of action. Colonia came from behind to beat Linden, St. Joseph-Metuchen continued its strong early season play, and Matt Andzel and Shawn Johnson got their first wins as head coaches at their alma maters.

Colonia 21, Linden 14: The Patriots used a fourth quarter rally, scoring 14 unanswered points, in their Big Central Liberty Gold Division opener to beat Linden at Tiger Stadium, 21-14.

Rynal Wortman opened the scoring for Colonia with a 41-yard touchdown catch thrown by Dylan Chiera, in the first quarter, but in the second, Tyrone Hinton of Linden threw a ten-yard TD pass to Richard Lugardo to tie the game at seven.

After a scoreless third, Hinton scored on a one-yard run to make it 14-7, but Colonia would score twice to close out the game.

First, Yisrael Custudio scored on a ten-yard touchdown run. Then, with the game tied and Colonia facing a fourth-and-three from its own 46, they called a timeout to figure out how they’d go for it. The ensuing play was a 55-yard touchdown pass from Chiera to Nigel Hill for the score.

The Patriots are now 3-0 for the second time in three seasons (they also did it in 2022, an 8-2 season) ahead of a big one Friday night against in-town rival Woodbridge. The Barrons, who are also 3-0, are ranked No. 3 in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten.

Colonia has now won two games that have gone right down to the wire, the first being a 22-21 overtime win against Sayreville in its season opener.

Saturday’s game also was being called “The Chiola Bowl,” as Linden coach Al Chiola lives in Colonia, and his son, Tyler, is in the football program.

St. Joseph-Metuchen 32, Union 8: The Falcons improved to 2-0 with a convincing win over Union, 32-8 Saturday afternoon at Brenner family Field. Union drops to 0-3 in the first season under Jason Scott.

St. Joe’s rushed for 149 yards as a team, led by quarterback Justin Scaramuzzo, who rushed for 73 yards and two scores, while also throwing 10-of-18 for 115 yards. And the Falcon defense snared three interceptions on the day to help their cause.

St. Joe’s goes to Elizabeth (2-1), while Union hosts Westfield (1-1) next Friday night.

Two more coaches get first wins at their schools…

In two other Saturday games, two new coaches picked up their first wins, both at their alma maters.

Westfield evened its record at 1-1 with a 37-21 home win over Elizabeth that earned alum Matt Andzel his first head coaching victory. Andzel played for Ed Tranchina from 1999 to 2001.

The game was tight early, with Westfield leading 6-0 after one quarter, but they exploded for 24 second quarter points and built a 30-7 lead by halftime. Quarterback Cole Weidler got some big pass plays going, completing just nine passes in 15 attempts for 219 yards and four touchdowns, an average 24 yards per reception.

Blake Rudow rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on a busy day, with 32 carries.

Meanwhile, Scotch Plains Fanwood’s Shawn Johnson picked up win No. 1 with a 42-0 rout at New Brunswick. Jaden Richards and TJ Rasberry each rushed for two touchdowns in the game. See Marcus Borden’s postgame reaction – presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen – here.

Who else is seeking their first?

Two of the ten new coaches hired this offseason have picked up their first wins. Along with Andzel and Johnson, East Brunswick’s Matt Pazinko, Middlesex’s Bobby Swercheck, Sayreville’s Mark Poore, Ibrahim Halsey of South Brunswick, John Hack of Voorhees, and Woodbridge’s Joe Goerge are all on the board.

That leaves Tyrone Turner of Roselle and Jason Scott of Union. The Rams will visit AL Johnson Friday night, while Union hosts Westfield at Cooke Field, also on Friday night.

But there are still two coaches who took over teams last season still searching for that first win.

North Hunterdon was decimated by graduation when CJ Robinson took over as head coach, and went 0-9 last year. The Lions, who are 0-3 this season, have lost ten straight since their North 1, Group 4 title win in 2022. They host Montgomery, which also is 0-3, Friday night in Annandale.

And former Spotswood assistant Steve Gluchowski is still looking for his first in at New Brunswick. The Zebras also went 0-9 last year, and also have started this year 0-3. They have lost 17 straight, with their last win coming September 16th, 2022, against Franklin, a 28-26 win at Memorial Stadium.

While Robinson had to deal with graduation and the cyclical nature of high school football, especially coming off a title year with a heavily senior-laden team, Gluchowski inherited a program that had only won 10 games in the previous five seasons under alum Nate Harris, a stretch that included an 09- campaign in 2019, and where their best years was a 4-6 mark in 2021.

The Zebras’ last season above .500 was a 9-2 year in 2015 under Don Sofilkanich, where their only regular season loss was to Colonia, and New Brunswick got knocked out of the state tournament in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals by Old Bridge.

Other Saturday Scores…

  • Morris Knolls 34, Bridgewater-Raritan 14
  • Franklin 34, East Brunswick 0
  • JFK 28, Governor Livingston 27
  • Summit 41, Hillside 14
  • South River 45, Roselle Park 19
by Mike Pavlichko

Scotch Plains cruises past New Brunswick; Johnson earns first win as Raider coach

Scotch Plains-Fanwood scored early and often Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, as the Raiders won a Big Central Conference crossover game 42-0 at New Brunswick.

After a scoreless first quarter, Jaden Richards got SPF on the board first with a six-yard touchdown run with 10:08 to go in the second quarter. Less than four game minutes later, he broke a 50-yarder, taking it all the way to paydirt, to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead.

T.J. Raspberry punched in one more score from three yards out with 13 seconds to go in the half to make it 21-0 going into the locker room.

   

And on it went in the second half, with the running clock starting after the Raiders’ second score of the half – another TD run by Raspberry – with Scotch Plains tacking on one more to win it 42-0.

It was the first win as head coach for Shawn Johnson at his alma mater, where he was a standout on the gridiron. He also has coached the Scotch Plains-Fanwood PAL youth team, leading them to a Super Bowl victory, and retired last year as a juvenile detective as a sergeant, spending 25 years with the department.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

Late coaching changes jolted what was otherwise a calm offseason in the Big Central Conference; Here are the ten schools with new football coaches

The springtime departure of Joe LaSala from Woodbridge and the controversial dismissal of Andy Steinfeld at East Brunswick added to what otherwise would have been a calm off-season in the Big Central Conference for coaching changes.

With 14 new coaches in 2022, and another ten for 2023, only six schools would have seen new mentors this year in the BCC. That would have been the fewest since the transition from Year One to Year Two in the league, when only six schools – Spotswood, Dayton, Middlesex, Plainfield, Roselle and South Plainfield – changed coaches.

But Joe LaSala resigned from Woodbridge in late March, leading to three other changes: Joe Goerge left South Brunswick to lead the Barrons, Ibrahim Halsey left Roselle to replace Goerge, and Tyrone Turner left his Co-Defensive Coordinator job at Plainfield to take over at Roselle.

Then, just a couple of weeks before preseason practice began, Matt Pazinko was elevated from Offensive Coordinator to interim head coach at East Brunswick.

Here’s a look at the league’s new mentors heading into 2024:

East Brunswick – Matt Pazinko: Described by his former boss as his “right-hand man,” Pazinko – who, like Steinfeld, played for, was a captain, and coached under longtime mentor and current Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst Marcus Borden – will have to help his team tune out the noise after the events of late July and early August. Little will likely change in the offensive scheme, as all of Steinfeld’s assistants remain on staff. The Bears will try and rebound from back-to-back one-win seasons after going 8-4 in 2021.

Middlesex – Robert Swercheck: When they say people do stuff “for the kids,” they mean a coach like Phlip McGuane, who stepped down after a cancer diagnosis. All indications are his prognosis was good, but he didn’t want the team to suffer if he had to spend any time away. So, he stepped aside, and in comes North Brunswick alum Robert Swercheck, who had been holding down the fort at Scotch Plains-Fanwood since head coach Austin Holman stepped aside for personal reasons mid-season. Swercheck takes over a Blue Jays team that went 7-2 a year ago, its best showing since going 8-2 in 2019.

Roselle: Tyrone Turner: “Go out and have fun” is how Turner put it to his new kids, as he takes over a Rams’ program once coached by his most recent boss. James Williams preceded Ibrahim Halsey before leaving for Plainfield, and Turner was his co-defensive coordinator with the Cardinals. Prior to Plainfield, Turner – an East Orange Campus alum – was offensive coordinator at Weequahic in 2015 and 2016, with the Indians going 12-0 and winning the North 2, Group 1 title over Shabazz. He later became the head coach at Shabazz, going 13-23, improving the team to 5-6 his final season in 2022, before heading to the Queen City.

Sayreville – Mark Poore: Though the Bombers went 8-2 in 2023, Don Soflikanich is out after one season, and Sayreville alum Mark Poore is in. He was an assistant under the program’s last three head coaches, including Sofilkanich, Chris Beagan and George Najjar, for whom he played in the early 2000s. His senior year, the Bombers went 10-1, their only loss coming to Scotch Plains Fanwood in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals. A quarterback, he threw for over 1,000 yards that year and ran for 500 more. Poore also brought on former North Plainfield coach James DiPaolo as offensive coordinator.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood – Shawn Johnson: A former standout for the Raiders at , Johnson coached the Scotch Plains-Fanwood PAL youth team to a Super Bowl victory, and retired last year as a juvenile detective as a sergeant, spending 25 years with the department. SPF was in a bit of flux last year, with head coach Austin Holman leaving mid-season and Bobby Swercheck keeping things going, but he’s now at Middlesex. The Raiders were 1-3 when Holman left, and lost their next four before closing things out with a pair of wins over JFK – ironically, Holman’s previous coaching stop – and South Plainfield.

South Brunswick – Ibrahim Halsey: The Vikings were right in the middle of the late-Spring coaching carousel in the Big Central Conference. The vacancy at Woodbridge lured away Joe Goerge, and Ibrahim Halsey getting hired by South Brunswick left Roselle looking for a new coach. The Rams were 17-16 in three years with Halsey at the helm. The 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey starred at Elizabeth, then in the Big Ten at Illinois. The Vikings are coming off back-to-back 5-5 seasons under Goerge, and won their last two games last season over Howell and Egg Harbor.

Union – Jason Scott: When you’ve worked under the previous coach – as Jason Scott did for Lou Grasso – for nine years, you’re bound to pick up a thing or two, and probably not mess too much with success. After all, he helped lead Grasso’s 2019 Farmers to the North 2, Group 5 title and a 12-1 season that just adds to the tradition at The “U.” Though 5-6 last season, that’s just a cyclical public school hiccup; the future looks bright at Union in 2024.

Voorhees – John Hack: An Immaculata alum, where he played for the legendary Pierce Frauenheim, he later coached there, then at Morris Catholic. Now, he’s at a public school in Glen Gardner taking over for Ricky Kurtz, whose Vikings had four losing seasons before breaking through last year, going 7-4. But Kurtz stepped down after a ten year run, during the first five of which he was an assistant. Though they graduate top runnignback Brandon Kurzeja and his 1,070 yards, Voorhees rushed for a mind-boggling 3,081 yards last year, and they have two junior backs returning who contributed nearly 600 yards and five touchdowns last year in Antonio Sauchelli and Matteo Tramutola.

Westfield – Matt Andzel: The first alum to coach the Blue Devils in its long and storied history, Andzel takes over for Jim DeSarno, who retired to take the Athletic Director post, after Sandra Mammary,at the end of the year. So, the former head coach truly got to pick his own replacement. A 2007 College of New Jersey graduate, he played for DeSarno’s predecessor, Ed Tranchina, from 1999-2001. Westfield is one of the legendary programs in Central Jersey, and won three straight North 2, Group 5 titles from 2015 to 2017, all coming over Bridgewater-Raritan at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, going unbeaten all three years. Andzel was on the staff during that run, and takes over a team that went 6-5 last year, beating solid teams like Hillsborough and Thanksgiving rival Plainfield.

Woodbridge – Joe Goerge: After two years in his second stint at South Brunswick, Joe Goerge has moved North to coach the Barrons. Goerge won the Vikings their only state titles – three of then in a seven-year stretch where his teams were 63-17. Woodbridge is loaded, so talent won’t be an issue. But Goerge has run option a good portion of his career, so it’ll be interesting to watch if he works any of that in or lets senior QB Derek Anderson fling it to his twin brother, Bryan whenever he gets the chance. The Barrons were 6-4 last season, dropping their last two games, to Sayreville and Ridge.

DID YOU KNOW?

There have been 40 coaching changes in the Big Central Conference since its inaugural season in 2020. Some have had multiple changes, like Somerville, which started with Dallas Whitaker, then Ian Pace, and now Matt Bloom.

In the end, there are 22 schools who have the same head football a coach now as they did four seasons ago. (Two of them had a change, but didn’t play varsity in 2020. Carteret sat out fall sports that year, and Matt Yascko left to become offensive coordinator and coach his son at Edison; Kevin Freeman was hired in the spring. And Highland Park hired Shawn Harrison after the 2019 season to replace Derrick Nobles, but the Owls didn’t have the numbers to field a varsity team that year.)

Here are the 22 schools who have not had a coaching change during their time playing in the Big Central:

  • Bernards: Jon Simoneau
  • Bound Brook: Dave LePoidevin
  • Carteret: Kevin Freeman
  • Colonia: Tom Roarty
  • Dunellen: Dave DeNapoli
  • Highland Park: Shawn Harrison
  • Hillsborough: Kevin Carty
  • Hillside: Barris Grant
  • Hunterdon Central: Casey Ransone
  • Linden: Al Chiola
  • Johnson: Anthony DelConte
  • Montgomery: Zoran Milich
  • New Providence: Chet Parlevecchio, Jr.
  • North Brunswick: Mike Cipot
  • Phillipsburg: Frank Duffy
  • Piscataway: Dan Higgins
  • Rahway: Brian Russo
  • Ridge: Andy West
  • Roselle Park: Greg Dunkerton
  • South Hunterdon: Toby Jefferis
  • South River: Rich Marchesi
  • Summit: Kevin Kostibos
  • Watchung Hills: Rich Seubert
by Mike Pavlichko

2024 Big Central Preview: United Gold Division

You can forgive Cranford and Summit if they’re breathing a sigh of relief now that St. Thomas Aquinas has moved up in the Big Central Conference’s divisional alignment.

Then again, they might want to hold that breath again now that Hillside has joined the fray in the United Gold Division.

The Comets have been one of the more solid Big Central teams in the league’s first couple of years, but life doesn’t get any easier for them in the United Gold Division either. That’s because they’re playing some bigger schools than they’re used to.

Summit, Cranford, Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Carteret round out the division, which also sees Rahway leave. Summit has lost a good deal of talent, but the program has a good foundation, and the Hilltoppers will be competitive. Same for the Cougars and Ramblers, but Scotch Plains will be looking for some stability under first-year head coach Shawn Williams.

He’ll be their third coach in less than a year, as Austin Holman gave way to Robert Swercheck early last year, before he left to take over for Phlip McGuane at Middlesex. Can the Raiders work through the upheaval and put it together in ’24?

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Milich earns 100th career coaching win – all at Montgomery – in win over Scotch Plains

At the end of the night, the score mattered, but was irrelevant at the same time.

Fifth-ranked Montgomery easily dispatched of visiting Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 35-0 Friday night in Skillman.

But it wasn’t the 35 that mattered, or the zero for that matter. It was a one followed by two zeroes, as in 100, the number of career victories earned by Cougars head coach Zoran Milich.

To be precise, his program has 103 wins, but Milich will have none of that. He missed three games in the last couple of years due to injury or illness, and he didn’t want credit for those three wins.

So, win No. 100 came Friday night, October 13, 2023, More than two decades after he started a Montgomery program with some players who didn’t even know how to pull their pants on.

Zoran Milich’s players are all smiles after their coach notched his 100th career win – all at Montgomery – with a 35-0 victory over visiting Scotch Plains-Fanwood on October 13, 2023. (Photo credit: Sara Kendall)

The kids on the current team? They know how to do way more than that.

Friday night, Brady Post ran for three touchdowns, and the Michael Schmelzer, Jr.-Matt Davino connection struck again, too, while Schmelzer himself also ran one in for a touchdown.

The win – for the immediate moment, not including any other Friday results – keeps the Cougars (8-0) in fifth in the North Group 4 playoff section, with fourth-place Ridge not in action until Saturday afternoon at Westfield.

The Raiders fell to 1-7 on the year.

by Mike Pavlichko

Week 6 Playoff Analysis: Group 4

Cutoff Weekend is rapidly approaching – October 21st – and there’s still a lot of football to be played before the NJSIAA seeds the state playoff.

Here at Central Jersey Sports Radio, we’ll be breaking down playoff scenarios for every Big Central Conference team’s that’s in the running.

The NJSIAA’s uses its UPR system – which factors Opponent Strength Index as 60 percent of the formula and traditional power points for the other 40 percent – to determine playoff seeding, but things can change a lot from week to week, until Cutoff Weekend, when Strength Index numbers are locked in.

Here’s our team-by-team look at Group 4. Official standings on Gridiron New Jersey can be found by clicking the links below.

NORTH GROUP 4:

3. Montgomery (6-0): The Cougars just keep on winning, and we think have a legit at finishing in the top two and getting a No. 1 seed. That’s because they’re only 0.4 UPR points out of second behind Ramapo. That’s probably the best they can do, as Roxbury (6-0) is in first by 2.4 UPR points over Ramapo, and 2.8 over Monty. There are also three teams bunched very close behind them: Mount Olive and Northern Highlands with 4.4 UPRs, and Ridge in sixth at 4.8 UPR. Montgomery has passed, and should go into their Cutoff Weekend game at Linden 8-0 with games at North Hunterdon (0-6) and Scotch Plains-Fanwood (1-5) the next two weeks. They’ll need to win all three to have a shot at that second seed. For the record, Ramapo has River Dell (1-4), Old Tappan (5-0) and Ridgewood (2-3) the rest of the way. It’s a bit of a stronger schedule, but to compare the best teams on their slates, it could come down to Monty and Linden on that last weekend after Ramapo-Old Tappan next week; both of those games could very well be toss-ups and decide the race.

6. Ridge (4-1): As one of those three teams bunched behind Montgomery, can the Red Devils make a run? IF they can win all three, their challenging schedule just could do it, especially if they get some help from above (no, not that above). They get South Brunswick at home Friday night, then visit Westfield next Saturday before a Friday night Cutoff Weekend clash with Union in Basking Ridge. A challenge, yes. But if they can win ’em all, call it a blessing in disguise. They’ll have earned it.

8. Woodbridge (4-2): We’ll call the Barrons a “bubble top eight” team. With an 8.2 UPR, they’re a little far back from the rest of the teams above them; Morris Knolls in 7th has a 6.6 UPR, then Ridge at 4.8 is a long way away, for now. What may not help them maintain that position is the fact they have in-town rival JFK this week, and North Hunterdon next week. Both are winless, so even a win in the regular season finale at Sayreville might not get them there. But the Barrons should at least go 2-1 the rest of the way, and we consider them in the playoffs.

9. Linden (5-1): The Tigers have a 9.2 UPR, just one full point behind Woodbridge. They have a tougher schedule than the Barrons, and all things being equal, if both teams sweep the next three weeks, Linden should jump the Barrons, at the very least. It’s road games the next two weeks for the Tigers – at Summit and Cranford – before finishing out at Montgomery. Let’s say if they want a top eight finish and a first round playoff game, they control their own fate; they probably need to win out to do so.

12. Sayreville (4-2): We wouldn’t say the Bombers have clinched a playoff berth yet, but we do think they’re going to end up on the right side of things. They have a pure 12 UPR (i.e., they’re in 12th across the board in power points, OSI and UPR), and the 17th place team is at 17.6 UPR; 5.6 points is a lot of ground to make up. Assuming the Bombers win at least one of the next three, we think they should be in. After 2-4 Franklin this week, they have their rivalry game with Piscataway (currently 3-3) next week at Kenny Armwood Stadium, then host Woodbridge on Cutoff Weekend, Friday night. A second win should make it a lock.

13. Rahway (3-3): The Indians – right behind Sayreville – are a pure 13 UPR. Like Sayreville, we think they should be in, if they can continue at their current level of play. It’s a tough slate, though: St. Thomas Aquinas comes to Rahway River Park this weekend, then they close with two on the road: at Carteret and at Colonia. Won’t have a shot at a first round home game; should be in the top 16.

18. Scotch Plans-Fanwood (1-5): Despite their record, the Raiders are in 18th place, and at this point, any win should give them a boost. They have Cranford home Friday, then go to Montgomery, then close out back at home against JFK. But they’ll probably need a win over one of the first two to even have a shot.

19. Colonia (3-3): This one is the puzzler. Scotch Plains with one win is ahead of the Patriots, as are four other two-win teams. Their losses have been to some good teams: Sayreville, Linden and Woodbridge. The good news is, they can atone with wins over good teams coming up. After 2-4 Perth Amboy this Friday night at Waters Stadium, they will host Summit (5-1) then Rahway (3-3) to close it out. Colonia is 2.8 UPR points out of a playoff spot. If they can win all three, they might have a shot. They should beat Amboy, Rahway is a toss-up, Summit is a tough one. Stay tuned!

SOUTH GROUP 4:

There are no Big Central teams in South Group 4, but we’ll take a quick peek at the top of the standings, which have Millville (4-1) and Mainland (6-0) holding the top two spots, followed by Winslow (5-1) and Brick Memorial (6-0) with Jackson Memorial and Hammonton not far behind.

by Mike Pavlichko

Mid-Season Playoff Analysis: More than half-dozen BCC “big boys” have legitimate shot at top seeds

At the mid-way point of the high school season, with four more weeks of football until the playoffs are seeded, there are seven large – Group 5 or 4 schools – with a realistic shot at earning a top seed when the sectional playoffs begin the weekend of October 27th.

This is our first week of playoff projection analysis on cjsportsradio.com, presented by My Family Appliances in Edison, and we begin with a look at North and South Group 5 and 4 supersections..

With still a lot of football to be played, the analysis will be a bit more general in nature this week, but will get increasingly detailed with each passing week as the numbers come into better focus.

Playoff Qualification Primer

The NJSIAA uses the United Power Ranking (UPR) to determine where teams are seeded. Without getting into all the behind the scenes calculations and caveats, each team’s UPR is based on two factors: their rank in the supersection based on power points and on OSI.

Power points are an average and based on the traditional formula that’s been used – albeit altered from time-to-time – over the years. Teams get six points for every win, group points based on the group of the opponent, and residuals – 3 for every win by a team you beat, 1 for every win by a team you lost to.

OSI is the Opponent Strength Index, and average of all the opponents played. Teams get the full value of a team’s Strength Index for a win, half for a loss. A win over an opponent with an SI of 80 gets and 80, a loss gets you 40 points. SI varies based on results throughout the year.

Teams are ranked in each category. OSI values are worth 60 percent of the formula, power points 40 percent. That added number makes the UPR, with lower numbers better. The best UPR a team can have is a 1, which is first in both power points and OSI.

The UPR is calculated for the NJSIAA by the website Gridiron New Jersey. Central Jersey Sports Radio also does its own unofficial calculations throughout the season, and will unveil its playoff projections in our annual special broadcast, this year on Saturday, October 21 from 5-7 pm, presented by My Family Appliances in Edison.

North Group 5

There are three area teams in the top five at the moment. After Passaic Tech in first, there’s Watchung Hills second, Union third, then Union City, and Phillipsburg in fourth.

The Warriors (5-0) have a big clash at home Saturday night with Montgomery (5-0) so that could boost their power point average. Union also has a huge game at Cooke Field with Hillsborough, which just knocked off previously-undefeated P’burg Sunday in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers. The Stateliners try to get back on the horse Friday against Hunterdon Central, which just took its first loss of the season Friday to Ridge.

After that, there’s a chance for a home game for Plainfield, which is 3-1 at the moment and sitting in seventh. They go out of conference Friday night with a trip to North Bergen (2-2), and have a big one with Watchung Hills next week at home before closing at Monroe and home to Franklin, two very winnable games. The Cards look like the have a shot here.

Next, you have to go down to 12th to find Westfield, whose victory over winless Scotch Plains-Fanwood Friday probably did them no favors. The good news is, they Blue Devils are 2-2 after an 0-2 start, so they’re trending in the right direction. Westfield is at St. Joseph-Metuchen Saturday afternoon.

Though they’re on the right side of it at this point, we’ll call Piscataway and Bridgewater-Raritan bubble teams for now. The Chiefs (2-3) are in 14th, while the Panthers (1-4) are in 15th. This is a danger zone, because any team with one or two wins will make big jumps if they win a third or fourth game. So, they’ll have to watch teams behind them.

Of course, winning themselves will help.

The last four games for the Chiefs are winnable, starting with Old Bridge on the road this week, then East Brunswick home on Friday, October 6th – a game you can hear on CJSR at 6 pm from Kenny Armwood Stadium. Sayreville and New Brunswick close out their schedule.

Bridgewater-Raritan has a much more difficult schedule. They’re at Ridge this week, and home to Phillipsburg the next, before Elizabeth and a road game at Old Bridge round out the slate.

South Group 5

Two area teams are in the top six here, and you need to finish in the top two to get a top seed in one of the sections, South or Central 5. North Brunswick (4-0) currently sits in fourth, with a 3.4 UPR, just one UPR point behind second-place Toms River North (4-1).

The problem for the Raiders is their schedule is not conducive to climbing up the rankings. Of the four teams remaining, two are winless (New Brunswick and East Brunswick) and Franklin (this week) and Cranford (Cutoff Weekend) each have just two wins at the moment. As far as a top-seed is concerned, there’s zero margin for error here.

Hillsborough sits in sixth at 4-1, and got a big boost with its upset win over previously-unbeaten Phillipsburg. That was 20 power points for the win, as opposed to four for a loss. They’ll have similar opportunities the next two weeks – both on the road – against Union and Hunterdon Central. And their last two home games against Somerville and Westfield won’t hurt them either. Running the table could give them a really good shot.

Hunterdon Central currently sits in eighth, and should be able to get a first round home game. Their remaining four games are a mixed bag. They should beat both Franklin and Perth Amboy to end the regular season, so a first-round playoff game (top 8 finish in the supersection) could ride on getting at least one win in the next two weeks, which includes a trip to Phillipsburg this Friday night, and a home game against Hillsborough next weekend.

South Brunswick sits in 11th, well enough inside the bubble, but also fairly likely a bottom eight finish.

On the bubble are Edison and Franklin. The Eagles are the defending Central Jersey Group 5 champs, and 2-3 at the moment. There are some winnable games on the schedule for the Eagles, including a home game with New Brunswick this Friday night.

The Warriors, however, are another story. While 2-3, their wins have come against East Brunswick and New Brunswick, opponents who are a combined 0-10. Their next three opponents – North Brunswick on the road this week and Sayreville and Hunterdon Central are a combined 11-3. So, we’ll not only see how much Franklin has improved this year, but whether a must-have win against at least one of those teams can get them in the playoffs.

North Group 4

In the top four are two Big Central teams from very competitive divisions, which explains why they’re there. Montgomery sits in third at 5-0, with a 4 UPR, two points behind second place Mount Olive. Then Ridge is right behind them – literally – with a 4.2 UPR. Northern Highlands is right behind the Red Devils with a 4.4 UPR.

This is very bunched up right now, and with a lot of football to be played, too close to call. Bottom line: Montgomery and Ridge will need to keep on winning. A loss by either team might make too high a mountain to climb to get into the top two.

Linden (4-1) has looked very good this year, and the Tigers claim seventh place this week in the UPR standings. They’ve got a reasonable schedule the rest of the way with JFK at home this week, then at Summit and Cranford before finishing at Montgomery in what could be a critical game to clinch at least a first-round home game.

Woodbridge looks like a pretty good playoff bet. The Barrons are tenth and 3-2 on the season, and Rahway – also 3-2 on the year – is right behind them. Woodbridge could have a legit shot at a top eight finish and a first round home game, Rahway a little less so, but they still have a chance with four weeks left and a good enough schedule that could give them a boost. They may have to go 3-1 the rest of the way to do it, though.

Sayreville sits in 13th, and while I wouldn’t call them a bubble team yet, the 3-2 Bombers can’t get complacent. Granted, their losses have come to Phillipsburg and North Brunswick, the only two teams that have occupied the top spot in the CJSR rankings. If Sayreville is as good as their preseason hype, they should do no worse than 3-1 the rest of the way.

Outside the bubble and a longshot to make the field is Scotch Plains-Fanwood, which is 1-4 and in 19th place. But more interesting is Colonia. The Patriots are 2-3, but all the way down in 21st place. They have a 20.2 UPR, 4.8 points out of a playoff spot. The schedule is favorable with winless North Hunterdon coming to the blue turf this week, and then a visit to 2-3 Perth Amboy next week. It could come down to the last two weeks – with home games against Summit and Rahway, two teams in the playoff field – to decide Colonia’s playoff fate.

South Group 4

While there are no Big Central teams in this section, it’s worth mentioning briefly since New Jersey now plays all the way to group champs. For now, we’ll just point out that the top two teams are Mainland (5-0) and Millville (3-1), followed by WInslow (4-1) and Brick Memorial (5-0).

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Westfield 31, Scotch Plains-Fanwood 0

Quarterback Max Cho threw three touchdown passes and the Westfield defense held solid in a 31-0 road win at Scotch Plains-Fanwood on September 22nd, 2023. It was the 60th meeting between the schools, and the first matchup between the two under the lights. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 44-13-3.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the action live from Perry Tyson Field in Scotch Plains:

1st Half
2nd Half