Tag: Scotch Plains-Fanwood

by Mike Pavlichko

It’s all Westfield as Blue Devils blank Scotch Plains-Fanwood with balanced, efficient attack

Westfield got two first quarter scores to put rival Scotch Plains-Fanwood behind the eight ball early, and the Blue Devils’ never took their foot off the gas the rest of the way in a 31-0 win Friday night in Scotch Plains.

In a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, Westfield rolled off 362 yards of total offense – with 184 through the air and 178 on the ground. Senior quarterback Mac Cho threw three touchdown passes.

Westfield led 17-0 after the first 13 minutes and change, with the run kicked off by Josh Caramagno scoring on a 17-yard run with 7:47 left in the opening quarter.

Nick Lukis added a 27-yard field goal nearly four minutes later, and Sebastian Magherini added an 11-yard TD catch just 1:09 into the second quarter.

For insurance, Enzo Ferrero added a 51-yard touchdown catch, and Magherini had his second touchdown reception of the game – this one a five-yarder – in the first quarter.

Westfield (2-2) has now won two straight, while Scotch Plains-Fanwood dropped to 1-4 and has lost four straight since a season-opening win over Monroe.

Click below for postgame reaction presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Westfield senior quarterback Max Cho
Westfield head coach Jim DeSarno
by Mike Pavlichko

DeSarno not hitting the panic button as Westfield heads to Scotch Plains for first-ever meeting under the lights

For a team that went 8-3 a season ago, including 4-0 in Big Central American Gold Division Play, it would be easy to panic following an 0-2 start. But at Westfield, under head coach Jim DeSarno in his 18th season, that’s just not in their nature.

After suffering two tough losses to open the season to teams currently ranked in the Big Central Media poll (No. 5 Watchung Hills and No. 10 Union), the Blue Devils bounced back last week with a 23-21 win against a very talented Elizabeth team.

Westfield (1-2) looks to make it two-in-a-row with a short trip to Scotch Plains-Fanwood (1-3) Friday night, for the first-ever night meeting between the schools. It’s the 60th meeting, with the Blue Devils ahead 43-13-3.

The first meeting came back in 1929, and while they didn’t play again until 1961, they’ve played all but five years since.

Quarterback Max Cho, in his first season as a starter, has thrown for over 500 yards and three scores. His classmate and backfield partner, running back Josh Caramagno, has run for nearly 300 yards and totaled four scores. Caramagno carried the ball for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns in last week’s win over Elizabeth.

Coverage begins at 6:40 from Perry Tyson Field in Scotch Plains on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will have the play-by-play call, with kickoff at 7:00.  Click here to listen.

Listen below to hear Westfield coach Jim DeSarno and Justin Sontupe preview Friday night’s game:

by Mike Pavlichko

Raiders looking forward to historic matchup with Westfield under the lights for the first time

The history of the matchup goes back to 1929, when Westfield beat Scotch Plains-Fanwood in their first football tussle, 20-0. The teams wouldn’t play again until 1961, but from that point on would meet every year except one (1990) through 2017.

After a brief break, the rivalry was renewed last year, but in all that time, the series has never featured a night game.

That is, until Friday night.

That’s when the Blue Devils (1-2) come into Scotch Plains for a 7 pm matchup with the Raiders (1-3) under the lights, which you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio, starting at 6:45 with the pregame as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe call all the action. Click here to listen.

It’s the 60th meeting between the schools, with the Blue Devils’ up 43-13-3 in the series.

Westfield’s Kehler Stadium has never had lights. Nor did SPF’s home field until a few years ago, when they were installed in the midst of the series’ hiatus.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, while Westfield dropped its first two games, but picked up a victory last week over Elizabeth, 23-21.

The Raiders will be led by interim head coach Bobby Swercheck, an assistant who takes over the program after Tuesday night’s resignation of Austin Holman, in the middle of his fifth season as head coach.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Scotch Plains-Fanwood Offensive Coordinator and veteran coach Tony Maglione about the Raiders, and the matchup with the Blue Devils:

by Mike Pavlichko

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Austin Holman out as football coach at Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the middle of 5th season

In the middle of his fifth season as head football coach at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Austin Holman is out, and an interim head coach is expected to be named later this week.

Holman – in a text message to Central Jersey Sports Radio – says he “had to step away from (the) team for personal reasons.”

CJSR had reached out to him as part of the typical game week prep for our Friday night broadcast, which has the Raiders (1-3) hosting Westfield (1-2) at 7 pm for the first-ever night game in their long rivalry. Click here to listen.

Holman said he could not comment further.

His Twitter bio says he is the head track and field coach at Elizabeth High School, but no mention is made of Scotch Plains-Fanwood football. And the Twitter page for the Raider football team (@SPFRaiderFB) was offline as of 12:30 Tuesday afternoon.

Holman did not coach last Thursday’s game at Rahway, a 27-12 loss.

But just two weeks ago, both Holmans coached in what had come to be known in recent years as “The Holman Bowl,” the fourth meeting between the brothers as opposing head coaches at various schools. Aquinas won the game, and now each has two wins against the other.

READ MORE: Sibling rivalry sparks Holmans as Austin’s Raiders, Tarig’s Trojans get set to meet Friday night

Reached for comment, SPF Athletic Director Ryan Miller said in an email, “I cannot comment about our head coach at this time.”

However, Miller did say, “We will have a coaching staff in place,” in reference to Friday’s game. He said he could not comment on an interim head coach “until the Board of Education meeting which is Thursday, the 21st, but that’s just two days away, and before Friday’s home game against Westfield.

Holman took over a 1-8 Scotch Plains team from Mark Ciccotelli in 2019, and went 4-6 that first year, winning five games each in 2020 and 2021, then going 2-8 last season.

In four-and-a-half seasons, Holman’s Raiders went 17-25, qualifying for the playoffs once – in 2021 – but they were ineligible after an early-season brawl resulted in numerous player disqualifications that also made them ineligible for postseason play, per NJSIAA rules.

by Mike Pavlichko

“The Big Central in 2 Minutes” – Week 4: Rumbling on the Raritan, Top Defenses

It’s Week Four – yes we’re almost halfway through the regular season for most teams – and time for another episode of “The Big Central in Two Minutes,” as veteran CJSR sportscaster Mike Pavlichko shares notes, stats, and observations on area high school football.

This week, we look at Sunday’s Rumble on the Raritan, Big Play Ray, the Phillipsburg/Montgomery game with almost four dozen penalties, top defenses, and a nearly 100-year-old rivalry played under the lights for the very first time.

Click below to listen to the Week Four edition of “The Big Central in Two Minutes”:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sibling rivalry sparks Holmans as Austin’s Raiders, Tarig’s Trojans get set to meet Friday night

It happens occasionally, but not that often: siblings coaching high school football in the same state.

But what about in the same conference, same division?

That’s what’s happened the last few years in the Big Central with Tarig and Austin Holman.

Austin, the younger of the two, has been the head coach of Scotch Plains-Fanwood since 2019. Tarig Holman came back to the Middlesex County to lead JFK in 2020, and baby brother got the best of the elder Holman two years in a row: 40-2 that first season, and 41-20 in 2021.

Tarig (left) and Austin Holman were on the New Brunswick staff together in 2004. (Submitted photo)

Last year, Tarig took the head coaching job at St. Thomas Aquinas, following the sudden death of Brian Meeney, who led the Trojans in 2021 to a 9-1 season with seven shutouts, matching a modern Middlesex County record.

And he might have gotten away from Austin except for the Big Central Conference’s new divisional alignments, which put Scotch Plains in with Aquinas in the United Gold.

Austin and Tarig Holman went against each other as head coaches in 2020. Tarig (right) was with JFK at the time, while Austin (left) was in his second season at Scotch Plains-Fanwood. (submitted photo)

Tarig’s Aquinas club got the better of the Raiders last season, 43-0. They meet again this week, Friday night at 7 pm, with Tarig looking to even the score at two apiece, or Austin looking to take a commanding three-games-to-one lead.

The two haven’t always been at different schools, or on opposing sidelines. They were at New Brunswick together under John Quinn in the mid-2000s, when the Zebras had one of the most successful multi-year runs in school history.

Tarig Holman (in back) at age 6, with his brother Austin in front, age 2. (submitted photo)

The Holman brothers talked about their family bond – and rivalry – at Big Central Media Days last month. Click below to hear comments from Austin, then Tarig Holman:

by Mike Pavlichko

2023 Big Central Preview: United Gold Division

Coming off a year in which Cranford won a state title, their move to a new division put them in with the behemoth that has become St. Thomas Aquinas, which won the United Gold Division in its inaugural season in 2022.

But both teams have lost significant talent, but should be right back in the mix, while their three other divisional foes will look to make a push.

That includes Rahway, which won four games last year, but had to deal with the death of a beloved teammate, Ali Muhammad.

MORE ’22 COVERAGE: Hall stands tall after teammate’s tragic passing to win Week 2 Bellamy & Son Player of the Week Honors

There’s also Summit, which finished 6-5 after starting the year 0-3, and has more experience back this season. And then Scotch Plains-Fanwood, nearly a playoff team two years ago, but coming off a two-win season that is likely more an exception to the rule for Austin Holman’s program.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko’s preview of the United Gold Division from the Big Central Conference’s inaugural Media Days:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sims, Fischer, Holloman, Laverty and DeCaro recognized as Coach Matt Bastardi’s “Elite Performers of the Week” for Week 5

Coach Matt Bastardi of Elite QB recognizes four excellent quarterbacks as his “Elite Performers of the Week” for Week 5. They include Matt Sims of Brearley, Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Weston Fischer, Connor Laverty of Bernards, Jeremy DeCaro of St. Joseph-Metuchen and – outside the Big Central but still in Central Jersey – Mike Hollomon of Pingry.

The St. Thomas Aquinas football team and head coach Tarig Holman are also recognized.

A former high school and college quarterback who has either played the position or coached it for over 40 years, Elite QB trains players at all position levels, with an emphasis on QBs.

Click below to listen to hear Matt Bastardi of Elite QB highlight his “Elite Performers of the Week” for Week 5:

by Mike Pavlichko

Scotch Plains-Fanwood ban from playoffs could help Montgomery squeak in, with a little help

NOTE: This story has been corrected to say a local story reported four players ejected, stead three.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood coach Austin Holman wanted to keep his players motivated. They’d have to be on good behavior if they had a hope of making the playoffs.

That was the case from Week Two on, after four players were ejected from a game 30-24 win over Plainfield all the way back on September 4th. The ejections made the game story on a local website, but that was the end of it. They didn’t talk about it again.

According to NJSIAA rules, any team with more than two disqualifications in a season is ineligible for the playoffs that season. The NJSIAA recently confirmed the ejections – and Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s ban from the 2021 playoffs – to Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Holman says two of his players came off the bench to get another player out of trouble on the field. But all three were ejected. Though there’s no appealing the officials’ decisions, Holman and school officials hoped they might be able to show video evidence and get the NJSIAA to overturn their postseason ban.

That effort bore no fruit this week, and Holman told his team the final result after Friday night’s 41-21 loss at Colonia, which left them 5-5 on the year, with a big win last week at Woodbridge they could be proud of.

The Raiders would have been in the playoffs, sitting in 13th after all the other Friday night results were calculated. Instead, it will open the door for whoever the 16th place team in the standings is.

Currently, that’s 17th place Bergenfield, which is 3-5. A win tomorrow at home against Demarest – also 3-5 – would keep them in 17th, and get them in the playoffs. Should they lose, they would drop to 18th, and Montgomery would move into 17th, and into the postseason.

Whoever gets the overall 16 seed would face overall top-seed Northern Highlands, which is 9-0 and ranked 8th in the state by NJ.com, the second-highest ranked public school in the state behind overall No. 4 Millville.