Tag: South Brunswick

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick hires Mike Gerst away from Fort Lee to lead Viking football program

The South Brunswick football program has a new head coach, as Mike Gerst has been hired to take over the Vikings for the 2026 season.

The hire was approved by the Board of Education last Thursday evening, according to Athletic Director Edward Knapp.

The 32-year-old Gerst comes to the Monmouth Junction school from Fort Lee, where he spent the last two years in his first head coaching job.

The Bridgemen were 16-3 under Gert’s leadership, going 7-3 in his inaugural season, and 9-0 last year, including 7-0 in the Super Football Conference’s Ivy Red Division. Ivy Divisions are meant for smaller schools that are rebuilding, and are ineligible for the state playoffs. Fort Lee has won eleven straight games, going back to its last two contests of the 2024 season.

The 9-0 record was the first in over a hundred years of football at Fort Lee, Gerst told Central Jersey Sports Radio on Tuesday.

Gerst replaces Ibrahim Halsey, who had come to South Brunswick from Roselle in 2024, the same year Gerst landed the Fort Lee job. Halsey was 7-12 in two seasons, failing to make the playoffs either year. The Vikings last qualified for the postseason in 2023, in the final year under Joe Goerge, who left South Brunswick to take the head job at Woodbridge, replacing Joe LaSala, now the Offensive Coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Montclair State.

Former Fort Lee head coach Mike Gerst coaching up one his players. (Source: @mcgerst21 on Instagram)

A Bergen Catholic grad mentored for two years each by Fred Stengel, then Nunzio Campanile, Gerst played collegiately at Columbia, then Garden City Community College in Kansas, and later Division II football in Texas. Gerst previously was an assistant coach at Passiac Valley in 2017 under Chet Parlevecchio – the father of the former New Providence coach, Chet Parlevecchio, Jr. – and later spent three years as an offensive assistant at Wayne Valley.

Knapp says he’s “very happy” and “excited that Mike’s on board,” telling Central Jersey Sports Radio he believes he’s “going to do great things this season.”

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko with new South Brunswick football head coach Mike Gerst:

by Mike Pavlichko

So far, so good for South Brunswick baseball, as Perna helps lead Vikings to 5-2 start under Urbano

There was a lot of change in the South Brunswick baseball program in the off-season, and it wasn’t just the coaching staff.

Veteran GMC skipper Lou Urbano had to change the culture. Which is all fine and good in the fall and winter, but what actually happens on the field can sometimes be a different story.

Well, the Vikings got off on the right foot, sweeping Perth Amboy in their season-opening GMC White Division series, with 13-2 and 8-6 wins. The competition got a little stiffer when they faced Sayreville next, and the two split a pair, winning the opener 1-0, but dropping the next game, 5-1.

Next up: Middlesex, the defending state Group 1 champion. They split again, winning the opener 3-2, dropping the second meeting 6-2.

Tuesday brought a visit to North 2, Group 3 runner-up Colonia. And South Brunswick handed the Patriots their first loss of the season.

So far, so good, with a 5-2 start, already topping last year’s win total.

Many have contributed to the recent resurgence of Vikings baseball, but few more than Collin Perna. A senior playing his fourth-year of varsity baseball, Perna is hitting an eye-popping .532 on the season to lead the team, while junior Jack Whitlock is hitting .500, with five runs batted in and the team’s only two home runs.

And on the mound, Perna is the ace: already 3-1, with 26 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings, and an ERA of just 1.34.

It’s still early, and there’s a lot of baseball to be played, but Perna and Urbano know there’s something different about this team. South Brunswick isn’t that far removed from the 2021 season, in which they went 14-10 and reached the GMC Tournament final, ultimately falling to St. Joseph-Metuchen.

South Brunswick finishes the two-game set with the Patriots at home Thursday at 4 pm before heading to North Brunswick Community Park Saturday for a 7 pm Autism Awareness Challenge game against Metuchen. Find the event’s full weekend schedule here.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with South Brunswick senior Collin Perna and head coach Lou Urbano about the Vikings’ early-season success:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top four stay the same, led by Immaculata, Ridge, in Bellamy & Son Paving Week 2 baseball rankings

There was much more stability in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week 2 of the high school baseball season, with the top four teams remaining right where they are. There was minimal movement below that, with Monroe rising and Watchung Hills joining the rankings after a 3-0 week, knocking out Bernards.

Immaculata (5-1) holds at No. 1 after 1 2-1 week down in Florida playing teams from around the country. The Spartans beat Riverdale Baptist (MD) 6-0 on Tuesday, fell 7-2 to Winter Park (FL) Wednesday, then beat Proctor (NY) 13-12. They’ll return this week for a Tuesday/Thursday home-and-home with Bridgewater-Raritan.

Holding in second is Ridge (7-1), which got in five games this week, and won four of them. After a 6-4 win over Randolph at home on onday, the Red Devils lost 12-7 to Hunterdon Central on Tuesday. But they rebounded to split the Delaware Division series with a 9-5 win in Flemington Thursday, followed by a 12-8 win Saturday at Warren Hills. Sunday, they beat New Providence, 11-8

Middlesex (5-1) is the top GMC team in the rankings, holding at No. 3, and the first of three straight league teams all with the same record. The Blye Jays were 15-4 winners Tuesday at Perth Amboy, then split with South Brunswick. They lost 3-2 to the Vikings at home Thursday, but came back to win on the road Saturday, 6-2.

Next is Edison (5-1), holding at four. The Eagles went to 5-0 with a 10-8 win at South Plainfield Tuesday and a 7-1 home win Thursday over Monroe, but lost 2-0 to the Falcons on Saturday to split the season series, taking their first loss of the season.

Monroe (5-1) – which is tied with Edison for first in the GMC Red Division after their split – moves up a spot to fifth. Besides their games with Edison, they finished off a two-game sweep of St. Joseph-Metuchen on Tuesday with a 4-3 win, helping them go 2-1 in the week gone by..

Colonia (5-0) also moves up a spot – to sixth – as the GMC White Division leader went 3-0 in the past week. Tuesday, the finished off a two-game sweep of JFK with a 12-2 home win, then swept two from Sayreville with a 7-1 home win Thursday and a 13-3 road win on Saturday.

Down to seventh is South Plainfield (4-3), which went 2-2 in the week gone by. After taking their first loss of the season at Edison two Saturdays ago (before the most recent rankings) they lost their next two, 9-2 to Cranford, and then 10-8 at home again to Edison. But they bounced back with a two-game sweep of Woodbridge, including a 4-3 home win Thursday and an 8-5 road win Friday.

New to the rankings this week, Watchung Hills (4-1) enters at No. 8. The Warriors had a 3-0 week, including a 9-1 win at Bridgewater-Raritan on Tuesday, a 7-6 walk-off win over the Panthers at home Thursday, and a 12-2 win at Roxbury on Saturday.

South Brunswick (4-2) is down a spot to nine. After a 3-0 start, the Vikings dropped their first game of the year 5-1 at Sayreville Tuesday, but rebounded with a 3-2 road win Thursday, handing Middlesex its first loss of the year. But the Blue Jays earned a split Saturday, beating South Brunswick, 6-2.

In tenth is Carteret (6-1), which dropped one spot. The Ramblers beat North Plainfield Monday 2-1, then were 5-4 winners at South River Wednesday, before taking their first loss of the season at home to the Rams, 7-2, on Thursday.

Dropping out is Bernards (3-2), which was swept 11-2 and 16-0 by Gill St. Bernard’s in a two-game home-and-home, before rebounding with a 7-3 win Saturday at home over Franklin.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving H.S. Baseball Top Ten for Week Two:

by Mike Pavlichko

A new No. 1 baseball team in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, while a tumultuous week adds four new clubs to the mix

There were some great games, big wins, and some pleasant surprises through the first week of the high school baseball season in New Jersey. And while there’s a lot more baseball to be played, there are four new teams joining the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten in Week One, with a brand-new No. 1 team.

St. Joseph-Metuchen – last year’s GMC Tournament champion at 16-7 – has gotten off to a surprising 0-4 start. And while they’ll still likely be in the mix as we get closer to county tournament season, the winless start has made room for a new No. 1, with nine of the ten teams in this week’s rankings being unbeaten

The new No. 1 team is Immaculata (3-0), the defending Somerset County Tournament champs. The Spartans opened upo with a sweep of Hillsborough, wininng 3-0 on the road Tuesday, then 3-0 at Diamond Nation in Flemington Thursday before taking a 5-3 home decision over West Essex on Saturday.

The three teams right behind the Spartans all moved up a notch as well, and all are undefeated.

Ridge (3-0) is in second, picking up victories over three different teams to open 2026. They won 7-4 at West Morris Tuesday, then opened Skyland Conference play with an 11-1, five-inning win over Montgomery Thursday, followed by a 4-0 shutout win at Rutgers Prep Saturday.

In third is defending state Group 1 champion Middlesex (3-0). The Blue Jays avenged a season sweep at the hands of Spotswood last year with a 6-1 Opening Day win over the Chargers at home, then a 12-1 (full seven-inning game) win at “The Swamp” on Thursday. They topped Perth Amboy on Saturday at home, 4-2.

And in fourth is Edison (3-0). GMCT finalists from a year ago, they won their opener Tuesday at Old Bridge, then two straight at home: 2-1 over the Knights on Thursday, and 5-4 in eight innings on Saturday over South Plainfield, rallying with two runs in the seventh to send it to extras.

Moving up two spots to fifth is South Plainfield (2-1). Before the loss to Edison Saturday, they swept a season-opening home-and-home with then-No. 1 St. Joe’s, 11-1 in five in Metuchen on Tuesday, then 6-2 at home on Thursday.

Joining the rankings at No. 6 is Monroe (3-0). The Falcons swept East Brunswick in its first two games – with a 10-7 Opening Day road win on Tuesday, and a 5-2 win at home Thursday – then beat previously-No. 1 St. Joseph Saturday in Metuchen, 6-2.

Up one place to seventh is Colonia (2-0). The Patriots beat Metuchen on Tuesday, 2-1, and after the Bulldogs rescheduled their Thursday meeting for later in the season, beat in-town rival JFK 13-3 in five innings Saturday.

The last three teams all are new to the rankings, starting with South Brunswick (3-0) at No. 8. The Vikings swept Perth Amboy to open the season, 13-2 at home Tuesday, then 8-6 at home on Thursday. Saturday, they picked up a 1-0 win at Sayreville.

At nine is Carteret (4-0) out of the GMC Blue, which scored 40 runs in four games over the first week. After a 4-3 home win Monday over East Brunswick Magnet, the Ramblers beat the Tigers on the road Wednesday, 12-6, then won 13-8 at North Plainfield on Thursday, and 11-1 Saturday at home against Long Branch out of the Shore Conference.

And at ten is Bernards (2-0). The Mountaineers were 8-1 winners on Opening Day Monday against Summit, and beat Del Val at home 4-0 on Wednesday.

Dropping out were No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen (0-4), as well as No. 8 Hillsborough, No. 9 Old Bridge, and No. 10 Woodbridge, the last three all 1-3 on the season.

Below is the complete Bellamy & Son Paving H.S. Baseball Top Ten for Week One:

by Mike Pavlichko

Through first week – and them some – these high school baseball teams have started the season red hot

The high school baseball season is already a week old, though a few got started a little earlier than most, but more than a few have started the 2026 campaign red hot.

Some were expected, others have turned out to be pleasant surprises.

And that could juggle our first in-season Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, the Week One edition of which comes out Monday morning.

Here’s a look at who’s gotten the season off to a great start after the first week or so or play in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area, with a minimum of three games played..

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE

Red Division

  • Edison: The Eagles are 3-0, and may have had the most success with the toughest opening schedule of all. It was their pitching that helped lock down their season-opening series with Central Jersey Group 4 finalist Old Bridge, picking up 5-2, and 2-1 wins last week. Of course, that’s no surprise looking at who Edison has on the mound: three D1 commits including Robert Roma (Wagner) and Connor Murphy (Monmouth) – who pitched against the Knights, and Dom Innocenti (Wagner) who went four solid innings against South Plainfield in a 5-4, eight-inning home win Saturday afternoon. But the bats can do good stuff, too. Murphy is one of then, already 4-for-8 on the year with two doubles, while Isaiah Lutz is hitting .444 with a double and two RBIs, both of which came against the Tigers, and the last of which walked it off with two outs and the bases loaded Saturday. The Eagles are back at it Tuesday at South Plainfield, then play equally red-hot Monroe (3-0) at home Thursday and away Saturday.
  • Monroe (3-0): The Falcons (3-0) already are a third of the way to their win total from last year, when they went 9-13. And they’ve got two wins over East Brunswick – a series sweep with 10-7 and 5-2 wins – plus a Saturday road victory, 6-2, over defending GMC Tournament champion St. Joseph-Metuchen. In the second win over the bears, junior Ben Faigin pitched five no-hit innings before being lifted and got the win. (Don’t forget, it’s early yet, and some pitchers the first few weeks are on fairly strict pitch counts from their coaches.) Faigin is also doing it at the plate, going 6-for-8 in the first three games with three runs batted in, and he’s walked four times, stealing seven bases already. It’s Monroe’s best start since 2022. The Falcons will close their home-and-home in Monroe Tuesday when St. Joe’s visits, before they play a Thursday/Saturday home-and-home with Edison.
  • South Plainfield: Despite a 5-4 loss in extras at Edison on Saturday, the Tigers are 2-1, and those two wins are nothing to sneeze at. South Plainfield crushed St. Joseph in Metuchen on Tuesday in the season opener, 11-1, then took a 6-2 decision at home on Thursday. Aiden McCarthy pitched the full five innings of Tuesday’s ten-run rule game, allowing just four hits and one earned run, while striking out five, and sophomore Andrew Bena, who blew up on the basketball court this winter, continued to shine on the pitchers’ mound in game two, throwing 6 1/3 and allowing just three hits and two earned runs while striking out eight. McCarthy and Dom Massaro also are tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .455 and .500, respectively, with McCarthy knocking in four runs, while the speedster Massaro – an outstanding football player, and the CJSR Special Teams Returner of the Year in 2025 – has four stolen bases already.

White Division

  • Middlesex: The defending state Group 1 champions and GMCT Final Four team swept Spotswood two games last week, 6-1 on Tuesday at home, 12-1 at “The Swamp” on Thursday, then beat Perth Amboy at home on Saturday, 4-2 to start the season at 3-0. Their two main arms are back this year, Chris Kozak for his senior year and Dominic Long for his junior campaign, and both got wins against the Chargers, with Kozak going the distance, Long going seven, with only Kozak allowing a single earned run. Then they got a solid outing from Dylan Ianiero for the win Saturday allowing four hits and just two unearned runs in six innings pitched. That means the Blue Jays have allowed just one earned run in three wins to start the year. Not too shabby. And, Middlesex is hitting .333 as a team, getting balance from up and down the lineup. Ianiero and Long are both hitting .571 (4-for-7) on the year, with Long also knocking in three runs and walking four times, while Sean Hughes has four runs batted in. After the series finale with the Panthers in the Bay City Tuesday, the Jays get South Brunswick at home, then away, in a Thursday-Saturday two-game set.
  • South Brunswick: New head coach and veteran GMC skipper Lou Urbano has brought a new mindset to the Vikings, and so far, all is looking good at 3-0. They scored a combined 21 runs in their season-opening series against Perth Amboy, which included a 13-2 home win Tuesday, and a n 8-6 road win Thursday. Then, it was a pitchers’ duel Saturday as the Vikings beat Sayreville at home, 1-0, behind four no-hit, shutout innings from starter Collin Perna in his second start of the season. The senior also got the win in Game One against Amboy, and in 8 2/3 innings pitched, has 14 Ks, six walks, and has allowed just three hits and one earned run. The Vikings close out the series with the Bombers in Sayreville Tuesday, before opening a road-home set with Middlesex Thursday and Saturday.

Blue Division

  • Carteret: Off to its best start since 2023, when they went 5-0, the Ramblers have won their first four, sweeping a pair from GMC Invitational finalist East Brunswick Magnet – 4-3 and 12-6 – then picking up a 13-8 win at North Plainfield Thursday, and am 11-1 non-conference win over Long Branch Saturday. As a team, Carteret is in mid-season form at the plate, hitting a scorching .365 as a group, with seven regulars hitting almost .290 or better. Junior Miles Ferreiras is hitting .533 (8-of-15) with six runs batted in, while freshman outfielder/pitcher Jose Parra has knocked in eight. Their pitching is on the younger side, too, with soph Jayden Luciano throwing two scoreless innings at EB Magnet Wednesday, then going the distance in the five-inning mercy-rule win over Long Branch, allowing just two hits and one earned run, while striking out ten. They finish up the home-and-home with North Plainfield Monday afternoon, then open a two game set with South River on the road Wednesday, and home Thursday.

SOMERSET COUNTY

Immaculata visits Hillsborough in a Skyland Conference Delaware Division game on March 31, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Skyland Conference, Delaware Division

  • Immaculata: A home-and-home sweep of Hillsborough – 3-0 in their opener on the road Tuesday, then 3-0 again at home Thursday – plus a 5-3 win over West Essex – a North 2, Group 2 semifinalist a year ago – has the Spartans 3-0 after the first week of play. They’re not exactly tearing the cover off the ball – yet – but the pitching has dominated in the early going, allowing just the three runs to West Essex. Immaculata is off for Spring Break this week, then gets back into action with two against Bridgewater-Raritan the week after – home Tuesday at Diamond Nation and just up the road in Bridgewater Thursday, before an 11 am non-conference game Saturday morning against Delsea, which opens its season this week.
  • Ridge: The Red Devils are 3-0 after a trio of wins over all different teams last week. They opened Tuesday with a 7-4 non-league win at West Morris, then came “home” Thursday and beat Montgomery 11-1 out at Diamond Nation in Flemington, before getting past Rutgers Prep Saturday in Basking Ridge 4-0. There are some new names on the mound, as Dimitri Romer got the win against West Morris, while Matt Brievogel and Dillon Henderson picked up league wins; all three are juniors. At the plate, Ridge is hitting .299 as a team, but they’ve also worked out 17 walks in three games, adding in six hit batsmen. Four games are on tape this week, including a league home and home with Hunterdon Central Tuesday and Thursday, bookended by a non-conference home game against Randolph Monday and a Saturday morning visit to Warren Hills.

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick opens 2026 season with new attitude, new coach, as GMC veteran, NJ Hall of Famer Lou Urbano takes the reins

The South Brunswick baseball program isn’t that far removed from a trip to the GMC Tournament finals in 2021, and yet they are.

There’s been a decline in participation, and last season the Vikings won just four games.

Enter Lou Urbano, a Greater Middlesex Conference baseball veteran, who made his name in the northern end of the county, coaching at JFK in the 1980s, Woodbridge and Colonia in the 90s, and St. Joseph-Metuchen into the new century, before going back to Barrons.

Now, he’s at South Brunswick, with his first goal to change the culture, his second to increase the numbers in the program. Do those two things, Urbano says, and the third goal – winning – will take care of itself.

Urbano knows a thing or two about winning. And so do his former players. That’s why one of his first moves was to bring in one of his former players at Woodbridge, Harry Rutkowski, one of the GMC’s all-time greats, who played his college ball at Rutgers.

There’s a lot to do for Urbano, who’s also a football coach, and plans to remain on the staff of Brian Russo at Rahway – yet another Woodbridge connection.

Much of the pitching staff remains, with a number of sophomores and juniors back, including Jack Whitlock and Tyler Skakacs, who combined to throw 40 innings last season.

Their top hitter is Collin Perna, a junior who hit an eye-popping .446 last season with six home runs and 16 runs batted in, for a lineup that struggled to hit .216 last season, and scored just 59 runs.

And moving “down” to the White Division this year won’t necessarily be a cakewalk, but should give the Vikings a bit more breathing room. Yet, they’ll still have to face two of the league’s three 20-game winners from a year ago in Middlesex and Colonia, as well as scrappy Spotswood, the only team to beat the Blue Jays twice last season.

The Vikings open the season Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 with the first of a two-game, home-and-home set with Perth Amboy. They’ll visit the Bay City for Game Two Thursday afternoon, also at 4:30.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with new South Brunswick baseball coach Lou Urbano

by Mike Pavlichko

Sunday Conversation: Woodbridge’s Joe Goerge on 250 (or 251?) career wins, spanning NJ and NY

Sometimes, you can do the math over and over again, and it just doesn’t add up.

Such was the case when Woodbridge football assistant Jason Goerge – who coaches with his father, Joe, the head man for the Barrons – called me to discuss a milestone his dad was close to reaching.

Or, maybe he’d already reached it?

After beginning his career at Port Richmond on Staten Island, Joe Goerge eventually landed in New Jersey at Franklin. He won two championships, then resurrected the program at Dayton before heading to South Brunswick, where he won three more state titles. He left there to go to St. Joseph by the Sea back in New York, then came back to South Brunswick before arriving in Woodbridge in 2024.

The St. Joseph by the Sea website put his record at 221-137-4 heading on a web page introducing the 2021 coaching staff. They went 4-5 that year, putting him at 225-142-4. Back at South Brunswick, the Vikings went 5-5 in back-to-back seasons, for a total of 10-10, putting him at 235-152-4.

With a 10-1 season last year, and a 3-0 season this year, that’s 245-152-4.

But before coming to Woodbridge, a Mike Kinney article on NJ.com gave him a 238-158-4 record “at five schools – South Brunswick (twice), Franklin and Dayton in New Jersey, and Port Richmond (where he began his career) and St. Joseph by-the-Sea.”

That would make him 251-159-4, and that his 250th career win actually came two weeks ago in a 26-23 win at Watchung Hills.

Since school websites are not always up to date, and to be honest, we trust Mike Kinney more (and Athletic Director Joe Ward, who confirmed the same)… we’re going with those numbers.

But really, what are we talking about here? Joe Goerge has reached quite the milestone. He’s won multiple championships at multiple schools, including 1994 and 1996 in Central Jersey Group 3 at Franklin, along with Central Jersey Group 5 titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017 at South Brunswick.

A jubilant football coach holds a championship trophy aloft while surrounded by celebrating players in their uniforms, cheering and raising their hands in triumph.
Joe Goerge celebrates with his players after South Brunswick’s 2015 Central Jersey Group 5 championship over Manalapan at Rutgers University. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Over the years, he’s touched the lives of thousands of boys and turned them into young men with the life lessons football provides. Accountability, respect, hard work, and overcoming adversity.

Certainly, the championships will be remembered.

But the joy, for Goerge, is in the teaching, and then seeing them years later with their families, their kids, using the lessons they learned – whether at Port Richmond way back when he first started in the 1980s, or in 2040 when he sees anyone on his current Barrons squad, either with their wives and kids, coaching, or maybe playing in the NFL.

To see what they’ve become, what they’ve made out of their lives, that’s the real victory.

And you can be pretty sure there are a lot more than 250 of those victories in Joe Goerge’s career.

And at the rate he’s going, there will be many more to come.

Click below to hear Woodbridge football coach Joe Goerge talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about his long and storied career in coaching, and win No. 250 – whenever it came!

by Mike Pavlichko

2025 Big Central Preview: National Gold Division

There could be a really good race developing at the top of the Big Central’s National Gold Division this year.

It starts with Piscataway, which was 7-4 overall last season and is the defending division champ. But the Chiefs, as longtime head coach Dan Higgins says, measure success “by championships” – as in state championships. And their last came in 2018. But Piscataway has experience, and also will welcome back Josiah Zayas, who comes back to play from his hometown school after transferring from St. Thomas Aquinas – after he sits out the early season due to NJSIAA transfer rules.

But the Chiefs could very well be challenged by Old Bridge this year, which is loaded, and a big favorite of CJSR football analyst Marcus Borden, who got to see them last week on his Camp Caravan tour. Their offense is led by Brody Nugent, their returning quarterback, who is looking for big things this year, personally and team-wise.

Monroe is hoping to turn some of its close losses to wins this year, while South Brunswick wants to maintain last year’s early-season energy (3-0 start) and not sputter late (0-6 the rest of the way).

Meanwhile, East Brunswick has seen the fog lift after the late summer dismissal of Andy Steinfeld as head coach, and with new coach Zack Gega – a Bear alum who was on the staff last year – there’s a good feeling in preseason camp that was missing last year.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Former South Brunswick standout, Rutgers kicker Jai Patel nominated to “Good Works” team for community involvement

Rutgers placekicker Jai Patel – a scholastic standout at South Brunswick High School – has been nominated for the 2025 Allstate American Football Coaches Association “Good Works Team,” created to honors college football players who make a difference in their communities.

Patel – twice an Academic All-Big Ten honoree, and a business analytics and information technology major – has been active with three main organizations since arriving on campus three years ago.

Chop4Change is the football program’s effort toward unity and equality, with an eye toward giving back to the community. Through that, he’s been a team representative and leader for Team IMPACT, which pairs children suffering from serious illnesses with college sports teams. He’s created meal kits for Elijah’s Promise, a well-known and prominent soup kitchen and charitable organization in New Brunswick. And he’s been a part of Special Olympics New Jersey, teaching kids football and running a bocce tournament.

Patel has also been outstanding on the field for the Scarlet Knights, kicking 15 field goals in each of his first two seasons. In 2023, he hit on 83.3 percent of his field goials, a school record. And he made his last 13 last season, also setting a program record. He’s seventh on the school’s all-time list with 30 made field goals.

by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2025: Who will challenge Piscataway, Old Bridge in National Gold Division?

In 2025, the Piscataway Chiefs ran away with the National Gold title in the Big Central, sweeping their counterparts to go 4-0 in the division, while Old Bridge went 3-1. The rest only won one divisional game and will look to make inroads in 2025.

It’s probably no surprise the two teams that fared the best a season ago are led by veteran mentors. Old Bridge’s Matt Donaghue has been through some wars and was an assistant under predecessor Anthony Lanzafama, and Dan Higgins of Piscataway is the second most-tenured coach in Middlesex County.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the National 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 (*).

East Brunswick Bears (2-8, 1-3, tied for 3rd with Monroe, South Brunswick in ’24)
Head Coach: Zach Gega (1st season)

  • Week 0: South Plainfield (Thurs, 6p)
  • Week 1: at Hamilton West (Sat 2p)
  • Week 2: Franklin (6p)
  • Week 3: at Monroe*
  • Week 4: Old Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 5: Hunterdon Central (6p)
  • Week 6: at Piscataway* (6p)
  • Week 7: at North Hunterdon
  • Week 8: South Brunswick (6p)

The noise of last year’s sudden dismissal of Andy Steinfeld just before preseason camp is in the rear view mirror, but much of the coaching staff remains in tact, as Offensive Coordinator Zach Gega was promoted to head coach after the season, back in December.

Still, much work remains, as East Brunswick has only won four games over the past three seasons, going 2-8 last year after back-to-back one-win campaigns. Gega will return sophomore QB Sean Christie – who was thrown into the fire last year, and was a thousand-yard passer – but he will have to slash the 19 picks he threw last year against just seven touchdowns. Christie is the only returning QB to take a snap last year. The Bears tried a lot of different players last year, now is the time for that experience to pay off.

Monroe Falcons (4-6, 1-3, tied for third with East Brunswick, South Brunswick in ’24)
Head Coach: Nick Isola (9-12, 3rd season)

  • Week 0: at West Windsor-Plainsboro (6p)
  • Week 1: Hunterdon Central (6p)
  • Week 2: at South Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 3: East Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 4: at JFK (6p)
  • Week 5: North Hunterdon (6p)
  • Week 6: at OId Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 7: at Franklin (6p)
  • Week 8: Piscataway* (6p)

The Falcons will lose their starting QB in Brandon Macaluso (1,425 pass yards, 17 TD) as well as their top receiver (Logan Fotiadis, 482 yds, 6 TD) and No. 1 rusher (Michael Sabbio, 301 yds, 2 TD), as well as a number of seniors on defense. Still, the out-of-conference schedule seems manageable.

Old Bridge Knights (6-4, 3-1, 2nd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Matt Donaghue (15-15, 4th season)

  • Week 0: Cedar Creek (Battle at the Beach at Rowan) (Sat, 3p)
  • Week 1: at Edison
  • Week 2: at Piscataway* (6p)
  • Week 3: South Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 4: at East Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 5: Morristown (6p)
  • Week 6: Monroe* (6p)
  • Week 7: at Hunterdon Central
  • Week 8: Colonia (6p)

The Knights finished the 2024 regular season strong, winning three straight, culminating in a 36-29 double-overtime win at Colonia on Cutoff Weekend, before falling 16-14 to Cherokee in the opening round of the playoffs. The big news is they return dual-threat quarterback Brody Nugent for his senior season. He nearly threw for 1,000 yards (953, to be exact, 12 TD, just 4 INT) but rushed for over 1,000 as well, going for 1,017 and 16 touchdowns. And even with graduation losses, he’ll have targets to throw to like junior Cam Ollivencia (12 catches, 140 yards, 4 TD) and Aiden sophomore Aiden Rios (10 catches, 148 yards, 2 TD). Key defensive standouts like senior DB Xavier Diaz (7 INTs) and DL Michael Kvas (2 sacks, 7 TFL) should mean good things as well.

Piscataway Chiefs (7-4, 4-0, National Gold Champs in ’24)
Head Coach: Dan Higgins (173-58, 22nd season)

  • Week 0: Edison (6p)
  • Week 1: at Bridgewater-Raritan (6p)
  • Week 2: Old Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 3: Ridgewood (6p)
  • Week 4: at South Brunswick*
  • Week 5: Sayreville (6p)
  • Week 6: East Brunswick* (6p)
  • Week 7: at Hillsborough (6p)
  • Week 8: at Monroe*

While the Chiefs’ top receiver and runningback graduate, sophomore quarterback Landon Pernell – who threw for 1,275 yards and 13 touchdowns last season – is back, bringing the offense some stability this year and next. They’ve always got young and up-and-coming players in the wings, and Zaire Young (21 carries, 92 yards) is the top returning back. No doubt Piscataway will miss Jahai Johnson, an electrifying return man, but a mixed defense with seniors and underclassmen means this year’s squad should pick up right where it left off, and maybe make more of a move in the states this year.

South Brunswick Vikings (3-6, 1-3, tied for third with Monroe, East Brunswick in ’24)
Head Coach: Ibrahim Halsey (3-6, 2nd season)

  • Week 0: Robbinsville (6p)
  • Week 1: North Brunswick (6p)
  • Week 2: Monroe* (6p)
  • Week 3: at Old Bridge* (6p)
  • Week 4: Piscataway* (6p)
  • Week 5: at Watchung Hills (6p)
  • Week 6: at Union (Thu, 6p)
  • Week 7: Edison (Thu, 6p)
  • Week 8: East Brunswick* (6p)

Things started well for Vikings’ first-year head coach Ibrahim Halsey, who came over from Roselle after Joe Goerge left for Woodbridge, going 3-0. But for whatever reason, they went into a tailspin after averaging nearly 30 points a game in the first three, losing their next six, averaging just 6.8 points per game in that span, getting shutout by Piscataway and Watchung Hills. The good news is QB Daniel Duffie is back for his senior season, and so is No. 2 receiver Kamari Toney (49 catches, 259 yards, 2 TD), who was just a sophomore last season. South Brunswick will lose a ton of seniors on defense.