Chase Rizzo scored all three touchdowns – on a 57-yard pass play and runs of one and 59 yards – to get fourth-ranked Old Bridge past South Brunswick, 21-0 in the Big Central Conference National Gold Division opener for both teams.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play live from Mike Elko Field in Monmouth Junction, NJ, on September 10, 2026:
After averaging 42 points a game in their first two contests, the Old Bridge offense was held in check save for a couple of big plays Friday night in Monmouth Junction.
But those big plays were enough to power the fourth-ranked Knights to a 21-0 win at South Brunswick in the Big Central National Gold Division opener for both schools, on the Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
The first big play came on the second play from scrimmage. After a six-yard run by Chase Rizzo, he hauled in a touchdown pass going 57 yards to open the scoring and give the Knights a 7-0 lead just 12 seconds in.
South Brunswick put together a five minute drive and moved the ball, but had a field goal blocked to end it, a microcosm of what their night would be like.
But their defense held firm for a while. They held Old Bridge to a turnover on downs, then had a nearly six-minute drive, but also turned it over on downs, and Old Bridge did the same on their end.
In the closing minutes of the first half, with a fourth-and-20 at the South Brunswick 39, Griffin Nugent came on to punt, but it was a fake, and a completed pass set up the Knights near the goal line, where Rizzo ran it in for his second score of the game with 1:05 left before the break, to make it 14-0 at halftime.
In the second half, it was much of the same: long drives by the Vikings, and an inability to score, but on defense, they again held firm, keeping Old Bridge to a pair of three-and-outs by early in the fourth quarter.
More late chances led to missed opportunities, including two more interceptions by South Brunswick QB Brendan Shearstone, and Old Bridge punched in one more score – on another big play, a 59-yard touchdown run by Rizzo – to provide the final margin.
For Old Bridge, they were also without the services of starting QB Aiden Rios for a bit of the first half and the entire second. The coaching staff told Central Jersey Sports Radio after the game that he banged up his non-throwing shoulder. And his status for a home game next Friday against No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas is unknown.
Click below for postgame reaction from Old Bridge head coach Matt Donaghue, junior Chase Rizzo and senior Griffin Nugent, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Even with similar scores, it’s been a tale of two games for Old Bridge football in 2026, particularly on one side of the ball.
The No. 4 Knights (1-1) have two high-scoring games under their belt, both flipped by special teams.
In a 43-35 loss to Shawnee in the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City, two kick return touchdowns propelled the Renegades to the opening-week victory, even after a fierce fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Old Bridge.
In Week One’s 49-21 victory over Montgomery, Old Bridge made the big special teams play, a blocked punt taken back for a score in the third quarter, breaking a 21-21 halftime tie and giving the Knights a lead it would not relinquish.
Sixth-year head coach Matt Donaghue has preached eliminating the mistakes, especially considering how explosive Old Bridge’s offense is on a weekly basis.
The Knights will take that growth away from home for the third straight week, heading to South Brunswick on Thursday for a 6 pm game that’s the BCC National Gold Division opener for both teams. You can hear it live as one of two Bellamy & Son Paving Games of the Week this week, with pregame at 5:45. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel are on the call; click here to listen.
Gone is star quarterback Brody Nugent — the 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Offensive Player of the Year — along with his 3,538 yards and 39 touchdowns of offense. He’s now a first-year wide receiver at Monmouth at the FCS level.
But much of the core that led Old Bridge to its first sectional final appearance in a decade last year is back and off to a fast start.
Junior Aiden Rios made the move to quarterback after starting at wide receiver for his first two years, going from one of Nugent’s top targets to his replacement. He’s started well, throwing for over 200 yards and multiple scores in both games, while completing 70 percent of his passes through two games.
Senior Chase Rizzo also returns for his senior season at running back for his fourth year on varsity, rushing for 101 yards in each of the first two games. Junior Amari Alsbrook remains the top receiver in the passing game, after recording 923 yards and ten scores in 2025. He’s also started fast, with 91 yards in the season opener, and 109 yards with a touchdown against Montgomery last week.
All in all, the Knights’ high-powered offensive attack hasn’t missed much of a beat through two games, despite losing one of the Big Central’s top players. It’s a tip of the cap to the development and returning production already in place, with a mix of returning veterans and exciting youngsters getting some of their first taste of varsity action.
On the defensive side, a similar mix of youth and experience comes into the fold, with some timely playmaking involved as well.
They’ll have another tough task at hand facing off against a spread-out, receiver-heavy offensive attack, similar to Old Bridge’s own.
First-year coach Mike Gerst, coming from Fort Lee, also has his team at 1-1, coming off a rivalry win over North Brunswick in Week One.
But as any coach will say — Donoghue included — it’s all about shoring up everything within
Click below to hear Old Bridge football head coach Matt Donaghue talk about the Knights’ season so far and upcoming matchup against South Brunswck, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:
Having been the head coach of a Fort Lee team that had won 11 straight games before he came to South Brunswick – including going 9-0 last season in one the Super Football Conference’s “Ivy” Divisions – certainly helped get the attention of his new team right from the get-go.
But that doesn’t mean everything will be perfect for the Vikings, either. It just means the coach has their ear.
That was a good thing, Gerst says, as he got to know all his new charges in getting ready for the 2026 football season.
So far, so good. It hasn’t been perfect. They are 1-1 after a season-opening 14-0 loss to Watchung Hills and a 27-19 win over rival North Brunswick this past weekend. And they’ll take it.
But there are still mistakes, things they will need to clear up in a hurry when No. 4 Old Bridge comes to town Thursday for a 6 pm game that’s the BCC National Gold Division opener for both teams. You can hear it live as one of two Bellamy & Son Paving Games of the Week this week, with pregame at 5:45. Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel are on the call; click here to listen.
The Knights also are 1-1, but have been putting up a ton of points. They went to-to-toe with Shawnee in the Battle at the Beach down in Ocean City in Week Zero, nearly erasing a 22-point deficit to fall by eight, 43-35, before putting a hurtin’ on Montgomery last week, on the road, 49-21. The simple math says – even after graduating prolific running QB Brody Nugent – Old Bridge has scored 84 points in its first two games, an average of 42 per.
South Brunswick, meanwhile, will spread it out on offense, often going with four receiver sets, with Jaylen Brundidge the top target of starting QB Brendan Shearstone. Not only does Brundidge have nine catches for 92 yards, he’s also run it 16 times for 118 yards and two scores.
Defensively, senior Terry Bynes already is the most disruptive player on the team. The linebacker leads the team with 28 tackles, 19 solo, and four TFLs in just the first two games. Fellow senior linebacker Jayden Williams has 21 tackles, 13 solo and three TFLs. And Brundidge can catch the ball on defense as well as he can on offense; he already has two interceptions, while Bynes has another.
But as much as Gerst may want to game plan for Old Bridge, much of the attention will need to be on South Brunswick, and getting the little things right. Once they do, they’ll have a chance to improve upon last year’s 4-6 campaign.
Click below to hear first-year South Brunswick head coach Mike Gerst talk about Thursday’s matchup against Old Bridge with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:
The Big Central Conference realignment in the off season didn’t touch the two big school “GMC” (sort of) Divisions, with no changes made to the National Gold and Silver Divisions for the next two season. (We say “sort of,” of course, because all but one of the ten teams in those divisions are from Middlesex County, the only outlier being Franklin, which at one point years ago attempted to defect from the Skyland Conference to the GMC.)
That said, in the National Gold, 2025 champion Piscataway and runner-up Old Bridge both should be in the running for another division title. The Chiefs bring a lot back, while the Knights will have to figure some things out after the graduation of Central Jersey Sports Radio Offensive Player of the Year Brody Nugent. South Brunswick has a new coach, while East Brunswick’s newest mentor is in his second season, and it’ll be Year Three for Nick Isola in Monroe; all will look to make inroads this season, and all have the potential to do it.
Here are the preliminary schedules for the National Gold Division teams – in order of 2025 finish – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge as of the date of publication, along with a few notes on each squad. Division games are starred.
Piscataway Chiefs (8-3, 4-0, National Gold Division Champions)
Head Coach: Dan Higgins, 23rd season (181-61)
The Chiefs will open against the Jaguars up at Northern Highlands, a team that went 9-2 last season, but was knocked out of the playoffs in the sectional semifinals by eventual Group 5 finalist Passaic Tech, and they’ll close the regular season at rival Sayreville, with a lot of tough games in between. Fortunately, Piscataway has two senior linemen back, plus QB Landon Pernell for his final year, after an excellent 2026 in which he threw for 1,382 yards and 14 TDs, and just three picks. Top rusher Zaire Young went for 758 yards and seven scores in his junior campaign last year. The defense should have some key returnees back as well, and this veteran coaching staff led by Higgins knows what they’re doing.
Old Bridge (10-2, 3-1, 2nd place National Gold)
Head Coach: Matt Donaghue, 5th season (25-17)
This won’t be an easy schedule for Old Bridge, then again they did go down and beat Cedar Creek last year in the Battle of the Beach; this year, they open with Shanwee in the same event, but back in Ocean City this year after being at Rowan in 2025 due to a once-every-few-years scheduling conflict. The Knights’ only regular season loss last year came at Piscataway, before they fell to Washington Township in the “Central Jersey” Group 5 final. But the big task will be replacing Brody Nugent, who threw for 2,276 yards and rushed for 1,262 on the season, accounting for more than 3,500 yards of offense in 2025. His backup, Aiden Rios, a sophomore last season, only three three passes last year, completing two for 33 yards, while mostly playing receiver and grabbing 13 catches for 268 yards and three TDs. Much of the receiving corps is back, but the defense will have some spots to fill, though rising senior Justin Barkaszi (7.5 sacks, 3 blocked kicks, 1 fumble recovery) and Latrell Alexander (2 1/2 sacks) should return on the defensive line.
South Brunswick Vikings (4-6, 2-2, 3rd place National Gold)
Head Coach: Mike Gerst, 1st season
The Vikings got off to a 2-1 start last season, but faltered as the schedule got tougher and lost four straight in the second half of September and first half of October to miss the playoffs. Now, Ibrahim Halsey is out after two seasons (and has joined Derrick Eatman as an assistant at Franklin under Blair Wilson) and Mike Gerst steps in from Fort Lee, whose team went 9-0 last year playing in the Super Football Conference Ivy Red Division, meant for rebuilding programs, and who are not eligible for the postseason. It was the Bridgemen’s first 9-0 season in over 100 years of football. But against this competition, it’ll be much more of a challenge. He’ll likely have a returning starting quarterback in Brenden Shearstone, who threw for 675 yards and seven touchdowns last season, while top runningback Oscar Duran rushed for 642 yards and three scores, while fellow junior Kamari Toney went for 606 and five touchdowns. A very senior-laded defense, though, will need to be retooled.
East Brunswick Bears (3-7, 1-3, 4th place National Gold)
Head Coach: Zach Gega, 2nd season (3-7)
One thing Zach Gega won’t need to worry about in his second season as the head coach is qho will be the quarterback, as junior Sean Christie returns off a season where he threw for 1,257 yards and six TDs, but he’ll need to cut back on the interceptions. He also ran it for nearly 500 yards, but the only other back to crack 100 was senior Nathan Charleston, who’s now graduated. Tight end Noah DeJesus, Christie’s favorite target, also is gone. And he led the defense with 8 1/2 sacks, too, so the defense will need some figuring out as well. The schedule isn’t easy, but manageable for the Bears.
Monroe Falcons (1-8, 0-4, 5th place National Gold)
Head Coach: Nick Isola, 4th season (10-20)
The Falcons won just their opener last season, a 41-0 victory at West Windsor-Plainsboro, then lost their last eight to end the season, and didn’t play a “crossover” – what the NJSIAA now calls consolation games, which are up to leagues and teams to schedule. But they were only shutout twice and could put up some points. Junior QB Ghayoor Abbas was a thousand-yard passer last year and is expected to be back for his senior year, while top rusher Julian Hughes (492 yards, 4 TD) was just a sophomore. Jayden Badillo – a junior with two sacks and eight TFLs – will be counted on over on the defensive side of the ball.
It was another year of coaching turnover in the Big Central Conference, whether by coaches not being retained, or stepping down on their own.
Of the 59 schools in the league, 12 will have new head coaches for the upcoming 2026 season. That’s 25 coaching changes in the past two seasons – nearly half the league – after 13 new coaches were hired following the 2024 campaign.
The latest hire was Steven Brown at North Plainfield, whose appointment was approved Monday night by the Board of Education. He’s been the defensive coordinator at Verona for the last two seasons, and also at Elizabeth for girls’ flag football, a Big Central playoff finalist each of the last two seasons.
And that leaves just one position open in the BCC, in Perth Amboy, where William Clark will not be retained after seven seasons as the Panthers’ head coach. His teams were 12-52 in that span, never winning more than three in a season; they went 3-7 in 2021.
Once that hiring is complete, the entire Patriot Silver Division – Amboy, New Providence, AL Johnson, Spotswood, Roselle and Metuchen – will have new head coaches, and be responsible for half the new mentors in the BCC this season.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Big Central Conference schools with new coaches in 2026:
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
