Tag: South Brunswick

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

GMC Jim Muldowney Tournament Play-In Round Preview: Four games on tap Saturday

With the Greater Middlesex Conference seeding the Jim Muldowney Championship and Ray Cipperly Invitational on Friday – with Woodbridge getting the overall top seed – the Championship tourney will get underway Saturday with the play-in round, while the Invitational will kick off on Tuesday.

Here’s a look at the four Saturday games in the Championship bracket, including a look ahead to who’s next. Scroll to the end for the first round Invitational matchups.

(17) South Brunswick (3-15) at (16) South River (12-5), 12 pm: This is the type of game that’s impossible to pick, a double-digit team from the Blue Division against a Red Division team with just three overall wins, and one in its own division. The Red has been competitive just about from top-to-bottom, with six of the eight teams cracking the ten-win mark, and besides South Brunswick, Monroe has eight victories. So, it’s tough to tell. Couple that with the fact that the Rams have one of the top pitchers in the league in Julius Rosado, who will be playing not far away at Rutgers next Spring. Does Mike Lepore throw him Saturday, since you have to win that game to advance? Does he save him for Monday’s first round against top-seed and GMC Red champion Woodbridge – in which he would give the South River a fighting chance – but risk not getting a win Saturday, leaving him on the table? Or does he start him, cap him at 50 pitches, allowing him to only take one-day rest, leaving him with 90 against the Barrons? Rosado has only thrown 90 or more pitches once this year, in a 4-3 win over JP Stevens on April 23rd, and he hasn’t thrown more than 25 in four appearances since. Maybe this is what they’ve been saving him for? The Vikings have struggled at the plate, hitting just .227 on the season, and only Timothy Christian (21) has scored fewer runs that South Brunswick, which has 49, as does North Brunswick (2-13). The winner travels to face the Barrons Monday.

(19) JFK (9-8) at (14) North Plainfield (10-5), 12 pm: Here’s two teams more on a par with each other in an all-Blue Division matchup. And this one could be a toss-up. Kennedy gotten some good pitching, but little run support. The workloads have gone to junior Myles Ulaky (1.83 ERA) and Grant Lorentzen, who has allowed just one earned run, four overall, all season in 36 1/3 innings pitched for a barely-noticeable 0.19 ERA. North Plainfield is on its first losing streak of the year – just two games – showing how solid a season they’ve had. The Canucks have gotten decent pitching – with a team ERA of just 2.23 – but they’re hitting just .204 on the year, with no single player batting better than .300 on the season. The winner goes to GMC White champ and third-seed St. Thomas Aquinas Monday.

(18) Carteret (8-8) at (15) Perth Amboy (4-10), 12 pm: Is the fact that the Panthers have just four wins in the white and the Ramblers eight wins in the Blue an equalizer? Sometimes, when comparing teams from different divisions, the GMC seeding committee considers what one team might do in the other division. Add in that this is a classic rivalry – their all-time football series having been the longest running in Middlesex County – and this should be a good one. Perth Amboy comes in strong. After a 3-10 start, the Panthers have won three straight: two over North Brunswick and one over South Brunswick. They scored just 12 runs on that eight game skid, but have scored an average of ten over the last three games, hitting .337 in that span. And it doesn’t matter the opponent, baseball people know hitting is contagious. Yet, the Ramblers will be a tougher opponent. Winners of five of their last seven, Carteret is hitting a healthy .283 and led by senior Eric Thompson, batting .370, while Joneil Martinez has knocked in a team-best 12 runs and is hitting .345 on the year. The winner goes to No. 2 South Plainfield Monday.

(20) South Amboy (5-11) at (13) Metuchen (13-6), 2 pm: It’s an all-Blue Division matchup between the sixth-place Governors and the pennant-winning Bulldogs. South Amboy is hitting .278 as a team, led by senior Benjamin Smith, batting .434, tied for a team-high in RBIs with Jeremy Vasquez, who also has five of the Guvs’ seven home runs. Pitching has been an issue, with a team ERA just over six, and no single pitcher lower than a 4.43 ERA. Metuchen is an interesting story. They were 11-2 before May first, but have lost four of their last five and three straight, although two of those losses came to Red Division foes in Edison (a 4-3 loss) and Monroe (a 7-2 defeat). Metuchen is the beat-hitting team of the eight in the play-in round (as well as the highest-seeded, so maybe they should be?) and has just a 2.62 team ERA, with a number of options to choose from on a staff that doesn’t have a single senior and is dominated by juniors. The winner gets four-seed East Brunswick on the road Monday.

GMC RAY CIPPERLY INVITATIONAL – 1st ROUND
TUESDAY, MAY 13

  • (9) Highland Park (3-13) at (8) Piscataway Magnet (8-8), 4 pm (Winner at (1) JP Stevens on Thursday)
  • (11) Timothy Christian (0-11) at (6) Dunellen (12-6), 4 pm (Winner at (3) East Brunswick Magnet on Thursday)
  • (10) Perth Amboy Magnet (3-11) at (7) Somerset Tech (7-6), 4 om (Winner at (2) North Brunswick on Thursday)
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY – Girls’ Basketball: South Brunswick 51, Old Bridge 34

All four seniors scored on Senior Night for South Brunswick, which got a game-high 17 points from Alexis Lease-Springer, 15 from Avery Jenne and 12 from Kendall Dixon, in a 51-34 home win over visiting Old Bridge.

Click below to listen to all the action as called by Mike Pavlichko on Central Jersey Sports Radio on February 4, 2025, from South Brunswick High School in Monmouth Junction, NJ.

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick girls fall behind early, but come back strong to beat Old Bridge on Senior Night

Unless St. Thomas Aquinas is involved, nearly every girls’ basketball game in the GMC Red Division this season has been competitive.

The first time Old Bridge and South Brunswick met down on Route 516, the Knights came back from a ten-point deficit after three quarters to win 46-43.

So, the fact that South Brunswick again led by ten at the end of three “wasn’t lost” on the Vikings, according to head coach Ryan Murphy. Trailing 11-4 early, they put together a great run in the second and took a 22-16 lead at the half they would never relinquish, en route to a 51-34 Senior Night win heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

While the comeback and rally spanned the second and third quarters, after halftime was where South Brunswick really stepped on the gas, getting to the basket with ease as they had better ball movement on offense, opening up lands to drive to the hoop.

The three senior starters all were in double-figures for the Vikings (10-9, 8-5 GMC Red). Alexis Lease-Springer had 17 to lead all scorers, while Avery Jenne added 15 and Madison Rorie had 12.

It was Lease-Springer’s three to end the third, though, that was a real backbreaker. When the ball popped out of bounds of Old Bridge underneath the basket with 2.9 seconds to go, South Brunswick ran a play to get the ball to Alexis, who hit nothing but twine with a wide-open look.

Old Bridge (9-9, 4-9 GMC Red) was led by senior Adriana Misciagna with 14.

Click below for postgame reaction with South Brunswick senior Alexis Lease-Springer and head coach Ryan Murphy, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

South Brunswick and Old Bridge to duel after Knights rallied late to win first meeting

The first time South Brunswick and Old Bridge played this year, it didn’t look good for the Knights, who were held to single digits in both the first and second quarters.

But like many other girls’ basketball games in the Red Division this year, in the end, it was highly competitive.

Old Bridge settled in at halftime, talked about their game plan, and how they hadn’t quite executed it, weren’t getting shots to fall. When they did, they got back into the game, and ultimately came out with a three-point win, 56-53, hitting key shots down the stretch, while getting key stops on the other end of the floor.

Tuesday night, the two meet again. Both are 9-9, with Old Bridge sixth in the Red at 4-8, tied with North Plainfield; the Vikings sit in fourth at 7-5, tied for third with East Brunswick. Which means Tuesday’s game most definitely has implications for GMC Tournament seeding, which happens Friday.

You can hear the South Brunswick-Old Bridge game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko on the call. Tip-off is at 5:30, pregame starts at 5:15. Click here to listen.

South Brunswick is a veteran group, led by three seniors. Alexis Lease-Springer is tops in nearly every offensive category, including scoring at a 15.3 point per game clip, and averaging nearly nine rebounds a game. She also leads in threes made (25), assists (55) and steals (60). Avery Jenne has 18 treys and is averaging 10.1 points per game, while Kendall Dixon is scoring 9.7 per game.

For Old Bridge, it’s senior Adrianna Miscigana (rhymes with “lasagna”) leading the Knights with 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Marilyn Togun – a sophomore – also has been a key presence for the squad.

Click below to hear pregame interviews with both head coaches:

South Brunswick head coach Ryan Murphy
Old Bridge head coach Alec Alspach
by Mike Pavlichko

Gill’s win at STA shakes up Bellamy & Son Paving Girls Basketball Top Ten for Week 5

With its third big win of the year, Gill St. Bernard’s has moved up in the Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten, which saw two teams drop out, two new teams, and nine of the ten schools move to a new position.

And more could change this week.

Still in first – for a 43rd straight week – is Rutgers Prep (8-2). The Argonauts extended their Skyland Conference winning streak to 66 and Somerset County win streak to 53 in the week gone by, winning a pair of road games: 67-19 at Phillipsburg Tuesday, and 66-52 at Hillsborough Thursday, handing the Raiders their first loss.

The Argonauts will face Gill St. Bernard’s (9-2) on the road Thursday, with the Knights now up to No. 2 inn the rankings, in a rematch from December 16th, which Rutgers Prep won. Gill went 3-0 this past week, beating Franklin on the road Tuesday, 56-43, then Hunterdon Central at home Thursday, 77-35, and then-No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas Sunday evening in the St. Thomas Challenge College Showcase, 67-54.

Gill’s week doesn’t get any easier. Before Thursday’s matchup with Prep, they’ll have to visit 9-1 Hillsborough.

St. Thomas Aquinas (9-3) drops to third with the loss to the Knights, but the Trojans went 2-1 last week, winning Thursday at Colonia, 93-31, then Saturday at Old Bridge, 83-28. And they’ve extended their streak to 44 straight GMC regular season games, and 52 against Middlesex County opponents overall (including the postseason).

Hillsborough (9-1) drops to fourth after a 2-1 week that saw them beat Hunterdon Central, 72-27, at home Tuesday, lose to Prep on Thursday, then beat Plainfield on Saturday, 60-50.

Somerville (8-2) and Bernards (8-2) flip-flopped this week, with the Mountaineers moving up to five on a 3-0 week that included a Monday win over Montgomery, 41-19; a 44-29 win at North Hunterdon Thursday, and a 68-48 home victory over Bridgewater-Raritan Saturday. The Pioneers beat Belvidere 58-47 on Tuesday, and won at Columbia 53-30 Friday, before falling Saturday, 42-38 at Ridge.

Pingry (7-2) jumps into the poll at No. 7. They routed Ridge, 61-13, on Tuesday, they got by Mount St. Mary, 49-38 on Thursday.

South Brunswick (5-4) went 2-1 this week, but 2-0 against area teams, and enters at No. 8. Sandwiched around a Friday non-conference loss to Middletown South, 46-39, the Vikings got Red Division wins over Monroe, 53-30 on Tuesday, and over Colonia Saturday, 48-36.

Down two spots to ninth is Spotswood (9-3). The Chargers went 2-1 this week, beating Woodbridge at home with a dozen treys Tuesday, 72-38, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, then topping Perth Amboy on the road, 53-43 Thursday, before falling to Edison at home Saturday, 54-45.

And down one to tenth is Middlesex (8-3). The Blue Jays lost to South Plainfield Tuesday, 28-28, but rebounded with a win at Edison, 43-37, on Thursday, and a 45-39 home win over North Brunswick on Saturday.

Dropping out were No. 8 Old Bridge – which fell to 5-4 with losses to Colonia and St. Thomas Aquinas this past week – and No. 10 Edison. The Eagles (7-6) split four games, beating Perth Amboy and Spotswood, but falling to Middlesex and East Brunswick.

Here’s the complete Bellamy & Son Paving Girls’ Basketball Top Ten for Week 5:

by Mike Pavlichko

Dixon’s 14 fuels South Brunswick girls as Vikings grab upset win at No. 5 Piscataway

Kendall Dixon scored 14 points – including three treys – as three Vikings went for double figures, and South Brunswick knocked off No. 5 Piscataway in a GMC Red Division game Saturday afternoon at Piscataway.

The game was back and forth for most of the first three quarters, with eight ties and six lead changes. But once South Brunswick got the lead back in the third, they never relinquished in in the fourth, and built to as much as a ten point lead at 49-39 late in the game.

Dixon’s third and final three with 2:25 left was essentially the final dagger for the Chiefs, who fall to 3-3, 2-2 in the GMC Red.

South Brunswick is also now 3-3, and got its first division win of the season, alongside two losses.

Sophomore Sarae Croley-Battled led all scorers with 18 for Piscataway.

Click below for postgame reaction with South Brunswick senior Kendall Dixon and head coach Ryan Murphy, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

You Choose! What will be our Friday Night “Bellamy & Son Paving” Big Central Game of the Week for Week 7??

We have two weeks left in the high school football season, and now we’re letting you tell us what you want to hear! That’s right. We want to know: What should be the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving for Week 7 on Friday, October 18th?

We’re giving you five options of games to choose from:

  • Hillsbrorough at Piscataway: Some pretty good football here. The Raiders play in the toughest division in the Big Central but need to keep winning to make the playoffs, while the Chiefs are playing for a first-round home game when they make the playoffs for the first time since 2019, pre-COVID.
  • Hunterdon Central at Old Bridge: Two solid teams, another Middlesex-Somerset County crossover, both jockeying for position in the bottom eight of the South Group 5 playoff chase.
  • JFK at Middlesex: The Mustangs might come into this one with three wins in a season for the first time since 2018, and looking for more, while Middlesex has done well under the tutelage of first-year head coach Bobby Swercheck.
  • South Hunterdon at Spotswood: The Eagles ore one of the better small schools in the Big Central Conference, while Spotswood may face a must-win to make the playoffs in the first night game on their brand-new turf!

Here are the rules!

  • Vote as early and often as you would like!
  • Share the poll on social media with your friends on Facebook and your followers on Twitter.
  • The matchup with the most votes will be the game we broadcast Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio, complete with pregame coverage with the coaches from each team, a live broadcast, and postgame recap on the site with reaction from the winning team’s coach and a standout player.
  • Voting will close at noon on Monday, with the winner being announced Tuesday on Twitter. (Follow us at @CJSportsRadio on Twitter if you don’t already!)

Good luck to your favorite team – vote early and often!

Note: In the event a game turns out to be unavailable for broadcast or for other any reason, Central Jersey Sports Radio reserves the right to choose an alternate game, if necessary, regardless of the final vote.

Watchung Hills QB Mason Kelly gives the touchdown signal with Zach Esposito under the pile in the second half against South Brunswick on October 5, 2024. (Photo: Marcus Borden)
by Mike Pavlichko

It’s all Watchung Hills:  Warriors blank South Brunswick 33-0 in Saturday matinee

Mason Kelly threw three touchdown passes Saturday afternoon as Watchung Hills blew past visiting South Brunswick 33-0 to improve to 5-1 on the season.

The Warriors built a 13-0 halftime lead on a Jake Arakelian fumble recovery for a touchdown in the first quarter and a 13-yars touchdown pass from Mason Kelly to Christian Warnicke 1:38 before the break.

Zach Esposito added a one-yard touchdown in the third and Kelly followed with a five-yard run of his own the period to give the Warriors a 26-0 lead.

In the fourth, Kelly hit Jonah Weisholtz from a yard out with 10:35 to go to make it 33-0, activating the running clock rule for the remainder of the game.

Senior Brayden Kelly – Mason’s cousin – had an interception in the game, his fifth of the season in a half-dozen games.

Watchung Hills hosts Rahway (4-2) next Saturday night at 7 pm due to the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, while South Brunswick falls to 3-3 – suffering its third straight loss after a 3-0 start – and will try to snap the skid against winless Union (0-6) at home Thursday night at 6:30.

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