Tag: South Hunterdon

by Mike Pavlichko

South Hunterdon Board of Ed approves assistant coach, alum Kyle Hart’s promotion to become Eagles’ next football coach

South Hunterdon assistant football coach Kyle Hart has been promoted to become the next head coach of the Eagles football program, with his hire approved by the local Board of Education Monday night.

Hart is a “hometown” name, growing up playing youth football for the Lambertville Raiders. He played fullback and linebacker for the Eagles in high school in the mid/late-2000s, graduating from South Hunterdon High School in 2009. He went on to play collegiately at William Paterson University, where he played in ten games and rushed 26 times for 85 yards and a touchdown.

He had been serving as defensive coordinator and running backs/linebackers coach for the last several years under Toby Jefferis, who was not retained after the 2025 season following 16 years as the head coach. Jefferis was 73-81 in that span, with the team going 1-7 this past season, but dealing with low participation numbers in the program.

According to MyCentralJersey.com, the Eagles had just 22 players on the roster this fall, and one of Hart’s main jobs will be to increase numbers in the program.

The 35-year-old Hart also is a physical education teacher at South Hunterdon Regional High School, and was named Educator of the Year in 2025, according to a December Facebook post on the school’s page.

by Mike Pavlichko

Brearley pulls away from South Hunterdon for 21-0 road win, third straight victory

Following an 0-10 season, Brearley made a football coaching change for 2025, bringing in alum Elliot Platt.

And after three losses to start the season, making it 15 straight defeats going back to the final game of 2023, all of a sudden the Bears have figured it out and won three straight.

The latest came Friday night all the way out in Lambertville against South Hunterdon, a 21-0 victory that evened their record at 3-3, with winnable games down the stretch against South River, Metuchen and Dayton.

Much of the first half was scoreless. Senior quarterback Joe Squillaro got the Bears on the board with a five-yard touchdown run just 31 seconds before the half, and Brearley took a 7-0 lead into the locker room.

Their lock down defense against a physical Eagles squad – now 0-5 – continued in the second half, while two more scores in the third quarter gave Brearley some breathing room.

Senior Matthew Resende ran one in out of the wildcat just 17 seconds into the half, and Squillaro ran in another three-yard score with 7:26 to go in the third.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with Brearley head coach Elliot Platt, and seniors Joe Squillari (QB/DB) and Matthew Resende (RB/LB) presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen!

by Mike Pavlichko

Gameday with Marcus Borden: Week 5

With just four more weeks to go in the regular season, high school football is in crunch time in New Jersey. And it’s time to talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden!

Mike and Marcus look back at the week gone by, including St. Thomas Aquinas and a big win over Elizabeth, then we get Coach’s mid-season report card! No grades, but Borden talks about leading candidates – from big schools and small – for Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Year, along with a couple of MVP and Coach of the Year candidates. It’s not a full list, but it’s a fun listen!

Also on the show, Mike and Marcus talk about how the new playoff formula could shake out, rundown the nine unbeaten teams left in the league, what Big Central Conference stadiums Mike hasn’t been to yet, and the Friday game Coach Borden will be covering – Brearley at South Hunterdon – as he gets to see his 59th and final team of the last two seasons, representing every team in the BCC!

It’s a long one, so get comfortable!

Click below to listen to the Week Five edition of “Gameday with Marcus Borden”:

by Mike Pavlichko

2025 Big Central Preview: Freedom Silver Division

Our second divisional preview this season is the Freedom Silver, another six-team grouping of some of the Big Central Conference’s smaller schools.

It was a big rebound year for Belvidere, which finished 8-2 to win the Freedom Silver, following a 3-7 campaign in 2023. The County Seaters again are loaded, and should be right there again this year, but Middlesex could very well challenge them. The Blue Jays have some holes to plug, but the cupboard is far from bare, and they should be in the mix.

So should Manville, which completely flipped the script in 2024, reversing from a 3-7 year in 2023 to 7-3 last season. They’re loaded on defense.

South Hunterdon is coming off a .500 season, but should also factor into the mix, with players like senior runningback McCade Cummings back for another year.

Bound Brook will look to take a step up after a tough 2024, but with some key players returning, and Dunellen will look to rebound from a winless season with a new head coach, Phlip McGuane.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY:  Old Bridge 36, Colonia 29 (2 OT)

Old Bridge rallied from a 14-2 halftime deficit, then scored twice in overtime en route to a 36-29 double-OT win against Colonia on Cutoff Weekend. The Knights scored 20 straight points in the second half, forcing the Patriots to score late in the fourth to force overtime.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Chris Tsakonas call all the play-by-play live from Colonia, NJ, on October 25, 2024:

1st Half
2nd Half
by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY:  Spotswood 17, South Hunterdon 0

Spotswood got touchdown runs from Se’mir Tolbert Brimage and Sebastian Saracino – as well as a field goal from Gavin Pereira – en route to a 17-0 home on win Senior Night and Homecoming over visiting South Hunterdon. The win helped keep Spotswood’s playoff hopes alive, as they improved to 7-1.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel call all the play-by-play live from Chargers Stadium in Spotswood on October 18, 2024:

1st Half
2nd Half
by Mike Pavlichko

Spotswood gets everyone into the act in 17-0 home win over South Hunterdon on Senior Night

The goal coming into Friday night’s game against South Hunterdon was simple: slow down Ed Cooper.

The South Hunterdon senior has been responsible for the vast majority of his team’s yards this year, and Friday night was no exception. But two Eagle miscues in the first half proved costly, and the Chargers made them pay.

The first came on a carry by Kellan Healy on the opening possession of the game. He fumbled at the Spotswood 39.

The Chargers marched down field, and junior QB Se’mir Tolbert Brimage capped off a seven-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run.

In the second quarter, Stephen Henits blocked a South Hunterdon punt, and gave his Chargers primo field position. While they didn’t reach the end zone, Gavin Pereira put one through the uprights from 27 yards away to make it 10-0 with 3:51 to go before the half.

On Spotswood’s second possession of the third quarter, they scored again. Sebastian “Seb” Saracino scored on the Chargers’ longest drive of the night – 12 plays – running it in from one-yard out, giving his team a 17-0 lead with the PAT.

South Hunterdon tried mixing in a change of pace to open things up for Cooper, but Healy and McCade Cummings couldn’t get it open enough.

Spotswood improves to 7-1 and has won seven straight since a season-opening non-league loss at Wood-Ridge. It was their fourth shutout of the season, the others coming against Brearly, Bound Brook and arch-rival South River.

The Eagles fall to 3-4.

Click below for postgame reaction from Alec Crouthamel, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Stephen Henits, Se’mir Tolbert-Brimage, Sebastian Saracino
Head Coach Chris Meagher
by Alec Crouthamel

South Hunterdon looks to even out roller-coaster season in trip to red-hot Spotswood

A high school football season usually has its ups and downs. For South Hunterdon, however, those ups and downs have become almost formulaic through six games.

Here’s how the Eagles season has gone so far: 30-0 win, 18-8 loss, 40-14 win, 21-14 loss, 16-8 win, 36-0 loss.

As the pattern shows, South Hunterdon is due for a win this week, right?

That’s where Spotswood, winners of six straight games, comes into play. The Chargers and Eagles face off in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving on Friday, on Central Jersey Sports Radio. You can hear that game at 7 pm with Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Pregame is 6:45; click here to listen.

Getting back in the win column will be a tall task for South Hunterdon, facing off against a red-hot team while also trying to manage expectations with a younger team. But it’s a win they will need if they want to have any hope of trying to make the playoffs from their current position at No. 20 in the South Jersey Group 1 supersection.

Eagles head coach Toby Jefferis says his team has been able to play the type of ball-control, game-manager style that he has installed at times – the wins – while also getting behind the turnover battle – the losses. A controlling run game led by senior Edward Cooper, who has 807 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns in six games, is key to managing the game and keeping the ball in their possession.

The best way to do that? Stay ahead of schedule on offense. Getting three and four yards per play – particularly on the ground – is the best way to do that. Jefferis says ideally, the Eagles continue to win the time of possession battle, and taking time off the clock is their ideal way to win. The Chargers are the main opposition to that battle this week.

For a team with several two-way contributors, South Hunterdon will have to fight its way past a Spotswood team that is playing some of its best football.

Will the keep-away style match up well against the Chargers?

That’s why they play the games.

Click below to hear South Hunterdon head coach Toby Jefferis talk about the Eagles, and Friday night’s game at Spotswood, with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Alec Crouthamel:

by Mike Pavlichko

Spotswood’s final two games may be must-wins, starting with South Hunterdon Friday night

There was much fanfare and excitement last Saturday in Spotswood, where the Chargers got to play on their brand-new turf for the very first time.

They were hoping their permanent lights would be ready to go for this Friday night, too. But even though they’re installed, they’re not hooked up yet, and so the annual tradition of a game with temporary lights will take place this Friday, when South Hunterdon comes into town for a 7:00 game.

And it’s as big as they get right now for Spotswood.

You can hear our it on our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, with pregame at 6:45, and Mike Pavlichko and Alec Crouthamel on the call. Click here to listen.

Spotswood has won six straight since dropping its opener, a non-conference game at Wood-Ridge. And in that span, the Chargers have pitched three shutouts – of Brearley, South River and Bound Brook – whole only allowed one team to score more than a dozen points, and that was Roselle back in Week Two. They’ve allowed just 19 points in the last five games, with only Highland Park and Bound Brook scoring on them.

Offensively, junior transfer Se’mir Tolbert-Brimage – who lives in Milltown and previously was at North Brunswick – leads the show. He’s thrown for 603 yards, but also loves to run the ball; he’s the second leading rusher on the team with 471 yards – behind Seb Saracino’s 502 – and has scored more touchdowns than anyone: nine on the ground, while also throwing eight TD passes. Ryan Foster and Vinny Young are his top two targets.

Click below to hear Spotswood head coach Chris Meagher talk about the Chargers’ and Friday night’s matchup with South Hunterdon:

by Mike Pavlichko

2024 Big Central Preview: Freedom Silver Division

Our final preview of the preseason is the Big Central Conference Freedom Silver Division, another six-team grouping by the league including some of its smallest schools.

South Hunterdon is the defending champion, coming off a solid 9-2 season, with veteran coach Toby Jefferis at the helm. Breathing down their neck will be Middlesex, with North Brunswick alum Robert Swercheck coming over from Scotch Plains-Fanwood, where he finished the season as interim head coach after taking over for Austin Holman in the middle of the year. He takes over after Phlip McGuane stepped down due to health reasons.

The other four teams have struggled in varying different ways. Dunellen was 5-4 last year, but it has been a numbers game for the last several years for the Destroyers, routinely carrying fewer than two dozen players on their roster.

Belvidere and Manville were both 3-7 last year, while Bound Brook was just 2-7, and certainly at least one of them should be improved this year, the question is who it will be.

The County Seaters have a dual-threat quarterback in Kyle Blew, while the Mustangs will rely on a heavy junior class, and could be a year away from bigger things. Bound Brook is new to the division this year, a move down that could help them a bit.

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