There’s a proud tradition around the Summit football program, whether it’s one of their championship seasons or not.
Coming off a North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 finals appearance in 2025, this year’s Hilltoppers – who will now be playing in Group 4 thanks to the recent NJSIAA reclassification – are looking to finish the job.
And right off the bat in 2026, things looked good. Friday afternoon, senior Jackson Marx returned the opening kickoff from Colonia 96 yards for a score to put his team up 6-0 before the Patriots even got the ball in their hands.
Things snowballed from there, with Summit taking a 23-0 lead in the second quarter on a 32-yard field goal from Marx, and touchdown runs from Matt McKeever and Gavin Schnall.
And then the pendulum swung. Colonia cut it to 23-7 by halftime. They got a third quarter touchdown to pull within eight. Then, with a few minutes to go in regulation, Colonia looked poised to send the game to OT after a 10-yard touchdown run by Kyle Bell. Going for two to tie, Jackson Marx got in front of a receiver along the right sideline, inside the five, and picked off the pass to preserve the two-point lead.
The only way it could have been dramatic was if it were the last play of the game. It wasn’t, as Summit got the ball back and was forced to punt, but Colonia couldn’t make any headway on the ensuing possession, and the Hilltoppers escaped with a two-point W, 23-21.
For his efforts, Jackson Marx is the first Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Player of the Week, for Week Zero, in 2026.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko with Week Zero Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week Jackson Marx of Summit:
The Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the Week is chosen from nominees by Big Central coaches. At the end of the season, one player will be chosen to receive a $500 scholarship courtesy of Bellamy & Son Paving. As always, we will recognize selected “Honorable Mentions,” and recognize all other all nominees in our weekly story.
Honorable Mentions:
- Elijah Garcia, Governor Livingston: Though they never trailed in their season opener at home against Dayton, the Highlanders needed all of the junior’s 195 yards (on 30 carries with one touchdown) to keep the Bulldogs at bay in a 40-27 win. Garcia – who ran for 806 yards last year, is almost a quarter of the way there, looking to make a bid to become just the eighth Governor Livingston back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. (Jack Dally was the most recent, going for 1,195 in 2024
- Anthony Costello, North Plainfield: Talk about timing, the junior scored the game-winning touchdown – the only score of the game – with 12 seconds left, powering North Plainfield to a 7-0 victory, and back-to-back season-opening wins the last two seasons. Costello, a receiver, had eight catches for 77 yards. He also had an interception on defense, where he plays defensive back, and returned three punts for 46 yards on special teams.
- Amauris Peguero, Perth Amboy: The senior quarterback was instrumental in a 33-28 win against Monroe Friday night. He carried 22 times for 122 yards, rushing for three touchdowns in the game as well as a two-point conversion, while also passing for 81 yards and another score. It was also the first-ever win as a head coach for new Panthers’ mentor Evan Baubles.
- Donald Young, Piscataway: The senior two-way lineman played a huge role in the final minute of the game, turning what could have been a disastrous loss – the Chiefs led 26-14 with under four minutes left – into one of the program’s most thrilling wins, a 26-20 win at East Orange. On a Jaguars’ first and goal at the two with 22 seconds left, Young turned aside a block to help stop the ball at the one. After an East Orange time out, their last of the game, he shot through the “A” gap and stopped the runner behind the line of scrimmage, leaving the Jaguars no time to stop the clock with a spike. And the Chiefs survived!
- Jaylen Eastman, Rahway: The senior came up big in a wild 30-28 win at Willingboro Thursday night. From defensive end, he recovered a fumble in the end zone for the first Indians’ score, then had 49- and 15-yard catch-and-run touchdowns on offense. On D, he finished with five solo tackles, four assists, three TFLs and two QB hurries.
Other Notable Performances:
- Zach Favreau, Bernards: In a 26-20 loss to Rutherford on Friday, the senior defensive back played nearly every snap of the game. And he was busy, recording 13 tackles, six solo, and two pass breakups. On offense, he caught two passes for 54 yards and had a 37-yard touchdown catch, while also returning three kicks for 102 yards.
- Nehmiah DeLeon, Brearley: The senior running back set the tone early in a 33-0 win at Wallington on a rainy Thursday evening – one of the few games to be played that day – with a 51-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. He finished with 22 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns. A third score from 55-yards out was negated by a penalty. He also had two tackles at DB on defense.
- Sean Christie, East Brunswick: In a 41-0 win over JFK on Friday – the Bears’ largest margin of victory since Andy Steinfeld’s squad went 8-2 in 2021 – the senior signal threw one touchdown pass and ran for three, of 60, 12 and eight yards. At defensive back, he also recorded five tackles in the Bears’ first meeting with the Mustangs since 1981.
- Jeff Progin, Hillsborough: The senior had six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown in a 41-25 loss at Manalapan on Friday – after the Raiders took the trip down Thursday, when the game was initially scheduled, only to turn back due to the weather. His TD came early, cutting a 12-0 deficit in half, though Hillsborough would lose the game in the end.
- Travis Miles, Hillside: The senior scored half of his team’s six touchdowns in a 41-0 victory at Columbia in Maplewood Friday night. He had two on the receiving end on offense – of 29 and 11 yards – while also scoring on a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown.
- Lamar Grant, JP Stevens: Just a sophomore, the defensive end had nine total tackles, including three for a loss and a sack as the defense pitched a shutout in a 21-6 win over West Windsor-Plainsboro, whose own score came on a pick-six on defense.
- Aidan Johnson, Manville: The junior carried 11 times for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-18 win at host Keansburg in the “Battle of the Bridge” Saturday morning. BUt he also plays free safety, and his interception in the first quarter killed the Titans’ second drive of the game as they were nearing Manville territory.
- Sal Fama-Linn, North Brunswick: In a 39-8 home win against Snyder out of Jersey City, the senior helped the Raiders snap a nine-game losing streak (all of last season) with a big night in all three phases. At free safety, he had four tackles and a TFL. As a receiver, he had four catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns, while he also had two rushed for 3 years and a touchdown. And he even had a kick return for 24 yards and a punt for 32 yards.
- Shane Moore, Phillipsburg: The senior ran for 135 yards and a touchdown in a season-opening 28-21 win over Parkland (PA) at Maloney Stadium. That was the first of three straight Pennsylvania foes on the schedule for the two-time defending NJSIAA sectional champions before they hit the Big Central slate.
- Dylan Boehm, Somerville: The sophomore – who we’ll see this Friday night when the Pioneers visit Piscataway in a top ten matchup on Central Jersey Sports Radio – was 19-of-33 for 323 yards and touchdown passes for 36 and 87 yards in a 40-21 win over South Plainfield at Brooks Field. He also ran for a five-yard touchdown as their fourth straight season opener, all under head coach Matt Bloom.
- Robert Lobozzo, Watchung Hills: The junior was critical in handing new Watchung Hills head coach Joe Ascolese his first victory since taking over from Rich Seubert in the off-season. He scored on a five-yard TD catch right after a 32-yard interception return by Bennett Dealaman. He also had 22 yards rushing, and a pick of his own on defense from the secondary.
