Tag: Tarig Holman

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas seeks historic playoff win as Trojans open postseason vs. St. Mary-Rutherford

Knowing their recent run of success – starting with the late Brian Meeney and now with Tarig Holman, the following information might seem surprising.

But when St. Thomas Aquinas takes the field Friday night as the 5th-seed in the Non-Public Group B playoffs’ opening round, they’ll be looking for their first playoff win in more than two decades.

That’s right, their last playoff win was in 2001.

All that could change Friday night, when the 7-2 Trojans take on 12th-seed St. Mary-Rutherford (7-3) Friday night in North Edison. It may be their best opportunity since they beat Holy Spirit in the opening round of Non-Public Group 3 so many years ago.

And they have the horses to pull it off. With the five-seed, they avoid playing some of the top teams in the group, something that didn’t happen, say two years ago, when the NJSIAA committee gave St. Thomas a road game and seeded them below all three metrics they use as a guideline during the process.

That’s okay, though. The snubs are behind them, and the Trojans are ready to go, having overcome adversity like star runningback Chase Young passing out on the field in Elizabeth, and his father, Chris – STA’s offensive coordinator – in the hospital the last few weeks.

Both have recovered – Chase only missed one game – and his father will be coaching on the sidelines this week, just in time for the postseason.

Click below to hear St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tarig Holman talk about the Trojans, and their opening round playoff matchup against St. Mary-Rutherford:

by Mike Pavlichko

Second half offensive explosion, Odoh’s career day, Young INT power No. 3. St. Thomas Aquinas past No. 7 St. Joseph-Metuchen

The home Falcons – in their first game against the rival neighbor Trojans in almost a decade – held a 14-6 lead at halftime and looked in control.

They held the St. Thomas Aquinas defense to under 100 total yards of offense en route to an eight-point advantage at the break.

But that quickly evaporated in the third quarter, as the No. 3 Trojans’ offense woke up, and pulled off a 34-20 come-from-behind win Saturday afternoon, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Chu Odoh scored on STA’s first two offensive possessions – a three-yard run and a 10-yard run – to give his team its first lead of the game at 19-14.

St. Joe’s would answer right back, with a nine-play drive capped off by an 18-yard dump pass for a touchdown by quarterback Justin Scaramuzzo to Jacob Pappas.

But the Trojans answered, too, with two unanswered touchdowns: a one-yard run by QB Roman Blanks with 7:37 to go, and a 73-yard run by Ca’Si Thomas.

In the end, the Trojans finished with 396 yards on the ground on several huge runs, with all but 26 of them coming in the second half. Odoh finised with 227 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

St. Thomas extended its Big Central winning streak to 30 games, a record for the fledgling league that is only in its fourth season. They’re now 6-2 heading into a matchup with St. John Vianney next week.

It was also their first win of the all-time series between the teams. The Falcons had won all four previous meetings from 2012 through 2015, starting with Year Two of the Joe’s program.

St. Joseph lost its second straight, falling to 5-2, with a matchup at No. 1 Woodbridge next Friday night.

Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden with St. Thomas Aquinas, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Thomas Aquinas takes another step up in Big Central’s Divisions; can they keep winning?

The St. Thomas Aquinas football team has won 25 straight games against Big Central Conference opponents.

A couple of years ago, some dismissed their schedule as weak. They took a step up last year from playing the likes of Spotswood, Belvidere and South River in a 10-1 season to join the United Gold with Cranford, Summit, Rahway and Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

They went 9-2, then 10-1 in the same division last year.

Now? They’ve moved into the National Silver and are playing big Group 5 schools like Edison, North Brunswick, Franklin and Sayreville.

Can they keep it up?

Head coach Tarig Holman continues to want to play the best. Not only does he embrace the schedule, but he’s taking his team down to Maryland for two out-of-state games this year, including Mount St. Joseph of Maryland in Week Zero. They’ll also play Lincoln out of New York City in Week One, then close it out November first at Riverdale Baptist, also in Maryland.

Click below to hear from St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tarig Holman and senior quarterback Roman Blanks at Big Central Media Day:

by Mike Pavlichko

Will St. Thomas Aquinas get Dangerfield treatment again this year by playoff committee?

Two years ago, St. Thomas Aquinas tied a playoff era record with seven shutouts in a season.

It was an impressive stat, since the mark was previously held solely by Piscataway’s 2004 team, which not only went 12-0 en route to a state championship, but also had three future NFL Draft picks, including Malcolm Jenkins, Kyle Wilson and Anthony Davis.

Some pointed to the schedule, which admittedly wasn’t the strongest. But ask any coach, and they’ll tell you any shutout in high school – achieved by student-athletes who are barely old enough to get behind the wheel – is a feat unto itself. It only takes one moment of losing focus; one blown coverage can turn that goose egg into a touchdown.

So, the Big Central Conference put them in a more challenging division for the 2022-2023 scheduling cycle.

All the Trojans have done is go 16-2 since then. They had two shutouts last year, and one regular season loss. This year, they have blanked four opponents: New Providence, Cranford, Scotch Plains-Fanwood and Hillside.

They have also won 23 straight against Big Central Conference opponents, more than anyone else in the league at this point, dating back to its inaugural season. STA’s last loss in BCC play came on November 12, 2020, by a 40-6 score to Bernards.

With a 7-0 record and a 1.6 UPR, they are in second place in the Non-Public North B standings, right behind 5-1 Red Bank Catholic, with a 1.4 UPR. They have the highest Strength Index value in the Big Central conference at 89.42, just ahead of the Caseys on the statewide list. They have an 89.29 SI value. In the world of the the Strength Index, that’s a toss-up game.

But the non-public sections are seeded by an NJSIAA committee, not based on pure numbers. The criteria says that traditional power points, OSI and UPR are considered by the committee.

And last year, Aquinas was passed over for a first round home game and passed by teams with not nearly a similar record.

They finished third in the UPR standings, fourth in OSI, and had the highest power point total in Non-Public Group B. Yet they were seeded lower than all those metrics – at No. 5 – while DePaul, which was 4-5 at the cutoff, was seeded ahead of them. The Trojans played at fourth-seed Holy Spirit, where they lost 50-21 in the opening round.

So, with apologies to Rodney Dangerfield, will Aquinas get some respect this year and get a home game? Their resume may be even better. They’re also a multiplier this year for the first time, which they earned – in part – by beating a multiplier in St. John Vianney – on the road – on the non-public cutoff weekend last year.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with St. Thomas Aquinas coach Tarig Holman about the Trojans’ continued success, and their quest to host a playoff game this season:

by Mike Pavlichko

Solid defensive effort notches third shutout for St. Thomas Aquinas, 34-0 over Cranford

Two years ago, St. Thomas Aquinas pitched seven shutouts in a season, tying a playoff era Middlesex County record held by Piscataway’s 2004 team, one which had three future NFL players on its roster.

Some said the schedule wasn’t challenging, and the following year the Trojans were in a tougher division.

Fast forward one more year, and the 2023 Trojans may be on the same trajectory.

They beat Cranford 34-0 in North Edison Friday night to improve to 5-0, and in the process logged their third shutout of the season, having already blanked New Providence and Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

The Cougars fell to 2-2 with the loss.

Click below to hear St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tarig Holman talk about Friday night’s win over Cranford, and the keys to his team’s stellar defense:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sibling rivalry sparks Holmans as Austin’s Raiders, Tarig’s Trojans get set to meet Friday night

It happens occasionally, but not that often: siblings coaching high school football in the same state.

But what about in the same conference, same division?

That’s what’s happened the last few years in the Big Central with Tarig and Austin Holman.

Austin, the younger of the two, has been the head coach of Scotch Plains-Fanwood since 2019. Tarig Holman came back to the Middlesex County to lead JFK in 2020, and baby brother got the best of the elder Holman two years in a row: 40-2 that first season, and 41-20 in 2021.

Tarig (left) and Austin Holman were on the New Brunswick staff together in 2004. (Submitted photo)

Last year, Tarig took the head coaching job at St. Thomas Aquinas, following the sudden death of Brian Meeney, who led the Trojans in 2021 to a 9-1 season with seven shutouts, matching a modern Middlesex County record.

And he might have gotten away from Austin except for the Big Central Conference’s new divisional alignments, which put Scotch Plains in with Aquinas in the United Gold.

Austin and Tarig Holman went against each other as head coaches in 2020. Tarig (right) was with JFK at the time, while Austin (left) was in his second season at Scotch Plains-Fanwood. (submitted photo)

Tarig’s Aquinas club got the better of the Raiders last season, 43-0. They meet again this week, Friday night at 7 pm, with Tarig looking to even the score at two apiece, or Austin looking to take a commanding three-games-to-one lead.

The two haven’t always been at different schools, or on opposing sidelines. They were at New Brunswick together under John Quinn in the mid-2000s, when the Zebras had one of the most successful multi-year runs in school history.

Tarig Holman (in back) at age 6, with his brother Austin in front, age 2. (submitted photo)

The Holman brothers talked about their family bond – and rivalry – at Big Central Media Days last month. Click below to hear comments from Austin, then Tarig Holman:

by Mike Pavlichko

Tarig Holman kept things going at Aquinas, earns CJSR “Coach of the Year” honors

It’s easy to pick a Coach of the Year whose team won a championship. Whether they had high expectations and might have been a favorite, had a veteran ballclub, or just found that magic spark during the year.

But to us, it’s always been a matter of something the coach does, whether making an unorthodox change to the lineup, or overcoming a major hurdle during the season.

Tarig Holman faced an instant challenge upon being named the new football coach at St. Thomas Aquinas. He took over for Brian Meeney, who passed away suddenly of a heart attack last March, following his third season at the helm, and the program’s must successful under his tenure.

They had gone 9-1, with shutout wins in their first seven games, tying a playoff-era record held by the 2004 Piscataway Chiefs.

So, Holman already had to deal with that mourning, and the daunting task of – we won’t say replacing – taking the job of a highly popular coach, mentor and confidant.

Beyond that, he also kept the rest of the coaching staff together. And by the time the team hit they field, things picked up right where they left off. There was one out-of-conference loss to Timber Creek, but the Trojans ran the table in the Big Central, finishing with a 9-1 regular season record before falling in the first round on the playoffs, and they will go into 2023 with the longest winning streak in the league against BCC competition, by far, of 17 games.

For those efforts, Tarig Holman is Central Jersey Sports Radio’s 2022 Big Central Conference Coach of the Year.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Holman:

by Mike Pavlichko

Dramatic Aquinas comeback powers No. 4 Trojans over No. 9 Edison in all-township battle

When St. Thomas Aquinas pitched seven-shutouts en route to an undefeated regular season in 2021, some people pointed to the schedule.

What would they point at now?

The fourth-ranked Trojans extended their Big Central-best league winning streak to 17 games with a 21-7 come-from-behind victory Friday night at home over in-town opponent and No. 6 Edison.

Aquinas scored first, but Edison tied it up just before the half, then Selbin Sabio’s field goal as time expired sent them into the visitors’ locker room with a 10-7 lead.

Nyekir Eato’s 25-yard touchdown rune late in the third quarter saw the Eagles go up 17-7, but the final 12 minutes belonged to Aquinas.

Jayden Young capped off a seven-play, 55-yard drive – which started with a fumble recovery – with a one-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to three.

After holding Edison to a three-and-out, Aquinas got it back with two minutes left at the Edison 40, and took just six plays to hit paydirt, going up 21-17 with 31-seconds left. The Trojans held on for the win.

St. Thomas Aquinas improved to 8-1 with the win, their only loss coming in the season opener to Timber Creek out of the West Jersey Football League. Its 17-game win streak in Big Central play – which they will carry into next year, with no more league games on the schedule and no chance to play any in the postseason – dates back to a 16-14 win on November 20th, 2020.

The Trojans were 9-1 last year, with eight league wins before losing in the opening round of the playoffs to St. Joseph-Hammonton. And they’ve won eight games this year against league competition, with a non-conference regular season game next week at St. John Vianney of the Shore Conference.

Edison falls to 6-3.

Click below to hear postgame reaction from Chris Tsakonas in North Edison:

St. Thomas Aquinas QB Jayden Young

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tarig Holman
by Mike Pavlichko

Tougher schedule? New coach? It’s no problem to St. Thomas Aquinas, unbeaten in Big Central play

Friday night, just at the edge of the Watchung Mountains at Krausche Field, close enough to Route 22 to hear the traffic whiz by, St. Thomas Aquinas won its seventh game of the year.

The scores may look good, but it hasn’t been an easy road.

As it should have, The Trojans moved to a tougher division last year after blowing through the competition in the first full year of play in the new Big Central Conference. They recorded seven shutouts in 2021, tying a playoff-era Middlesex County record previously owned by Piscataway’s 2004 state championship team that featured three future NFL Draft Picks.

Then, the sudden, shocking news that came on March 17th: second-year head coach Brian Meeney died of a heart attack at age 46 on his way to school.

Enter Tarig Holman, who left JFK the next town over to coach four miles away at Aquinas.

And the Trojans haven’s missed a beat.

Friday night’s seventh win of the season, though, had a symmetry to it. Against 1-6 North Plainfield, Aquians won 56-7, as Jayden Young threw his 50th career touchdown pass and Holman got his 50th career win, all on his 46th birthday.

It may be his best coaching effort yet, having gone 3-7 in South Brunswick in 2009, 15-6 in two years at Trenton (7-4 in 2014), 11-10 in two seasons at Randolph, 11-9 in three years at Neptune – turning around a program 0-10 in his first year to go 11-9 the next two, and 3-13 the last two years at JFK.

The Trojans lone loss this year came in the Week Zero season opener against Timber Creek of the West Jersey Football League. In seven Big Central games that have followed, they have two shutouts, and have held five opponents to single digit scoring on the year.

And they’ve added one more challenge: St. John Vianney in a tenth game in two weeks. (Non-Public start the playoffs later and can schedule ten regular season games.)

Click below for this week’s Sunday Conversation, as Mike Pavlichko talked to St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Tarig Holman after his 50th career win, Friday night against North Plainfield:

by Mike Pavlichko

Sims, Fischer, Holloman, Laverty and DeCaro recognized as Coach Matt Bastardi’s “Elite Performers of the Week” for Week 5

Coach Matt Bastardi of Elite QB recognizes four excellent quarterbacks as his “Elite Performers of the Week” for Week 5. They include Matt Sims of Brearley, Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Weston Fischer, Connor Laverty of Bernards, Jeremy DeCaro of St. Joseph-Metuchen and – outside the Big Central but still in Central Jersey – Mike Hollomon of Pingry.

The St. Thomas Aquinas football team and head coach Tarig Holman are also recognized.

A former high school and college quarterback who has either played the position or coached it for over 40 years, Elite QB trains players at all position levels, with an emphasis on QBs.

Click below to listen to hear Matt Bastardi of Elite QB highlight his “Elite Performers of the Week” for Week 5: