Tag: Turnaround Team of the Year

Montgomery quarterback Jack Kristjanson (14) fires a pass with pressure coming.
by Mike Pavlichko

From 1-9 in 2024 to sectional finals – for the first time ever – in 2025, Montgomery is the CJSR Turnaround Team of the Year

A number of Big Central Conference football programs made big strides in 2025. Bound Brook increased its win total from 1-8 to 5-5. Brearley also got to .500 after going winless last season. Sayreville went from 4-6 to 9-2.

But none increased their win total by as much as Montgomery did, with the Cougars going from 1-9 to 8-4, a plus-seven in the win column under first-year head coach Sean Carty, who took over the program – promoted from Offensive Coordinator – after Zoran Milich, the school’s first and only coach, stepped down after the 2024 season.

Add to that the fact that the Cougars qualified for their first sectional title game ever, making the North 2, Group 4 title game, where they would fall to Phillipsburg, and that makes them the Central Jersey Sports Radio Turnaround Team of the Year for 2025.

There were many great moments during the year:

  • A 35-28 overtime win at Hopewell Valley in the season opener
  • A 22-15 win at Somerville in Week Two
  • A 22-16 overtime win against Linden on October 3
  • A massive 43-15 road win at Sayreville just before Cutoff Weekend

And there were many key players, like quarterback Jack Kristjanson; receiver Trey McFadden; two-way lineman, fullback and highly-regarded long-snapper Mike Bellamy, linebacker Drago Georgiev, and many more.

All lead to a remarkable season for the Cougars.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Montgomery head coach Sean Carty, QB Jack Kristjanson, WR Trey McFadden and DL/OL/FB/S Mike Bellamy:

by Mike Pavlichko

After breaking their long skid, six-win season makes Highland Park CJSR Turnaround Team of the Year for 2024

The build to 2024 was a long one, but the hard work paid off.

Toiling through years of teams with barely two dozen players, the Highland Park football team ended up with more Owls on the varsity roster at the end of the season than they had at the beginning.

Now, that’s saying something.

But first, the Owls made a statement. The did last year, and all the years before, when they refused to quit. Last year, with an 0-9 record, they said “Why not?” to one more game, down at Point Beach.

After 51 straight losses, more than anyone else in the state at the time, they finally got a win, and beat the Garnet Gulls.

This year? They won their first three to give them a four-game winning streak, then finished the year 6-3.

And that has earned them Turnaround Team of the Year honors for 2024 from Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Highland Park senior Markos Hantsoulis and head coach Shawn Harrison:

by Mike Pavlichko

Dunellen Destroyers named CJSR Turnaround Team of the Year for 2023

Middlesex had a nice bounce-back year in its second season under Phlip McGuane, going from 4-6 a year ago to 7-2 with a playoff berth this season. Sayreville went from 4-5 to 8-3 under first-year head coach Don Sofilkanich, and Voorhees went from 3-6 to 7-4, also a plus-four in the win column.

But Dunellen went from 2-7 in 2022 to a 6-3 season with a playoff berth, a massive success any way you slice it. And that was thanks in large part to a pair of slice-and-dice runningbacks, Aidan Sangiray and Chiekezie Ogbuewu.

With a roster of barely two dozen, not all of whom start, Dunellen suffered two shutouts last year, had to forfeit a game with not enough players to suit up against Brearley, and had a heartbreaking overtime loss.

This year, they won their first three games, scored 50 in a win over Highland Park, shutout Manville, and beat Brearley by six, while qualifying for the postseason.

That’s why Dunellen is Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Turnaround Team of the Year for 2023.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Dunellen head coach Dave DeNapoli: