Tag: Union

by Mike Pavlichko

Saturday Big Central Roundup: Colonia rallies to win Chiola Bowl, St. Joe’s handles Union, two new coaches pick up their first wins

Though there are fewer games on any given Saturday in the Big Central Conference than Friday nights, there was no shortage of action. Colonia came from behind to beat Linden, St. Joseph-Metuchen continued its strong early season play, and Matt Andzel and Shawn Johnson got their first wins as head coaches at their alma maters.

Colonia 21, Linden 14: The Patriots used a fourth quarter rally, scoring 14 unanswered points, in their Big Central Liberty Gold Division opener to beat Linden at Tiger Stadium, 21-14.

Rynal Wortman opened the scoring for Colonia with a 41-yard touchdown catch thrown by Dylan Chiera, in the first quarter, but in the second, Tyrone Hinton of Linden threw a ten-yard TD pass to Richard Lugardo to tie the game at seven.

After a scoreless third, Hinton scored on a one-yard run to make it 14-7, but Colonia would score twice to close out the game.

First, Yisrael Custudio scored on a ten-yard touchdown run. Then, with the game tied and Colonia facing a fourth-and-three from its own 46, they called a timeout to figure out how they’d go for it. The ensuing play was a 55-yard touchdown pass from Chiera to Nigel Hill for the score.

The Patriots are now 3-0 for the second time in three seasons (they also did it in 2022, an 8-2 season) ahead of a big one Friday night against in-town rival Woodbridge. The Barrons, who are also 3-0, are ranked No. 3 in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten.

Colonia has now won two games that have gone right down to the wire, the first being a 22-21 overtime win against Sayreville in its season opener.

Saturday’s game also was being called “The Chiola Bowl,” as Linden coach Al Chiola lives in Colonia, and his son, Tyler, is in the football program.

St. Joseph-Metuchen 32, Union 8: The Falcons improved to 2-0 with a convincing win over Union, 32-8 Saturday afternoon at Brenner family Field. Union drops to 0-3 in the first season under Jason Scott.

St. Joe’s rushed for 149 yards as a team, led by quarterback Justin Scaramuzzo, who rushed for 73 yards and two scores, while also throwing 10-of-18 for 115 yards. And the Falcon defense snared three interceptions on the day to help their cause.

St. Joe’s goes to Elizabeth (2-1), while Union hosts Westfield (1-1) next Friday night.

Two more coaches get first wins at their schools…

In two other Saturday games, two new coaches picked up their first wins, both at their alma maters.

Westfield evened its record at 1-1 with a 37-21 home win over Elizabeth that earned alum Matt Andzel his first head coaching victory. Andzel played for Ed Tranchina from 1999 to 2001.

The game was tight early, with Westfield leading 6-0 after one quarter, but they exploded for 24 second quarter points and built a 30-7 lead by halftime. Quarterback Cole Weidler got some big pass plays going, completing just nine passes in 15 attempts for 219 yards and four touchdowns, an average 24 yards per reception.

Blake Rudow rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown on a busy day, with 32 carries.

Meanwhile, Scotch Plains Fanwood’s Shawn Johnson picked up win No. 1 with a 42-0 rout at New Brunswick. Jaden Richards and TJ Rasberry each rushed for two touchdowns in the game. See Marcus Borden’s postgame reaction – presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen – here.

Who else is seeking their first?

Two of the ten new coaches hired this offseason have picked up their first wins. Along with Andzel and Johnson, East Brunswick’s Matt Pazinko, Middlesex’s Bobby Swercheck, Sayreville’s Mark Poore, Ibrahim Halsey of South Brunswick, John Hack of Voorhees, and Woodbridge’s Joe Goerge are all on the board.

That leaves Tyrone Turner of Roselle and Jason Scott of Union. The Rams will visit AL Johnson Friday night, while Union hosts Westfield at Cooke Field, also on Friday night.

But there are still two coaches who took over teams last season still searching for that first win.

North Hunterdon was decimated by graduation when CJ Robinson took over as head coach, and went 0-9 last year. The Lions, who are 0-3 this season, have lost ten straight since their North 1, Group 4 title win in 2022. They host Montgomery, which also is 0-3, Friday night in Annandale.

And former Spotswood assistant Steve Gluchowski is still looking for his first in at New Brunswick. The Zebras also went 0-9 last year, and also have started this year 0-3. They have lost 17 straight, with their last win coming September 16th, 2022, against Franklin, a 28-26 win at Memorial Stadium.

While Robinson had to deal with graduation and the cyclical nature of high school football, especially coming off a title year with a heavily senior-laden team, Gluchowski inherited a program that had only won 10 games in the previous five seasons under alum Nate Harris, a stretch that included an 09- campaign in 2019, and where their best years was a 4-6 mark in 2021.

The Zebras’ last season above .500 was a 9-2 year in 2015 under Don Sofilkanich, where their only regular season loss was to Colonia, and New Brunswick got knocked out of the state tournament in the Central Jersey Group 5 semifinals by Old Bridge.

Other Saturday Scores…

  • Morris Knolls 34, Bridgewater-Raritan 14
  • Franklin 34, East Brunswick 0
  • JFK 28, Governor Livingston 27
  • Summit 41, Hillside 14
  • South River 45, Roselle Park 19
by Mike Pavlichko

Late coaching changes jolted what was otherwise a calm offseason in the Big Central Conference; Here are the ten schools with new football coaches

The springtime departure of Joe LaSala from Woodbridge and the controversial dismissal of Andy Steinfeld at East Brunswick added to what otherwise would have been a calm off-season in the Big Central Conference for coaching changes.

With 14 new coaches in 2022, and another ten for 2023, only six schools would have seen new mentors this year in the BCC. That would have been the fewest since the transition from Year One to Year Two in the league, when only six schools – Spotswood, Dayton, Middlesex, Plainfield, Roselle and South Plainfield – changed coaches.

But Joe LaSala resigned from Woodbridge in late March, leading to three other changes: Joe Goerge left South Brunswick to lead the Barrons, Ibrahim Halsey left Roselle to replace Goerge, and Tyrone Turner left his Co-Defensive Coordinator job at Plainfield to take over at Roselle.

Then, just a couple of weeks before preseason practice began, Matt Pazinko was elevated from Offensive Coordinator to interim head coach at East Brunswick.

Here’s a look at the league’s new mentors heading into 2024:

East Brunswick – Matt Pazinko: Described by his former boss as his “right-hand man,” Pazinko – who, like Steinfeld, played for, was a captain, and coached under longtime mentor and current Central Jersey Sports Radio high school football analyst Marcus Borden – will have to help his team tune out the noise after the events of late July and early August. Little will likely change in the offensive scheme, as all of Steinfeld’s assistants remain on staff. The Bears will try and rebound from back-to-back one-win seasons after going 8-4 in 2021.

Middlesex – Robert Swercheck: When they say people do stuff “for the kids,” they mean a coach like Phlip McGuane, who stepped down after a cancer diagnosis. All indications are his prognosis was good, but he didn’t want the team to suffer if he had to spend any time away. So, he stepped aside, and in comes North Brunswick alum Robert Swercheck, who had been holding down the fort at Scotch Plains-Fanwood since head coach Austin Holman stepped aside for personal reasons mid-season. Swercheck takes over a Blue Jays team that went 7-2 a year ago, its best showing since going 8-2 in 2019.

Roselle: Tyrone Turner: “Go out and have fun” is how Turner put it to his new kids, as he takes over a Rams’ program once coached by his most recent boss. James Williams preceded Ibrahim Halsey before leaving for Plainfield, and Turner was his co-defensive coordinator with the Cardinals. Prior to Plainfield, Turner – an East Orange Campus alum – was offensive coordinator at Weequahic in 2015 and 2016, with the Indians going 12-0 and winning the North 2, Group 1 title over Shabazz. He later became the head coach at Shabazz, going 13-23, improving the team to 5-6 his final season in 2022, before heading to the Queen City.

Sayreville – Mark Poore: Though the Bombers went 8-2 in 2023, Don Soflikanich is out after one season, and Sayreville alum Mark Poore is in. He was an assistant under the program’s last three head coaches, including Sofilkanich, Chris Beagan and George Najjar, for whom he played in the early 2000s. His senior year, the Bombers went 10-1, their only loss coming to Scotch Plains Fanwood in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals. A quarterback, he threw for over 1,000 yards that year and ran for 500 more. Poore also brought on former North Plainfield coach James DiPaolo as offensive coordinator.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood – Shawn Johnson: A former standout for the Raiders at , Johnson coached the Scotch Plains-Fanwood PAL youth team to a Super Bowl victory, and retired last year as a juvenile detective as a sergeant, spending 25 years with the department. SPF was in a bit of flux last year, with head coach Austin Holman leaving mid-season and Bobby Swercheck keeping things going, but he’s now at Middlesex. The Raiders were 1-3 when Holman left, and lost their next four before closing things out with a pair of wins over JFK – ironically, Holman’s previous coaching stop – and South Plainfield.

South Brunswick – Ibrahim Halsey: The Vikings were right in the middle of the late-Spring coaching carousel in the Big Central Conference. The vacancy at Woodbridge lured away Joe Goerge, and Ibrahim Halsey getting hired by South Brunswick left Roselle looking for a new coach. The Rams were 17-16 in three years with Halsey at the helm. The 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year in New Jersey starred at Elizabeth, then in the Big Ten at Illinois. The Vikings are coming off back-to-back 5-5 seasons under Goerge, and won their last two games last season over Howell and Egg Harbor.

Union – Jason Scott: When you’ve worked under the previous coach – as Jason Scott did for Lou Grasso – for nine years, you’re bound to pick up a thing or two, and probably not mess too much with success. After all, he helped lead Grasso’s 2019 Farmers to the North 2, Group 5 title and a 12-1 season that just adds to the tradition at The “U.” Though 5-6 last season, that’s just a cyclical public school hiccup; the future looks bright at Union in 2024.

Voorhees – John Hack: An Immaculata alum, where he played for the legendary Pierce Frauenheim, he later coached there, then at Morris Catholic. Now, he’s at a public school in Glen Gardner taking over for Ricky Kurtz, whose Vikings had four losing seasons before breaking through last year, going 7-4. But Kurtz stepped down after a ten year run, during the first five of which he was an assistant. Though they graduate top runnignback Brandon Kurzeja and his 1,070 yards, Voorhees rushed for a mind-boggling 3,081 yards last year, and they have two junior backs returning who contributed nearly 600 yards and five touchdowns last year in Antonio Sauchelli and Matteo Tramutola.

Westfield – Matt Andzel: The first alum to coach the Blue Devils in its long and storied history, Andzel takes over for Jim DeSarno, who retired to take the Athletic Director post, after Sandra Mammary,at the end of the year. So, the former head coach truly got to pick his own replacement. A 2007 College of New Jersey graduate, he played for DeSarno’s predecessor, Ed Tranchina, from 1999-2001. Westfield is one of the legendary programs in Central Jersey, and won three straight North 2, Group 5 titles from 2015 to 2017, all coming over Bridgewater-Raritan at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, going unbeaten all three years. Andzel was on the staff during that run, and takes over a team that went 6-5 last year, beating solid teams like Hillsborough and Thanksgiving rival Plainfield.

Woodbridge – Joe Goerge: After two years in his second stint at South Brunswick, Joe Goerge has moved North to coach the Barrons. Goerge won the Vikings their only state titles – three of then in a seven-year stretch where his teams were 63-17. Woodbridge is loaded, so talent won’t be an issue. But Goerge has run option a good portion of his career, so it’ll be interesting to watch if he works any of that in or lets senior QB Derek Anderson fling it to his twin brother, Bryan whenever he gets the chance. The Barrons were 6-4 last season, dropping their last two games, to Sayreville and Ridge.

DID YOU KNOW?

There have been 40 coaching changes in the Big Central Conference since its inaugural season in 2020. Some have had multiple changes, like Somerville, which started with Dallas Whitaker, then Ian Pace, and now Matt Bloom.

In the end, there are 22 schools who have the same head football a coach now as they did four seasons ago. (Two of them had a change, but didn’t play varsity in 2020. Carteret sat out fall sports that year, and Matt Yascko left to become offensive coordinator and coach his son at Edison; Kevin Freeman was hired in the spring. And Highland Park hired Shawn Harrison after the 2019 season to replace Derrick Nobles, but the Owls didn’t have the numbers to field a varsity team that year.)

Here are the 22 schools who have not had a coaching change during their time playing in the Big Central:

  • Bernards: Jon Simoneau
  • Bound Brook: Dave LePoidevin
  • Carteret: Kevin Freeman
  • Colonia: Tom Roarty
  • Dunellen: Dave DeNapoli
  • Highland Park: Shawn Harrison
  • Hillsborough: Kevin Carty
  • Hillside: Barris Grant
  • Hunterdon Central: Casey Ransone
  • Linden: Al Chiola
  • Johnson: Anthony DelConte
  • Montgomery: Zoran Milich
  • New Providence: Chet Parlevecchio, Jr.
  • North Brunswick: Mike Cipot
  • Phillipsburg: Frank Duffy
  • Piscataway: Dan Higgins
  • Rahway: Brian Russo
  • Ridge: Andy West
  • Roselle Park: Greg Dunkerton
  • South Hunterdon: Toby Jefferis
  • South River: Rich Marchesi
  • Summit: Kevin Kostibos
  • Watchung Hills: Rich Seubert
by Mike Pavlichko

2024 Big Central Preview: American Gold Division

The Big Central Conference’s American Gold Division is one of the tops in the league. All play difficult and challenging schedules, and there’s a lot of parity.

To wit, Union was 5-6 in 2023, with all but one of those losses coming to playoff teams.

Elizabeth has been young, but should make strides in Year Three under John Fiore, who had a wonderful run prior to coming to Union County up at Montclair. Westfield has a new coach in Matt Andzel, while St. Joseph continues to be solid playing with the big boys in the BCC.

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

by Mike Pavlichko

After 11 seasons at Union, Lou Grasso steps down to take AD job at Colonia

Union head coach Lou Grasso has stepped down as head coach of the Farmers’ football program after eleven seasons, making the announcement on the team’s Twitter page Friday afternoon.

Grasso will take over as Director of Athletics at Colonia High School, after being approved by the Woodbridge Board of Education Thursday night, as confirmed by the district office to Central Jersey Sports Radio. He’ll take over from Ben LaSala, who retired from coaching the Patriots in 2013 and has been in the position since.

Grasso has been the head coach at Union since 2013, compiling a 67-49 record, with his team’s best season coming in 2019. They went 12-1 and won the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 title over Clifton, 42-28, before falling to Ridgewood in the North Group 4 “regional title game.”

In his first season at Union, he brought the Farmers to the North 2, Group 5 final at Rutgers, where they fell to Ridge in the championship game, 48-13.

Grasso is the fourth Big Central coach to leave a big school this spring, following the departure of Joe LaSala – Ben’s son – from Woodbridge. He was replaced by Joe Goerge, who left South Brunswick to take the Barrons’ job. And Jim DeSarno recently stepped down after a long run at Westfield to take the AD position there, following the retirement of Sandra Mamary.

Now, Union will be in the market for a new head coach with summer workouts right around the corner.

Click below to hear Lou Grasso talk about leaving Union, and becoming the new Athletic Director at Colonia High School:

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio announces football “Specialty Awards” for 2023

Our goal at Central Jersey Sports Radio since our founding in 2020 has always been to bring attention to all the great things done by the many outstanding student-athletes in our area, both on and off the field.

Even with Honorable Mentions in each category, just having one each of Offensive, Defensive Special Teams and Two-Way Player of the Year isn’t quite enough to cover the massive 59-team Big Central Conference.

So, in our quest to honor as many great student-athletes as possible, here are our 2023 Central Jersey Sports Radio Specialty Awards:

“Three-Way Player of the Year: Sal Marchione, Monroe

Nominated by first-year head coach and Falcon alum Nick Isola for Two-Way Player of the Year, we decided he was overqualified for that award, and decided to honor his as the Three-Way Player of the Year for 2023.

Isola – who was elevated to head coach after serving as an assistant for Monroe – says he had “the most impressive senior year of any player I’ve coached the last seven years.”

Monroe’s Sal Marchone. (Source: Hudl)

On offense, Marchione had 62 catches this season – a Monroe record – for 769 yards and six touchdowns, while also carrying 34 times for 215 yards and two more scores. He even threw three passes, completing all of them, for 106 yards and a touchdown.

TOn defense, he logged 50 tackles – despite starting the year at free safety – as well as 15 tackles for loss, three sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions, one for a touchdown.

But wait, there’s more! He also punts… and booted 34 kicks for a 34.5 yard average, with 18 going more than 35 yards, and a long of 52!

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Sal Marchione of Monroe:

“Shutdown Defender”: Renick Dorilas, Union

He may very well be a “lethal defender” as his head coach Lou Grasso calls him, but Renick Dorilas also is a very feared defender.

Dorilas registered 32 tackles on defense, with three interceptions and ten pass breakups. Those may not sound like huge numbers, but they make sense. Why? Because no one wants to throw where he is.

Union’s Renick Dorilas. (Source: @dorilas_renick on Twitter)

Those that did paid the price. He gave up very few completions this year, according to Grasso, even though it’s not a stat regularly kept at the high school level, at least not revealed externally.

But Dorilas also is one of the top college recruits in the Big Central, with more than 15 FBS offers, including Rutgers, Penn State and Tennessee.

Click below to hear Alec Crouthamel talk with Union’s Renick Dorilas:

“Record Setter” Award: A.J. Bosch, Woodbridge

Bosch could be legitimately considered for any award this year, whether it be offense, defense or special teams. But we thought he’d be most deserving of our record-setter award, considering the marks he’ll leave on the Barrons record books.

In addition to being a three-year starter, Bosch will graduate tops in Woodbridge history in career receptions with 134 and career TD catches, with 27. He’s also No. 2 in career receiving yards with 2,842, and tenth in career rushing touchdowns with 12.

Woodbridge junior A.J. Bosch (Source: @boschboy8 on Twitter)

Of all those touchdowns, which one does he remember most? We’ll let him tell you…

Click below to hear Justin Sontupe talk with A.J. Bosch:

“Trailblazer Award“: Michael Schmelzer, Jr., Montgomery

An honorable mention for our Longevity Award, we decided to call Schmelzer a trailblazer instead.

He started as just such a player when he took the helm of an 0-4 Montgomery team at quarterback two seasons ago, then won three straight to help get the Cougars into the playoffs.

Overall, he finished his career 18-6-1 as a starter in two-and-a-half seasons, and he led the Cougars to three straight playoff berths, the first time that’s ever happened in Montgomery football history.

Montgomery junior quarterback Mike Schmelzer in the postgame huddle after a 27-21 home win over Somerville on September 16, 2022. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)

Schmelzer had a fantastic capper to his career in 2023: 132 for 222 passing for 1,897 yards, 22 touchdowns, 447 rushing yards, and 11 rushing touchdowns.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Michael Schmelzer, Jr. and Matt D’Avino of Montgomery:

“Heart And Soul” Award: John Wargo, Phillipsburg

Sometimes there is a player who so simply represents what his team is all about, they become the face of the team.

One one full of standouts, we felt runningback and defensive end John Wargo epitomized the tougheness and grit that defined Phillipsburg football all year long.

Twice this year, the Stateliners suffered tough losses, and twice came back with wins.

The first was against Hillsborough in the rain at Rutgers in the Rumble on the Raritan, followed up with a win over then-ranked Hunterdon Central.

The next time it was a loss to Union City in the North 2, Group 5 final, but they came back to beat Easton on Thanksgiving. That made it back-to-back wins over their arch rivals for the first time in 20 years, since 2002 and 20023.

Phillipsburg’s John Wargo scores a touchdown against Hillsborough in the Rumble on the Raritan at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium in Piscataway on September 24, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)

Wargo was instrumental in that win, with a 13-carry, 160-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Red Rovers. He missed a couple weeks due to injury, but came back strong, finishing the season with 1,014 rushing yards and 18 of his team’s 39 rushing touchdowns.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Phillipsburg’s John Wargo:

by Mike Pavlichko

FRIDAY Cutoff Weekend Playoff Analysis: Group 5

It’s Cutoff Weekend, and we’re the place to get all the updated playoff standings all week long, with our coverage brought to you by My Family Appliances on Route 1 South in the Wick Plaza, Edison.

We’ll have more analysis throughout the day Saturday as scores roll in. And don’t forget to join us for our “Playoff Projection Show” on Saturday at 6:00 pm as Mike Pavlichko brings you all the playoff projections, with analysis and commentary by Marcus Borden, live in studio!

Here’s an updated look at the Group 5 supersections based on Friday night results as reported to Gridiron New Jersey.

NORTH GROUP 5

Passaic Tech clinched the top seed with a win over Paterson Eastside Thursday night, while also capping off its first perfect regular season since 1998. Phillipsburg‘s win over East Brunswick didn’t hurt them at all in power points, OSI rank or UPR, still 0.2 ahead of Union City, which also won Friday night.

Watchung Hills and Plainfield remained in fourth and fifth, respectively. The Warriors beat Elizabeth Friday night by a touchdown, but the Cardinals are in action Saturday against Franklin. We’ll see if that hurts them any, even with a win. They’re just 0.4 UPR points ahead of 6th place Montclair (5-3), which plays at Columbia (4-3) Saturday.

A loss by Union and a huge win by Westfield saw both those teams go in opposite directions Friday night. The Blue Devils beat Hillsborough on the road to improve to 4-4, and climbed from 13th to 7th pace. But the Farmers lost to Ridge and dropped from 6th to 8th place, tied with Ridgewood, which lost Friday night. It that tie remains, Union would get the tiebreaker, with a higher OSI at 52.20, compared to 48.36 for the Maroons.

Bridgewater-Raritan‘s win over Old Bridge was a big one, pushing the Panthers to 3-6 on the year, and elevating them from 15th to 14th, tied with Morristown, and if it remains that way, they Panthers get the tiebreaker with a 45.66 OSI, and Morristown with a 43.86 OSI. The Colonials lost Friday night, while Bayonne won to move from 17 to 16, with Eastside moving out to 17.

We’re taking BR off the bubble. They’re in, making it six Big Central teams in this section, with Phillipsburg the top-seed in what we think should be North 2; PCTI will get the top seed and probably be in North 1.

Key Saturday Games to Watch:

  • #5 Plainfield at Franklin
  • #6 Monctlair at #11 Columbia

SOUTH GROUP 5

The loss by Hillsborough to Westfield ended any chance the Raiders had at a top seed, having entered the night in second place. They fall to No. 5, behind No. 1 Cherokee, Toms River North, Washington Twp., and Marlboro. A win by North Brunswick over Cranford puts the Raiders up a spot to 6th place, right behind Hillsborough by one UPR point. Their standing is still up in the air though depending on two Saturday games, 4th place Marlboro hosting Middletown North and 7th place Rancocas Valley hosting Highland Regional.

Hunterdon Central moved up a spot from 9th to 8th with a win over Perth Amboy, while a South Brunswick loss to Somerville dropped the Vikings from 8th to 12th, so it looks like they start on the road. They look locked into the 12-seed at the moment, but everyone else in the BCC will have to wait for those two games tomorrow.

Key Saturday Games to Watch:

  • #4 Marlboro vs. Middletown North
  • #7 Rancocas Valley vs. Highland Regional
by Mike Pavlichko

Week 7 Friday night Playoff Analysis: Group 5

Note: This article contains an update to the North 5 standings and analysis due to a technical glitch on our part which didn’t include quality or group points for any of the teams. The below reflects the updated standings.

Through the end of the season, Central Jersey Sports Radio will be updating unofficial playoff standings following Friday night’s games. Full analysis after the weekend will come during the week as the official standings are released by Gridiron New Jersey.

Here’s a look at unofficial standings after games of Friday, October 13th in Group 5. Results are calculated using scores on Gridiron New Jersey as of 9:30 am on October 14th:

A quick look shows the Stateliners held steady with their win over Union, though their lead over third-place Union City has shrunk from 0.8 UPR points to 0.2 points. The question is: can they hang on with a win over winless East Brunswick next week, or will it hurt them? And will they get some help from Union City or others behind them? The Soaring Eagles play at 3-5 Clifton next week.

Watchung Hills holds in fourth, their UPR from from 3.4 to 4, while Union drops from fifth to seventh with their loss last night to the Stateliners, and Plainfield holds in sixth with a 6.2 UPR. Bottom line is all those teams should be pretty safe for first round home games if they close with wins next week.

Westfield dropped to 11th place; the Blue Devils host Ridge Saturday afternoon.

As expected, Bridgewater-Raritan went from the wrong side of the playoff bubble to the good side – 17th to 16th – with a huge home win over Elizabeth Friday night. The Minutemen dropped to 20 and should be out; they’ll guarantee that if they lose next week, having only one win, where the NJSIAA minimum is two.

Piscataway dropped to 18th place with its loss to Sayreville at home Friday night. The Chiefs visit New Brunswick next week, and even a win may not help them; the Zebras are winless, and without any other results entered, a win there would drop them from 18th to 21. It doesn’t look good for the Chiefs.

Hillsborough’s win last night, coupled with a Marlboro loss, puts the Raiders up a spot into third, while North Brunswick – which defeated winless East Brunswick Friday night – drops from No. 5 to sixth place. They will try and recoup those points when they play a solid Cranford team at home next Friday night.

Hunterdon Central holds in ninth as the Red Devils snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Franklin, while South Brunswick’s win over Edison gave them a big boost, moving the Vikings from 12th into eighth place.

Old Bridge’s win at New Brunswick didn’t move the needle, as expected, keeping the Knights in 18th place. Franklin and Edison would have a lot of ground to make up. The Warriors are in 21st place, with Edison behind them at No. 22.

Then again, there are three teams in front of them who may not qualify for the playoffs. Williamstown (17th, 0-8) definitely won’t, since they have one game remaining and won’t meet the two-win threshold by the NJSIAA for playoff qualification. That might also be the case for Vineland (19th, 1-5) and Eastern (20th, 1-6), except they both still have two games left: one today, one next week. But even if they don’t, they still play into the UPR formula, so Franklin is 6.2 UPR points out of a playoff spot; Edison is 6.6 points out. That’s a lot of ground to make up. The one caveat here is that Edison plays St. Thomas Aquinas next Friday night and will be guaranteed at least 24 power points if they lose (way more if they win). That would up them from a 7.63 power point average to 9.45, a jump of five spaces (as of today) in power point rank, shedding 2 points off their UPR number.

Bottom line: Old Bridge has a chance, Edison may be a longshot. Vineland and Eastern are the games to watch today. Franklin should be out.

by Mike Pavlichko

Week 7 Playoff Analysis: Group 5

With just two weeks of play left before the state playoffs are seeded, things are heating up in the playoff chase. Here’s our look at the Big Central Conference teams in playoff contention in Group 5 as we head into Week 7 of high school football around the state.

And, of course, don’t miss our “Playoff Projection Show,” scheduled for 5 pm on Saturday, October 21st, when we’ll reveal our predicted matchups and seeds for the postseason. It’s all presented by My Family Appliances of Edison, which will be giving away three $100 gift cards during the show to lucky listeners!

All our analysis is based on Gridiron New Jersey’s official playoff calculations performed for the NJSIAA and listed on their website as of 9:30 am on October 10. For full standings, click on each supersection’s header below:

NORTH GROUP 5:

2. Phillipsburg (5-1, 2.4 UPR): The Stateliners remain in the second spot this week, but their lead has slimmed a bit over the third place team, which now is Union City, just 0.8 UPR points behind. Watchung Hills is just one point back. A win at Union this weekend would help bolster their cause, but it remains to be seen if a win over East Brunswick at home on Cutoff Weekend would hurt them. The Bears – at the moment – are the second winless team on P’burg’s schedule, which otherwise has three ranked teams – Sayreville, Ridge, Hillsborough – and two others (Hunterdon Central and Union) that had been ranked in the past couple of weeks.

4. Watchung Hills (6-1, 3.4 UPR): The Warriors rebounded off their first loss of the season to Montgomery with a road win against a very good Plainfield team. Things get no easier the next two weeks, with St. Joseph-Metuchen at home, then a road game at Elizabeth – which just stunned Elizabeth for its first win – on Cutoff Weekend. There’s a slim chance that if the Warriors could win out, they could get a top two finish and a top seed, but a lot of scenarios would have to break right. We’ll have a much better idea after this weekend.

5. Union (4-3, 5.8 UPR): The Farmers held steady this week in fifth, despite the loss to previously-winless Elizabeth, but they fell one spot in OSI standing and dropped in their UPR by 0.6 points. If things go right, they could end up with a top four finish, but they would also have to pull off two huge upsets, topping No. 4 Phillipsburg at home then No. 2 Ridge on the road in successive weeks.

6. Plainfield (4-2, 6.2 UPR): The Cardinals are a good example of what playing a strong schedule does. Despite their loss to Watchung Hills last Saturday, they gained 0.4 UPR points and moved from seventh place to sixth in the standings. Two teams (5-2 Montclair and 3-4 Clifton) are right behind them, within one UPR point, so there could be some movement there, but it looks like the Cardinals won’t finish in the top four, which only guarantees them a first-round home game.

10. Westfield (3-3, 11.4 UPR): The Blue Devils had a big win over Somerville Saturday, and climbed up five points in the standings in the process. We called them a bubble team last week, but no more. And with two challenging games remaining, we’re not even sure going 0-2 the rest of the way – with a loss to Ridge at home this week and Hillsborough on the road next week – can keep them from the postseason. We’re calling Westfield in, clinching a berth with their win against the Pioneers.

15. Piscataway (4-3, 15.2): Another example of how your schedule affects your standing, PIscataway dropped in UPR to 15.2 (by 0.2 points) and fell a spot from 14 to 15 this week with a victory over winless East Brunswick. The last two weeks, the news is a mixed bag. The Chiefs host a huge game this weekend with old GMC rival Sayreville (Friday night at 6 on CJSR – click here to listen) that they very well may need to make the playoffs, because their season finale against currently winless New Brunswick isn’t going to help them either. That would make it two winless teams and two two-win teams (Franklin and Monroe) killing their schedule. So it makes this Friday night uber-important.

17. Bridgewater-Raritan (1-6, 16.6 UPR): The Panthers are a win shy of the minimum wins required by the NJSIAA (2) to make the playoffs, but if they get one at this point, it will give them a huge jump against the six losses they have, even if it does come against one-win Elizabeth and/or two-win Old Bridge. They might need to win both, they might need to win just one, depending on what the teams around them do. We’ll have a better idea after next week.

SOUTH GROUP 5:

4. Hillsborough (6-1, 3.8 UPR): Thanks to No. 1 Cherokee and No. 2 Toms River North continuing to win – and even Marlboro, which has won its first division title since 1994 – it doesn’t look like the Raiders have a shot at a top four seed. The likely scenario is they finish fourth – giving them a two seed in whatever section they land – assuming they can close out the season with two wins over Somerville and Westfield. And both of them are at home.

5. North Brunswick (6-0, 5.2 UPR): Ah, the schedule. A road trip to winless East Brunswick this weekend may not hurt their cause much, but won’t help them either. The Raiders already dropped a spot from fifth last week to sixth this week, but with a win over the Bears – and another next week at home to Cranford – North Brunswick may be able to keep from dropping further, depending what everyone else does. As long as the Raiders don’t lose to East Brunswick, we’ll assume they start the playoffs at Steve Libro Field.

9. Hunterdon Central (4-3, 10 UPR): Here’s the benefit of a good schedule: despite a third straight loss, the Red Devils didn’t drop this week in the standings, though their UPR did go from a 9.6 to a 10, showing a fall of one ranking spot in power points. They are 0.8 UPR points behind eighth-place Atlantic City (6-1, 9.2 UPR). Can they finish in the top eight and get a first round home game? It might be doubtful, considering they visit Franklin this week and host Perth Amboy the next, a significant drop in their schedule from the likes of Ridge, Phillipsburg and Hillsborough the past three weeks.

12. South Brunswick (4-3, 10.8): If you figured this out and looked at the math, yes, the Vikings are just 0.8 UPR points behind Hunterdon Central, but three places back. IN fact, there are five teams within 1.6 UPR points of each other, from Atlantic City to Hunterdon Central, Kingsway, Freehold Township and South Brunswick. It just means anything can happen in the middle of the pack here, but we still think the Vikes end up in the bottom eight and playing on the road in the first round.

18. Old Bridge (2-5, 19.8): For the Knights, 32. UPR points is a tough hill to climb. They’ve won two of their last three – albeit against East Brunswick and Monroe – and visit New Brunswick this week (0-7) and host Bridgewater-Raritan next week (currently 1-6). We don’t think it’s enough to move the needle, unless the Knights get a lot of help, but it’s tough to tell if it’s possible until the Strength Index numbers lock next week and we know for sure how much each game is ultimately worth.

19. Edison (3-4, 20.2 UPR): Despite being a spot below the Knights, the Eagles have an extra win, and have a better shot at making the postseason a year after winning their first sectional title since 1991. Now, they might have to beat St. Thomas Aquinas to get in, but we’ll see. Assuming they beat South Brunswick this weekend, Edison would be a very good playoff candidate with a victory over the Trojans. A loss – even with the multiplier – might leave them in 17th, and then it depends what teams like Howell, Southern, Williamstown and even Old Bridge might do. Some of that help could come this week, so again, the picture will be clearer after this weekend.

by Mike Pavlichko

Elizabeth stuns No. 10 Union, 28-26, on big night from McDaniels for season’s first win

Coming into Friday night’s home game against 10th-ranked Union with an 0-6 record, the Minutemen simply ignored that fact.

After all, all six losses had come by a combined 26 points, and none by more than one score.

And by the time all was said and done, Elizabeth had pulled off a 28-26 upset win to pick up its first win of the season.

And it was a hard-fought one at that. No one led by more than nine points, as the teams traded scored the entire game, and a failed PAT and 2-point conversion came back to haunt the Farmers.

Ibn McDaniels scored twice, the first of which opened the scoring to make it 6-0 after a blocked PAT. Union got the equalizer and missed their kick to make it 6-6.

The teams traded two more touchdowns, a one-yard run by Jalais Mendoza for Elizabeth and a 69-yard pick six by Kasie McDowll for Union made it 13-13 after 12 minutes.

But it was Elizabeth that went into the home locker room with the lead after freshman QB Arique Fleming hit Amad Canty for a 21-yard score in the second quarter.

Union got within two on a third quarter TD pass from Omalley King to McDowell, but failed on a critical two-point pass try and the score held 21-19.

McDaniels picked off King and ran it back 17-yards for the score, putting Elizabeth up nine at the end of three.

And they survived Kordal Hinton’s two-yard TD run in the forth quarter to hold on for the win, which puts Elizabeth at 1-6 and keeps their playoff hopes alive, gaining major OSI points, with two games remaining at Bridgewater-Raritan next week, then home to Watchung Hills on Cutoff Weekend.

Union drops to 4-3.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Elizabeth head coach John Fiore about their win over Union:

by Mike Pavlichko

You Choose! What will be our 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 for Week 7 this Friday night?

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

  • Phillipsburg at Union: Some high level football here; the Stateliners were Number One in the polls for the first several weeks of the season, and Union has improved from a year ago
  • Somerville at Hillsborough: The Raiders are in contention for a top-seed in South 5, while the Pioneers are much improved
  • Piscataway at Sayreville: A classic GMC matchup between longtime rivals, and the game our listeners picked last year
  • Edison at South Brunswick: Another classic GMC game, this one with two teams looking to improve their playoff standing
  • Manville at Highland Park: Two small schools, with the Mustangs trying to stay in the playoff chase, and the Owls looking for their first win since 2016

So here are the basic 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 5 pm 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!

2025 Borden's Baller of the Year

Vote for your Borden's Baller of the Year!  The top vote getters in Middlesex County, Union County, and the BCC West (Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren) will square off to determine the one, true Borden's Baller of the Year for 2025!

Sorry, voting has closed!  But check back at cjsportsradio.com to vote for one of the three finalists starting Monday at noon!

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.