Tag: Watchung Hills

June 28, 2025 at 10:00 amJuly 3, 2025 at 10:24 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Early look at Big Central Football 2025: Can sectional champ Somerville repeat in Liberty Silver, with Rahway, No. Hunterdon, Watchung Hills, Montgomery ready to challenge?

While Somerville may have swept the Liberty Silver Division in 2024 and won the Central Jersey Group 3 title, many key Pioneers are off the graduation, and there are plenty of teams to challenge them in 2025. There’s the Rahway team that was right behind them, going 3-1 last season in the division and with a boatload of talent returning, plus Watchung Hills looking for a bounceback year and North Hunterdon on the way up.

Then there’s Montgomery, which graduated a ton following 2023 and finished just 1-9 last year, but is now led by Sean Carty, who joined the Cougar staff under Zoran Milich in 2018 and for much of that time has been their offensive coordinator. With young players getting an extra year under their belt, and a jolt from Carty, this could be a very interesting division in 2025.

Here are the preliminary schedules for the Liberty Silver Division teams – in alphabetical order – compiled from the official league schedule and other online sources to the best of our knowledge. Please note game dates and times may be changed without notice as the season approaches. Division games marked with an asterisk (*).

Montgomery Cougars (1-9, 0-4, 5th place in ’24)
Head Coach: Sean Carty (1st season)

Week 0: Hopewell Valley (6p)
Week 1: Summit
Week 2: at Somerville* (6:30p)
Week 3: North Hunterdon*
Week 4: at Watchung Hills*
Week 5: Linden
Week 6: Woodbridge
Week 7: at Sayreville
Week 8: at Rahway* (6p)

Yes, their top rusher is gone, but the Cougars’ No. 2 only had two fewer yards – QB Jack Kristjanson, with 150 – but he’s also back as their signal caller, as is top receiver Trey McFadden. Carty may need to figure out a few more pieces, but they can be good. The defense loses a couple of two-way linemen in Matthew Cudmore (3.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery) and Landen Dikker (5 sacks, 3.5 TFLs) but there’s plenty expected back, too, including linebacker Dragomir Georgiev (2 sacks, 3 TFLS), and excellent two-way lineman Michael Bellamy (1.5 sacks, 7 TFLs, 1 forced fumble).

North Hunterdon Lions (4-5, 1-3, 4th place in ’24)
Head Coach: C.J. Robinson (4-14, 3rd season)

Week 0: Hunterdon Central (Thurs)
Week 1: at Colonia (6p)
Week 2: Watchung Hills*
Week 3: at Montgomery*
Week 4: Rahway*
Week 5: at Monroe
Week 6: Somerville*
Week 7: East Brunswick
Week 8: at Voorhees

The Lions lost a ton following their sectional title in 2022, including their head coach Kevin Kley, and struggled in Year One under new head coach C.J. Robinson, which was to be expected. Then, as hoped, they showed much improvement in 2024, winning four games. Expect North to take another step up next year. Quarterback Nick Ramaci started as a junior last year and threw for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he should have major skill guys back, including runningback Cole O’Connor (622 yards, 8 TD) and Xzavier Warner (269 yards, 5 TDs), not to mention the nearly 500 yards Ramaci ran for himself. They also bring back all but 61 of 1,132 team receiving yards, with three receivers catching double-digit passes, led by Antonio Sauchelli (477, 4 TD) coming back for one more go. On paper, this experienced club could be near the top of the division. On defense, nearly everyone who recorded a sack, interception of fumble recovery last season is back.

Rahway Indians (7-3, 3-1, 2nd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Brian Russo (57-42, 11th season)

Week 0: Willingboro (6p)
Week 1: at Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Week 2: Perth Amboy (Thurs, 6p)
Week 3: Somerville* (Sat 12p) (Veterans Field)
Week 4: at North Hunterdon*
Week 5: at Cranford
Week 6: Watchung Hills* (6p)
Week 7: at New Brunswick (Sat, 12p)
Week 8: Montgomery* (6p)

Coach Russo is blessed with an abundance of electrifying talent coming back. Jaquan Robinson won the starting QB job as a sophomore; he threw for 706 yards and eight touchdowns, while rushing for 246 yards and two scores. Super-talented RB Andrew Avent returns, bringing back 1,412 rush yards and 16 TDs, while all but 150 of nearly 750 receiving yards come back. Avent also is a defensive force at linebacker, where he led the team with 17 TFLs, while also recording three sacks, a scoop and score, and a blocked kick. Rising juniors Jyvon Cooper (2 sacks, 6 TFLS, 2 fumble recoveries) and Jalen Eastman (2 sacks, 9 TFLs, and a pick-six) will make defensive noise, too. This could be a big year for Rahway.

Somerville Pioneers (12-1, 4-0, Liberty Silver, Central Jersey Group 3 champs in ’24)
Head Coach: Matt Bloom (18-7, 3rd full season)

Week 0: at Schalick (6p)
Week 1: Cranford (6:30p)
Week 2: Montgomery* (6:30p)
Week 3: at Rahway* (Sat, 12p) (Veterans’ Field)
Week 4: Hillside (6:30p)
Week 5: at Summit (Sat, 2p)
Week 6: at North Hunterdon*
Week 7: Plainfield (6:30p)
Week 8: at Watchung Hills*

The departure of a ton of talent will leave a lot of spots to fill for Bloom and company. First, he’ll need a new signal caller with Brendan Pacheco (1,742 yards, 27 TD, just 4 INT) off to graduation. So is RB Terrell Mitchell (1,406 yards, 18 TD) and WRs Brady Scheier (6887 yards, 8 TD) and Josh Rodriguez (478 yards, 7 TD). In fact, just one receiver is back (Aidan Bush, 5 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD), and a handful of runningbacks return. Defensively, Josh Bowen is among the top statistical returnees expected; he tallied four sacks, six TFLs, and had one pick and a forced fumble as a sophomore last season. Replicating last year’s overall success will be quite the challenge.

Watchung Hills Warriors (5-5, 2-2, 3rd place in ’24)
Head Coach: Rich Seubert (38-50, 10th season)

Week 0: Moorestown (6p)
Week 1: Woodbridge
Week 2: at North Hunterdon*
Week 3: at Linden
Week 4: Montgomery*
Week 5: South Brunswick (6p)
Week 6: at Rahway* (6p)
Week 7: Elizabeth
Week 8: Somerville*

The Warriors looked good through the first half of 2024, going 6-1, their lone loss at Woodbridge, but they slumped to the finish line, losing their last four, including a first round playoff defeat to the Barrons. Their starting QB, Mason Kelly (1,134 yds, 10 TD) is gone, as is their top rusher (Lucas Garcia, 624 yards, 5 TD) and top receiver (Brayden Kelly, 532 yards, 3 TD), but there are some other players with experience. It’ll be up to Seubert to decipher it all. The defense was senior-heavy, too, with rising senior DL David Thornton the top returnee stats-wise, with four sacks, seven TFLs and a fumble recovery last fall.

June 18, 2025 at 12:54 pmJune 11, 2026 at 2:35 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Team Rocky wins second annual Shaun O’Hara Bowl over Team Otto, to benefit the Shaun O’Hara Foundation

With graduation on the horizon, many of the top senior football players from across Somerset and Hunterdon counties came together to lace ’em up one last time at the high school level, and benefit a great cause.

The second annual Shaun O’Hara Bowl came and went at Hillsborough High School, where O’Hara’s No. 66 jersey number is retired. Team Rocky took down Team Otto 28-0 for their second straight victory, but the biggest impact in the game was not made on the scoreboard.

The team names give plenty of Raider history, as well. Otto Gsell was a longtime football coach at Hillsborough, becoming an assistant in 1987 and serving as defensive coordinator on state title teams in 1973 and 1980. He was head coach from 1988 to 1993, then moved back into an assistant role and head freshman coach under Mantz. He passed away in 2000, and was inducted into the Hillsborough Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

Rocky Forte was inducted into the Hall in 2011. He was Athletic Director from 1978-2003, also serving as head wrestling coach for several years, but mainly oversaw the Raiders’ successful growth from a Group 2 athletic program in 1978 into a Group 4 by 2003, as the population in town exploded over several decades. He passed away in 2009.

The game made its second straight appearance after taking over for the Basilone Bowl, the game benefits the Shaun O’Hara Foundation, which “focuses on creating awareness of life-threatening diseases for which there is little funding, helps to raise funds to support other 501(c) (3) organizations’ health and education initiatives”, with a focus on supporting research and awareness for Cystic Fibrosis.

As for the game itself, both teams took a bit of time to get going, with neither team reaching the red zone until late in the first half.

Both defensive lines got off to hot starts, taking down the opposing quarterback and stuffing the run game.

Late in the first half, however, Team Rocky took its first swing.

Aided by multiple defensive penalties and fourth-down conversions, they got on the doorstep of the red zone. One play after converting on a fourth-and-three, Bound Brook quarterback Jeremiah Norwood found Watchung Hills wide receiver Brayden Kelly down the sideline for a 24-yard score to strike first. Kelly also notched a highlight-reel tip-drill interception on defense earlier in the half.

Team Otto was forced to punt with seconds left on the clock, and Team Rocky went into the locker room with the lead. At halftime, O’Hara addressed the crowd, giving thanks to all the supporters, coaches and parents. A special announcement followed, with Shaun O’Hara Foundation executive chair and Hillsborough alum Jim Ruh learning he was the newest inductee into the Raiders Athletics Hall of Fame, in the class of 2026.

Shaun O’Hara addresses the crowd during halftime, and @ShaunOHaraFDN Executive Director Jim Ruh (@JRuhJr44) is announced as the latest entry into the @LetsGoBoro Hall of Fame class of 2026:@CJSportsRadio https://t.co/Hz81CVTsIe pic.twitter.com/5Bb5MzBo7c
— Alec Crouthamel (@AlecCr12) June 12, 2025

After a Team Otto punt, Team Rocky got back to work. Once again close to the red zone, Norwood found Kelly for his second score of the game, this time through contact.

Three plays later, Kelly cemented his game MVP status, intercepting another pass near the sideline. It immediately turned into another score, as one play later, Norwood found Bridgewater-Raritan running back Nick DiEsso open in the scramble drill for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

Team Rocky added another score late in the fourth quarter, with DiEsso springing to the outside for a 75-yard rushing score.

After the game, the teams met at midfield and were addressed by O’Hara and both coaches, who presented the MVP awards, one for offense and one for defense, to each team. For Team Rocky, Norwood earned offensive MVP honors for his work in the passing game, throwing for four touchdowns. Kelly was given defensive MVP for his two interceptions.

For Team Otto, Hillsborough running back Jackson Jankowicz was named offensive MVP for his work in the running game and for helping kickstart the team’s passing attack with multiple tough catches over the middle. Raiders defensive lineman Garrett Meyer earned defensive MVP honors for his work getting into the backfield and disrupting Team Rocky’s running game.

In all, both teams got the opportunity to play one last game with their high school teammates, and even competed with some of their biggest rivals. The joy of football, paired with the charitable cause benefiting the Shaun O’Hara Foundation, shadows any numbers on the scoreboard.

***Hillsborough defensive lineman Garrett Meyer earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl defensive MVP honors with Team Otto and Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)***

***Watchung Hills cornerback Brayden Kelly earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl defensive MVP honors with Team Rocky and Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)***

***Bound Brook quarterback Jeremiah Norwood earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl offensive MVP honors with Team Rocky and Watchung Hills head coach Rich Seubert and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)***

***Hillsborough running back Jackson Jankowicz earning Shaun O’Hara Bowl offensive MVP honors with Team Otto and Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty and Shaun O’Hara (Photo: Alec Crouthamel)***

Click below for postgame reaction from Team Rocky head coach Rich Seubert and all four game MVPs, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

Seubert

Team Otto MVPs RB Jackson Jankowicz and DL Garrett Meyer (both Hillsborough)

Team Rocky MVPs QB Jeremiah Norwood (Bound Brook) and CB Brayden Kelly (Watchung Hills)

May 5, 2025 at 9:30 am by Mike Pavlichko

No major changes in Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten; Ridge holds at No. 1 heading into final week before SCT play

While past weeks have seen some great instability in the baseball rankings, things appear to be settling down, as all ten teams from last week remain in the Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with the top six positions remaining the same.

Ridge (13-3) had a 3-1 week and remains No. 1. They beat Watchung Hills 7-3 on Monday, then split with Hunterdon Central, winning at home Tuesday 6-1, before falling 11-1 in Flemington Thursday. The Red Devils closed the week with a 2-0 win at Mendham on Friday. They are likely to earn the No. 1 seed in the Somerset County Tournament when the coaches gather Monday night.

Holding in second is Immaculata (9-4), which shares the Skyland Conference Delaware Division title with Ridge. The Spartans were 3-0 this past week, sweeping Hillsborough at home 9-5 on Tuesday, then on the road, 15-6 on Thursday, before blanking Sayreville back home Saturday, 2-0.

In third is South Plainfield (12-6), which went 2-2 this week. First, they split a Tuesday-Thursday series with East Brunswick, winning 16-3 on the road, then falling 6-5 at home. Friday, they blanked Sayreville at home, 1-0, before visiting Spotswood Saturday and coming back with an 8-4 defeat. The Tigers are second in the GMC Red to Woodbridge, but beat the Barrons twice head-to-head.

For that reason, Woodbridge (12-3) – the GMC Red Champions – remain in fourth. They lost 11-7 at Monroe Tuesday, but rebounded with a 4-0 home win over the Falcons on Thursday, before topping South Amboy at home Saturday, 12-2.

Steady in fifth is Colonia (11-3), which split two games this week against Spotswood. They lost on the road 3-2 Tuesday, then beat the Chargers at home 3-1 on Thursday.

Holding in sixth is Skyland Valley Division champion Rutgers Prep (10-4). They swept a Tuesday-Thursday series with Gill St. Bernard’s, starting with a 5-2 road win and capped with a 3-2 home victory.

Skyland Raritan Division winner Watchung Hills (9-5) moves up one spot on a 3-1 week. The Hustlin’ Warriors lost Monday at Ridge, 7-3 but came back and swept Montgomery with a 14-0 home win Tuesday, and a 9-3 win on the road Thursday. They also doubled-up Bridgewater-Raritan Saturday, 12-6.

St. Thomas Aquinas (12-5) drops one spot to No. 8 on a 2-2 week. They began with a 6-2 home loss to Brearley on Monday, then fell 6-1 at St. Joseph-Metuchen on Wednesday. But they came back with two wins, including Friday at East Brunswick, 13-11, and Saturday at home against Camden Academy Charter, 19-2.

Up one spot to ninth is Spotswood (11-6). The Chargers had a 2-1 week, beating Colonia Tuesday, 3-2, but losing there Thursday, 3-1. They came back and beat No. 3 South Plainfield, 8-4, on Saturday at The Swamp.

That drops East Brunswick (9-6) down to tenth. The bears bat Monroe 9-3 Monday, then split with South Plainfield, losing 16-3 at home Tuesday, but winning 6-5 on the road Thursday. They capped it with a 13-11 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas.

Below is the complete Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week 5:

April 28, 2025 at 7:00 amApril 27, 2025 at 8:13 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Top four hold steady, but after that, more upheaval in Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten

The Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball rankings saw stability at the top, and much change at the bottom. Some teams moved up, some down, while others moved out and two new teams moved in.

Ridge (10-2) remains in the No. 1 spot after a 3-0 week, putting the Red Devils’ on a five-game winning streak, their longest of the year. They opened with a two-game sweep of Hillsborough, winning 7-1 at home Tuesday, then 5-4 on the road Wednesday, before picking up a non-conference win Friday over West Morris, 10-3.

Immaculata (6-4) holds steady despite a 1-2 week, with all three games out of the area. They split with Skyland Conference Delaware Division foe North Hunterdon, losing 5-3 in Annandale Tuesday, but coming back with a 4-3 home win Thursday. The Spartans then dropped a Saturday meeting at The Hun School, 5-0.

South Plainfield (10-4) stays in third, going 3-0 against area competition in the week gone by. Tuesday, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, the Tigers finished off a home-and-home sweep of Woodbridge with a 1-0 road win. They swept South Brunswick with an 8-2 road win Wednesday, and a 3-2 home win Saturday. In between games against the Vikings, they lost Thursday at Red Bank Catholic – the No. 10 team in the state – by an 11-5 score.

Woodbridge (10-2) holds at No. 4, behind South Plainfield despite being a game-and-a-half ahead of The Tigers in the GMC Red Division, after getting swept two games by them Saturday and Tuesday. But they rebounded with a sweep themselves, winning 6-4 at Old Bridge Thursday, then 10-7 over the Knights at home Saturday.

Colonia (10-2) moves up one spot to fifth, now on a five-game win streak. They went 4-0 this past week, beating Sayreville on the road 4-0 on Monday, then exploding against North Brunswick for a 29-4 road win Tuesday. Friday, they beat Linden at home 19-2, then blanked Raritan at home Saturday, 7-0.

Up two spots to sixth is Rutgers Prep (8-4). The Argonauts have won two straight, both coming this past week, sweeping Warren Hills 10-3 on the road Wednesday and 5-4 at home Thursday.

Also up two spots this week is St. Thomas Aquinas (10-3), going from nine to seven. The Trojans have won seven-in-a-row, the second-longest active win streak in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area. (Dunellen has won eight straight.) They won 14-4 at Perth Amboy Tuesday, then beat Sayreville at home Thursday, 4-2, and again at Sayreville Friday, 16-1.

Watchung Hills (6-4) drops one spot to eighth after losing two non-CJSR area games, and three overall. Monday, they fell at Hunterdon Central, 3-1, then lost again Friday, 7-5, to Union City.

East Brunswick (7-4) – winners of four straight – makes its debut this season at No. 9. This week, they beat St. Joseph-Metuchen 10-6 at home Tuesday, then swept Edison at home 11-10 on Wednesday, and on the road, 10-4, on Thursday.

And back in at No. 10 after getting knocked out a week ago is Spotswood (9-5). The Chargers beat Middlesex 1-0 Tuesday – finishing off a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays – then swept two from North Brunswick, with an 11-1 home win Thursday and a 13-5 road win Friday. Saturday, they clubbed Williamstown 15-9 in South Jersey at the Downbeach Coaches vs. Cancer event.

Dropping out were No. 7 Old Bridge (7-7) and No. 10 Middlesex (9-4).

Below is the full Week 4 Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten:

April 21, 2025 at 7:00 amApril 21, 2025 at 7:33 am by Mike Pavlichko

Ridge, Immaculata hold at No. 1 and No. 2, but the rest shuffle as three new teams join Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten in Week 3

Ridge and Immaculata continue to hold down the fort at the top of the Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Baseball Top Ten, but everyone else moved around, with three teams dropping out and three new ones joining the fray.

Watchung Hills, Rutgers Prep and St. Thomas all joined the ranked of the ranked this week.

Ridge (7-2) stays atop the list after a 3-1 week. They split a Tuesday-Thursday doubleheader with Bridgewater-Raritan, winning 12-0 on the road Tuesday, but falling at home to the Panthers 9-5 on Thursday, Bridgewater’s first win of the season. Then they took two games on Saturday, beating Pingry in a morning game 8-4 in Martinsville, then rallying late to beat Rutgers Prep at home 8-6 in the afternoon, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Immaculata (5-2) only had two games this week, and holds in second after a split with Hunterdon Central. They won at home on Tuesday, 10-2, then lost the road rematch, 8-7, on Thursday.

Moving up two places to third is South Plainfield (7-3). The Tigers trail first-place Woodbridge by 2.5 games still in the GMC Red Division, but handed the Barrons their first loss on Saturday, 7-3. They’ll rematch Tuesday at 10 am, in a game that can be heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. They went 3-1 this week, with a Tuesday loss at Monroe, 6-4. But they won at Summit, 10-4, in a non-conference game, then earned a split by beating the Falcons 4-2 on Thursday.

Woodbridge (8-1) drops one spot to fourth after the loss to the Tigers. Before that, they swept a home-and-home with Edison, winning 5-2 on the road Tuesday, then 2-0 at home Thursday.

Old Bridge (7-4) had a 3-1 week capped by a huge win against one of the top teams in the state, and moves up three spots to No. 5 as a result. The Knights rebounded from Sunday’s loss at home to St. Joseph-Metuchen in the Autism Awareness Challenge with a 9-0 win on the road against the Falcons, then blanked Monroe 6-0 at home Friday, before scoring six runs in the sixth to break a 3-3 tie and beat Seton Hall Prep 9-3 Saturday afternoon. The Pirates were the No. 3 team in the NJ.com Top 20 and had been undefeated (7-0) coming into the game.

Holding steady in sixth is Colonia (6-2). The Patriots were 1-0 winners at Middlesex Tuesday, but lost Thursday’s rematch at home, 2-0, before rebounding Saturday with a 12-2 win at North Brunswick.

The next three squads all make their first appearances of the season this week.

Skyland Conference Raritan leader Watchung Hills (6-2) joins the ranked list at No. 7, after a 2-1 week. They swept Somerville with a 9-0 road win at Torpey Athletic Complex Tuesday as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio, when won at home 12-2 on Thursday before dropping a non-conference game Saturday, 15-7 to Roxbury.

Debuting at No. 8 is Rutgers Prep (6-4), which won at Pingry Tuesday and at home Thursday against the Big Blue by identical 12-2 scores, before falling Saturday at Ridge, 8-6, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The Argonauts lead the Skyland Valley Division.

GMC White Division leader St. Thomas Aquinas (7-3) makes its season debut at No. 9, on the strength of a 4-0 week. They won 2-1 at Spotswood Tuesday, 17-3 at North Brunswick Wednesday, and 7-4 over Spotswood at home on Thursday, before closing the week with a 4-2 win over Perth Amboy on Saturday.

Falling three spots to tenth is Middlesex (6-3), which went 1-2 this week. They split with Colonia, losing 1-0 at home Tuesday before picking up a 2-0 road win Thursday. They fell to Spotswood, 10-8, Saturday at home.

Dropping out this week were No. 4 Hillsborough (5-4), No. 9 Monroe (4-5) and No. 10 Spotswood (5-5).

Below is the complete Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving High School Baseball Top Ten:

April 16, 2025 at 11:11 am by Mike Pavlichko

INSTANT REPLAY: Watchung Hills 9, Somerville 0

Watchung Hills got a solid start from junior Rob Centamore – 5 1/3 scoreless innings – and six different hitters drove in runs as the Warriors topped Somerville 9-0 in a Skyland Conference Raritan Division game.

Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko call all the action, as heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio from the Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater on April 15, 2025.

April 15, 2025 at 2:43 pmApril 15, 2025 at 3:28 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Watchung Hills continues hot hitting, gets another solid outing from Centamore in 9-0 road win over Somerville

Hot hitting and good pitching will win you a lot of ballgames. In 2025, it has Watchung Hills off to a 5-1 start.

That’s the best start for the Warriors since they began the 2021 campaign 6-0, thanks to a 9-0 win over Somerville Tuesday afternoon at the Torpey Athetic Complex in Bridgewater, as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Watchung Hills had a 4-0 lead after three innings of play. Ethan Clayton drove in the first run of the game with a single, scoring Max Eder, who led off the inning with a double.

In the third, Stef DeGeronimo led off with a double. Jake Kierstead knocked him in with a single, then Jacob Jaconski plated him with a double. After Eder struck out, Ethan Byrd’s double scored Jaconski to make it 4-0.

After that, Somerville starter Ryan Ciesla settled in, and retired the next six batters – including a 1-2-3 fourth – into the fifth.

The Warriors got another run in the sixth, on a sac fly to left by DeGeronimo, scoring Chris Dorsi, who led off the inning with an infield hit.

They got four more insurance runs in the seventh, including a two-RBI single by Landon Pudlak, and a two-RBI double by DiGeronimo.

All the while, junior starting pitcher Rob Centamore was brilliant. He scattered four hits through 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out nine and walking just one, to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Ciesla took the loss for Somerville, his first of the season to fall to 2-1.

Six players had runs batted in for Watchung Hills, which continues its hot hitting. They were batting .331 coming into the game, and knocked out a season-best 15 hits.

Click below for postgame reaction from Watchung Hills junior starter Ryan Centamore and head coach Joseph Tremarco, presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:

April 14, 2025 at 7:27 pm by Mike Pavlichko

Somerville, Watchung Hills come into Tuesday showdown at Torpey on winning streaks

After a rough-and-tumble year in the Delaware Division of the Skyland Conference – one of the toughest in the state – Somerville is down into the Raritan this year, and it’s paying dividends.

Watchung Hills is still in the Raritan, and they’re having success, too.

And so, the Pioneers and Warriors will meet up Tuesday for a morning game over Spring Break with both on winning streaks. Somerville has won two straight; Watchung Hills has won three.

First pitch is set for 11 am at the Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater, and you can hear it on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with pregame set for 10:45. Mike Pavlichko will be on the call; click here to listen.

Somerville is 3-1, 1-1 in the Skyland Raritan after a split with Franklin. The Pioneers are a veteran group, with several third-year starters in the lineup, including their “field general” of sorts, catcher Owen Melchione, a steadying force for the pitching staff, and the Pioneers in general.

Coach Chris Banos’ son, CJ, and Robby Wright also are third-year starters, along with expected starting pitcher Ryan Ciesla. And centerfielder Chase Koplitz has been on varsity since he was a freshman.

Such experience has been invaluable, even if the Pioneers haven’t yet heated up at the plate the way they know they can, hitting just .250 as a team despite the 3-1 overall record. Banos believes it’s a matter of time.

Watchung Hills comes in at 4-1, 3-1 in the Raritan. They split their opening series with Phillipsburg and won a crossover with Pingry before sweeping two from Franklin last week.

The Warriors scored a lot of runs in the process – 21 in two games – and are hitting .331 as a team with three home runs. They have four everyday players just tearing the cover off the ball. There’s sophomore Stefano DiGeronimo (.500) and seniors Jake Kierstad (.471, 1 HR, 8 RBIs) and Max Eder (.461), but then there’s junior Brody Griffith. All he does is get on base, hitting a whopping .692, with five runs batted in and a home run.

Senior Rob Centamore is expected to start for Watchung Hills.

Click below to hear pregame interview with both coaches:

Somerville head coach Chris Banos

Watchung Hills head coach Joseph Tremarco

January 30, 2025 at 10:16 pm by Mike Pavlichko

All chalk in Somerset County Tournament first round as 2025 boys, girls get underway

With five games – three on the girls’ side and two on the boys’ – tipping Thursday night to start the Somerset County Tournament, all higher seeds won.

Somerville and Bernards won on the boys’ side, while Bound Brook, Watchung Hills and Ridge were victorious on the girls’ side.

We’ve got a recap of all five, plus the matchups for Saturday’s second round games, all at the higher seeds.

GIRLS

(12) Bound Brook 42, (13) Montgomery 35: The Crusaders got a near-career high – just one point shy – from Ti’asjah Ferguson, who scored 23 in the win, and finished with a double-double, also grabbing 10 rebounds. Bound Brook (12-4) led after the first two quarters, but Montgomery (6-12) stormed back on a 19-6 third quarter to take a 30-25 lead. But the final quarter belonged to Bound Brook, which clamped down on defense and held the Cougars to five points in the final period for the win.

(10) Watchung Hills 55, (15) Manville 22: The Warriors dominated the first half to the tune of a 24-13 lead at the break, then pulled away with a 24-3 third quarter. Three players scored in double-figured for the Warriors (8-9), who got 15 from Zoe Gallic – who led all scorers – along with ten each from Amanda Shatz and Madison DiSarno. The Mustangs fall to 8-6.

(11) Ridge 43, (14) Bridgewater-Raritan 35: The Panthers rallied from 14 points down at the start of the fourth quarter to pull within 41-35, but ended up falling at Ridge. The Red Devils – who started the year with nine straight losses – have now won four of their last seven.

BOYS

(12) Somerville 48, (13) Bound Brook 37: The Pioneers beat the Crusaders for the third time this season – and for a second time in three days, after a 72-48 win at home back on Tuesday. Tim LaCanna led Somerville with 15 points, while Brady Scheier added 13. The Pioneers (13-5) kept The Brook off the scoreboard in an 8-0 first quarter, and led 26-16 at the half. The Crusaders (9-10) kept pace in the second, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. They were led by Dorian Roundtree’s 16 points.

(11) Bernards 53, (14) Manville 36: The Mountaineers (9-8) snapped a three-game losing streak to advance to the second round, getting a near-career high 21 points – two off the mark – from sophomore Marshall Douglass. His brother Monty, a junior, added 13, while Ricky Giebel added 10 and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. The Mustangs dropped to 11-4 with the loss.

SATURDAY’S SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE

GIRLS: