These Big Central Conference football teams leveled up in 2023
The 2023 Big Central Conference high school football season was full of great storylines, and the best stories are teams that defied expectations and reached surprising levels of success. There was certainly no shortage of such tales this season.
We had teams snapping long losing streaks and long playoff droughts, and clubs posting their most successful seasons in school history. We had good programs moving to new heights, and great programs rebounding from a bad season or several bad seasons to get back to their winning ways. We also had some struggling squads showing signs of getting things turned around a year after going winless.
The Cardinals fly again
Plainfield’s season was, perhaps, the most inspiring, as a once dominant program finally shook off nearly two decades of futility to return to a level that was once the standard. It had been 18 years since the Cardinals enjoyed a winning season until they snapped that slide this year, sitting at 6-4 with one game to go -- Thanksgiving Day against rival Westfield.
The Cardinals have shown signs the past couple years since James Williams took the head-coaching reigns, going 5-5 last year, but they finally got over the hump in 2023.
Led by senior lineman Josue Cordoba, senior back Yasir Wyatt, junior quarterback/linebacker Ala-Meen Watkins, junior receiver/DBs Joel Cordoba and Al-Khabir Bethune, and some major contribution from senior Keiwan Kirkland and newcomers EJ Brown and Kamai Lowery on both sides of the ball, Plainfield also made the playoffs for the first time since 2010 and hosted a playoff game for the first time since 2001.
The Cardinals will play host to Westfield on Thanksgiving looking to snap a nine-game slide in the 117th edition of Central Jersey’s oldest rivalry.
Here are the other teams that leveled up in 2023:
Reaching new heights
After 11 winning seasons in 12 years, including six straight campaigns of eight or more victories and a 12-1 finish this year, the Mountaineers finally got to the North 2 Group 2 summit, claiming the first sectional championship in program history in its third trip to a final. Led by quarterback Connor Laverty and a host of weapons all over the field, Bernards won its third straight division title, shattered the program’s previous record of nine wins in a season, and notched its first perfect regular season since 1970. The Mountaineers lone loss came in the Group 2 state semifinals, 17-0 to undefeated three-time North 1 champ Westwood.
Montgomery
The Liberty Silver Division champions not only scored the 100th victory in the program’s two-decade history this year, but also got win No. 100 for head coach Zoran Milich, who built the program from scratch. Led by quarterback Michael Schmelzer and receiver Matt D’Avino, the Cougars enjoyed the first 8-0 start in school history – increasing that to 8-0-1 after a tie with Linden in the regular-season finale. Montgomery’s first loss, 35-14 to Sayreville in the playoff opener to finish 8-1-1, the first time the Cougars have ever finished a season with just one loss.
More: How the Montgomery High School football team got on the doorstep of making history
Watchung Hills
The Warriors have shaken off a long stretch of futility to achieve consistent success for the better part of the past four seasons, but Watchung Hills certainly took a big step up this year to a height it hasn’t seen in 45 years. Led by senior transfer Aleks Sitkowski at quarterback and a host of established talent, including seniors Jack Clintock and Scott Drews, and junior Brayden Kelly, the Warriors posted their first 5-0 start since 1978 and, at 8-3, their winningest season since that year. They also earned their first playoff win since that ’78 campaign -- just the second in program history.
Taking the next step
Carteret
Talk about a program turnaround, Carteret didn’t even have a team in 2020 when the school district cancelled the fall sports slate for Covid-safety precautions. The Ramblers went 3-8 in 2021 under Kevin Freeman’s first season as head coach. Carteret improved to 7-4 in 2022, just missing the postseason, but made another leap this fall, going 7-3, earning a playoff berth, and captured the United Silver title for their first division crown in 11 years.
South HunterdonIt was a rough bunch of years for the Eagles after their trip to the 2014 sectional finals, but things have turned around in a big way, with three straight winning seasons, including 7-2 in 2021 and 6-3 last year. But South Hunterdon soared even higher in 2023, notching a 9-2 mark and a playoff win – both firsts in nine years – as well as the Freedom Silver Division championship.
Spotswood
The Chargers finished 1-8 in 2021, but first-year head coach Chris Meagher and staff were laying the groundwork. Spotswood brought back seasoned players the last two years, and with newcomers stepping up, went a combined 15-5. The Chargers took it to another level this season by finishing 8-2 and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Spotswood also captured the Freedom Gold title, just the sixth division crown in program history.
Out of the darkness
Dunellen
The low-enrollment school typically operates with small roster numbers, which sometimes equates to struggles on the field, and the Destroyers had four combined wins in the previous three seasons. They broke through this year under longtime coach Dave DeNapoli with a 5-4 mark, its first winning record since 2018, and earned its first playoff appearance since 2014.
Hunterdon Central
The Red Devils made eight sectional finals and won five titles during a 15-year span, but have had just two winning seasons since 2013, until this year. With quarterback RJ Hart at the offensive controls and Jake Saus posting a phenomenal season out of the backfield, Central went 6-4 this fall, its first winning season since 2018, a stretch that included a winless 2020.
Linden
The Tigers are just one of those teams that always seem to be in games and give opponents fits, no matter their record. This year, Linden went 6-3-1, which was actually its first winning season since 2018. The Tigers snagged key wins over Union County opponents Cranford, Elizabeth and Rahway, while having a memorable regular-season 42-42 tie against Montgomery.
Middlesex
When veteran skipper Philip “Flip” McGuane took over the Blue Jays in 2022, he installed a new offense and defense and equated the process to learning a foreign language. Middlesex still had a competitive season, but finished 4-6 last fall and missed the playoffs. This year, the Blue Jays executed well-polished schemes in going 7-2 and returned to the postseason.
Voorhees
The Vikings enjoyed some nice steady success for most of the previous decade, culminating with a trip to the 2017 sectional finals, but it had been a struggle since, with five straight losing campaigns, including a one-win season in 2021. Things improved in a big way this year, as Voorhees turned a 3-6 mark last year into a 7-4 season, which included a 35-14 thumping of rival North Hunterdon to snap an 11-year slide in the annual Milk Can Game.
Quick rebounds
Sayreville
Injuries stink. The Bombers found that out in a 4-5 campaign in 2022 that included losing senior QB Michael Colonnello for the season on opening day with a broken collarbone. Star RB/DB Zaimer Wright was hampered throughout the year, as were other key players. Enter this season with a healthy Wright, a talented line and new starters excelling under first-year head coach Don Sofilkanich. Sayreville finished 8-3 and upset third-seeded Montgomery in the North 2 Group 4 quarterfinals.
Union
Just about every team gets hit by the cyclical nature of high school sports. Example A: the Farmers were state-ranked in 2021 with a senior-heavy team that went 9-2. In 2022, Union had to replace 19 of 22 starters and finished 2-7 with a brutal schedule, though still made the postseason. This season, they bounced back to finish 5-6 and captured the tough American Gold Division title that included three other playoff teams.
Woodbridge
Barrons coach Joe LaSala called last year’s 4-6 season “a transition year” during the preseason as Woodbridge played several underclassmen. Granted, the Barrons still earned a playoff berth in 2022, but the program had gone a combined 22-5 the previous three seasons. Now, they returned to their winning ways by going 6-4 and capturing the Liberty Gold title with a 5-0 mark in division play.
Moving in the right direction
Belvidere
Last season was rock bottom for several Big Central Conference teams, but some of those clubs that endured winless campaigns a year ago, got things headed back on the proper path in 2023. The County Seaters were certainly one of those squads, going 0-9 last year, before notching a 3-7 mark this season.
Bound Brook
The Crusaders endured a historically bad 2022, not only finishing 0-9, but getting outscored 365-25 for the season, by far the worst campaign in the program’s 117-year history. But Bound Brook got things back on track immediately, as senior transfer Jeremiah Norwood emerged at quarterback and helped Bound Brook to two wins, including a 25-15 topping of rival Manville. BB also more than quadrupled its offensive output, scoring 113 points in nine games.
Franklin
The Warriors still have a way to go before they can return to the glory years that saw them win six state titles in 12 seasons in the 80s and 90s, but after 10 straight losing seasons bottomed out with a winless campaign a year ago, it was nice to see Franklin at least start the climb back up. The Warriors finished 3-8 this year, including a National Silver Division win, as second-year coach and Franklin alum Blair Wilson moves the program back in the right direction.
Highland Park
The Owls’ recent struggles have been well-documented. The low-enrollment Group 1 school has juggled low roster numbers for several years. NFL legend Joe Theismann even praised Highland Park for its tenacity while back at South River for a 2017 game. The Owls indeed kept showing up and had a handful of close losses until topping Pt. Pleasant Beach 46-29 in the season finale to snap a 51-game losing streak.
Simeon Pincus has covered NJ sports since 1997. He can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus.
Andy Mendlowitz can be reached at AMendlowitz@NJPressMedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Andy_Mendlowitz.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ football: Big Central Conference most improved teams
