Seven Turkey Day Games Around GMC
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–On Thanksgiving Day, the Greater Middlesex Conference will give thanks with eight games involving teams from its conference. GMC Gridiron will be at Ackerman Field to take in the annual rivalry game between Piscataway and Franklin, which dates back to the early 1960s. The Chiefs and Warriors have maintained their rivalry with the exception of a few years despite changing conferences in the 1980s. Other Turkey Day games include Carteret and Perth Amboy, which is the oldest Thanksgiving Day rivalry in the conference, East Brunswick versus Old Bridge, Middlesex against Dunellen, North Plainfield playing South Plainfield, J.P. Stevens versus Edison, and North Brunswick taking on South Brunswick. Below are GMC Gridiron’s picks for the annual holiday feast contests:
- Piscataway (6-2-1) at Franklin (6-3)–This should be an entertaining matchup, and may be a preview of the North Jersey Section 2 Group V final in two weeks of the Warriors can somehow knock off an Elizabeth team that soundly defeated them earlier this year, and P-Way can defeat Bridgewater. Both teams have the ability to put a lot of points on the board. Eddie Lee had a standout performance with five touchdowns and over 300 yards rushing in Franklin’s 38-14 victory over Union in the opening round of the state playoffs. Meanwhile, P-Way is led by Rutgers bound QB Nadir Barnwell and a trio of rushers including Cameron Nash, Jamaal James, and Tyrell Judson along with big play receivers in Kyle LaPorte and James Claybrooks. The Chiefs also have a stout defense, which ha s yielded 14 points to South Brunswick, 14 points to Sayreville, 0 points to Monroe and Watchung Hills, and 54 points overall in its last 6 games. P-Way leads season series 23-21-3.Prediction: Piscataway wins, 31-28.
- Carteret (9-0) at Perth Amboy (0-9)–Perth Amboy will be trying to salvage a win out of what has been a rebuilding season, but it will be a very tall order. Carteret, undefeated and the top seed in Central Jersey Group II, has rolled past most of its opponents. The last two games have been the closest the Ramblers have had all season. Prior to that, Carteret was averaging close to 40 points per game with the likes of Tyler Rodriguez at QB, Jerod Johnson at RB, Naji Johnson at FB, and the duo of Erik Fruscella and Leo Llanos at WR. The Panthers are playing at home, but the Ramblers are at their peak, and looking to put an end to a four game losing streak to Amboy. Perth Amboy leads all time series 45-38-2.Prediciton: Carteret wins, 41-6.
- East Brunswick (2-6-1) at Old Bridge (7-2)–The Knights resumed their dominance in this rivalry last year with a 40-20 victory at Jay Doyle Field, and have won 15 of the 18 meetings all time since OBHS opened in the fall of 1994. Old Bridge should continue that dominance as well with its best squad in several years led by the backfield of QB Vin Gargano, FB Chris Middleton, and RB Aaron Ford. Since losing to South Brunswick in overtime in week three, the Knights have won six in a row including a 40-34 overtime win against Montgomery in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group V playoffs. Old Bridge plays the second seeded Vikings next week in the semifinals at SBHS. Prediction: Old Bridge wins, 41-14.
- J.P. Stevens (3-6) at Edison (4-5)–This could be on of the more intriguing games of the day with the Eagles coming off a loss to second ranked Elizabeth in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group V playoffs last week while Stevens defeated Westfield in a consolation game. Both teams have improved greatly this year with the Eagles and Hawks both defeating Monroe while Edison defeated East Brunswick and North Brunswick. The Eagles sport a QB tandem of Dan Lordi and James Waldron along with a running back duo of Jordan Dunn and Aqeel Daniels. The Hawks are led by RB Chiebuka Chukwuneke and Dario Brzozowski at QB. Edison playing at home and with a chance to go .500 for the first time in a while, gets the edge. Prediction: Edison wins, 31-23.
- Middlesex (2-7) at Dunellen (7-2)–Both teams had promise for big seasons in the GMC Blue this year with Middlesex being among the contenders for a division crown by the Star-Ledger. However, the Jays have not been able to fulfill those pre-season expectations. Meanwhile, Dunellen has flourished again with another solid season under the direction of Dave DeNapoli. Led by the likes of QB Casey Wenzel, and RBs Colin Hannis, Dylan Hoski, and Deon Brown along with WR and K Tony McGaune, the Destroyers have won another Blue Division title, and rolled past Weehawken in the first round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group I playoffs by the score of 61-33. Meanwhile, Middlesex fell to Ridgefield Park (6-0) in a consolation game. Dunellen, at home, should win easily here. Prediction: Dunellen wins, 35-13.
- North Plainfield (3-5) at South Plainfield (4-5)–The Tigers took it on the chin last week to Reggie Green and North Jersey Section 2 Group III Champion, Cranford last week (37-12) in the opening round of the state playoffs. However, SPHS has a chance for a .500 season if it can beat North Plainfield today. The problem is that the Tigers have not beaten the Canucks since this rivalry was renewed in 2002. Even in 2007 when it last qualified for the state playoffs, and reached the championship game, the Tigers was beaten soundly by its arch rival from the north. However, the Tigers have showed progress this year, and last week’s game was probably the worst defeat they’ve had all year. Even against Cranford, the Tigers had chances to make things interesting early on in the third quarter. QB Kyle Moroney ran for a score while throwing another, and Joe Pellegrino is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Roemello Monroe is another solid back in the Tigers offense, and first year head coach Gary Cassio doesn’t hesitate to pull out all of the stops to win. Tigers at home. This could be the year SP breaks through. Prediction: South Plainfield wins, 22-21.
- South Brunswick (7-2) at North Brunswick (2-7)–North Brunswick is looking to salvage a difficult year after moving up to the Red this season with a victory over its arch rival. However, it will be very difficult to say the least. South Brunswick has dominated this rivalry in recent years, and had plenty of firepower back this season despite losing much to graduation from last year’s very successful team. The Vikings have a lineup that includes T.J. Perkowski at QB, Dion Hooper at RB, Darae Ford at FB, and T.J. Taylor at WR. They also have Dontae Strickland, who is capable of breaking a big play as well. North Brunswick has Tim Parson back at QB, who can hook up with C.J. Wise at WR. Raiders are coming off a consolation game win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North while South Brunswick defeated Hillsborough in the opening round of the Central Jersey Group V state playoffs. Prediction: South Brunswick wins, 42-14.
GMC Gridiron will be at Ackerman Field in Franklin Township to see Piscataway take on the Warriors for its Turkey Day contest.