SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–After a super start to the season with my 45-7 record over the past four weeks, I’m looking to continue my good run with another solid week. There are four games on Saturday following eight that are taking place on Friday night.
Here is a brief breakdown of the Saturday afternoon matchups:
South River (3-3) at J.F. Kennedy (3-3)–Both teams enter this contest at .500. Neither team has played a common opponent. The Rams have lost two in a row to Gold Division powers of Metuchen (26-7) and Highland Park (35-15) while Kennedy has been more up and down. The Mustangs had won two in a row coming into last week, but were shutout by Red Bank (34-0) after scoring 83 points without throwing a pass. South River has played a strength of schedule with a combined record of 15-20 while Kennedy has played foes with a combined mark of 10-21. Kennedy is also 0-1 against GMC Gold opponents (lost to Spotswood on the road 34-7). The Mustangs have averaged nearly 25 points per game while giving up nearly 23. South River has averaged 17 points per contest while yielding 22. Kennedy has a mark of 2-1 at home, and has averaged 36.7 points per game while giving up 22.7. South River is 1-2 on the road, and has been outscored by an average 23 to 12. Mark Weber, Rasheed Howard, Mike Tenpenny, Frank Maglione, and Marcus Gaudin lead Kennedy while Steve Moore and Taariq Phillips pace South River. Prediction: J.F. Kennedy wins 24-12.
Carteret (1-4) at Colonia (0-5)–You might want to flip a coin in this one. Carteret is coming off its first win of the season in the form of a 25-0 shutout of South Plainfield last Friday night while Colonia was battered by Bishop Ahr (34-6). Both teams have played Ahr, and lossed by a combined total of 83-12. Against GMC Blue opponents, the Ramblers are 1-1, and have been outscored 49-31 while Colonia is 0-2 versus Blue Division foes, and have been outscored 66-6. Carteret’s defense is more stingy than Colonia’s. If you take out the two lopsided losses against Bishop Ahr (49-6) and Red Bank Catholic (41-6), the Ramblers have only given up an average of a little over 9 points per game. Meanwhile, Colonia, which is a bit banged up, has given up an average of almost 34 points per game. Both teams have trouble scoring with the Patriots averaging a bit more at 8 points per contest. Colonia is 0-2 at home, and have been outscored 59-21 while Carteret is 0-3 on the road, and have been outscored 104-12. The Ramblers strength of schedule has a combined record of 14-14 while Colonia’s has a combined mark of 19-9. The Ramblers are led by Billy Merz and Lamont Crews-Webb while the Patriots are led by J.T. Kotowski. Prediction: Carteret 13-7.
Dunellen (2-4) at Metuchen (4-2)–Despite losing to Highland Park (41-28) earlier in the season, the Metuchen Bulldogs have a slight edge in the Central Jersey Group I Power Points standings. MHS is also coming off a hard fought victory on the road over Spotswood (14-6). Meanwhile, Dunellen has won two straight by a combined margin of 83-21. The Destroyers are now averaging nearly 22 per game while giving up 23. On the other hand Metuchen has scored 23 while giving up 22. Dunellen’s strength of schedule has a combined record of 15-21 while Metuchen’s is 18-16. The Bulldogs are also 3-0 at home while Dunellen is 2-1 on the road, but those wins were over Cardinal McCarrick (58-0) and Mater Dei (35-21). Both teams have played South River, Highland Park, and Spotswood. Metuchen is 2-1 against those teams while Dunellen is 0-3. DHS is led by Rontik Sadler and Jeff Puckett while the Bulldogs are led by one of the top quarterback’s in the GMC in Steve Deinzer with targets Anthony Terenzi, Steve Serieux, and Chris Warren. Elijah Sellers, Ray Bonet, and Quinn Meng pace the Metuchen ground game. Prediction: Metuchen wins 24-8.
New Brunswick (4-2) at North Brunswick (3-2)–This game was originally scheduled for Friday night, but was moved to Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM. This is a big game for both teams with division and state playoff hopes on the line. The Zebras started the season 0-2, but those losses were against the likes of Freehold Boro (3-2) and Middletown South (6-0). The Raiders had a tough time in beating J.P. Stevens (21-19) after taking a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter. The Hawks were able to move the ball fairly well against North Brunswick, and could have won the game. New Brunswick is 4-0 against the GMC while NBTHS is 3-2. The Zebras strength of schedule is 13-19 while the Raiders is 11-16. New Brunswick has outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 96-27 over its four game winning streak. North Brunswick is averaging 24 points per game, but have given up 20 while NBHS is averaging 19 per game while giving up 15. Both teams have played Edison, J.P. Stevens, and Perth Amboy, and are each 3-0 against those teams. Both beat Edison solidly, but New Brunswick downed Stevens (27-6) and Amboy (20-14) by slightly better margins. The Raiders are 2-1 at home, but New Brunswick is 3-1 on the road. Prediction: New Brunswick wins 20-14.
Last week’s record (12-2)
Record since Week #3: 45-7