SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The web site was roughed up a bit in Week Ten, but still managed to win 13 of the 22 games played including 7 of the 10 state tourney games. The consolation contests killed the site though as it was even in the 12 games played there. Now, we’re getting down to the nitty gritty as teams are battling to reach sectional finals. Six GMC teams are left with four of them playing against each other in two of the contests. There will be four games this weekend including three on Friday night, and one on Saturday.
Here is a brief breakdown of the state semifinal matchups involving GMC teams:
Woodbridge (5-4) at Ridge (8-2)–This will be the site’s featured matchup this week as the Barrons of Woodbridge travel to Northern Somerset County to take on Ridge in the semifinals of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament. The Devils are seeded fifth in this year’s tourney while the Barrons are seeded eighth. However, Woodbridge is riding a tremendous wave of confidence and momentum after not only getting off to an 0-4 start, and managing to qualify, but then knocking off the top seeded Union Farmers in the first round (23-14). The Barrons actually started playing better in Week #3 with a 23-8 loss at home versus Sayreville, then they got closer to a ‘W’ when they lost in overtime to South Brunswick (14-7) on the road. Then, the wins started coming over Edison (21-6), Old Bridge (20-9), Piscataway (10-3), and J.P. Stevens (42-6). Like a snowball rolling down a hill, Woodbridge has become a playoff behemoth. In its first two games, WHS was outscored 75-7 by East Brunswick and Howell. Since that time, the Barrons have outscored their opponents by a margin of 131-75, or an average of about 19 to 11. Ridge defeated Immaculata earlier in the season (35-21), but then lost two straight to Union (30-28) and North Hunterdon (32-17). Ridge only defeated Plainfield (23-20), and the Cardinals are 2-8. In addition, the Red Devils slipped by Franklin (34-30), Watchung Hills (28-21), and Montgomery (35-28). Last week, in the opening round of the playoffs, Ridge spotted Bridgewater-Raritan a 13-0 lead before coming back to take the lead, and block a potential game winning field goal for the victory. Coming into the contest, Ridge is averaging 27 points per game while giving up about 20. Woodbridge on the other hand, comes in averaging 15 points per contest, but have yielded slightly less than 17. Looking at the schedules the two teams have played, Ridge has played competition with a combined record of 38-48 while Woodbridge’s opponents are a combined 46-36. Checking out the Born Power Index, the Barrons are about a five point favorite in this one. Comparing the average rating of the GMC Red versus that of the Mid-State 39’s Raritan Division, the Red Division is 72 while the Raritan is 64. Last week, the GMC Red went 5-1 combined in playoff and consolation games with the only loss being Piscataway falling to Phillipsburg in overtime in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV playoffs. Looking at how the Raritan Division did, they were a combined 4-2. Ridge is 4-1 at home while Woodbridge is 3-2 away. Ben Edsall is the quarterback for Ridge, and his favorite target is basketball standout, Nick Cefalo, who has hauled in 17 TD passes this year. Anthony Milito scored the game winning touchdown, and blocked a game winning FG attempt for the Devils last week while John Graves keys the kicking game. Woodbridge is led by Johnny Mayi at running back with Kyle Anderson at quarterback. Anderson’s targets are Anthony Nyers and Keith Hughes. Anchoring the defense is Jose Enger, Max Issaka (leads team in sacks), C.J. Bruno, and Praise Martin-Oguike (leads team in tackles). Woodbridge is making a run that even outshines South Plainfield’s cinderella run in North II Group III two years ago. The Barrons give up fewer points on defense, and have improved on offense. They’ve gained a great deal of momentum and confidence by defeating two teams already in this section in Piscataway and Union. They’re not a bad road team either, and they’ve played a much stronger schedule. Prediction: Woodbridge 23-20.
East Brunswick (6-3) at Sayreville (9-1)–For the second time this season, the Sayreville Bombers will be hosting the East Brunswick Bears. The first time that these two teams played, the Bombers rolled past EB with a 34-13 victory. These two teams have also played a number of common opponents in addition to their competition in the GMC Red. Both teams have played Brick Memorial with Sayreville winning on the road (29-26) and East Brunswick losing at home (37-34). Each team has also played Freehold Township, which EB downed on the road (34-6) while Sayreville scored a late touchdown to pull away (20-7) at home. The Bombers went undefeated in GMC Red play while East Brunswick lost a games to Piscataway (13-10) in addition to losing to Sayreville. Both teams just about score as many points with the Bombers averaging over 25 per contest while East Brunswick has scored over 24 per game. The difference is on defense with Sayreville giving up just twleve points per game while the Bears have yielded 15. Looking at the strength of schedule for these two teams, Sayreville has played opponents with a combined record of 48-43 while East Brunswick’s foes are a combined 45-38. The Born Index has Sayreville favored by about 10 points. Both teams pitched shutouts in their opening round games as Sayreville defeated Middletown North (21-0) while East Brunswick knocked out West Windsor-Plainsboro South (27-0). Weather conditions played a key factor as the wind and rain helped both teams win games. The forecast is calling for more rain on Friday so the Bombers better take care of the ball because EB took advantage of the wind against WWPS (two third quarter touchdown passes). East Brunswick is 3-1 away while Sayreville is undefeated at home (5-0). The Bears average about 309 yards per contest while Sayreville averages 249 per contest. East Brunswick is averaging more tackles per game (55 to 50) while Sayreville has more sacks (1.6 to 0.4). Mauro Tucci leads the option attack for EBHS with 79 yards rushing per game, and 94 yards passing per game. He also leads the team in scoring 7 points per game. Supporting cast on offense for the Bears is Mike Weber, Jared Lynch, Julian Quintan, Kevin Lantz, and Tim O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan joins Anthony Gudzak, Nick Gudzak, and Pete Sorrento (8 tackles per game) on defense. Tyler Yonchiuk provides a solid kicking game for EB. On the other side of the ledger, Sayreville’s offense is led by Joe Geiger (112 yards passing per game), who has targets in Delon Stephenson, Shakir Goodrich, and Dave Milewski. Alex Yanuzzelli, Basim Fain, and Nick Bodtmann anchor the ground game. On defense, Syd Holt, George Koblentz, Darryl Stephenson, T.J. Miara and Tyler Strauss (returning from injury) lead the way for the Bombers. Sayreville is playing at home, gives up fewer points on defense, and has already defeated EB this year. Prediction: Sayreville wins, 28-14.
Ocean Township (7-2) at Monroe (8-1)–This is a rematch of last year’s Central Jersey Group III opening round game, which was won by the Spartans (9-7). So, Monroe will be looking for revenge. The second seeded Falcons are coming off its third shutout victory of the season (all at home) by defeating seventh seeded Princeton in the opening round (42-0). The Purple Birds only loss this season was in a GMC crossover at East Brunswick (23-21). Monroe Township has given up an average of just over 9 points per game while scoring almost 33 points per contest. Against the Shore Conference, the GMC White is 5-6, but Monroe is 2-0 with victories over Red Bank Catholic (14-3) and Brick Township (40-14). Ocean Township is 1-0 versus the GMC with a 49-7 victory over Colonia, and the Shore’s Liberty Division is 9-3 against GMC foes this season including Matawan’s 37-13 decision over New Brunswick last week in the opening round of the CJ Group II State Tournament. However, one of the Spartans losses was to Red Bank Catholic (21-6) at home. Monroe beat the Caseys opening weekend. Ocean Township is also 2-1, and have been outscored 52-48 on the road while the Falcons are 5-0 at home, and have outscored their opponents by a margin of 181-17, or about 36 to 3 per game. The Spartans enter this game averaging 23 points per game while giving up about 10 points per contest. Both teams have recorded three shutouts this season. Ocean Township is coming off a 35-0 victory over Steinert in the opening round of the state tournament. The Spartans, which also played Brick and won (17-7) have played a schedule with a combined record of 43-38 while Monroe’s is 40-43. Looking at the Born Power Index, the Purple Birds are favored by 9 points. Comparing the strength of the GMC White with the Shore Liberty, the White Division’s rating is 61 while the Liberty’s is 64. The GMC White is 1-1 head to head against Shore Liberty. Last week, the GMC White went 3-3 in state playoff and consolation games while the Shore Liberty went 4-3. Monroe, which got 305 yards on the ground from Blake Bascom last week, is averaging 226 rushing yards per game while it averages nearly 100 yards in the air. Monroe’s defense is averaging 2 sacks per contest. Bascom is averaging 159 yards per game, and 10 points per game while Alex Vizcaino is throwing over 105 yards per contest. Watchout for Frank Ruopoli in the wildcat formation as well. On defense, you have Matt Stolte, Alex Olexson, Chris Gregor (also a threat on offense at tight end), and Chris Geist while the kicking game is bolstered by Chris Mattos, who kicks and punts. Both teams have solid defenses, and have played well against common opponents. However, Monroe can put more points on the board, and have played very well at home. Over the last five years, the Purple Birds are 20-6 at MTHS. The Falcons will prevail. Prediction: Monroe wins 21-16.
Highland Park (7-3) at Metuchen (7-3)–Here’s another rematch game involving two teams from the GMC. Both of these teams played earlier in the season on October 3rd, and the Owls prevailed at home 41-28. Both teams are coming off opening round playoff wins at home with Highland Park edging Florence (8-7) while Metuchen defeated Spotswood by a score of 28-7. Highland Park won the GMC Gold with a 6-0 record while Metuchen finished second at 5-1. The Owls come into the contest averaging 29 points per game while giving up 16. On the other hand, Metuchen enters the ball game scoring about 27 points per game, and giving up 23 points per contest. Highland Park has a record of 3-1 on the road while Metuchen is 5-1 at home. The only loss suffered by the Bulldogs at MHS was two weeks ago against Monsignor Donovan (73-45). The Bulldogs have played a schedule with a combined record of 41-44 while Highland Park’s foes are a combined 44-41. Looking at the Born Power Index, Highland Park is favored by a little more than 9 points in this contest. This series, which dates back to 1937, has been dominated by Highland Park (56-17-1). In this decade though, the rivalry has been much closer with the Owls only having a 7-4 edge including the last three games. However, the Bulldogs won the last playoff matchup between the two (13-12) in 2006. The only other time these two teams met in the playoffs was 1986, and Highland Park won 22-12. Back in that season, Metuchen won the regular season contest (17-7). Highland Park won the regular season contest in 2006. So, the winner in the regular season has been the loser in the playoffs. Will that trend hold? Possibly. HPHS is led by Nate Smith, who can do it all on the field. In the victory over Metuchen back on October 3rd, Smith had over 500 all purpose yards. He also has a fine supporting cast with the likes of Louis Middleton, David Webb, LaShaun Parkey, Tyler Rios, Mike Ryan, Mike McClain, and Quawi Bachelor. Metuchen is led by the strong arm of Steve Deinzer, who threw for 274 yards and three scores in the early October loss. Deinzer, who returned a kickoff for a TD two weeks ago against Monsignor Donovan, can also do it all. He has targets in Steve Serieux, Anthony Terenzi, and Chris Warren while Elijah Sellers, Ray Bonet, and Quinn Meng lead an improving ground attack. The Owls are awfully tough with Smith though. Stop him on the ground, and head coach Rich McGlynn might put him back in the shotgun, where he can scramble and throw. If Metuchen can keep Highland Park from getting off to a great start then it could be interesting. Prediction: Highland Park wins 35-28.
Last week’s record (13-9)
This year’s playoff record (7-3)
Record since Week #3: 91-27