COLONIA, NJ–On Saturday, GMC Hoops will complete its Thanksgiving Week coverage when it travels over to Colonia High School for the first time this season to see the Patriots host the Woodbridge Barrons in the Bragging Rights Game. This neighborhood rivalry has been controlled by Colonia with a 22-16-4 series edge. Woodbridge won last year by a 14-12 margin, but the Patriots hold an 8-7 edge over the past 15 years. The Barrons, which lost to Ridge in the semifinals of the North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Tournament last weekend, are looking to finish the season with a winning record, which would be really special after an 0-4 start. On the other hand, the Patriots are looking to win their third game in four tries after starting the year at 0-6. Here are the particulars for this game:
Current Weather Conditions–South Plainfield, New Jersey
- Sky Conditions: Overcast/Cloudy
- Temperature: 51 degrees
- Humidity: 94 percent
- Dew Point: 49 degrees
- Barometer: Steady at 29.61 inches of Hg (Mercury)
- Winds: SSE at about 5 miles per hour
Weather Forecast–Colonia at 12:00 PM EDT on Saturday
The weather has been a bit unsettled over the past several days. As a matter of fact, this Thanksgiving was probably the best of those days, and there were times in the J.P. Stevens versus Edison game, where there were cloudy conditions. Nevertheless, temperatures have been well above normal for this time of year. Weather at the games has been surprisingly nice for the most part. There have been a couple instances of stormy weather, which made taking video of those contests somewhat challenging and fun, but the weather this football season has been quite pleasant.
Anyway, looking at the current weather situation, there are two storm systems coming at us from the south and west. First, low pressure is moving east from the Great Lakes while another is moving northward. These two will combine to provide wet conditions in the form of showers on Friday starting after midnight. Chance of precipitation overnight is 70 percent. Showers will continue to be likely into the morning and early afternoon on Friday. In addition, winds will be increasing up to 20 miles per hour sustained. Chance of rain is about 70 percent right now with amounts totaling from a quarter to a half an inch. Skies will clear out for Saturday, but the wind is going to take over.
According to the forecast from the Mount Holly, New Jersey office of the National Weather Service, sustained winds will range between 15 to 25 miles per hour with gusts up to 40 miles per hour. Temperatures will be cooler as well with highs struggling to reach 50 degrees. It will be interesting to see how the weather plays havoc with this game.
Directions to Colonia High School
Address: –Colonia High School, 180 East Street, Colonia, New Jersey 07067
- Take major roads to Garden State Parkway. From New Jersey Turnpike, you would go NORTH onto GSP. From North Jersey, you would be traveling SOUTH on the GSP.
- Take Exit 131 (Rt. 27, Iselin/Rahway).
- At the light at the end of the exit ramp, make a left onto Rt. 27 towards Iselin/Rahway.
- Make the second left onto Middlesex Avenue.
- Follow Middlesex Avenue through one light to the end of Middlesex Avenue (3/4 mile).
- New Dover Road is at the end of Middlesex Avenue.
- Make a left onto New Dover Road. Approximately 500 feet down on New Dover Road, you will be making your first right onto Harrow Drive.
- Harrow Drive brings you to the back of Colonia High School, past the Football Stadium, and eventually to the front of the high school.
Game Outlook
The 43rd installment of the Bragging Rights Game favors the Barrons on paper, but if this game were played earlier in the season, it might not have been so easy to figure out who will win this one. Woodbridge began the season with four straight losses including the first two to East Brunswick (38-0) and Howell (37-7) by a combined score of 75-7. However, this young, but talented team began making strides in a loss against GMC Red foe Sayreville, and then got closer to its first win in an overtime loss at South Brunswick. Then, they won five straight games including victories over North Jersey Section 2 Group IV State Playoff qualifiers Piscataway (10-3) and Union (23-14) before falling in the semifinals to Ridge (34-21).
The game last week against the Red Devils was a microcosm of the Barrons season. The first quarter was much like those first two games with Woodbridge falling behind 21-0. However, the Barrons showed the same fight that helped them win five straight games over the next two periods to pull within 21-14 after taking the second half kickoff and driving down the field for a score in the third. Ridge had a chance to go up by two scores, but Woodbridge’s defense led by C.J. Bruno, Max Issaka, Jose Enger, and Praise Martin-Ogunike came up with a huge stop deep in their own territory on fourth down.
Unfortunately, that was where the magic ended. Kyle Anderson threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown moments later, and Ridge’s Nick Cefalo picked off another Anderson pass for a score to put the Devils up 34-14 in the fourth. WHS got a score late to make things more respectable, but their magic ride in the playoffs came to an end. Meanwhile, Colonia started off the season with six straight losses, and like fellow GMC Blue Division members, Carteret and South Plainfield, the Pats were being soundly beaten. However, the Patriots broke through with a 32-21 win at South Plainfield nearly a month ago, and then after a 35-6 throttling at Wall Township, the following week, CHS got its second win of the season with a 41-14 defeat over Barringer in the North Jersey Section 2 Group III Consolation.
Colonia is led by the likes of J.T. Kotowski at quarterback, C.J. Gray (a basketball standout) at receiver, and both Corey and Greg Jones (no relation) on offense. The Barrons counter with Kyle Anderson at quarterback, and Johnny Mayi at running back along with Anthony Nyers and Keith Hughes at receiver. As mentioned earlier, the weather could be interesting on Saturday afternoon with forecasts calling for it to be windy in the wake of the double barreled storm system that will be bearing down on Central Jersey. It will be interesting to see what impact the wind will have on the game, and how each team deals with it. The opening coin toss could prove to be very crucial.
Both teams played Edison, which defeated Colonia on the road (27-21) back in September, but lost to Woodbridge at home later on in the season (21-6). Coming into this week, the GMC Blue was 5-15 against teams outside the conference, and 1-5 against teams in other divisions in the Greater Middlesex Conference. On the other hand, the GMC Red was 7-1 in games against the GMC White this season, and played more competitively against teams outside the conference (7-8 vs. Shore Conference and 12-9 overall).
See our pick in the GMC Football Week Twelve Capsules for Thanksgiving Saturday.