Standouts From Big Central Football Conference

It was an unforgettable season for the Big Central Football Conference in its first year. The Big Central Football Conference merged the Mid-State Conference and the Greater Middlesex Conference into one giant conference, featuring teams in Somerset, Warren, Union, Hunterdon and Middlesex counties. As a result, we saw a bunch of explosive playmakers on both ends. Let’s take a look at some of the top players from the Big Central Football Conference this past season. <strong>Frankie Garbolino, North Brunswick: </strong>Garbolino led the BCFC with 1,685 yards to go along with 17 touchdowns. He also kept interceptions relatively low with six on the season. His top performance came against New Brunswick, throwing four touchdowns and 245 yards. <strong>Michael Miller, Somerville: </strong>Miller had a remarkable season for Somerville as a sophomore quarterback. He was second in the conference with 1,600 passing yards to go along with 17 touchdowns. He avoided bad decisions, only throwing three interceptions, and he completed about 62 percent of his throws on the year. Miller was also a player who could run, as he found the end zone four times and ran for 116 of his 164 rushing yards in a 55-42 victory over Summit. He had many weapons, and Somerville finished the year undefeated. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27997" first="Charlie" last="Barth"], New Providence: </strong>Barth had another extremely productive season, finishing the 2020 campaign with 1,702 yards and 25 touchdowns on 186 carries. He was essentially a lock for 100 yards in every game. He had four rushing scores in two games, and he was a top guy on defense as well with 115 tackles and two sacks. <strong>Cookie Desiderio, Somerville: </strong>Desiderio ran 152 times for 1,569 yards and 26 touchdowns for a Somerville offense that looked unstoppable at times. He caught two passing scores and he ran in four touchdowns five times, including a 301-yard, five-touchdown performance in a victory over Rahway. Desiderio also converted 12 two-point attempts on the season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27920" first="Ali" last="Lee Jr."], Woodbridge: </strong>Lee was strong for the Barrons in just six games of action, rushing for 1,161 yards and 14 scores on 155 carries. Lee was impactful in other areas, finishing with two receiving scores, a kickoff return for a TD and two interceptions on defense. <strong>Derek Graichen, Brearley: </strong>Graichen led Brearley to a 6-2 record with 1,109 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns on the season. He reached 100 rushing yards in seven of eight games. He also had three sacks on the defensive end. <strong>Jaimen Bryant, Somerville: </strong>Bryant was a top receiving weapon for Somerville with 671 yards and nine touchdowns on a conference-leading 39 receptions. He had four games of 100 receiving yards, including a three-touchdown, 143-yard performance in a victory over Hunterdon Central. Bryant was also important defensively, as he recorded 32 tackles to go with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two interceptions. <strong>Jon Wyatt, St. Thomas Aquinas:</strong> Wyatt made 24 catches for 593 yards and eight scores in 2020. He had four 100-yard games, including a whopping 179 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just four receptions in the season finale against Colonia. Wyatt had three interceptions on defense for 4-3 St. Thomas Aquinas. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="27938" first="Michael" last="Dotro"], Brearley: </strong>Dotro was a tackling machine, tying Barth with 115 tackles for tops in the conference. He hit double-digit tackles in every game but one. <strong>Adam Elsais, North Plainfield: </strong>Elsais totaled 109 tackles for third in the conference. He also had a sack and forced two fumbles. The Canuck senior had 19 tackles against rival South Plainfield, and he had a combined 35 tackles in North Plainfield’s first two games. <strong>Khan-Yae Stevens, North Plainfield: </strong>Stevens made a great impact for the 7-1 Canucks. He scored one rushing touchdown, caught 21 passes and had 481 receiving yards and 11 receiving TDs, he had six interceptions, three that were returned for a score, 34 tackles, a forced fumble and a punt return for a score. <strong>Steven Lopez, Bernards: </strong>The Big Central Football Conference has many great kickers. Jai Patel of South Brunswick is a nationally ranked kicker, and he hit seven field goals and converted all 22 PATs. Bernards’ Lopez led the conference with 39 PATs out of 41 attempts. He made three of four field goal attempts, including a 47-yarder in a dominating win over Voorhees. His other field goals were from 34 and 28 yards. <strong>Other Names: Chad Martini, Watchung Hills; Matt Garatty, Phillipsburg; Kevin Farrell, Warren Hills; Matt Yascko, Edison; [player_tooltip player_id="27942" first="Teddy" last="Gouldin"], Bernards; Jayden Young, St. Thomas Aquinas; Aidan McLaughlin, Monroe; Caleb Salters, Hillside; Mike Olivo, Ridge; [player_tooltip player_id="27955" first="Matt" last="Quetel"], Phillipsburg; Shawn Martin, Scotch Plains-Fanwood; Aidan Governali, Voorhees, Sean Levonaitis, Hillsborough; Fatir Bell, Hillside; Pat Caldwell, Bernards; Dylan McFadden, Montgomery; Ahmaad Murkey, North Plainfield; Thomas Amankwaa, Hillsborough; Adekunle Shittu, Edison; Elijah Roselle, North Plainfield; Sharod Tedder, Bound Brook; Jai Patel, South Brunswick; Diar Dautaga, Cranford; Jake Beckman, Ridge</strong>