Circle Your Calendars: Week 4’s Rumble on the Raritan (Sunday)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The season is officially off and running. All teams have now played at least one game and will do so until the end of their seasons. Unique about this weekend, we are fortunate enough to have four full days of games, starting Thursday and ending Sunday at Rutgers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sunday: Phillipsburg (3-0) vs. Hillsborough (3-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First up at the Rumble of the Raritan are the Phillipsburg Stateliners against the Hillsborough Raiders. The Raiders, who have <em>yet </em>to play a home game, have been buoyed on the road by the steady hand of running back [player_tooltip player_id='1005830' first='Jackson' last='Jankowicz']. Just a junior, Jankowicz will easily surpass - and he has outpaced - his production from a year ago. Thus far Jankowicz has rushed 59 times for 407 yards while scoring 5 touchdowns. To start the season he has had three straight games of 99-or-better rushing yards while scoring at least once. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two players at the first and second level of the Stateliner's defense that look to slow down Jankowicz. [player_tooltip player_id='1005828' first='Gifton' last='Friday-Johnson'], a senior defensive lineman, leads the way in the trenches for Phillipsburg. Across three games, two of which were likely early exits due to convincing wins, along with 1 sack Friday-Johnson has accrued 13 tackles on the season. Lining up behind him will be linebacker and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='1005829' first='Marvelous' last='Shabi']. Akin to Friday-Johnson, Shabi also has 13 tackles this season in spite of a few one-sided victories on the season. Shabi has also made 5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and intercepted one pass. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sunday: North Brunswick (3-0) at Sayreville (3-1)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Old GMC enemies have carried their rivalry into the BCC National Silver Division as the Bombers will technically host the Raiders. This fall it appears that the Bombers have gone back to the Wing-T attack that anchored their program for so long under the success and consistency of former head coach George Najjar. That said, there are several backs who are getting plenty of carries; however, the lead dog seems to be [player_tooltip player_id='220075' first='Zaimer' last='Wright']. Through just two games worth of statistics Wright has been super-explosive, totaling 306 yards on 31 carries - equating to a 9.9 yards per cary average - along with 4 touchdowns. Wright has also thrown a 46 yard touchdown pass as well. While Wright is the present, [player_tooltip player_id='1005865' first='Shaun' last='Jackson'] might be the future. Third on the team in rushing yardage, Jackson might be even <em>more</em> explosive than Wright, as he has totaled 131 yards on just 8 carries for an average of just under 11 yards per carry. Jackson has also found pay dirt 4 times. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lining up opposite the three-headed monster of Wing-T ball carriers is North Brunswick's [player_tooltip player_id='712932' first='Jack' last='Garbolino']. Garbolino, a player that I have both coached against and scouted thoroughly, has now entrenched himself as the Raider's leader. After have playing wide receiver, tight end, dog safety, and outside backer, he now finds himself as the man in the middle on defense and a swiss army knife on offense. Defensively, Garbolino has registered 32 tackles thus far, including 1 fumble recovery and 1.5 tackles for loss. On offense he has ran 15 times for 32 yards and scored twice, while he has caught 9 balls for 136 yards and 3 touchdowns as a target. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->