Big Central Conference Games of the Week, Week 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With as much football action as our Great Garden State has this coming weekend within the high school ranks, here are a handful of games - and as a fan what I am looking for in each one - throughout the Big Central Conference this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Friday, September 12</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Old Bridge (2-0) @ Piscataway (1-1)<br><br>In a matchup from my GMC days, two old foes link up for an early season duel of the "new" guard against the old guard. <br><br>Off of the heels of a strong 6-4 campaign that ended in a 2-point home playoff loss to Cherokee, Old Bridge is off to a 2-0 for the first time since the Covid-shortened 2020 season - and sights are set high. Much reason for this optimism is the play of senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1357858' first='Brody' last='Nugent']. A bit of an unconventional quarterback, coach Matt Donaghue and his staff seem to have designed an offensive attack that has accented the top-20-at-his-position quarterback's play. In two games, Nugent has thrown for 246 yards with 2 TDs and ran for 219 yards with 4 TDs. Opening holes - and clogging them on defense - for Old Bridge are senior linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1538285' first='Justin' last='Valinotti'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1538291' first='Michael' last='Kvas']. Valinotti, in particular, is off to a hot start with 27 tackles across two games - which is second on the team. Meanwhile, Kvas has already recorded 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss within his 18 stops. <br><br>For the Chiefs, their offense is <em>currently </em>headlined by two juniors - quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1196461' first='Landon' last='Pernell'] and running back [player_tooltip player_id='1881389' first='Zaire' last='Young']... with one looming transfer to come. Pernell, now a 3-year starter has attempted all the throws at quarterback thus far going 23-43 for 381 yards with 2 TDs and Ints a piece, with an additional score on the ground. Speaking of the ground, Young paces the team's attack with 122 yards on 26 carries with 1 score. Unsure whether or not they are related, fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id='1881390' first='Donald' last='Young'], a lineman, currently headlines Piscataway in tackles with 12. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Westfield (1-1) @ Elizabeth (1-1)<br><br>It has been a tale of two seasons across two games for these Union County rivals. As the head coaches for both teams, Matt Andzel and Eugene Kline, enter their second seasons both look to right early season stumbles.<br><br>After roaring out the gates with a 42-7 victory at Linden that had big plays all over the field, the Minutemen suffered a 26-21 setback in their home opener at the hands of Bayonne. Much of their success will depend on the play of junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='934015' first='Arique' last='Fleming']. The top-ranked quarterback in his class went 12-14 for 259 yards, 4 TD, 1 Int, 4 carries, 48 yards, and 1 TD against Linden; however, he was 18-31 for 150 yards with 0 TDs, 3 Ints, 17 carries, 90 yards, and 2 TDs against Bayonne. Which version of Fleming will show up against Westfield - a team that has beaten Elizabeth every year since 2019? A prospect that I saw perform live in camp and, so far correctly predicted, would go nuts this year is [player_tooltip player_id='1305209' first='Qua'Yon' last='Williams']. So far Williams has grabbed 12 receptions for 159 yards and 2 scores with 5 tackles; however, he has snapped on specials with a kickoff return for a score against Bayonne; however, word on the street is that he had 2 other scores on specials wiped off the board against Linden. With an equal distribution tackle-wise across the board, sophomore linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1881391' first='Anthony' last='Adams'], with his 6 stops so far, could easily end up leading the team. Big plays seem to have been his penchant for Adams. Through two games he has recovered and forced a fumble.<br><br>After defeating former Thanksgiving, and now week 0, nemesis Plainfield, Westfield was blanked 28-0 in their home opener against Phillipsburg. The Blue Devils will look to junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1546526' first='Jordan' last='Walsh']. A two-way threat, Walsh has only completed 8 passes; however, they have gone for 207 yards. Additionally, he leads the team in carries with 124 yards and 2 scores on 29 carries. Complimenting Walsh is senior [player_tooltip player_id='1881399' first='Luke' last='Spaide']. Spaide appears to be Westfield's best big-play threat with 78 yards on 15 carries and 82 yards on 3 receptions. On defense it seems that [player_tooltip player_id='1881393' first='Wesley' last='Thomas'], a sophomore, is a big part of the present and the future. Thomas leads the team in tackles for loss with 3 and also has recorded a sack. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Dayton (1-0) @ Highland Park (1-0)<br><br>Two of the conference's smaller teams in Dayton and Highland Park, compete in an early-season test. Both teams are coming off of convincing win margins (21 points for Dayton, 28 for Highland Park). <br><br>For Dayton and head coach Nick Iannocone's squad [player_tooltip player_id='1881403' first='Adrian' last='Bernknopf'] appears to be the one-man show. The junior quarterback has thrown accounted for all three of Dayton's scores this season with 1 passing touchdown and 2 rushing. On defense it seems as though [player_tooltip player_id='1881407' first='Tyler' last='Fuscaldo'] is the heart beat of the team. Fuscaldo leads the team in tackles with 10 and tackles for loss with 3. Furthermore, he is the team leader in carries and yards with 15 and 17, respectively. <br><br>If you only need to attempt two passes in a game, you are in good shape. That was the cast last week for the Owls, who had an offensive attack that featured 21 carries and 5 different ball carriers - 4 of which had 4 or more totes. The most efficient ball carrier, thus far, has been [player_tooltip player_id='1695330' first='Kaseem' last='Qualls']. Qualls took his 5 carries and converted 113 yards and 2 scores. Expect [player_tooltip player_id='1476948' first='Kosta' last='Hantsoulis'] to be targeted as a deep threat. His lone reception went for 61 yards and a score, while also converting 4-5 PATs. On defense it seem that Jacob Quiros is a prospect to watch. The junior linebacker led the team in tackles (5) and tackles for loss (2).</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Saturday, September 13</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Hillside (0-1) @ Summit (2-0)<br><br>There is something to be said about how Summit head coach Kevin Kostibos is upping the ante a bit this year. Staunchly entrenched as a Group III school, this year Kostibos "played up" in the Hilltopper's out of conference schedule, defeating Group V Morristown and Group IV Montgomery in succession. Furthermore, and impressively, both this victories were tight, 3-point games <em>on the road</em>. Returning for their home opener, Summit welcomes a familiar foe in Hillside, albeit with a new face at the helm in Isa Abdul-Quddus. <br><br>Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1476956' first='Alex' last='Schwark'] appears to be the flag bearer atop the hill for the Hilltoppers. The quarterback in a run-heavy offense, Schwark is easily the leader in all three major rushing categories, slashing 38/448/6 through two games. Opening up holes for him in the trenches are a pair of seniors: Aiden Ewing and [player_tooltip player_id='1532333' first='Anthony' last='Trujillo']. Both seniors, who also happen to play defensive line, hade registered 2 sacks a piece.<br><br>There is much more to learn about the Comets though. From the early onset, it sees as though they want to get the rock to senior [player_tooltip player_id='1022162' first='Kamari' last='Robinson']. Robinson led the team in touches and yardage last week with 20 for a total of 176 yards and 1 score. He primarily gets his work done on the ground. [player_tooltip player_id='1881418' first='Justin' last='Ashford'] is the quarterback for Hillside, who thus far has gone 13-16 for 116 yards with a touchdown and 2 Ints. Ashford did, however, get a pick back on defense intercepting a pass of his own.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->