Week 1 Preview: Big Time Matchups + Big Time Players, Part 1

<!-- 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. This article features matchups from across the Big Central Conference (BCC), North Jersey Interscholastic Conference (NJIC), and the Shore Conference (Shore). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Be sure to follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/BrendanScoutsNJ">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for the latest New Jersey high school football prospect news and not miss a beat!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Central Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Union (1-0) at Watchung Hills (1-0), Friday @ 6pm<br><br>An old Mid State-38 matchup goes back to the future on Friday as Union heads to Watchung Hills. Long-gone are the names like Rettino, Grasso, and Seubert as the old-guard has moved on. The Farmers' enter year two under Barris Grant, while Joe Ascolese takes the helm for the Warriors. Despite much changing, both these teams are fresh off of shutout victories.<br><br>Union tailback [player_tooltip player_id='1974865' first='Jamir' last='Hall'] had a big game. The senior ran 16 times for 164 yards and 1 score against Edison. Through the air [player_tooltip player_id='2372133' first='Sammi' last='Olowe'] might be an emerging big-play threat as his 2 receptions garnered a team-high 67 yards a score. Defensively [player_tooltip player_id='2372134' first='Khalil' last='Haynes'] scored on a pick-six, while Cameron Joseph got on top of a fumble.<br><br>The Warriors seemed to find success by keeping things in front and efficient for quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='2372136' first='Marc' last='Drews']. Drews was 12-23 for 106 yards with 2 TDs and 1 pick in the victory last week. Drews completed passes to 6 different receivers, spreading the ball around nicely. [player_tooltip player_id='2372137' first='Phillipe' last='Coelho'] led the way on defense with 8 tackles (4 solo), while linebacking teammate [player_tooltip player_id='2372140' first='Logan' last='Dickerson'], a senior, made 7 stops (4 solo), with a sack last week.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Somerville (1-0) at Piscataway (1-0), Friday @ 6pm<br><br>Whereas the last featured matchup had relatively new faces, this one features head coaches, Matt Bloom and Dan Higgins, who have been around a while - the latter of which whom holds the same role he did when I was in high school.<br><br>The host Chiefs return home after a thrilling, come-from-behind road victory at East Orange (26-20). Despite scoring on the ground three times, their most efficient player was senior receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1326563' first='Devin' last='Labega']. Labega lead the offensive attach with 6 receptions for 124 yards. Piscataway's other score came via a pick-six by [player_tooltip player_id='2372144' first='Cody' last='Hardy'].<br><br>Facing South Plainfield, Somerville found much more success across the board. After starting as a freshman, sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1524951' first='Dylan' last='Boehm'] did a nice job spreading the ball around. Across five different targets, he threw for 323 yards last week. The biggest benefactors were [player_tooltip player_id='1894631' first='James' last='Hampton'] (7/125/1) and [player_tooltip player_id='2174175' first='Andrew' last='Sutton'] (4/129/1). On defense [player_tooltip player_id='1141148' first='Dushawn' last='Dorsey'] led the way with 9 tackles (3 solo). Lastly, [player_tooltip player_id='1515058' first='Justin' last='Bowen'] was a standout, scoring three times in the victory last week. Bowen, their lead rusher, went for 107 yards and 2 scores on 21 carries, caught 3 passes for 15 yards, and added a scoop-and-score to his name along with 4 tackles (1 solo, 1 for loss).</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Jersey Interscholastic Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Waldwick (1-0) at Becton (0-1), Thursday @ 6pm<br><br>After a 49-21 shootout victory against Vernon last week, Waldwick takes their show on the road to Becton. A team that, in my opinion, has speed on offense, Becton was stifled by Hoboken last week at home, 50-28. <br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1939192' first='Elijah' last='Davis'] of Becton appears to be mister do-it-all. Last week the quarterback went 18-31 for 168 yards with 2 TDs and 1 Int, while also rushing 10 times for 68 yards and 2 scores. On defense, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2256694' first='Jacob' last='Williams'] led the way with 6 tackles (4 solo) and [player_tooltip player_id='2372168' first='Julian' last='Perry'] proved to be a playmaker, picking off Hoboken once. Perry also led the way with 5 receptions for 38 yards and a score. <br><br>Waldwick had a strong debut by [player_tooltip player_id='1601524' first='Will' last='Dell'Aglio']. Dell'Aglio, a sophomore quarterback, was 15-24 on the day with 295 yards and 2 passing scores, while adding 2 more scores and 42 yards on 10 carries rushing. For as effective and pace-setting you may think Dell'Aglio was, [player_tooltip player_id='2044471' first='Luciano' last='Mayer'] found plenty of work on the ground himself, flashing 28/173/2 on the ground. There was tons of success to be found on defense for Waldwick, as three players all were credited with at least 10 tackles ([player_tooltip player_id='2372171' first='Thomas' last='Jakobsen'], [player_tooltip player_id='2372172' first='Aidan' last='Maher'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2372173' first='Nolan' last='Major']).</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shore Conference</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Brick Memorial (1-0) vs. Brick Township (1-0), Thursday @ 6pm<br><br>Nothing like an intra-municipality rivalry game to kick off the weekend's slate of games. Both coming off of convincing wins (28-3 vs. Wall for Memorial; 37-7 vs. Allentown for Township), the Civil War and bragging rights is about to begin.<br><br>Look for [player_tooltip player_id='2372170' first='Tyler' last='Pierce'] to have a big say in the outcome of this game. Memorial's signal caller was also their leading rusher this week. Pierce ran for 87 yards and a score on just 5 carries, while operating at an efficient 12-14 for 118 yards with 2 TD and 1 Int, making a tackle as well. Keeping it all in the family, Casey Pierce had a strong performance with his 6 tackles (5 solo, 1 for loss) and 1 forced fumble. [player_tooltip player_id='1907652' first='Zyion' last='Weaver'] is a name to remember as well. A freshman, weaver made 3 stops (2 solo) and intercepted a pass last week.<br><br>Offensively for Township, expect them to run the ball... and then run it again. Township ran the ball a total of 31 times last week (against just 6 pass attempts), across 10 different ball carriers - none of which had more than 10 carries each. The family theme continues on, as [player_tooltip player_id='1894284' first='Cian' last='Foy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1894283' first='Rowan' last='Foy'] clean things up for Township. A mix of thunder and lighting, you tell me who had a better game. Cian: 11.5 tackles (8 solo), 0.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 pick-six; or Rowan: 12.5 tackles (3 solo), 1.5 sacks. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Jackson (1-0) vs. Toms River South (1-0), Friday @ 6pm<br><br>After a strong start to a new era of Jackson football, the combined program stumbled the rest of 2026. Fast forward one year and they find themselves in the exact same situation: 1-0 after a shutout victory on the road. Meanwhile, Toms River South looks to swing the pendulum of success back to the south side of town, as they are off to a strong start, 48-0 victory.<br><br>Jackson's offensive attack was led by [player_tooltip player_id='2372169' first='Farrin' last='Blake'], a senior. Blake ran 22 times for 113 yards with 1 score. He was complimented by [player_tooltip player_id='1538023' first='Brayden' last='Ramos'] (7 for 77). These two also appear to be key stalwarts on defense. Blake led the team with 11 stops (9 solo, 1 for loss) and forced a fumble, while Ramos was right behind him with 9 tackles (6 solo, 1 for loss) and a sack. [player_tooltip player_id='2372178' first='Sha'Zir' last='Taylor'] appears to be a young, dynamic playmaker in the secondary as he scored on interception return.<br><br>Like the aforementioned Brick Township, Toms River South prefers to run the ball, opening the season with an 18:3 run:pass ratio. Of those 18 runs, 7 players touched the ball no more than 5 times each. Defensively is where Toms River South has made their bones, scoring a whopping 3 times on defense last week. [player_tooltip player_id='2372175' first='Hamza' last='Hollingshead'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2372176' first='Zahir' last='Armour'] both had pick-sixes, while [player_tooltip player_id='2372167' first='Jeffrey' last='Hare'] scored on a fumble recovery. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->