Bull Session Playoffs Week One
November 6, 2025
My games this weekend will be Kinnelon-Kittatinny on Friday night and Summit-West Essex on Saturday afternoon. I have never been to a game at Kinnelon and look forward to it. The field is in front of the school, next to the road…… I will not be attending the sectional finals next week because I will be out of town for my sister’s wedding. I will return the following week. .…..I try to have these bull sessions every week, but I run out of time. I spend enough time on game stories, team previews, and weekly polls, and I have a full-time job on top of that. I am also newly married and owe some time to my wife……I appreciate a good high school band, one that has a good tempo and energy. I do not like one that plays slow, plodding show tunes with props in the background. They put people to sleep. This is not on the students; it’s on the directors.….. I was disappointed at a recent Bergen Catholic game to discover they did not serve burgers or hot dogs. They offer chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A, and there is an empanada truck instead. How are burgers and hot dogs not served at a football game? I hope they change back in the future……I did not see that coming: Becton’s victory over Hanover Park…..I saw part of the 1989 Parochial A North final between St. Joe’s (Montvale) and St. Peter’s Prep. Prep won on a 99-yard drive and won with a 2-point conversion, 22-21. What I noticed was the physical size of a few linemen, and they would not be playing on today’s top Parochial teams…..That brawl between Paulsboro and Woodbury, with sixteen players from Paulsboro ejected and suspended for the next game, is crazy. Especially when they are Group 1: that’s easily half the team…… A top matchup in Middlesex is the Old Bridge-Sayreville game in Group 5. Each team has one loss and they did not meet during the regular season…..Here are some of the top playoff performances, courtesy of nj.com: Passing: Ahmad Jones of Camden: 15-19-340- 5-17.89 yards per attempt, Matthew Rossi of Point Pleasant Beach: 13-18-268-4-14.89 yards per attempt, Casey Grusser of Ramapo: 15-21-258-4-12.28 yards per attempt, Jack Cannon of Holmdel: 12-15-256-3-17.07 yards per attempt, Gabe Miles of Passaic Tech: 12-14-210-4-15.0 yards per attempt, and Pierce Asfalg of Cedar Grove: 7-12-179-3-14.92 yards per attempt……Rushing: Brody Nugent (QB) of Old Bridge: 27-309-4-11.44 yards per carry, Chance Fisher of Bayonne: 22-305-5-13.86 yards per carry, Donte Davis of Burlington City: 10-270-3-27.0 yards per carry, David Smith (QB) of Butler: 20-200-5-10.0 yards per carry, Anthony Tirico (QB) of Seneca: 15-183-1-12.2 yards per carry, Nick Moyano of Caldwell: 14-190-3-13.57 yards per carry, Devin McMillan of Hoboken: 15-162-1-10.8 yards per carry, Brayden Longo of Mount Olive: 17-192-3-11.29 yards per carry, and Tucker Kanning of Northern Highlands: 13-186-2-14.31 yards per carry…….Receiving: Logan Burbank of Middletown South: 7-165-3, Anthony Serini of Holmdel: 5-148-2, Jae’on Walker of Hoboken: 3-135-2, Ah’Zeir Pagan of Camden: 4-129-2, RJ Wortman of Colonia: 11-129-1, Trey McFadden of Montgomery: 7-127-2, and Nyqir Helton of Winslow: 5-100-2…..Nobody asked me, but I prefer Ozzy Osbourne when he was with Black Sabbath, as opposed to his solo work……If Chris Berman were doing high school football, he would call the Westwood quarterback, Bruno “Mars” Vega….. That’s all for this week! I will be back with more bull soon!