St. Joe’s (Metuchen) 43 Bridgewater-Raritan 35
September 5, 2026
St. Joe’s (Metuchen) held off a Bridgewater-Raritan team that refused to go away with a final stop in the red zone with 27 seconds remaining to win, 43-29. St. Joe’s led in the third quarter 28-8 before trailing 29-28, then took the lead 43-29 with 5:39 remaining. Bridgewater-Raritan scored with 2:47 left, and recovered an onside kick before their last chance was stopped.
First Quarter: St. Joe’s crossed the 50 on their first two possessions, but Bridgewater-Raritan interceptions ended the drives, the first by Evan Woodring, the second by Trent Levash. Nick Brust had two receptions on that second St. Joe’s drive for 41 and 17 yards. B-R ended up punting, giving St. Joe’s the ball on the B-R 41. Cole Seyler connected with Edgar Cruz for passes of 37 and 13 yards to get the Falcons to the 13. On the following play, Seyler faded back to pass and took off for a 13-yard touchdown with 1:29 left in the quarter.
Second Quarter: St. Joe’s scored on their next drive when Seyler found a wide-open Maddox Mingucci over the middle for a 39-yard pass, and a 14-0 lead, almost three minutes into the quarter. B-R began to awaken on offense; at that point, they had only 12 yards on three drives, but that changed. Jahmier Black broke off four consecutive runs of 6, 7, 7, and 2 yards. Woodring then gained 17 yards in the wildcat to the 32. The drive ended with three consecutive runs by Black of 7, 17, and a 1-yard touchdown plunge. The Panthers successfully converted a two-point play to make it 14-8 with 5:22 left in the half. St. Joe’s moved the ball with passes to Dillon Diaz for 10 yards and to Brust for 18. Then the Falcons were aided by three pass interference calls on B-R, with at least one questionable. The last play of the half was a 5-yard touchdown to Kenny Noonan on a swing pass as time expired.
Third Quarter: In the middle of the quarter, St. Joe’s struck on a 59-yard run by Domenick Rodriguez down the left sideline to extend the Falcons’ lead to 28-8. B-R came right back on six plays, covering 60 yards, and Jonathan Okolo scored from three years out to make it 28-15. The Panthers forced a punt, moved the ball, and scored on the second play of the fourth quarter, a 9-yard run by Black through the middle, and it was 28-22.
Fourth Quarter: The ensuing kickoff was fumbled, and B-R recovered on the 35. Three plays later, Black went 26 yards for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a 29-28 lead. Seyler found Rodriguez on a screen down the left sideline for 52 yars to the 8-yard line. Two plays later, Seyler found Brust in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown, as St. Joe’s retook the lead, 35-29. B-R’s next drive abruptly ended when Rodriguez intercepted off a blocked pass by Jack Cummings. Seyler found Dillon Diaz, who shook off a defender and galloped for a 28-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was good, and the Falcons led 43-28, with 5:39 left. B-R went on a 13-play drive and scored on a 1-yard run by Black with 2:47 left. The Panthers recovered the onside kick and moved the ball to the 18, but couldn’t get any further, as Black was stopped on fourth down by several St. Joe’s defenders with 27 seconds left.
Comments: For St. Joe’s, Seyler was 15-21-275-4 and rushed for a score in his debut, but he did throw three interceptions. Cruz caught four for 51 yards, Brust five for 89 yards and a touchdown, and Dillon Diaz had three for 46 yards and a touchdown.
For Bridgewater-Raritan, Black rushed for 157 yards and 4 touchdowns on 24 carries.