MetLife Stadium offers the glamour, but John Baslione Memorial Field provides the charm.
Three was not a charm for the Bridgewater-Raritan High School football program when it was defeated three straight years—2015 through 2017—by Westfield High School in the state sectional football playoff championship game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
But Bridgewater-Raritan this autumn has made its first return trip to the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state playoff championship game since it fell in that same sectional final in 2017.
However, this championship matchup will not be played in the Meadowlands, which is home to the NFL Giants and Jets, but at home in Bridgewater at the friendly confines of Basilone Memorial Field.
Bridgewater-Raritan earned the right to serve as the host at the newly refurbished and attractive Baslione Memorial Field—thank you, Referendum 2023—when it captured the No. 1 seed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state sectional playoff field.
The surprising visitor determined to deny Bridgewater-Raritan its first-ever state sectional football playoff title is sixth-seeded Bayonne High School.
Kickoff is set for Friday, November 14, at 6 p.m. at Baslione Memorial Field.
Bayonne, winner of seven straight and sharing the same 8-3 record with Bridgewater-Raritan, has won both of its state playoff games outside of Hudson County on the road.
Bayonne opened the state playoffs with a 44-13 victory over third-seeded Elizabeth High School on October 31. Bayonne then upset second-seeded Piscataway High School, 27-13, in the semifinals on November 8.
Two of Bayonne’s three defeats this season came against teams that Bridgewater-Raritan has beaten.
Bayonne fell to Morris Knolls High School, 21-14, on August 29 and to Union City High School, 27-14, on September 12.
Bridgewater-Raritan defeated Morris Knolls, 27-21, on September 12, and knocked off Union City, 22-7, in the state playoff semifinals on November 7.
Securing the luxury of playing on its home turf for a state sectional playoff championship was the focus all season for Bridgewater-Raritan.
“It is a huge advantage for us to play at home,” Bridgewater-Raritan Coach DJ Catalano said from the Baslione Memorial Fieldhouse on Tuesday, November 11, while he was preparing his game plan for the title game. “We worked hard all season to set it up for us to have the home field throughout the playoffs.”
In order to place the first state sectional playoff championship hardware into the Bridgewater-Raritan High School trophy case, Coach Catalano’s crew must put the brakes on Bayonne’s dangerous running back, Chance Fischer.
“He was fantastic against Piscataway,” revealed Coach Catalano, who, along with his staff, scouted that semifinal playoff game on Saturday afternoon, the day after the Panthers’ victory over Union City. “He is an exceptional runner.”
Coach Catalano will also call on his study defenders to corral Bayonne quarterback Nico Sampson Jr. and receiver Jerome Hayes Jr., the son of Bayonne's head coach, Jerome Hayes.
“The QB can scramble, and Hayes moves around a lot from wide out to tight end. They are explosive,” Coach Catalano warned.
The winner from all four of the public schools’ five-group (1-5) state sectional playoff championship games this weekend, November 14-15, will advance to the five public school state playoff semifinals the weekend of November 21-22.
The five public school group championships and two non-public championship games will be staged from November 28 through December 3.
State sectional football championships have been claimed over the years in Bridgewater-Raritan.
Bridgewater-Raritan High School East was declared a state sectional football champion by the NJSIAA four times (1969, 1970, 1971 and 1974) before it competed in the since-created state playoff system. Bridgewater-Raritan East won its only state sectional playoff title in 1989.
However, there have been no state sectional football playoff banners to hang since Bridgewater-Raritan East merged with Bridgewater-Raritan High School West in 1991, resulting in the present-day Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
Coach Catalano and his troops realize what is at stake on Friday evening.
“We can cement this in the history of the school by winning the game.”