UNION COUNTY, NJ — The 2024 high school football season in New Jersey is here.
It’s about to kick off Thursday, Aug. 29.
The final day of the season is Wednesday, Dec. 4, with the last public and non-public state finals scheduled to take place that day.
Union County has not produced a state champion the past two seasons and, last year, did not have a team reach a sectional state championship game for the first time in some time.
Cranford High School, in 2021, winning North 2, Group 3 is Union County’s last state champion.
We’ll soon see which Union County team or teams are good enough to make it and which ones are good enough to go all the way in 2024, if that is at all possible.
Week Zero this weekend includes games played Thursday, Aug. 29; Friday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Aug. 31. That involves 10 of the 17 Union County football playing schools, with the other seven scheduled to commence next weekend, which is Week One.
Union County teams in action this weekend include Rahway, Governor Livingston, New Providence, Scotch Plains–Fanwood, Union, Hillside, Linden, Elizabeth, Roselle and Plainfield.
Union County teams that will open next weekend include Roselle Park, David Brearley, Jonathan Dayton, Summit, Cranford, Arthur L. Johnson and Westfield.
Here’s a look at Week Zero’s games:
Thursday, Aug. 29
• Voorhees (0-0) at Rahway (0-0): Indians seek to snap a six-game losing streak, they went 3-7 last year, with players who competed right away as freshmen last year. Rahway’s running game is led by junior Andrew Avent. Donea Fish, a senior, is a four-year starter on defense at tackle.
• Governor Livingston (0-0) at Lakeland (0-0): Governor Livingston head coach Pete Ramiccio, in his third year at the helm of the Highlanders, is a 2002 Lakeland graduate who played his high school football at the Passaic County school. Governor Livingston is coming off a 6-4 playoff season that included three straight shutouts. Lucciano Santamaria returns at quarterback and Jack Dilly at linebacker are two seniors leading the way.
• South Plainfield (0-0) at New Providence (0-0): In the same manner as Rahway, New Providence High School started 3-1 last year and then its record went south, as the Pioneers finished 4-6. New Providence returning senior quarterback T.J. Munn threw for 450 yards in 2023.
• Monroe (0-0) at Scotch Plains–Fanwood (0-0): The Raiders went 3-7 last year, but won their final two games. Shawn Johnson was promoted to head coach. Returning senior Jacob Handy is a threat at wide receiver for the Raiders, who seek their first winning season since 2020.
Friday, Aug. 30
• Union (0-0) at Seton Hall Prep (0-0): This is the first-ever meeting between the storied programs as the Big Central Conference clashes with the Super Football Conference. Union’s offense is led once again by three-year starter Omalley King, who is one of the top senior quarterbacks in Union County. Union interim head coach Jason Scott was promoted from within.
• Hillside (0-0) vs. Snyder (0-0) at West Orange: This is the first of the two games on Friday, Aug. 30, on the second day of the Mountaineer Classic. Hillside is coming off a 6-3 playoff season and has senior Zion Risher returning at quarterback. Also back in the fold is senior Georgia commit Darren Ikinnagbon at defensive end.
• Linden (0-0) at Elizabeth (0-0): Last year, these neighborhood rivals opened against each other at Kean, with host Linden High School coming away with a 27-22 triumph. Linden went on to produce a 6-3-1 playoff season, while Elizabeth finished 3-8. Tyrone Hinton, an outstanding senior linebacker, also takes over at quarterback for the Tigers. Calling the signals for the second year for Elizabeth is sophomore Arique Fleming.
• Delran (0-0) at Roselle (0-0): The visiting Bears will travel some 70 miles before reaching Roselle’s Arminio Field. The time of the game was just changed from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Roselle’s other six home games are 6 p.m. kickoffs. The Rams are led by returning seniors Michael Moonsammy, Shymir Burgess and Brandon Puryear. Roselle is now guided by first-year head coach Tyrone Turner.
Saturday Aug. 31
• Plainfield (0-0) vs. East Side at West Orange (0-0): This is the second of the two games on the third and final day of the Mountaineer Classic. Three stud seniors back at skill positions for Plainfield include quarterback Ala-Meen Watkins, running back EJ Brown and wide receiver Joel Cordoba.
Union County football schedule for Week Zero: Aug. 29-31
Thursday, Aug. 29 = four games:
• Voorhees at Rahway, 6 p.m.
• Governor Livingston at Lakeland, 6:30 p.m.
• South Plainfield at New Providence, 6:30 p.m.
• Monroe at Scotch Plains–Fanwood, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 30 = four games:
• Union at Seton Hall Prep, 1 p.m.
• Hillside vs. Snyder, 3 p.m.
• Mountaineer Classic at West Orange
• Linden at Elizabeth, 6 p.m.
• Delran at Abraham Clark, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 31 = one game:
• Plainfield vs. East Side, 7:30 p.m.
• Mountaineer Classic at West Orange
Off: Roselle Park, David Brearley, Jonathan Dayton, Summit, Cranford, Arthur L. Johnson, Westfield.
Photo Courtesy of Steve Tober