Union County football this weekend includes 8 games Sept. 14 and 3 Sept. 15; Elizabeth and New Providence are home and both seeking first 3-0 starts since 2015

Westfield out to bounce back from a loss for first time since Thanksgiving 2014

PHOTO BY JR PARACHINI – The Brearley Bears are anxious to play their first game Sept. 14 at home vs. Dayton.

Union County football this weekend – 8 games on Friday night, Sept. 14 and 3 on Saturday, Sept. 15 – has not been affected by the week-long rain.

Story lines include:

In a Mid-State 36 Conference-Union Division clash at Ward Field in Kenilworth it will be the Dayton Bulldogs (0-1) facing the host Brearley Bears (1-0). Dayton opened at home last Friday night with a 41-14 Union Division setback against Belvidere. Brearley received a forfeit win over Highland Park, who last week dropped varsity football after a 41-0 home loss to Montclair Kimberley Academy saw several of its players injured.

Brearley, which was originally scheduled to open Sept. 7 at home vs. Roselle Park – which cancelled varsity football back in June – is anxious to play its first game.

Elizabeth (2-0) and New Providence (2-0) are both home Sept. 14 – Elizabeth to Linden in Watchung Division play and New Providence to Bound Brook in a Union Division clash – and each are seeking their first 3-0 start since 2015.

New Providence went 1-9 the past two seasons, so tonight’s home-opener against Bound Brook is met with much higher enthusiasm and expectations.

Westfield, which last Friday night at Linden saw its state-leading 37-game winning streak come to an end, will seek to bounce back from a loss for the first time since beating Plainfield for the third year in a row on Thanksgiving in 2014. Westfield is at Watchung Hills in a battle of 0-1 Watchung Division squads.

Hillside faces Roselle at Rahway River Park on Sept. 14 in a Valley Division clash. The Comets are 1-0 after a 55-6 thrashing of Middlesex last Friday night in Middlesex. Roselle is 0-2, including last Saturday’s 33-20 loss to South River at Rahway River Park.

All 16 Union County football teams are in action for the second straight weekend.

UNION COUNTY FOOTBALL
FOR SEPT. 14-15:

FRIDAY, SEPT. 14 (8 games)

Linden (1-1) at Elizabeth (2-0), 7 p.m. – WATCHUNG DIVISION

Westfield (0-1) at Watchung Hills (0-2), 7 p.m.- WATCHUNG DIVISION

Gov. Livingston (1-1) at Cranford (1-0), 7 p.m. – MOUNTAIN DIVISION

Scotch Plains (0-1) at Montgomery (0-1), 7 p.m. – RARITAN DIVISION

Rahway (0-1) at Voorhees (2-0), 7 p.m. – MOUNTAIN DIVISION

Hillside (1-0) vs. Roselle (0-2) at Rahway River Park, 7 p.m. – VALLEY DIVISION

Dayton (0-1) at Brearley (1-0), 7 p.m. – UNION DIVISION

Bound Brook (1-0) at New Providence (2-0), 7 p.m. – UNION DIVISION

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15 (3 games)

Union (1-1) at Plainfield (1-1), 1 p.m. – WATCHUNG DIVISION

Warren Hills (0-2) at Summit (1-0), 1 p.m. – RARITAN DIVISION

Johnson (0-2) at Metuchen (0-1), 1 p.m. – Union County vs. Middlesex County crossover

Off: None.