UNION COUNTY, NJ — Union County football is back!
Union County football is also front and center beginning this weekend with five games on Thursday, Aug. 28, and five more on Friday, Aug. 29, kicking off Week Zero of the 2025 high school campaign.
There have been some changes at the top this year as far as who is leading whom.
The six new head coaches include:
Union High School – Barris Grant, an Irvington High School graduate;
David Brearley High School – Elliot Platt, a Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School grad;
Hillside High School – Isa Abdul-Quddus, a Union High School grad;
Linden High School – Mark Ciccotelli, a Arthur L. Johnson Regional High School grad;
Arthur L. Johnson High School – Gus Kalikas, an Arthur L. Johnson Regional grad; and
Plainfield High School – Donald Jones, a Plainfield grad.
Union County football is in a bit of a drought of late, as far as winning sectional state championships. Cranford High School was the last Union County school to win one when the Cougars captured North 2, Group 3 for the third time in 2021.
New Providence High School reached the North 2, Group 1 final last year, but was beaten at undefeated and top-seeded Cedar Grove High School, 35-14, finishing 9-3.
Union Farmers football seeks to bounce back from three straight less than .500 seasons, while the David Brearley Bears are coming off a rare winless season.
Cranford has made the playoffs the last 13 times there have been playoffs, one of the longest streaks in the state among public school programs. It began in 2011 and then continued in 2021, after there were no playoffs in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Week Zero
Thursday, Aug. 28
Union at Woodbridge, 6 p.m.
Westfield at Plainfield, 6 p.m.
Wallington JR/SR at David Brearley, 6 p.m.
Lakeland Regional at Governor Livingston, 7 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 29
Willingboro at Rahway, 6 p.m.
Summit at Morristown, 6:30 p.m.
Elizabeth at Linden, 7 p.m.
Cranford at Bernards, 7 p.m.
Off: Roselle Park, Jonathan Dayton, Hillside, Abraham Clark, Arthur L. Johnson, Scotch Plains–Fanwood and New Providence.
For the first time, after more than 100 years, Westfield and Plainfield high schools will not clash on Thanksgiving. This year’s game is this week, with the game to continue on Week 8, beginning next year.
That leaves the only Union County football on Thanksgiving to be Roselle at Roselle Park at Herm Shaw Field every two years. When Abraham Clark hosts the game, it’s the night before at Arminio Field.
Roselle at Roselle Park is scheduled for this Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, at 10 a.m., at Roselle Park. The 100th game was played at Roselle Park in 2017. Roselle Park leads the series, 53-44-8.
Here’s a look at this weekend’s Week Zero matchups:
Thursday, Aug. 28
Union at Woodbridge, 6 p.m. – the Barris Grant era at Union begins. Grant guided Hillside to three sectional state championships in a row from 2017-2019 during his nine season-stint there. The Farmers have a promising drop-back quarterback in sophomore Elijah Bryant.
Westfield at Plainfield, 6 p.m. – The Blue Devils and Cardinals will be clashing at Hub Stine Field some three months ahead of what used to be normal time. For the first time they will not be playing each other on Thanksgiving, a tradition that reached beyond a century of results. “We’re still going to treat this game like the classic it’s always been,” said first-year Plainfield head coach Donald Jones, who starred for the Cardinals before graduating in 2006. Plainfield defeated Westfield, 14-9, at Westfield’s Gary Kehler Stadium last year for its first win in the series since 2011. Plainfield last defeated Westfield at Plainfield in 2004, a 40-0 Cardinals triumph.
Wallington at David Brearley, 6 p.m. – The host Bears scored only 46 points last year, so with first-year head coach Elliott Platt, an upgrade offensively is in the works. David Brearley has lost 12 straight going back to October 2023, its last win being a 50-24 home triumph against Highland Park High School.
Lakeland at Governor Livingston, 7 p.m. – This game was originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. and then moved to Thursday, Aug. 28 at 4 p.m. The game was then moved again to Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. and is billed as a White Out game at GL. Fourth-year Highlander head coach Pete Ramiccio is high on a veteran offensive line that returned.
Friday, Aug. 29
Willingboro at Rahway, 6 p.m. – The Indians are coming off their first winning season since 2020, finishing 7-3 last year and making the state playoffs again in North 1, Group 4. They will host a Willingboro team at Rahway River Park that recently traveled to Union County and beat New Providence in the regular season in 2022 and Arthur L. Johnson in the South Jersey, Group 2 playoffs a year ago.
Summit at Morristown, 6:30 p.m. – The Hilltoppers will be opening against a Group 5 school for the first time since 2021, when Summit topped visiting Elizabeth, 39-12, at Tatlock Field. When Summit was in the Iron Hills Conference, they were in the smaller Hills Division and did not face Iron Division foe Morristown on a yearly basis. With Summit opening the early weekend against Morristown, the Hilltoppers have a nine-game regular season schedule this year.
Elizabeth at Linden, 7 p.m. – These neighborhood arch rivals are clashing in the season-opener for both for the third straight year. Linden won, 27-22, at Kean University in 2023 and Elizabeth was victorious at Williams Field last year by the score of 35-28. Linden is playing at Cooper Field in its season-opener for the first time since 2020, when the Tigers were halted by Cranford, 37-7.
Cranford at Bernards, 7 p.m. – This will be a rare, and maybe even first-time clash, of two of the best public-school teams in the state. Bernards is 39-7 the last four seasons and, in 2023, captured its first-ever sectional state championship in the playoff era when it won North 2, Group 2. Cranford has made the state playoffs the last 13 times and has finished better than .500 in 14 of the last 15 years. The Cougars have a talented returning junior tailback in Gabe Worrell.
Photo by JR Parachini
