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Looking ahead to Week Zero season openers for some teams, Aug. 28-30, among those to watch will be Newark Central's talented Dishon Jerman, seen in midst of action at 7-on-7 competition, who will lead Blue Devils at Bloomfield on Aug. 28. Livingston, with its coach Bob Bresshard and a talented skill position player in Abel Paul, will take on Barringer at Schools Stadium on Aug. 29, on the same evening first-year West Essex coach Dan Fulton, seen leading Hanover Park last fall, has his debut as the Knights head man against mighty Old Tappan in North Caldwell. In bottom photo Ramapo's coach Nick Guttuso addresses his Green Raiders after victory last fall. The Bergen County team, which rebounded from 0-3 start to finish 8-4 and win North 1, Group 4 state sectional title, entertains promising Irvington on Aug. 29. (Sideline Chatter photos and courtesy of Newark Central football)

Season Openers May Or May Not Be Vital
When It Comes To Team's Eventual Finish

By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com

In a little over the month, beyond the intended progress of one’s aerial attack through the now-customary 7-on-7’s, the start of practice for many on Aug. 11, and the inevitable pre-season scrimmages to get ready for it all, the 2025 New Jersey high school football season will get underway in Week 0, Thursday, Aug. 28, through Saturday, Aug. 30.

While some teams may not begin until the post-Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-6, the importance of season openers can be talked about regardless of one’s start date.

Just how important are season openers in dictating the tone or eventual outcome of a team’s entire autumn gridiron campaign?

Perhaps a season-opening defeat can deflate some teams, but that was certainly not the case for Ramapo last fall as coach Nick Guttuso’s Green Raiders were 0-3 out of the gates and then jet-started with a 24-14 win at Montclair on Sept. 28 proceeded to win eight straight games including a North 1, Group 4 state sectional playoff title before falling to a superior Phillipsburg team, 35-6, in the Group 4 semifinals.

Ramapo will entertain Irvington (4-4 in 2024) in one of the intriguing Week 0 season openers on Friday, Aug. 29. Second-year head coach Marco Soto’s Blue Knights will hope things can improve with some talented, young players returning from a .500 squad.

West Essex lost twice to a mighty Old Tappan team last season including 19-7 in its season opener, yet the Knights then reeled off six straight wins and finished a solid 8-3 on the season.

The Knights are now led by first-year head coach Dan Fulton, who did a terrific job during his tenure at nearby Hanover Park, and will be challenged to say the least as a new-look Wessex squad entertains Old Tappan, Friday night, Aug. 29, at Travis Field, to kick off 2025.

Longtime Wessex head man Chris Benacquista is now coaching at Wayne Valley with the high school in the town where he lives, and the Indians have an interesting season opener on Saturday, Aug. 30, taking on Group 1 juggernaut Cedar Grove as the Panthers reload after losing some very key pieces from last fall’s superb 13-1 squad.  

For those teams such as Barringer, which was 0-9 last fall, a loss to start the 2024 season led to eight more defeats, which makes this season under first-year head coach Markell Thomas perhaps one to keep a close eye on as the Blue Bears look to begin to turn things around as they prepare to host Livingston (3-6 last fall) in a big Friday, Aug. 29, season opener for both teams at Schools Stadium in Newark.

The Lancers, who have great interest from a large number of student-athletes in the sport despite some tough times posting winning seasons, look to get off to a strong start behind coach Bob Breschard and superb athletic talents such as RB-WR Abel Paul.

An Essex County game to watch to help kick things off on Thursday, Aug. 28, will see Newark Central, with a very talented arsenal, visiting Bloomfield at Foley Field.

Coach Mark Ingram’s Blue Devils have high hopes for a big season in 2025 coming off a 6-3 campaign last fall led by outstanding athletes such as junior wide receivers-defensive backs Dishon Jerman and Tyshawn Bailey who are both generating much college interest.

Central defeated Bloomfield, 27-15, to start 2024 to ignite a 4-game winning streak to start last season before the Brick City team fell to Verona, 31-20, in a Zone6ix showcase contest at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson.

The Blue Devils get another shot at Verona on Friday night, Sept. 26, at Sellitto Field in Hillbilly country and they would certainly like to reverse the result they absorbed last fall this time around.

Montclair’s first-year head coach Ron Anello, who inherits a young and fairly inexperienced squad, will take his Mounties to Middlesex County to face St. Thomas Aquinas, 6 p.m., Friday, Aug. 29.

The Mounties were hit hard by graduation and also saw starting quarterback Jaylin Bullock transfer to Seton Hall Prep, but Anello is a seasoned, veteran coach with a wealth of knowledge on how to carefully organize and direct a team and he has put together a strong coaching staff to help guide the Essex County team which has as much history in the sport as any team in the Garden State despite a couple of up-and-down years of late.  

In essence it is difficult to say how much credence to place in a season-opening victory, but one certainty is that all the teams in the midst of preparing from this point on, including the mental part during any ‘dead period’ of rest in early August for some, is that the full focus remains on that Week Zero or Week 1 season opener.   

Among Week Zero Games Of Note Involving Essex County Teams:
Thursday, Aug. 28:
Central at Bloomfield
Nutley at River Dell

Friday, Aug. 29:
Livingston at Barringer (Schools Stadium)
West Side at Columbia (Underhill Field)
Irvington at Ramapo
St. John Vianney at Seton Hall Prep (Tevlin Memorial Field)
Hawthorne at MKA
Montclair at St. Thomas Aquinas
Old Tappan at West Essex

Saturday, Aug. 30:
Cedar Grove vs. Wayne Valley at USMA
Shabazz at West Orange

 
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Former West Side coach and ex-Shabazz standout player Markell Thomas prepares for his first season as head man at Barringer, while longtime North Jersey athletic director and football coach Ron Anello is ready to lead his high school alma mater at Montclair.

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