Bridgewater-Raritan High School football head coach DJ Catalano previously cited that an estimated 20 returning players will be the core of his experienced squad to begin his third year in charge.
While those veterans shined to open up the 2025 season on Friday night, August 29, one notable newcomer from just across town made an immediate impact on both sides of the newly-
renovated John Basilone Memorial Field.
Of course, via multiple times on the scoreboard as well.
Junior running back and linebacker Jahmier Black collected two of his team’s five rushing
touchdowns in his memorable debut for Bridgewater-Raritan, which scored the game’s first
21 points and regularly led by at least two possessions against visiting Notre Dame High School en route to a 35-20 victory before an energetic crowd in the opener at Basilone Field in Bridgewater.
“All of us work hard in practice to run and be better than we were last year,” reflected Black, who played at Immaculata High School in Somerville for the first two years of his high school career. “Coming into today, we knew the plan was to run the ball down their throats and score as much as possible, and I believe that’s what we did.”
After Notre Dame took over at its own 38-yard line for its opening possession with 9:52 left in
In the first quarter, senior running back and cornerback Denzel Amoafo grabbed an interception at the Irish 42 and then scored on a three-yard rushing touchdown with 5:00 left in the first quarter: his first of two rushing touchdowns, to round out the Panthers’ resulting 11-play scoring drive.
Nine of those plays came on the ground before senior Joe Squicciarini booted the first of his five
extra points in as many attempts.
The defense then answered with a three-and-out, and Bridgewater-Raritan took over at
its own 18-yard line with 2:56 left in the opening quarter. Although all but two of the plays of
this drive were runs, the pair of passing plays by senior quarterback Declan Kurdyla to a classmate and lacrosse teammate, Jack Cifuentes were big screens, good for 26 yards and 44 yards to set the 7-0 lead to end the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Black barreled into the end zone on a one-yard run to
double Bridgewater-Raritan’s lead 14-0.
Notre Dame then marched down the field from its own 36-yard line under the direction of senior
quarterback Matthew Rausch, and the Irish appeared to be in business after making a tough catch in traffic at the Panthers’ one-yard line with 7:58 left in the first half. The Panthers caught a
massive break due to Notre Dame being called for an ineligible receiver downfield, which
instead was the first of back-to-back penalties that pushed the Irish back to their own 38-yard
line.
With Notre Dame facing third-and-long play, senior Nick Stark intercepted the ensuing pass, and Bridgewater-Raritan took over at the opposing 40-yard line with 7:12 left in the second period.
The Panthers cashed in again on what ended up being a five-and-a-half-minute scoring drive,
which saw both Kurdyla and Black each move the chains on a fourth-down run. With 1:38 left in
the second quarter, Amoafo tallied his second rushing touchdown on a four-yard run to extend
his team’s lead to 21-0, but Rausch tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to senior Zamir Jones for Notre Dame as time expired in the first half.
Neither team scored on each of their next offensive drives, but with 4:18 left in the third quarter, Bridgewater-Raritan began a masterful 11-play, 79-yard scoring drive entirely on the ground that extended into the fourth quarter and continued to wear down Notre Dame’s defense.
Kurdyla scored on a stand-up, three-yard keeper with 11:05 remaining to extend the Bridgewater-Raritan lead to 28-7.
To stay alive, Notre Dame then quickly answered with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Rausch to senior Musa Kamera with 9:33 remaining to cut the Bridgewater-Raritan lead to 28-14.
On a drive that started for the Panthers at midfield, Black then burst through the defense
in the red zone and cushioned the home team’s lead to 35-14 on a 15-yard touchdown run with
5:37 remaining.
A nine-yard touchdown pass from Rausch to Kamera with 3:35 left again made
it a two-possession game for Notre Dame, which had to settle for a 35-20 deficit after its extra-
point attempt failed.
“After every practice, [Coach Catalano] makes us run, and it increases every week,” explained
Black. “That’s his big philosophy: be conditioned and beat them in the fourth quarter when they’re tired and we’re not.”
“I believe that worked today.”
With 3:08 to go, a first-down run of 13 yards by Black on second-and-long set the Panthers up to further run down the clock via their late 35-20 lead: one that proved to be too much for Notre
Dame to overcome in the closing minutes.
“That’s what makes him special,” praised Catalano of Black. “He has all of the physical ability in
the world. He’s fast and really strong, but his X-factor is his mentality, because he eats, breathes, and loves football. I remember thinking about kicking a field goal, but he came in and said, ‘give me the ball, and I’m going to score’.”
“That’s pretty special to have, because not a lot of people have that.”
“I’m really excited for this team, and there’s still a lot we can get better at,” Catalano went on to
say after the game. “As long as we’re process-oriented and get better each day, we don’t have to play our best game now.”
“We have to play it in November.”
For its second of four consecutive home games to launch the 2025 season, Bridgewater-Raritan
will next serve as host to Piscataway High School (1-0): a 31-14 winner over
Edison High School this week, in a rematch of a thrilling 52-48 victory by the Panthers at Piscataway last season. Opening kickoff will be 6 p.m. Friday at Basilone Field.
“Coming into next week, we’re going to be humble as always,” concluded Black.
“We’re going to enjoy tonight, but tomorrow, it’s back to work.”