For the past two seasons, the last two teams still standing in a group state championship setting at either MetLife Stadium or Rutgers SHI Stadium have been Cedar Grove and Shabazz.
The Panthers (10-4 in 2025), who seem to be able to effectively reload on an annual basis with a steady talent pool from a very small geographic area, have won two straight Group 1 state sectional titles, including dominating previously-undefeated New Providence in the North 2, Group 1 final, before edging Butler in a thrilling Group 1 semifinal and then falling to powerful Glassboro for the second straight season in the group title tilt at MetLife.
Shabazz has won three straight state sectional titles and last year tied a school single-season record for victories when it finished 12-2 with a 27-8 loss to Camden in the Group 2 state final at Rutgers.
As the summer workouts continue and many teams have been busy with the seemingly obligatory 7-on-7’s that dominate June and July., a look at the two most successful Essex County teams during the past two seasons suggests that one better not count out either as each team will certainly compete at a high level once again and probably continue to win its fair share of games in 2026.
Cedar Grove was hit hard by graduation and returns just four starters on both sides of the ball with four of those positions manned by two players- rising seniors Jake Catanzarite (slot or wide receiver-cornerback) and Evan Skabich (offensive line left tackle and defensive end).
The Panthers will also look to a different starting quarterback to run the offense for the third straight season while looking to ride the burgeoning talents of sophomore Dan LaStella after having back-to-back standout seniors in record-breaking Stephen Paradiso (2024) and prolific passer Pierce Asfalg (2025) at the controls for back-to-back Group 1 state runner-up squads.
Whatever the challenges, opponents would be best advised to never underestimate Cedar Grove and veteran coach Rob Gogerty, who has done a masterful job guiding the program he once starred for as a QB, perhaps said it best in talking about how he felt about his Panthers following their hard-fought, efforts vs. undefeated repeat state champ Glassboro in a 29-14 setback to the South Jersey juggernaut in the Group 1 championship game.
“I wouldn’t trade Cedar Grove kids for anyone,” the Panthers’ head gridiron mentor said shortly after his team’s never-say-die, complete-game efforts vs. a well-stocked Glassboro team fortified by talent from a wide area. “It doesn’t matter who we lose to graduation, what our roster looks like, we feel like we have a puncher’s chance against every team we play.
"We just have tough kids who want to win, and these kids, especially these outgoing seniors, they’ve won a lot.”
Cedar Grove will open the 2026 campaign by taking on Gloucester City, Saturday, Aug. 29, in the annual Jersey Shore-based ‘Battle At The Beach’ Football Classic at Carey Stadium in Ocean City as part of the popular (Aug. 27-29) season-opening high school showcase featuring a packed schedule of games over a 3-day period.
After a bye week Sept. 3-5, the Panthers will begin the Super Football Conference schedule hosting Glen Ridge, Thursday night, Sept. 10.
It will definitely be an intriguing season for Cedar Grove, whose strong point should be the experienced O-Line with three starters back in the 5-11 225-pound Skabich at left tackle and fellow seniors Bryce Kent (6-5, 285) and Matt Giordano (6-0, 215) returning at right tackle and center, respectively.
In addition to Asfalg, among the key graduation losses were the superb placekicker Sebastian Kovacs (Southern Connecticut State), who was one of the state’s best kickers, and WR-DB Xavier Andujar, the versatile standout who plans to play both football and baseball at Ithaca College.
Shabazz, which was moved up to Group 3 for this upcoming season by the NJSIAA, might be just as strong if not even superior to last fall’s squad, even with the graduation of supreme talents such as all-state LB Zaiden McDonald (Stanford) with nine starters set to return on each side of the ball in 2026, including veteran senior QB Karriem Costan (1.739 yards and 20 TDs through the air in 2025), talented senior running back Faheem Ausbon, highly-regarded junior WR Nosym Brown (34 receptions for 538 yards and 8 TDs in 2025), Power 4 Conference Vanderbilt commit Adekunbi Adetayo (52 tackles, 14 TFL, 10 sacks), who is a 3-year starter at DE, and 3-year starting LB Zykir Best (team-leading 135 tackles including 14 TFL last fall).
Second-year head coach Nasir Gaines has picked up where his predecessor Naz Oliver left off in terms of producing championship caliber teams. Oliver’s Bulldogs were edged by Rumson-Fair Haven, 26-24, in the 2024 Group 2 state final, and then Gaines’ first team returned to Rutgers last fall where the Brick City team fell to Camden.
Shabazz defeated Madison, 26-16, for the North 2, Group 2 sectional title and then produced perhaps its best performance of the season in the Group 2 semifinals when the Bulldogs traveled up to Bergen County and rolled past Westwood, 36-6, in dominant fashion.
The Newark gridiron powerhouse also opens up its season in the Battle At The Beach in Ocean City, facing Atlantic City on the first day of the showcase on Thursday, Aug. 27.
The next two games for the Bulldogs also promise to be supreme challenges as they travel to face an always-loaded Passaic Tech squad on Friday night, Sept. 4, and then -after a bye week -beginning the home schedule by hosting an ultra-talented West Orange Mountaineers squad on Friday, Sept. 18.
This past January, the NJSIAA executive committee classified Shabazz as an open enrollment school. According to ShoreSportsInsider.com, the Newark school, which outscored their opponents 241-89 in their eight playoff victories the last two years, has a roster with at least 10 transfers from schools including Bergen Catholic, DePaul, Immaculate Conception, Passaic Tech, St. Joseph’s Montvale, St. Thomas Aquinas, and West Side.
Newark residents can apply to the different high schools in the city which have football teams and choose where to play the gridiron game if their school does not have it.
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