The Jersey Blitz - NJ.com's high school football podcast

In the final episode of Season 2 of the Jersey Blitz, our NJ.com reporters Bill Evans, Donovan Hugel, Mike Kinney, Kevin Minnick, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis break down what they learned most during the 2025 New Jersey high school football season. They also touch on one player that impressed them the most this season, and we end the episode with each reporter saying what they are looking forward to...

In this episode, NJ.com reporters Bill Evans, Donovan Hugel, Mike Kinney, Kevin Minnick and Ryan Patti break down all seven of the 2025 state championship games, which begin this weekend at MetLife Stadium and at SHI Stadium at Rutgers, with one more game on Dec. 3 at Rutgers. The reporters also make their picks on who wins each game, beginning with the Non-Public B championship at 10 a.m. on Frid...

As the weather gets colder, the New Jersey football playoffs heat up. Week 12 is semifinals week, and our crew got together to break down all 14 games that will decide who plays for state championships over the next few weeks. 1 - (0:00) Non-Public A semis - Bergen Catholic vs Don Bosco Prep and St. Joseph (Mont.) vs. St. Peter’s Prep 2 - (9:00) Non-Public B semis - Holy Spirit vs. DePaul and Red...

In this episode, NJ.com reporters Donovan Hugel, Mike Kinney and Ryan Patti break down the North Jersey, Section 1 and North Jersey, Section 2 sectional finals taking place this weekend. The reporters give their take on the 10 finals happening across North Jersey this weekend, including a couple of Cinderella teams looking to pull off massive upsets, while other teams are aiming to lift yet anothe...

In this episode, NJ.com reporters Bill Evans, Mike Kinney, Kevin Minnick, and Joe Zedalis break down the South Jersey and Central Jersey public school sectional finals that are happening this weekend. The reporters give their take on each of the 10 sectional finals happening in the South and Central brackets, where some of the top players and teams in the state are looking to lift a championship a...

In this episode, NJ.com reporters Mike Kinney, Kevin Minnick, Ryan Patti and Joe Zedalis discuss the first week of the public school playoffs last week, which featured upsets throughout the state. The reporters also debate if the Non-Public seeding committee got it right when it came to seeding the Non-Public state tournament, specifically Non-Public A and what steps they would take if they had a...

In this episode, Donovan Hugel, Mike Kinney, Bill Evans and Joe Zedalis break down last week's action, which included arguably the Game of the Year as St. Joseph (Mont.) defeated archrival Bergen Catholic in overtime. The regular season for public schools came to an end, which included the NJIC champion being crowned and several dramatic victories across the state. Livingston head coach Bob Bresch...

In this episode of the Jersey Blitz, Ryan Patti, Kevin Minnick, Donovan Hugel, Mike Kinney and Joe Zedalis break down last week's action, including Washington Township's epic comeback win over Kingsway. We also break down the NJIC championship game between Butler and Rutherford and touch on one player that can lift their team in the playoffs. We end this week's podcast with a breakdown of No. 3 St...

With only two weekends left of regular-season play, the playoffs are part of every segment of this episode, as teams fight for good seeding positions - and one conference, the NJIC, has its own playoffs, the semifinals for which come up in this episode, as well. And another coach drops by this week. Mike Schatzman, coach of 7-0 and No. 7 Washington Twp. talks with reporter Kevin Minnick about the...

The show gets another coach visit, this time from Bogota's James Case, whose team came out on top in an incredible 61-60, 2-OT shootout against Weehawken in Week 5. The crew does roundups of each region's interesting outcomes from last week and previews a great upcoming Week 6. Here are the chapters in more detail. 0:00 - Shore & Big Central roundups with Joe Zedalis and Mike Kinney - Brick Memori...

This week’s episode features a Jersey Blitz first - a guest appearance. Dan Sabella, head coach of N.J.’s new No. 1 team, Don Bosco, talks with reporter Ryan Patti about his team’s huge win over then-No. 1 Bergen Catholic and about Bosco’s upcoming game against No. 3 DePaul. Mike Kinney talks about big games in the Big Central in Week 5 and upcoming in Week 6. Kevin Minnick talks South Jersey and...

In this episode, reporters Joe Zedalis, Ryan Patti, Kevin Minnick and Donovan Hugel preview the biggest game of the season so far - No. 1 Bergen Catholic vs. No. 2 Don Bosco. They also spend plenty of time getting into the ins and outs of the latest Top 20, with lots of movement and a bit of a dilemma - what to do with current No. 11 Glassboro, a Group 1 power with a schedule issue. 0:00 - North J...

In this week's episode of The Jersey Blitz, NJ Advance Media's football reporters react to the big game: Bergen Catholic's win over Winslow. Plus, is the Big Central weak this year? We're talking that, along with the rest of the news and notes from around the state in Week 2 0:00: Intro and fallout from BC dominating Winslow14:53: Chaos down the shore20:26: Is the Big Central a weak conference? 34...

In the third episode of The Jersey Blitz, our reporters go deep on Week 1 results and preview a huge Week 2 matchup. We're talking Bergen Catholic vs. Winslow, another big week for a Shore Conference powerhouse and more news, notes and observations from around the state. 0:00: Intro & who's the top dog in the Shore? 7:09: Wild ride up north 13:00: Stepping up down south 16:33: Teams off to surpris...

After a thrilling Week 0, The Jersey Blitz is back to recap the opening weekend of the New Jersey high school football season. Host Dan Long, along with reporters Ryan Patti, Bill Evans and Donovan Hugel recap the Week 0 slate, where some of N.J.'s top teams faced tremendous tests. The crew also debates the new Top 20, where there were plenty of moving pieces. 0:00: Intro & Bergen Catholic's crazy...

NJ Advance Media's six football reporters, plus host Dan Long, are back on The Jersey Blitz. In the debut episode of Season 2, our crew breaks down all five leagues and previews Week 0 action. 0:00: Intro & Big Central preview 7:16: NJIC preview 17:15: SFC preview 37:07: Shore preview 44:28: WJFL preview 57:30: Previewing Week 0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our final episode for the 2024 season, our six football reporters — along with host Dan Long — analyze and review the seven state championship games before talking final thoughts and takeaways from the 2024 season. State championship recap: Non-Public A: Bergen Catholic 25, Don Bosco Prep 7 Non-Public B: DePaul 33, Pope John 21 Group 5: Toms River North 41, Union City 14 Group 4: Winslow 35, Ph...

Our high school football reporters, along with host Dan Long, preview the seven football state championship games that are scheduled between Nov. 29 and Dec. 4 at MetLife Stadium and SHI Stadium at Rutgers University. From key storylines, a 1 vs. 2 showdown and plenty more, our crew analyzes it all and also offers up their picks for the best Thanksgiving Day games this year. The rundown of our fin...

As the final two weekends of the high school football season approach, our NJ.com football reporters are here to preview all of the action slated for this weekend. But before a look ahead to the 14 state semifinals on the schedule, our crew analyzes two games that could go down as Game of the Year: Union City's wild come-from-behind win over Passaic Tech and Phillipsburg's miraculous win on the le...

Dan Long is joined by Joe Zedalis, Bill Evans, Kevin Minnick and Mike Kinney to preview all 10 of the sectional finals in South and Central Jersey this weekend. We're breaking down: Central Jersey, Group 5: Washington Township vs. Atlantic City South Jersey, Group 5: Toms River North vs. Rancocas Valley Central Jersey, Group 4: Millville vs. Brick Memorial South Jersey, Group 4: Winslow vs. Shawne...

Dan Long is joined by Mike Kinney, Luis Torres and Ryan Patti to break down all 10 of the North Jersey sectional finals slated for this weekend. We're breaking down: North 1, Group 5: East Orange vs. West Orange North 2, Group 5: Union City vs. Passaic Tech North 1, Group 4: Morris Knolls vs. Ramapo North 2, Group 4: Phillipsburg vs. Northern Highlands North 1, Group 3: Pascack Valley vs. River De...

We're breaking down a wild opening weekend of the public school playoffs, led by a handful of underdog teams that turned in surprising upsets. NJ.com beat reporters Luis Torres, Ryan Patti, Mike Kinney, Joe Zedalis, Kevin Minnick and Bill Evans — along with host Dan Long — also break down the sectional semifinals ahead and identify the brackets that could be the most exciting this weekend. Our cre...

Luis Torres, Ryan Patti and Mike Kinney — along with host Dan Long — analyze all 10 state playoff brackets in North Jersey. From heavy favorites that have legitimate state championship aspirations to brackets filled with multiple title contenders, our crew breaks down all the intriguing storylines and things to know before the playoffs begin. Teams mentioned in this episode (listed alphabetically)...

Bill Evans, Kevin Minnick and Joe Zedalis — along with host Dan Long — analyze all 10 state tournament brackets in South and Central Jersey. From heavy favorites that have legitimate state championship aspirations to underdogs ready to upset a bracket, our crew breaks down all the intriguing storylines and things to know before the playoffs begin. Teams mentioned in this episode (listed alphabetic...

The playoffs are nearly here and NJ.com's high school football reporters are here to break down all the action — and what's to come. In this week's episode of The Jersey Blitz, we dive into all of the playoff projections, from the games that matter the most on cutoff weekend to the sections that will be the best come November. We also recap last weekend's chaos with a couple of ranked teams going...