Canucks Score Most Points Ever in Series to Halt Tigers Two Year Run
NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ—Entering Friday night’s game at Krausche Field, North Plainfield was enjoying its best season since 2010 with an unblemished record that included victories over Middlesex (17-13), St. Thomas Aquinas (38-30), South River (35-14), and West Milford (28-14). However, the Canucks had not beaten South Plainfield since 2017, the longest stretch without a win since the rivalry resumed in 2002.
In those two defeats, North Plainfield gave up an average of 47 points per contest while scoring only about 21 per game. In addition, the Tigers had started to show gains in the rivalry again with 3 wins in the past 6 meetings after losing 12 straight times. However, all three of those Tiger victories have come in the more friendlier confines of Jost Field. Not at Krausche, where South Plainfield has not won since Thanksgiving Day 1982.
The Krausche Field mystique was extended for another year as the Canucks, led by QB Keiahn Grenald, powered past the Tigers for a 56-21 win. The 56 points scored represented the highest score total ever by North Plainfield in the history of the rivalry dating back to 1956. The Canucks now lead the all time series 30-16-1, and have won 16 of the last 19 meetings since the rivalry resumed in 2002.
Grenald completed 54.5 percent of his 22 pass attempts for 287 yards, or about 23.9 yards per completion while throwing 5 touchdown passes. Grenald also rushed 12 more times for another score, and 83 yards, or just under 7 yards per carry. Khan Yae Stevens caught 5 passes for 112 yards and 3 touchdowns while throwing for another score of 24 yards. Ahmaad Murkey caught 5 passes well for 155 yards, or 31 yards per reception and also 3 touchdowns.
Nasir McGlone rushed 10 times for 61 yards and another score for the winners, which jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and never looked back after that. South Plainfield got all three of its touchdowns in a wild 2nd period that saw 42 total points scored. Patrick Smith returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown while Jake Delvecchio and Tyler Balent also added TD runs of 10 yards and one yard respectively.
South Plainfield, which had previously competed in the Greater Middlesex Conference’s Blue Division took North Plainfield’s place in the Big Central Conference by taking on the likes of Somerville, Rahway, and Summit in Division 3 while the Canucks played a schedule consisting of former GMC Gold Division schools this season in the Big Central’s Division 2A.
Part of the Tigers 2020 Division 3 schedule including a home game versus Plainfield at Jost Field on October 23rd that the Cardinals won 22-17. The game between the Cardinals and Tigers marked the first ever meeting between the two schools. North Plainfield had mostly played Plainfield uninterrupted from 1900 to 1955, but the Canucks have not played the Cardinals since starting the rivalry with the Tigers.
Looking more closely at the annual rivalry with South Plainfield, the Canucks have outscored the Tigers by a margin of 606-384, or an average of about 32-20 per game since the two schools resumed the series in 2002. Going back to the origins of the series in the mid-1950s, North Plainfield has outscored South Plainfield by a total of 1,000-670, or an average of 21-14 per contest.
With the victory, North Plainfield improved to 7-0 on the season while South Plainfield, which was playing its first game since losing to Plainfield last month, dropped to 1-4 on the year. The Canucks will return to action on Friday night with a road game at Linden of the Big Central’s Division 5A at 6:00 PM. Linden has yet to win this season, and lost to Sayreville in overtime on Friday night (20-17). South Plainfield, which was only scheduled to play one post-season game this year, has concluded its season.
A Look at the North Plainfield-South Plainfield Rivalry
North Plainfield Leads Series (30-16-1)
Teams did not play each other from 1984-2001
| Year | Winner |
| 1956 | North Plainfield (12-7) |
| 1957 | North Plainfield (33-19) |
| 1958 | North Plainfield (38-7) |
| 1959 | North Plainfield (20-0) |
| 1960 | North Plainfield (19-0) |
| 1961 | North Plainfield (21-0) |
| 1962 | North Plainfield (13-0) |
| 1963 | South Plainfield (27-22) |
| 1964 | South Plainfield (7-0) |
| 1965 | South Plainfield (26-20) |
| 1966 | North Plainfield (9-7) |
| 1967 | Tie (0-0) |
| 1968 | South Plainfield (7-0) |
| 1969 | North Plainfield (42-19) |
| 1970 | North Plainfield (14-0) |
| 1971 | North Plainfield (14-13) |
| 1972 | South Plainfield (7-0) |
| 1973 | South Plainfield (19-12) |
| 1974 | North Plainfield (47-18) |
| 1975 | South Plainfield (9-0) |
| 1976 | South Plainfield (20-8) |
| 1977 | South Plainfield (9-0) |
| 1978 | North Plainfield (13-0) |
| 1979 | North Plainfield (16-6) |
| 1980 | South Plainfield (14-7) |
| 1981 | South Plainfield (23-8) |
| 1982 | South Plainfield (15-0) |
| 1983 | South Plainfield (7-6) |
| 2002 | North Plainfield (47-25) |
| 2003 | North Plainfield (41-14) |
| 2004 | North Plainfield (9-7) |
| 2005 | North Plainfield (29-28) |
| 2006 | North Plainfield (27-7) |
| 2007 | North Plainfield (39-6) |
| 2008 | North Plainfield (40-27) |
| 2009 | North Plainfield (49-21) |
| 2010 | North Plainfield (36-28) |
| 2011 | North Plainfield (28-0) |
| 2012 | North Plainfield (50-26) |
| 2013 | North Plainfield (14-12) |
| 2014 | South Plainfield (26-13) |
| 2015 | North Plainfield (28-14) |
| 2016 | North Plainfield (39-21) |
| 2017 | North Plainfield (20-7) |
| 2018 | South Plainfield (40-0) |
| 2019 | South Plainfield (54-41) |
| 2020 | North Plainfield (56-21) |
