South River vs. Spotswood – Rivalry at a Glance

On Saturday afternoon, Spotswood shut out South River for the second straight year with a 35-0 victory at Sayreville War Memorial High School. The win gave the Chargers their third straight win in the series and 7th in the last 11. South River still leads the series 35-13.

Chargers Win Third Straight over Rams

SAYREVILLE, NJ – On Saturday afternoon, Spotswood and South River met in a Big Central Conference Freedom Gold match-up at Sayreville High School. The Chargers won easily for the second straight year with a 35-0 victory. The win was Spotswood’s third straight over its arch-rival. It was the 48th meeting between the two schools.

Chargers junior QB Se’mir Tolbert-Brimage completed 3 of 4 passes for 49 yards and a 1 TD while rushing 10 times for 58 yards and another two scores. Junior RB Anthony Saracino rushed 8 times for 73 yards and 2 TDs. Julian Sanchez anchored a stout Spotswood defense with 11 total tackles including a sack. The Chargers’ defense collected 7 tackles for loss including two sacks and recovered a fumble.

The victory improved Spotswood’s record to 3-1 overall on the season. The Chargers have won three straight since losing to Wood-Ridge (24-10) in Week 0. Spotswood is 3-0 in the BCC and 2-0 in the Freedom Gold Division. South River, which won its first game of the season last week over Roselle Park (45-19), dropped to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in divisional play.

South River leads the all-time series 35-13.  The Rams and Chargers have played every year since 1978, a year after Spotswood High School opened. South River dominated the early years of the rivalry with 19 wins over the first 20 years of the series. Spotswood has been more competitive since 1997 although the Rams have still won 16 of 28. The Chargers have won 7 of the last 11 and 8 of the last 14. 

Spotswood has won the last three, which matches its longest winning streak in the series. The Chargers also won three straight from 2014 to 2016. Spotswood has not allowed a point in the last two games with a 30-0 win last season and its 35-0 victory on Saturday.  South River’s last win was on September 4, 2021. Check out the Rams-Chargers rivalry at a glance.

Year	Winner	Winning Score	Loser	Losing Score
1978	South River	27	Spotswood	3
1979	South River	28	Spotswood	0
1980	Spotswood	20	South River	0
1980	South River	24	Spotswood	13
1981	South River	14	Spotswood	7
1982	South River	42	Spotswood	0
1983	South River	33	Spotswood	0
1984	South River	40	Spotswood	6
1985	South River	35	Spotswood	0
1986	South River	47	Spotswood	6
1987	South River	26	Spotswood	7
1988	South River	57	Spotswood	20
1989	South River	34	Spotswood	16
1990	South River	54	Spotswood	0
1991	South River	31	Spotswood	15
1992	South River	39	Spotswood	7
1993	South River	22	Spotswood	6
1994	South River	38	Spotswood	24
1995	South River	14	Spotswood	7
1996	South River	34	Spotswood	20
1997	Spotswood	15	South River	14
1998	South River	21	Spotswood	6
1999	South River	21	Spotswood	14
2000	Spotswood	7	South River	0
2001	South River	35	Spotswood	13
2002	South River	14	Spotswood	10
2003	Spotswood	35	South River	19
2004	South River	35	Spotswood	13
2005	South River	25	Spotswood	0
2006	South River	22	Spotswood	6
2007	South River	40	Spotswood	7
2008	Spotswood	21	South River	0
2009	South River	26	Spotswood	20
2010	South River	18	Spotswood	7
2011	Spotswood	21	South River	13
2012	South River	35	Spotswood	7
2013	South River	14	Spotswood	3
2014	Spotswood	39	South River	7
2015	Spotswood	44	South River	7
2016	Spotswood	31	South River	6
2017	South River	34	Spotswood	7
2018	South River	42	Spotswood	21
2019	Spotswood	17	South River	14
2020	South River	35	Spotswood	14
2021	South River	33	Spotswood	6
2022	Spotswood	28	South River	21
2023	Spotswood	30	South River	0
2024	Spotswood	35	South River	0

• Rivalry began in 1978.
• Both teams have played each other every year since 1978. Spotswood High School opened in 1977.
• South River leads the series 35-13.
• South River has outscored Spotswood 1190 to 654 all-time or by an average of about 25-14 per game.
• South River won 19 of the first 20 meetings from 1978 to 1996 including a playoff win in 1980.
• South River has won 16 of the last 28 meetings since 1997.
• Spotswood has won 8 of the last 14 meetings since 2010.
• Spotswood has won 7 of the last 11 meetings since 2014.
• Spotswood’s first win in the rivalry was in 1980 – regular season win.
• Longest win streak: South River won 17 straight meetings from 1980 to 1996.
• Spotswood’s longest win streak was 3 (twice) from 2014 to 2016 and 2022 to 2024.
• Most points scored in a game: 57 by South River in 1988 (won 57-20)
• Spotswood scored 44 in a game when it defeated South River in 2015 (44-7).
• South River has 6 shutouts in the series.
• Spotswood has 5 shutouts in the series.
• Spotswood has shut out South River in each of the past two seasons (30-0 in 2023 and 35-0 in 2024).
• Largest margin of victory: South River won 54-0 in 1990.
• Spotswood’s largest margin of victory was 37 in 2015.