Quite a Race in BCC Freedom Gold

With improved teams such as Jonathan Dayton, David Brearley, and Roselle Park, two-time defending BCC Freedom Gold champion Spotswood finds itself in quite a race heading into the final two weeks of the 2025 regular season.

Dayton, Brearley, and Roselle Park’s Improvement Has Turned BCC Freedom Gold into a Free-For-All

SPRINGFIELD, NJ – Two weeks ago, the Spotswood Chargers were on the precipice of winning their third straight division title.  The Chargers were one of eight undefeated teams that remained in the Big Central Conference.  In addition, Spotswood was winning dominantly by scoring over 35 points per game and defeating its foes by an average of over 30 points per game.  Nobody thought quite a race in the Freedom Gold was going to develop.

BCC Freedom Gold Standings – Through Week Six

Team	Wins	Losses	PCT	Div	Conf	GF	GA	GD	L5	Strk	Last	Next
Spotswood	6	1	0.857	3-1	6-1	233	53	180	4-1	L1	@ SHR Fri, Oct 17	vs RPHS Fri, Oct 24
Jonathan Dayton	5	1	0.833	3-1	5-1	151	89	62	4-1	W4	@ DUN Fri, Oct 17	vs DBHS Sat, Oct 25
David Brearley	4	3	0.571	3-1	4-2	134	142	-8	4-1	W4	vs MET Thr, Oct 16	@ JDHS Sat, Oct 25
Roselle Park	4	2	0.667	2-2	4-2	199	87	112	3-2	W2	vs JPS Fri, Oct 17	@ SPOT Fri, Oct 24
Highland Park	2	4	0.333	1-3	2-4	114	152	-38	1-4	L4	@ MAN Fri, Oct 17	@ SRHS Sat, Oct 25
South River	0	7	0.000	0-4	0-6	54	282	-228	0-5	L7	@ SPHS Thr, Oct 16	vs HPHS Sat, Oct 25

However, there were signs that a race was developing in the BCC’s Freedom Gold Division.  After losing 15 straight games over portions of the past three seasons, including a winless season in 2024, David Brearley stunned Highland Park and then followed that up with a win over neighborhood rival, Roselle Park.  The Bears are now 4-3 overall and in a three-way tie with Spotswood and Jonathan Dayton for first place.

Speaking of Jonathan Dayton, the Bulldogs finished third behind Highland Park and Spotswood in the division a year ago, finished 4-6 overall, and began the year at 1-1 after falling to Highland Park in Week 2.  Since then, the Bulldogs have reeled off four straight, including back-to-back thrilling wins at Belvidere (17-11 in triple overtime) and over Spotswood (20-19) at home last Friday night.  Now the Bulldogs are battling for a division title.

Roselle Park has also improved.  The Panthers have recently lost to Dayton (37-20) and Brearley (17-7), but began the year at 2-0 by outscoring their two opponents, Middlesex (45-13) and South River (42-0) by a combined total of 87-13.  After dropping their two losses to the Bulldogs and Bears, Roselle Park has rebounded with wins over Dunellen (50-8) and Highland Park (35-12).   The Panthers are now 4-2 overall, including a 2-2 mark in the division, and could play the role of spoiler with a game at Spotswood next week.

BCC Freedom Gold Results – Through Week Six

2025-09-12

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
Roselle Park	South River	BCC Freedom Gold 42-0	Herm Shaw Field
Spotswood	David Brearley	BCC Freedom Gold 40-7	Chargers Stadium @ Spotswood High School
Highland Park	Jonathan Dayton	BCC Freedom Gold 26-14	Joe Policastro Stadium @ Jay Dakelman Field

2025-09-19

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
David Brearley	Highland Park	BCC Freedom Gold 27-26	Avery Ward Field
Jonathan Dayton	Roselle Park	BCC Freedom Gold 37-20	Jonathan Dayton High School

2025-09-20

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
South River	Spotswood	BCC Freedom Gold 8-35	Denny Stadium

2025-09-25

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
Spotswood	Highland Park	BCC Freedom Gold 34-3	Chargers Stadium @ Spotswood High School

2025-09-26

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
David Brearley	Roselle Park	BCC Freedom Gold 17-7	Herm Shaw Field

2025-09-27

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
Jonathan Dayton	South River	BCC Freedom Gold 42-7	Jonathan Dayton High School

2025-10-10

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
David Brearley	South River	BCC Freedom Gold 49-14	Avery Ward Field
Jonathan Dayton	Spotswood	BCC Freedom Gold 20-19	Jonathan Dayton High School
Highland Park	Roselle Park	BCC Freedom Gold 12-35	Joe Policastro Stadium @ Jay Dakelman Field

Highland Park began the year with lots of promise.  Following a second-place finish behind Spotswood a year ago, the Owls began their 2025 campaign with wins over Dunellen (34-6) and Dayton (26-14), but have since lost four in a row.  South River, which had lost 17 in a row following a 2-1 start in 2022 before going 3-7 last year, is continuing with its rebuild.  The Rams have yet to win this season.

The improvement of Dayton, Brearley, and Roselle Park this season has made the BCC Freedom Gold Division race into a wide-open free-for-all heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.  Spotswood, Dayton, and Brearley are currently locked into a three-way tie for first place at 3-1, while Roselle Park is right behind at 2-2.  The teams play their final division game in Week 8 with Spotswood hosting Roselle Park on Friday night, October 24th, and Brearley visiting Dayton on Saturday afternoon, October 25th.

Looking at the four teams and title implications, Spotswood has already defeated Brearley in Week 2 (40-7) and lost to Dayton.  Dayton defeated Roselle Park and Spotswood.  Brearley lost to Spotswood and defeated Roselle Park.  A Brearley win coupled with a Roselle Park upset would give the Bears their first BCC Freedom Gold Division crown in three years.  A Spotswood win and a Brearley win would give the Chargers and Bears a share of the crown, although the Chargers get the tiebreaker thanks to their head-to-head win. 

A Dayton win, coupled with a Roselle Park win, would give the Bulldogs the outright title and their first-ever BCC division crown.  If Spotswood and Dayton both win, the Chargers and Bulldogs would claim at least a share, but the Bulldogs have the head-to-head tiebreak.  If Spotswood defeats Roselle Park, it would have at least a share of the BCC Freedom Gold crown for the third straight season.

BCC Freedom Gold Division – Upcoming Schedule

2025-10-24

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
Spotswood	Roselle Park	BCC Freedom Gold 6:00 pm	Chargers Stadium @ Spotswood High School

2025-10-25

Matchup		Time/Score	Location
South River	Highland Park	BCC Freedom Gold 1:00 pm	Denny Stadium
Jonathan Dayton	David Brearley	BCC Freedom Gold 1:00 pm	Jonathan Dayton High School

All four teams are battling for playoff spots.  Jonathan Dayton helped itself immensely with its win over Spotswood last Friday night.  The Bulldogs are currently ranked 14th in North Jersey Group 2, and would likely be a 7th seed in either North Jersey Section 1 Group 2 or North Jersey Section 2 Group 2.  Spotswood is ranked 16th in South Group 2 and would be an 8th seed in either Central Jersey Group 2 or South Jersey Group 2.

David Brearley and Roselle Park both compete in North Jersey Group 1, and need to keep winning and also get help to get in.  Brearley is ranked 18th in the region behind Boonton and Hawthorne, while Roselle Park is ranked 22nd behind Boonton, Hawthorne, Lenape Valley, and Belvidere.  Brearley, Roselle Park, and Belvidere would have Jonathan Dayton as a common opponent.  Brearley also lost to 23rd-ranked Wallington in Week 0 (20-13).

With these teams also battling for their state playoff lives, the wide-open free-for-all in the BCC’s Freedom Gold Division just became even more exciting.  Even if none of these teams qualify, a division title is always a great way to finish a season.