Rivalry at a Glance – David Brearley vs. Jonathan Dayton

Posted on by Big Central Gridiron

David Brearley and Jonathan Dayton battled it out until the final play of the game in their season finale in Springfield on October 25th. In a contest that was literally decided by inches, Brearley edged Dayton, 10-7, to earn a share of the BCC Freedom Gold Division title, and win their 12th out of the last 13 meetings for a 27-9-1 series lead.

SPRINGFIELD, NJ – On the last day of the regular season, David Brearley Regional of Kenilworth traveled up the road to Jonathan Dayton High School for a game that decided the BCC’s Freedom Gold Division crown.  In a contest that was literally decided by inches, Brearley edged Dayton 10-7 to win a share of the title with Spotswood.  

The match-up marked the 37th time that the two schools faced each other on the gridiron.  The very first meeting between the two schools in 1969 ended in a 19-13 Dayton win.  Brearley leads the all-time series, 27-9-1.  The Bears have won 12 of the 13 meetings, including 11 straight from 2013 to 2023.

David Brearley has won five of the six meetings versus Jonathan Dayton since the formation of the Big Central Conference in 2020.  Since the two schools split the first five meetings (2-2-1) from 1969 to 1983, Brearley has dominated with 25 wins in the last 32 meetings. 

Take a look at the history of the David Brearley-Jonathan Dayton rivalry below:

YearWinning TeamWinning ScoreLosing TeamLosing Score
1969Jonathan Dayton19David Brearley13
1970David Brearley24Jonathan Dayton19
1981David Brearley17Jonathan Dayton7
1982Jonathan Dayton7David Brearley0
1983Jonathan Dayton7David Brearley7
1984David Brearley14Jonathan Dayton6
1985David Brearley6Jonathan Dayton0
1986David Brearley20Jonathan Dayton0
1987David Brearley42Jonathan Dayton15
1988David Brearley36Jonathan Dayton8
1989Jonathan Dayton21David Brearley15
1990David Brearley37Jonathan Dayton15
1997David Brearley48Jonathan Dayton0
1998David Brearley30Jonathan Dayton29
1999Jonathan Dayton18David Brearley15
2000David Brearley52Jonathan Dayton6
2001David Brearley2Jonathan Dayton0
2006David Brearley41Jonathan Dayton7
2007David Brearley49Jonathan Dayton0
2008David Brearley27Jonathan Dayton0
2009Jonathan Dayton20David Brearley12
2010Jonathan Dayton39David Brearley12
2011Jonathan Dayton19David Brearley7
2012Jonathan Dayton19David Brearley16
2013David Brearley39Jonathan Dayton13
2014David Brearley50Jonathan Dayton41
2015David Brearley27Jonathan Dayton14
2016David Brearley22Jonathan Dayton21
2017David Brearley41Jonathan Dayton27
2018David Brearley40Jonathan Dayton0
2019David Brearley14Jonathan Dayton2
2020David Brearley44Jonathan Dayton7
2021David Brearley40Jonathan Dayton6
2022David Brearley26Jonathan Dayton0
2023David Brearley30Jonathan Dayton14
2024Jonathan Dayton15David Brearley6
2025David Brearley10Jonathan Dayton7
David Brearley vs. Jonathan Dayton – Rivalry at a Glance
  • First Meeting:  1969 (Jonathan Dayton won 19-13).  The two schools split the first five meetings from 1969 to 1983 (2-2-1).
  • All-Time Series Record:  David Brearley leads 27-9-1.
  • Brearley Dominance:  The Bears won 12 of the last 13 meetings.
  • Dayton Dominance:  The Bulldogs won 4 straight contests from 2009 to 2012.
  • Dayton’s Last Victory:  Was in 2024 (won 15-6).  It was the first Bulldogs victory over Brearley since 2012.
  • Big Central Conference Era:  Since the formation of the BCC in 2020, David Brearley has won 5 of 6 by a combined score of 156-49, or by an average of 26-8.
  • Longest Winning Streak:  Brearley won 11 straight from 2013 to 2023.  Dayton won four straight from 2009 to 2012.  
  • No Meetings:  The two schools didn’t play each other in 1971-80, 1991-96, and 2002-05.
  • Scoring:  David Brearley has outscored Jonathan Dayton by a margin of 931-448 all-time.
  • Points Per Game:  Brearley has outscored Dayton by an average margin of 13.1 points per game (25.2 – 12.1).
  • Max Points Scored:  Brearley scored 52 in a win over Dayton in 2000 (52-6).  Dayton scored 41 in a loss to Brearley in 2014 (50-41).
  • Largest Margin of Victory:  David Brearley has the largest margin of victory at 49 with its 49-0 victory in 2007.  Jonathan Dayton’s largest margin of victory was 27 in 2010 (won 39-12).
  • Closest Margin of Victory:  David Brearley defeated Jonathan Dayton by one, 30-29, in 1998.
  • Shutouts:  David Brearley has 8, while Jonathan Dayton has one.
  • One-Score Games:  There have been 13 games decided by one score (8 points or less).
  • Single-Digit Games:  There have been 15 games decided by 9 points or less.