At his first team meeting as the head girls flag football coach at North Brunswick, Dan Gorzynski brilliantly raised expectations by showing clips of the North/Central championship game at MetLife Stadium. “The girls, especially our seniors, immediately started saying ‘we want to play there.’” Gorzynski said. “How do we do it? “The good thing about this group of girls is they want to win. For them, there is no other way to operate.” With multi-sport stars and team captains from other sports, North Brunswick is 2-0-1. The Raiders begin a pivotal five-game stretch — all against Big Central Conference Red Division opponents — which will decide if their season ends before or after Memorial Day. North Brunswick’s playoff push begins Wednesday on the road against Monroe (2-1) on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. Then it’s New Brunswick (3-1-1) on Saturday, Elizabeth (5-1-1), which is ranked No. 7 in the state by NJ.com on May 7, Sayreville (1-3) on May 14 and J.P. Stevens (0-5) on May 21. The top two finishers in each of the three Big Central divisions will qualify for the conference tournament. Through last Saturday, Elizabeth was first in the Red Division (4-0) with North Brunswick second (2-0-1). New Brunswick (3-1-1), Monroe (2-1) and even Colonia (2-2-1) are all a hot streak away from pushing into the postseason. “All we want to do is get into the tournament,” Gorzynski said. It’s not going to be easy. Of the five teams atop the division, North Brunswick has scored the fewest points — 33. On the other hand, the Raiders have also allowed the fewest points — 12. “If we play our game, we have a chance,” Gorzynski said. “The next five games will be a great barometer for our program.” North Brunswick has sandwiched victories over Colonia (20-6) and Piscataway (7-0) around a stinging, 6-6, tie with South Brunswick. Katelynn Ramos saved the Raiders from another draw when she returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown with nine seconds left. Classified as a “club team,” which allows players from other spring sports to also play flag football, North Brunswick has athletes all over the field. “Our senior class understands the physicality of varsity sports, having played soccer, basketball and lacrosse,” Gorzynski said. “Our girls are super competitive.” The North Brunswick offense centers around senior quarterback Megan Keefe. Keefe has proven herself as a capable runner with 416 yards. She has 92 yards passing, with most of her completions coming on short and intermediate throws. “Megan is a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball and lacrosse) and a multi-sport captain,” Gorzynski said. “She is in that position (QB) because she is a leader, can handle pre-snap responsibilities, and she makes good decisions.” Keefe’s favorite target has been Ramos, who has flag-playing experience. Ramos has six catches for 33 yards. “I’ve taken some things from the fall that I’ve incorporated into this spring and there’s something I’ve discovered this spring that I will take to the fall,” said Gorzynski, who is the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach under Mike Cipot in the fall.” However, it is on defense where the Raiders have been nothing short of exceptional — especially in the back end. North Brunswick has six interceptions and has broken up 12 other passes. Ramos leads the team with four interceptions. Jillian Fisher, the goalie on the soccer team, has grown into a top-notch safety. North Brunswick has also played well up front. Vanna Abadiotakis, an edge player, has nine tackles for loss among her 18 total tackles. “I don’t think anyone has turned the corner on Vana all spring,” Gorzynski said. “As a basketball player, she is always on the floor scrambling for loose balls. She sells out for the team.” Samantha Guadagnino has 11 tackles — including three sacks — and sophomore Devanya Charles has nine flag pulls. Upsets mounting in Super Football Conference BelovED Charter (4-1) made headlines this past week with its upset of state-ranked and previously undefeated St. Benedict’s, leaping them to No. 16 in the NJ.com Top 20 rankings. BelovED Charter’s win over St. Benedict’s snapped a 158-0 shutout streak by the Gray Bees. The upset by the Owls follows Paterson Eastside’s stunning win over No. 9 Passaic Tech the week prior. Sophomore quarterback Aubrey Newell is producing a solid season under center for Paterson Eastside (5-0-1), tallying 1,117 yards of total offense with 10 total touchdowns. She also has three interceptions on defense. Paterson Kennedy (2-0-1) is another squad not to sleep on in the SFC. A 60-yard touchdown pass from Yalanis Jarrett to My’shayla Clancy in the final seconds led the Knights to a 6-6 tie with Paterson Eastside on April 21. Before that, Paterson Kennedy shut out both DePaul and Passaic. NJIC division races heating up From the North to the South, the NJIC has great competition up and down the ranks. “These teams have built a great program in such a short period of time,” Harrison head coach Dan Nankivell said. “The game has become so much more competitive. It’s great for the sport.” No. 18 Harrison (5-0) currently sits atop the South Division and is led by its stout defense, which has only allowed two touchdowns this season. Secaucus (2-0), Wallington (2-2) and Wood-Ridge (2-1) each sit behind the Blue Tide with the capability of making a run at the division crown. Over in the North standings, Garfield (2-0) leads the way after junior Mia Mendez racked up 122 yards on the ground and three touchdowns in the team’s win over West Milford early this month. Led by Junior Madelyn DiPillo (six total touchdowns), Pompton Lakes (2-2) is a strong contender to Garfield for the division crown Elmwood Park (1-0) and Leonia (1-0) are also teams to watch out for in the North. Top stats watch Junior Brasaiyah Stern tossed two touchdowns in top-ranked Mastery Camden’s 19-12 win over Burlington Township on April 24, extending her state-leading mark in touchdown passes this spring to 31. Over at No. 15 Newark Central, freshman quarterback Taylor Jones enters this week with 691 yards passing and 849 yards rushing. Newark Central (4-1) has three games against West Side, DePaul and Shabazz, setting up Jones to possibly reach 1,000 yards in both categories by the end of the week. Kent Place’s Avery Delaney is another dual-threat quarterback taking the state by storm this spring. Delaney has tallied 1,106 yards through the air with nine touchdown passes. The sophomore currently has 455 yards collected on the ground with five touchdowns to help the Dragons stand at 3-2-2 on the season. Central Regional snaps losing skid It took 214 combined passing and rushing yards from sophomore quarterback Keely Gifford last week, but Central Regional snapped a two-game losing streak with a 27-6 victory over Manchester Township. Central Regional was held to a combined eight points in its previous two games -- losses to New Egypt (26-8) and Trinity Hall (13-0). Gifford completed 7 of 11 passes and threw TD strikes to Molly Roberts and Alexandria Veltri. Gifford also ran for a pair of scores. Weequahic putting up big numbers After a 1-2 start, Weequahic has won two straight games and did not allow a point in either of the victories. Weequahic blanked West Side (50-0) and Union City (41-0). Quarterback Haddiyah Bell threw for a combined 351 yards in the two games. In the two wins, Bell completed 15 of 26 passes. Bell also rushed for 140 yards. Harmoni Burgess had 112 receiving yards in the West Side game. Paramus making a push Paramus, which is riding a four-game winning streak, has pushed its way into second place in the Super Football Conference National Division. Paramus is 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the division. It trails only undefeated Ridgewood in the division standings. Ridgewood is ranked No. 2 in the state by NJ.com and defeated Paramus, 26-0, in the season-opener. During the four-game streak, Paramus has played savage defense, allowing only 13 points with a pair of shutouts. Senior Jordan Myers has been a defensive catalyst with 19 flag pulls in her last three games. Camden Catholic back on track Camden Catholic, ranked No. 4 in the state by NJ.com, has won back-to-back games since its 28-0 loss to No. 1 and undefeated Mastery Camden on April 8. The Irish have recorded victories over Ewing (30-12) and Trenton (33-18). Steven Bassin can be reached at SBassin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @SBassin_Sports The N.J. High School Sports newsletter now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now and be among the first to get all the boys and girls sports you care about, straight to your inbox each weekday. To add your name, click here. As always, please report scores to njschoolsports.com. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.