Licona helps deliver North Brunswick its first sectional title since 2008

It had been 17 years since North Brunswick had won a sectional title. Christopher Licona will turn 17 years old on Sunday. After scoring in the first half, Licona once again found the ball at his feet after a through ball from a teammate. With a defender chasing him down, and the goalie sprinting off his line, Licona remained in control. He brought the ball onto his right foot and calmly struck the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net. The goal proved to be the difference as ninth-seeded North Brunswick upset second-seeded Hunterdon Central 2-1 in the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group 4 Tournament final in Flemington. The win marks North Brunswick’s first sectional title since 2008. “I think it is one of the best birthday presents that I’ve ever had,” Licona said. “It feels good to do it for the people here that had love for me.” Hunterdon Central held firm control of the possession in the early minutes of the game, but was unable to even record a shot on net. In the blink of an eye, 13 minutes into the game, Peter Kassouf sent a ball over the top of the Hunterdon Central defense. Licona ran it down and scored to give North Hunterdon an early 1-0 lead. “[Licona] is so fast in behind you know he is going to score,” Kassouf said. “I celebrate even before he takes the shot because I know he is going to score.” For the next 45 minutes of gameplay, neither side was able to muster much offense. The North Brunswick backline of William Tal, Luis Ramirez, Thomas Bohnyak and Hari Selvaraj were able to thwart nearly all of the Hunterdon Central attacking moves. With 22 minutes left in the second half, DT Emuren controlled the ball in the box and fired a shot from close range that got past North Brunswick goalie Alexander Andino - tying the game at 1-1. Some teams may have been rattled mentally, but after the journey that North Brunswick took through the playoffs, none of the players were fazed. North Brunswick defeated Montgomery, Monroe and Marlboro en route to the title game - none of the wins coming by more than one goal. “We are gritty grinders,” North Brunswick head coach Michael Rohal said. “We expect and practice that we are going to be down so mentally we are ready for it - a tough team is going to go through and battle through that adversity.” It didn’t take long for North Brunswick to respond as Licona’s game-winning goal came just three minutes after Hunterdon Central’s equalizer. This time Christopher Branz was the one that provided the assist. “The team needed me, I had to do it for the team,” Licona said of his goal. North Brunswick was able to hold off a desperate Hunterdon Central attack for the last 19 minutes of play. The midfielders fell back to aid in defense and Andino made multiple saves to seal the win. “We are just a unit. We are friends on and off the field, I think that’s the biggest difference between the rest of these teams.” Tal said. “We genuinely like each other and you can really tell on the field - the results speak for themselves.” As the clock ticked down to 0:00, Licona and Tal ran to the North Brunswick fans that endured the cold weather to watch the team make history. “Its the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Tal said. “No one believed in us but we believed in ourselves.” With a record of 14-9, North Brunswick certainly had struggles on its way to lifting the trophy. “Coming in as a nine seed we have been the underdog in every single game we played,” Tal said. “We are peaking at the right moment.” The magical run is not over for North Brunswick as it will now advance to the Group 4 semifinals where it will play the winner of the South Jersey, Group 4 title game. “It’s like hiking, when you climb one mountain you are at the base and the bottom of another,” Rohal said. “We are looking forward to climbing more.” Central Jersey, Group 4 Final 9-North Brunswick 2, 2-Hunterdon Central 1

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North Brunswick Township HS Athletics

LICONA HELPS DELIVER NORTH BRUNSWICK ITS FIRST SECTIONAL TITLE SINCE 2008

AIDAN MASTANDREA

For NJ Advance Media | 11/14/2025

PHOTO CREDIT: Prem Desai, NBTHS