Their nickname was The Minutemen
Bridgewater - Raritan's first high school on Garretson Road opened in the late 1950s.
This school initially served their needs, but due to population growth, the town soon needed a second high school. So Bridgewater "East" was built off Foothill Road. It opened in 1966. In its first year it only had a 9th and 10th grade class. Those classes would move up through the school so by 1968 there were grades 9th thru 12th at the school.
The football team, in the first year, 1966, with just 9th and 10th graders, played a Junior Varsity Schedule.
The next year, 1967, without any seniors at the school, the football team played a varsity schedule. They finished a respectable 4-4. However, they were in a conference with the smaller schools such as Manville and Middlesex.
In 1968, the football team (now stocked with a senior class), moved to a tougher division where they would play against local rivals Somerville, Immaculata, and Bridgewater "West".
In their first varsity season they went an impressive 7-1-1. The highlight of the year being a 14-14 tie against Bridgewater "West" on Thanksgiving Day.
For the next three years, 1969, 1970, and 1971, the football team would go undefeated. 9-0 each season. There were no playoffs in that era.
East in it's early years was struggling to find it's identity. The football team's success helped to define the school and build moral among the students. Running back Bruce Hennemuth summed it up:
"The school was new and I think the overall success in sports helped establish a positive feeling within the school community."
In 1995 Bridgewater-Raritan High School "East" would be converted to The Middle School and all high school students would then attend what had been known as "West" thus ending the era of two rival High Schools.