The Big Central Football Conference has announced its revised schedule – and new divisional alignments – following the NJSIAA’s move to delay the start of the 2020 season until October 1.
As per the NJSIAA, each team will have six regular season games, followed by two “post-season” games, not necessarily state playoff games.
A few Big Central teams also will retain their Thanksgiving games, like Westfield-Plainfield, Roselle-Roselle Park, New Providence-Governor Livingston, and – of course – Phillipsburg-Easton.
Each new division – ostensibly only for 2020 – includes six teams. Each school will play its five divisional opponents, plus one crossover. Divisions were based first on school size, but then more on geography, to limit travel time and time spent on buses.
Ironically, due to geography, Piscataway was put in a division with Franklin – right across the Raritan River. The two schools recently ended their Thanksgiving rivalry after it got in the way of the playoffs, and agreed to end their long-standing series, which had become a lopsided affair in recent years.
But the coronavirus pandemic and an effort to cut back on travel will have them meet at least one more time, the 55th football competition between the Chiefs and Warriors all-time.