Union widens the gap slightly in North 5; Plainfield doesn’t suffer much despite upset by Franklin

Union has extended its lead for one of the top two seeds by 0.2 UPR points over Clifton, in the unofficial Week 8 UPR standings calculated by Central Jersey Sports Radio.

The Farmers weren’t damaged much by a 42-7 blowout win over one-win Watchung Hills, since Clifton lost Friday night.

Meanwhile, Bridgewater-Raritan and Phillipsburg flip-flopped in the standings, with the Panthers jumping two spots to seventh, thanks to a 31-14 win at Elizabeth. The Stateliners fell two to ninth, despite a 42-0 home win over Capital Prep Harbor (CT).

Westfield, which hosts Ridge tomorrow, remains between them in 8th.

Elizabeth dropped two places after its lost to Bridgewater-Raritan, falling to 15th, but the Minutemen still are a likely playoff team.

And Plainfield didn’t take as much of a hit as you’d think, despite a surprising road loss to Franklin, 34-27.

True, they dropped from 17th – two full UPR points behind 16th place Bayonne – to 18th. But they actually trail the Bees – who lost Friday night, too – by 0.8 UPR points. The problem is, there’s another team between them now: North Bergen is 0.2 UPR points ahead of Plainfield. They visit Newark West Side tomorrow.