Gridiron New Jersey – which calculates power points, OSI and UPR for playoff qualification in high school football for the NJSIAA – has added 24 more games back onto team schedules, COVID-related forfeits that won’t be played.
The NJSIAA ruled earlier this season that COVID-related cancellations would be ruled forfeits, but not until after Week 8 of the season, once it was certain the games would not be made up on either bye weeks or in the event of additional cancellations.
The team that had to cancel the game would be awarded a loss, and the team cancelled upon would be awarded a win. Power points would be accorded in the traditional fashion as if the game had been played.
Only one case involved a multiplier: St. Joseph of Metuchen cancelled on Sayreville on October 1. That means the Falcons get natural power points for a loss, and Sayreville gets multiplier points – 42 – for a win.
Five Big Central games were added back as forfeits, two of them involving Brearley, which got forfeit wins over Roselle Park (Sept. 17) and Dunellen (Oct.21). Phillipsburg picked up a forfeit win over Somerville (Oct. 8), and St. Thomas Aquinas got a forfeit win over South River (Oct. 1).
Other forfeits around the state included:
- Hopewell Valley def. Allentown (Oct. 15)
- Willingboro def. Buena (Oct. 8)
- Triton def. Cherry Hill West (Sept. 10)
- East Orange def. Newark East Side (Oct. 9)
- Florence def. Pennsville (Oct. 8)
- Lenape Valley def. High Point (Oct. 8)
- Millville def. Highland Regional (Sept. 17)
- Hightstown def. Robbinsville (Sept. 17)
- Immaculata def. Hoboken (Sept. 10)
- Hudson Catholic def. Morris Catholic (Oct. 9)
- Lakewood def. Manchester Twp. (Oct. 16)
- Morristown-Beard def. Montclair-Kimberley (Oct. 9)
- Newark West Side def, Orange (Sept. 10)
- Newark West Side def. North Bergen (Oct. 23)
- Bishop Eustace def. Schalick (Aug. 27)
- Whippany Park def. Wallkill Valley (Oct. 15)
- Dickinson def. Weehawken (Sept. 3)
- Boonton def. Weequahic (Sept. 3)
(Note: The Sterling-Paulsboro game was removed from the forfeit list after the teams agreed to schedule the game this weekend.)
Sayreville was one of the big beneficiaries of the changes that came down Tuesday afternoon, jumping from 10th place – with a first-round road game – all the way to 6th in the North Group 4 standings, shifting the Bombers home. And with a strong opponent in Old Bridge this weekend, it remains to be seen if even a loss could bring them back outside the top eight.
Somerville dropped from 4th to 7th in the South Group 3 standings, meaning the Pioneers could be in danger of losing a first-round home game unless they beat Summit Friday night at Brooks Field. That game can be heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio starting at 6:45 for the pregame, with kickoff at 7:00 for the Big Central Game of the Week driven by Autoland.
The changes also boosted Manville. The Mustangs were in 18th in South Group 1 before Week 8, with a 5-1 record. Beating Bound Brook Friday night helped them climb to 16th place, and now they have moved up to 13th, according to the latest Gridiron New Jersey standings.
Central Jersey Sports Radio will be breaking down all the moves over the next day or so, and the various scenarios for Big Central teams as we head into Cutoff Weekend. Join us for a LIVE projection show at 5 pm this Saturday, hosted by Mike Pavlichko at cjsportsradio.com. He’ll be joined by longtime Somerset County sports scribe Harry Frezza, as well as Korbid Thomspon of the King James Radio Network.