Here are Friday night’s results involving Big Central Conference teams and related games from the opening round of the NJSIAA state high school football playoffs, listed by section, with Big Central teams in bold.
Of the 27 league schools opening play on Friday night, 12 advanced, including all three top seeds in their respective sections, Hillsborough, Union and Cranford.
Not counting 4/5 games, only one Big Central team was upset: Woodbridge getting knocked off by Ridge.
On the other side of the coin, Edison pulled off an upset win, knocking off Manalapan in overtime on a field goal.
Scroll down to find next week’s sectional semifinal matchups, with times where available.
Central, Group 5
#1 Hillsborough def. #8 New Brunswick, 49-6
#5 Williamstown def. #4 Southern, 34-20
#3 North Brunswick def. #3 Eastern, 39-30
#2 Cherokee def. #7 Egg Harbor Twp., 37-8
South, Group 5
#7 Edison def. #2 Manalapan, 23-20 (OT)
#3 Toms River North def. #6 East Brunswick, 28-14
#4 Kingsway def. #5 Old Bridge, 51-49
#8 Lenape def. #1 Washington Twp., 24-21 (OT)
North 2, Group 5
#1 Union def. #8 Livingston, 41-3
#5 Eastside def. #4 Bridgewater-Raritan, 22-21
#3 Phillipsburg def. #6 Union City, 23-6
#2 Clifton def. #7 Hackensack, 23-14
North 1, Group 5
#4 West Orange def. #5 Westfield, 28-14
#2 Ridgewood def. #7 Columbia, 34-0
#3 Passaic Tech def. #6 Montclair, 20-14
North 1, Group 4
#6 Ridge def. #3 Woodbridge, 38-0
#2 Ramapo def. #7 Chatham, 47-21
#1 Northern Highlands def. #8 Montgomery, 61-14
North 2, Group 4
#3 Sayreville def. #6 Middletown North, 18-10
#2 Middletown South def. #7 North Hunterdon, 34-20
#5 Colonia def. #4 Randolph, 32-21
#1 Irvington def. #8 Linden, 11-6
North 2, Group 3
#1 Cranford def. #8 Demarest, 56-26
#4 Pascack Valley def. #5 Montville 34-17
#3 Sparta def. #6 Warren Hills, 62-33
#2 River Dell def. #7 Vernon 39-26
North 1, Group 3
#1 West Morris def. #8 Summit, 56-31
South, Group 3
#4 Somerville def. #5 Rahway, 38-21
#2 Wall def. #7 Hopewell Valley, 42-7
#3 Delsea def. #6 Ewing, 48-21
South, Group 2
#5 New Providence def. #4 Delaware Valley, 35-13
#2 Willingboro def. #7 Sterling, 20-0
#1 Pt. Pleasant Boro def. #8 Monmouth, 34-14
Central, Group 2
#2 Bernards def. #7 Bound Brook, 28-27
#3 Haddonfield def. #6 Middle Township, 34-7
#1 Raritan def. #8 Barnegat, 30-6
Central, Group 1
#2 Woodstown def. #6 Middlesex, 42-6
North 2, Group 1
#3 Boonton def. #6 Brearley, 42-24
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS (times are tentative, based on this week’s times)
All times are Friday at 7 pm unless otherwise noted
Central, Group 5
#5 Williamstown at #1 Hillsborough
#3 North Brunswick at #2 Cherokee, Friday 6 pm
South, Group 5
#7 Edison at #3 Toms River North
#8 Lenape at #4 Kingsway
North 2, Group 5
#5 Eastside (Paterson) at #1 Union
#3 Phillipsburg at #2 Clifton
North 1, Group 4
#6 Ridge at #2 Ramapo, Friday 6:30 pm
#1 Northern Highlands vs. #5 Mount Olive/#4 Morris Knolls
North 2, Group 4
#5 Colonia at #1 Irvington
#3 Sayreville at #2 Middletown South
North 2, Group 3
#4 Pascack Valley at #1 Cranford
#3 Sparta at #2 River Dell
South, Group 3
#4 Somerville at #1 Cedar Creek or vs. #8 Absegami, TBA
#3 Delsea at #2 Wall
South, Group 2
#5 New Providence at #3 Nottingham or vs. #6 Haddon Heights, TBA
#2 Willingboro at #1 Pt. Pleasant Beach
Central, Group 2
#3 Haddonfield at #2 Bernards
#1 Raritan vs. #4 Hillside/#5 Overbrook
Washington Twp was upset last night