Del Val quarterback Jack Bill in action. (Source: Hudl)
Cutoff Weekend is less than 48 hours away, and Central Jersey Sports Radio is taking a look at every team in the Big Central to see where we think they’ll land in the playoffs.
We’re not looking at too many tiebreakers just yet, and even adding the few residuals to be had can make for infinitely more possibilities – although there are none up for grabs from any Big Central opponents at this point – so we’re not doing those either. But we are looking at where we think teams will fall in the top 16. Tune in to our Playoff Projection show Saturday at 6 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio for all our unofficial pairings.
Below is our analysis, with each team’s current ranking in the UPR standings noted.
(Click here for official standings on Gridiron New Jersey)
Top Seeds: It looks like three teams are vying for the top two positions, and the two top seeds in the sectionals: Point Pleasant Boro, Rumson-Fair Haven and Raritan. Of those, Raritan is the only team not playing a multiplier this weekend. Point has St. John Vianney and Rumson has Red Bank Cahtolic. Raritan takes on 0-7 Holmdel, and the 5-2 Rockets should win that one easily. Haddonfield is the fourth team, taking on 0-6 Sterling, and while they stand in third at the moment, the multiplier effect means they won’t be a factor regardless of what they do. Assuming they and Raritan win, if Point and Rumson both lose to their multipliers, we believe the finish would be Raritan No. 1 and Point Boro No. 2, with Haddonfield third and Rumson fourth. If Point wins and, they’ll finish first, followed by Raritan. If Rumson wins, they’ll take Point’s spot, followed by Raritan. If both win, it’s Rumson No. 1 and Point second.
There will be a quiz later.
#7 New Providence: If the Pioneers beat Middlesex (4-3) at home Friday night, they could finish as high as No. 6, even if Delaware Valley – which is right behind them but has winless North Plainfield this week – wins. How? They need Gloucester City to lose, and either Willingboro or Pleasantville to lose. If Gloucester City wins, and either Pleasantville or Willingboro loses, we think the Pioneers finish seventh. And if all three win, we believe New Prov. is eighth. In any of those circumstances, they start the playoffs at home. If the Pioneers lose, we think the best they could do is a tenth place finish, and if all breaks wrong – unlikely, but mathematically possible – could end up as low as a 15. That would put them against top-seed Raritan or Point Pleasant Boro in the first round.
#8 Delaware Valley: With a win, and a Del Val loss, they could end up as high as sixth, if Willingboro, Gloucester City, Pleasantville and Cinnaminson lose. IF just those first three lose, they could end up seventh. And they may not be guaranteed a top eight finish if some of the others win as well. A loss, and they could end up at No. 16 if everything bad that could happen comes to fruition.
Last year, New Providence visited Del Val for a first round playoff game with Charlie Barth leading the Pioneers to victory. He’s at Rutgers now, but this year the tables could be turned. There’s a scenario where Del Val could finish 9th and New Providence 8th, which means the Pioneers would host this year.
For that to happen, Del Val and New Providence would both need to win, and the following: wins by Johnson, Gloucester City, and Pleasantville, as well as a loss by Willingboro. There could be other possibilities, too.
#11 Johnson: If the win, the Crusaders could finish as high as 11, we think, even with losses by Delaware Valley, New Providence, Willingboro and Pleasantville. With a loss, they could drop out completely, with a lot of teams bunched up. The deciding factor – due to discrepancies in power point average and OSI – could be two teams way above and below them if they lose and drop to 16. A Middle Township win over Pleasantville could boot them, as could a Delran win against Camden Eastside, which is the less likely of the two. So, for ALJ, it’s a “win and get in” scenario; that’ll take care of everything.