Cranford head coach Erik Rosnemeier holds up the state championship trophy as his players surround him, after beating Sparta to win the North 2, Group 3 title on November 19, 2021 at Memorial Field. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
It’s the opening weekend of the NJSIAA state football playoffs! Between tonight and tomorrow, 160 public schools will being their quest for a championship, and for the first time ever, true state championships.
Over the last two years, the NJSIAA worked to eliminate language from its Constitution that had previously banned state champs from being decided in football, and its membership voted to alter the schedule to allow for champions to be crowned in each of the four public school groups, One through Five.
The playoffs have moved a week earlier this year, with sectional finals now two weeks before Thanksgiving (prior to 2018, they were the week after Thanksgiving), the group semis the week before the holiday, and Group Championships at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium in Piscataway the first week of Decemmber, which has been the traditional Championship Weekend for years.
Coverage plans…
Central Jersey Sports Radio will show some small school love on Friday night, as Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe will bring you all the live play-by-play of a South Jersey Group 1 first round game between 4th-seed Manville and 5th-seed Shore Regional out of the Shore Conference. The game kicks off at 7 at Manville’s Ned Panfile Stadium, with pregame at 6:45.
We’ll have recaps and postgame audio from that and other games on our website later that evening, as well as all Big Central scores and projected second-round matchups.
Saturday, Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas will be in Westfield as 6th-seed Bridgewater-Raritan visits the 3rd-seeded Blue Devils in a North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5 opening round matchup. Though they have played since, the two schools played three epic games three years in a row in the North 2, Group 5 finals at MetLife Stadium, where Westfield won ell three en route to a 36-0 record from 2015 to 2017.
A postgame recap with audio will follow.
Full schedule…
Click here for every public school matchup in the 2022 state playoffs, with days and times for every game involving a Big Central school.
Right again…
Of the 57 public schools in the Big Central, we once again correctly predicted the number of wins it would take to get into the playoffs for the vast majority of the league: 57 teams.
For those who made it, they equaled or surpassed the number we said they would need to get in. For those who missed – except for Roselle and Middlesex – they didn’t meet that threshold.
We figured out what that number would be by looking at the minimum target OSI needed to make the playoffs, based on an average of the last two playoff seasons, 2019 and 2021 (there were no playoffs in 2020). There isn’t a minimum, per se, but we based it on the highest OSI team to miss the playoffs, then took the next team up as the minimum.
We think it’s a pretty accurate number now after two years of analysis. We’ve projected for 115 public schools over two seasons, and have been right on 110 of them. That’s a 95.6% rate.
It’s also a good scheduling guide for future seasons.
Gas up the bus…
The way the state’s Groups are divided into North and South, the dividing line in some cases is about two-thirds the way up the state. What’s that mean? Some long bus rides.
We counted six Big Central teams that will be on a school bus for more than an hour to get to their first-round playoff destination this weekend, although one – Elizabeth and Phillipsburg – has been a postseason trip in the past. But the trips to South Jersey are long.
Delaware Valley, New Providence, Somerville and Johnson all have long trips down south, while Montgomery has a hike up North.
The shortest trips? By a slim margin, Edison over Bridgewater-Raritan. The Eagles open up at Hillsborough, an 18.5 mile drive that Google Maps says will take 29 minutes with no traffic. That could be the wild card, of course, on a Friday night in Central Jersey. When is there ever no traffic?
The Panthers’ game at Westfield Saturday is 18.5 miles away from their field house, and a 31 minute trip without traffic.
Previewing Playoff Runs…
Below are links to previews of some Big Central teams and players heading into the postseason:
Tradition-rich Shore will be tough opponent for Manville in Mustangs second-ever playoff home game
The time is now for Manville as Purcell, Wildgoose look to make history in the playoffs
Hillsborough will be challenged in home playoff game against Edison
A.L. Johnson’s big road win got them in the playoffs, now the Crusaders want to make some noise
Want the short version?
Here’s our quick look at the postseason: “The Big Central in 2 Minutes” – Week 8: It’s Playoff Time!
What about the non-publics?
They have an extra week of the regular season built into the schedule. This week is a regular season week, with the playoffs to be seeded this weekend in Groups A and B by committee.
St. Jospeh of Metuchen is still in with the big boys of Group A like Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic. St. Thomas Aquinas is in Group B and will tune up with St. John Vianney on the road this weekend. The Trojans had a tougher schedule this year after an undefeated regular season last year.
They should get a high seed in Group B at 8-1 so far with that tougher schedule, pending what they do against the Lancers. Kudos to first-year head coach Tarig Holman and Athletic Director Jerry Smith for challenging themselves and scheduling a difficult road game against a Group A non-public. Smith has always been a bold scheduler for his teams, and this move is no exception. We’ll see if it pays off.
Friday schedule…
8-Old Bridge at 1-Toms River North (South 5) – 6 pm
5-Morris Knolls at 6-Colonia (North 2, Group 4) – 6 pm
5-Johnson at 4-Pleasantville (South 2) – 6 pm
5-North Arlington at 4-Brearley (North 2, Group 1) – 6 pm
6-South Hunterdon at 3-Maple Shade (south 1) – 6 pm
5-Montgomery at 4-Northern Highlands (North 1, Group 4) – 6:15 pm
7-Woodbridge at 2-Ramapo (North 1, Group 4) – 6:30 pm
8-Elizabeth at 1-Phillipsburg (North 2, Group 5) – 7 pm
6-West Orange at 3-Watchung Hills (North 2, Group 5) – 7 pm
5-Piscataway at 4-Eastside Paterson (North 2, Group 5) – 7 pm
7-Union at 2-Union City (North 1, Group 5) – 7 pm
7-Hunterdon Central at 2-North Brunswick (Central 5) – 7 pm
6-Edison at 3-Hillsborough (Central 5) – 7 pm
8-Middletown North at 1-North Hunterdon (North 2, Group 4) – 7 pm
7-Rahway at 2-Randolph (North 2, Group 4) – 7 pm
8-Sayreville at 1-Irvington (North 1, Group 4) – 7pm
7-Wayne Hills at 2-Cranford (North 2, Group 3) – 7 pm
8-Somerville at 1-Seneca (Central 3) – 7 pm
5-Camden Eastside at 4-South Plainfield (South 3) – 7 pm
5-Benards at 4-Ramsey (North 2, Group 2) – 7 pm
5-New Providence at 4-Willingboro (Central 2) – 7 pm
5-Shore at 4-Manville (South 1) – 7 pm (LISTEN LIVE)
Saturday schedule…
6-Bridgewater-Raritan at 3-Westfield (North 1, Group 5) – 1 pm
7-Parsippany Hills at 2-Hillside (North 1, Group 3) – 1 pm
6-Delaware Valley at Oakcrest (South 2) – 12 pm
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