Aquinas tops Big Central in Final Power Rankings

With the 2023 high school football season now complete, St. Thomas Aquinas can add another line on its resume for the year: No. 1 in the final Big Central Power Rankings

Central Jersey Sports Radio debuted the new feature mid-season, using the NJSIAA’s Strength Index numbers, which are used as part of the playoff qualification formula to make a team’s OSI, which is 60 percent of a team’s UPR.

Our rankings are are based our CJSR calculations, using final scores reported to Gridiron New Jersey and NJ.com, as well as the official numbers that are frozen before Cutoff Weekend, as per Gridiron, the official state playoff calculator for the NJSIAA.

The numbers below represent the unofficial final Strength Index values, which will change at the start of 2024 based on the NJSIAA’s “centering” model, where all teams have their value raised or lowered by one third the distance to 60, considered the “midway” point in the SI system.

Thursday, we’ll unveil the full state rankings.

Below are the full Big Central final power rankings, including how much each team went up or down from the preseason through the end of 2024.