NJSIAA keeps similar state finals football schedule, with games at Rutgers and MetLife

Last season, the second in which the NJSIAA saw high school football play all the way to group champions, some fans didn’t like the fact that those true state title games had the potential to be played during the week.

But out of eight title games, only one public group – Group 4 – spilled over from the weekend, with Westwood beating Rumson-Fair Haven for the Group 2 title on a Monday at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium.

Both non-public finals – which saw Bergen Catholic top Delbarton 24-14 for the Group A title, and Red Bank Catholic beat DePaul 14-7 to win Group B – fell on a Tuesday.

So it all tended to work out alright, and the schedule is pretty similar for 2024.

According to the schedule posted on the NJSIAA website, Week 8/Cutoff Weekend will be Friday and Saturday, October 25th and 26th. That means the playoffs will start November 1-2 for public schools, with sectional semifinals November 8-9, and sectional title games November 15-16.

Group semifinals would then be held November 22-23.

Thanksgiving Day is on the 28th this year, and Black Friday will be the first of six available dates for state finals. That’s the 29th, along with Saturday, November 30th, and Sunday through Wednesday, December 1-4, although the final day is reserved for teams who will have played on Thanksgiving. For example, if Phillipsburg played in a state final, they’d go on Wednesday, December 4, following their Turkey Day matchup with Easton on November 28.

SHI Stadium at Rutgers should be available the entire weekend, with the Scarlet Knights’ home finale the week before, on Saturday, November 23rd against Illinois.

As for MetLife, the Giants play on Thanksgiving Day in Dallas at 4:30, so they’re not around during the finals, but the Jets will be playing Sunday, December 1st at 1 pm against Seattle. That means MetLife would be unavailable Sunday at a minimum, but possibly also Saturday, as well.

Non-Public schools get an extra week to play their regular season, Week 9 on November 8-9. They start the playoffs the following week, with the first round on November 15-16, semis on November 22-23, and finals during the same stretch as publics, from November 29 through December 3rd, with the 4th being used for a team that had played on Thanksgiving.

In two years of crowning state champs, the Big Central has yet to send a team to the group finals. Edison and North Hunterdon both won sectional titles in Group 5 in 2022, but lost in the semifinals. Last season, Bernards won a sectional title in Group 2, but was knocked out by Wetswood in the semis.

Preseason camps open August 12th in football, then the regular season commenceswith Week Zero play on Thursday, August 29th.