Somerville players celebrate a win in their season opener over Hillsborough. The Pioneers moved up one spot in this week’s rankings. (Photo courtesy Tim Davis)
There were no changes in the top two spots in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Week 0 rankings, but several teams in the middle shuffled.
Phillipsburg holds steady at No. 1, and will open its season Friday night, taking on Westfield at Maloney Stadium. St. Thomas Aquinas dropped its opener down at the Mid-Atlantic Pigskin Classic in Wilmington, DE, falling 36-26 to Mount St. Joseph (MD). The Trojans take on their second of three out-of-state opponents Saturday at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson when they face Lincoln High School out of Brooklyn.
Moving up a spot to second is Woodbridge. The Barrons opened with a thrilling 36-34 win at Old Bridge last Thursday night, and host 1-0 Watchung Hills this Friday evening.
Also up a spot is Somerville, which moves up to fourth after holding on for a 21-20 victory over then-No. 3 Hillsborough back on Thursday, in a game heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Hillsborough drops from third to No. 5.
Holding steady at No. 6 is Piscataway. The Chiefs opened their season with a 21-11 home win over Manalapan, and host Bridgewater-Raritan Friday night at 6 in the first of a doubleheader of the “Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving.”
Defending North 2 Group 2 champion Bernards is up one spot to No. 7, picking up a convincing season-opening 35-6 road win at Monmouth last Thursday. Friday night, the Mountaineers host Hillside, putting their 15-game Big Central Conference winning streak on the line. The Comets were the last league team to beat them, on September 2, 2022.
Falling one spot to eighth was North Brunswick, which lost on the road Friday night, giving up ten fourth-quarter points in a 17-7 defeat at Jackson Memorial. Thursday night they face South Brunswick, having won five straight in the series between the archrivals.
Idle Ridge holds in ninth; the Red Devils open their season on Saturday afternoon at St. Joseph-Metuchen in the opener for both schools. Falcons’ head coach Bill Tracy was at Ridge before moving to Metuchen, and Andy West – his former assistant – how is the Red Devils’ head coach.
New to the rankings this week is Watchung Hills. The Warriors won at Moorestown Friday night, 31-7, and visit Woodbridge Friday evening.
Sayreville dropped out after a 21-20 overtime loss to Colonia in their season opener Thursday night.
Colonia was “also considered” for the Top Ten this week, along with Rahway, which thumped Voorhees 41-14 at home Thursday night, snapping the Vikings’ five game Big Central winning streak. Scotch Plains-Fanwood visits Rahway River Park this Friday night.
Below is the full Central Jersey Sports Radio Week 0 Top Ten:
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