Woodbridge took the No. 1 spot after beating No. 9 Colonia Saturday, 42-39. (Source: @WHSbarronsFB on Twitter)
The upper part of the Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football Top Ten had some good stability for a couple of weeks. It was nice while it lasted.
Six ranked teams – headlined by No. 1 Phillipsburg – lost this past weekend, demonstrating immense parity in the Big Central Conference. The other five to lose were all in the bottom half of the rankings, and only two of those teams remained in the Top Ten this week.
Taking over the No. 1 spot is Woodbridge (4-0.) The Barrons built an early lead Saturday afternoon at No. 9 Colonia, and needed all of it and more to hang on to beat the Patriots, 42-39, for the program’s 500th all-time win. The Barrons host Linden (1-3) Friday night.
Woodbridge jumped ahead of St. Thomas Aquinas, which holds at No. 2. Three of the Barrons’ four wins have come against teams ranked at some point this season, while the Trojans have one win against a ranked team, but also have played two out-of-state opponents, losing the first of those games. Aquinas crushed previously unbeaten Franklin Friday night in North Edison, 56-6, and travels to Elizabeth (2-2) next Friday night.
Moving up a spot to third is Somerville (4-0). The Pioneers beat ranked Rahway, previously No. 10, 32-16 at Brooks Field Friday night, and play at Hillside (2-2) next Saturday afternoon.
Ridge (2-2) re-enters the rankings at No. 4 this week after beating then-top-ranked Phillipsburg, 28-21 Friday night, dominating the ground game, and holding the Stateliners to under 100 yards rushing. The Red Devils are back in action Friday night at Bridgewater-Raritan (2-2).
Holding in fifth is Bernards (4-0), which was a 33-13 winner over Voorhees at Olcott Field Friday night. The defending North 2, Group 2 champs have won 18 straight games against Big Central schools, the second-best such streak in the league, and visit JP Stevens (1-2) next Friday night.
Phillipsburg (2-1) drops to No. 6 after the loss to Ridge Friday night, and will be back in action at home this Friday against Hillsborough (2-2), fresh off a home rout of Sayreville.
Old Bridge (2-2) makes its debut this season at No. 7 after beating previously-undefeated and No. 6 South Brunswick (3-1), 21-6, while the Vikings drop to eighth. The Knights will host East Brunswick (1-3) Friday night at 7 in the Big Central Game of the Week presented by Bellamy & Son Paving, while South Brunswick visits Piscataway (2-2) Thursday at 6 pm. (Note: That game is a Thursday night since Rutgers is hosting Washington in its Big Ten opener Friday night at 8:00.)
Another debut this week, this time for St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-0). The Falcons egded out Elizabeth 21-20 the the road Friday night, and are back on the road Saturday afternoon for a meeting with Westfield at Kehler Stadium.
Colonia (3-1) fell to tenth after their Saturday afternoon loss to Woodbridge. The Patriots play again Friday night at home against Perth Amboy (1-3).
Also considered in this week’s rankings are Rahway (3-1), Johnson (3-0) and Summit (3-0). The Indians fell to Somerville and host North Hunterdon (1-3) Friday night. The Crusaders beat Roselle 35-8 on Friday, and travel to Metuchen (3-1) Saturday afternoon. The Hilltoppers beat Carteret at home 33-12 Saturday, and are back next Saturday against Cranford (2-1).
Below is the full Central Jersey Sports Radio Week 3 Top Ten:
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