Woodbridge, Somerville riding high in UPR standings through Week 4

After Week Four of the New Jersey high school football season – five weeks of play for many schools – Woodbridge and Somerville are in good standing as the top teams in their supersections when it comes to UPR standing.

The Barrons (5-0) lead the pack in North Jersey Group 4, with Ridge and Phillipsburg not far behind. Somerville (5-0) leads the South Jersey Group 3 supersection.

Here’s a not-too-detailed section-by-section look at where the Big Central teams in contention stand:

North Group 5: Piscataway, which finished 6-3 at the cutoff last year and failed to make the playoffs, currently sits in fourth. And with a good schedule ahead, the Chiefs (3-2) can stay around here – if they keep winning. Despite three straight losses, Elizabeth (2-3) is in seventh, but their stock is falling. Bridgewater-Raritan (2-3) – which made the playoffs last year as a three-win team, sits in eighth thanks to a tough schedule. Linden (1-4) is in 15th, but will need at least a second win to qualify for the playoffs, no matter where they finish. Union (0-5) and Plainfield (2-2) are 18th and 19th, but a couple of wins could make a big difference.

South Group 5: The highest Big Central Conference team here is Franklin (3-2), and while they’re in seventh now, they’ll need to snap a two-game losing streak if they hope to stay in the top eight and earn at least a first round home game. Old Bridge – despite a 3-2 record – is down in 12th, while teams 14 through 16 are Hunterdon Central (3-2), South Brunswick (3-2) and Hillsborough (2-3). Those first two got off to promising starts, while the Raiders have been back and forth between wins and losses.

North Group 4: After Woodbridge (5-0) leading the pack, it’s a short trip to find Ridge (3-1) and Phillipsburg (3-1) in third and fifth place, only 3.2 UPR points behind the Barrons. Go down to tenth to find four straight BCC teams, and with solid records already, they might be hard-pressed to make a run at the top eight: Colonia (4-1) is at No. 10, followed by Westfield (2-2), Rahway (4-1) and Watchung Hills (4-1).

North Group 3: The highest Big Central team here is Summit (4-0), which is currently in seventh, and has a good shot to stay in the top eight. The others here hope to stay in over the next few weeks, with Cranford (2-2) in 14th and Carteret (2-3) in 16th, but at least on the right side of the bubble.

South Group 3: The only area team here is Somerville (5-0), which has a good-sized lead over second-place Holmdel (4-1) by 3.2 UPR points. The Pioneers also are ranked first both in power point average and OSI. And beating undefeated Summit this weekend would help a great deal.

North Group 2: The only league team in the section is Bernards (5-0), which currently sits in fourth place. They get either an unbeaten or one-loss Summit team next Thursday night (on CJSR) in what will be a huge game for both schools.

South Group 2: With their schedules, Delaware Valley (3-1) and Metuchen (3-2) probably won’t move much from where they are now, in tenth and 11th place, respectively; they’re the highest-ranked of the bunch here. But they may be sweating out another one in Spotswood. The Chargers are 4-1, and might need to win run the table to get into the playoffs. A home game against South Hunterdon a week before the cutoff could be make or break for them.

North Group 1: The top BCC team here is New Providence, which is 4-1 and sitting in sixth. We think they control their own fate for a top eight seed, but a top four finish might be a stretch. Meanwhile, Belvidere is off to a fantastic start at 4-1, and squarely in the playoff picture at No. 12. The way the County Seaters have been playing, they should be in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

South Group 1: It’s Middlesex (4-1) as the highest-ranked Big Central Conference team here, with Manville (3-2) getting helped by a huge win over South Hunterdon and the Mustangs finding themselves in tenth place here.