Shaun Jackson of Sayreville scores one of his school record six rushing touchdowns in a 40-29 win at North Brunswick on September 27, 2024. (Source: @shaunjacksonnn on Twitter)
The vast majority of high school football games that matter have been played this Cutoff Weekend, and with just 25 remaining today – and even fewer that will affect seeding – where does it leave Big Central teams?
We’re going to go section by section, but the most notable team sweating it out today will be Sayreville. Colonia was on the bubble, but looks in even after a loss Friday night to Old Bridge, and Spotswood got enough help Friday night that it looks like the Chargers are in, too.
But the Bombers will be doing some scoreboard watching, and maybe crossing some fingers while they’re at it.
Below is our section-by-section look. Note that we have not looked at tiebreakers or head-to-head yet, or even potential snaked brackets, just standings top to bottom.
North Group 5: It looks like the top six seeds are set, with Union City and Ridgewood getting top seeds. Elizabeth looks licked in at four, and Piscataway at six. The rest depends on a few games being played Saturday to see who plays who. Bridgewater-Raritan may be able to fall a bit from No. 7, while Plainfield could rise a bit from the 12 spot, and maybe even Linden from 14, depending what other teams do. But we count both of them as in the playoffs regardless, so it looks like we’ll have five Big Central teams in here.
South Group 5: Toms River North should be the No. 1 seed, followed by Washington Township. The top five seeds appear locked down, with Hillsborough at five. Old Bridge should be the six seed if Cherokee (4-4) loses at Winslow (8-8) today, but if the Chiefs pull the upset, they’ll be the six, and Old Bridge down to seven. Edison appears locked in at 13, and Hunterdon Central at 15, but Sayreville is going to be a big Cherokee fan today. If they pull the upset, the Bombers get in, and Bridgeton is out. Why? Bridgeton is 16th overall with a 17 UPR. Sayreville is 17th with a 17.2 UPR. But Bridgeton is 11th in power point average. Cherokee would get six quality points and 18 residuals from Winslow, moving from 14th to 9th in power point average. That drops Bridgeton to 12, adding 0.4 to their UPR, leaving them behind Sayreville, with a 17.4 UPR, while the Bombers have a 17.2 UPR. Wacky, huh? Four Big Central teams are in, maybe a fifth.
North Group 5: The 10, 11 and 12 seeds are all that remains to be decided here. It looks like the top nine are set, with Morris Knolls and Phillipsburg getting the top seeds, then Woodbridge getting the two seed in P’burg’s section, while Ridge gets the two seed in with Morris Knolls. We have Rahway locked in at 13, Watchung Hills at 14 and Colonia getting in at 16. The 17-seed will be determined by today’s Teaneck game at Bergenfield, which really doesn’t matter, except that should they lose, North Hunterdon remains at 17, and Colonia “technically” gets in on a head-to-head win over North Hunterdon in early September. Seven Big Central teams make it here.
South Group 4: There are no Big Central teams in this section, and a number of games to be played today, and the top seeds will be Winslow and Millville, it just remains to be seen who’s the overall No. 1, and who they’ll play. A Winslow win over Cherokee (Winslow will be favored at 8-0) would lock up the overall No. 1, while a loss would give it to Millville on a 1-2 flip-flop.
North Group 3: The top two teams appear to be Pascack Valley and Old Tappan, and they look to be locked in as No. 1s. The top eleven appear to be locked in here, but beyond that, 12th place Snyder and 16th place Dwight Morrow could affect the last five seeds. Either way, Cranford appears locked in at seven, and Summit at ten, pitting them in a first-round game at Cranford Friday night. Two Big Central teams are in here.
South Group 3: Somerville is the only Big Central team here, than they’re the overall No. 1 seed. In fact, they were regardless of whether they beat Watchung Hills Friday night at home, which they did. Hopewell Valley also capped a 9-0 regular season with a Friday night win, and they’re the No. 2 seed overall, and will be the top seed in the other section, South 3, while the Pioneers will be in Central 3. Who they will play remains up in the air, with the 12th, 14th and 16th place teams – Absegami, Nottingham and Barnegat – all in action Saturday.
North Group 2: We have the top 11 locked in here, the only thing to be determined is the bottom five. Westwood should be the top overall seed, followed by Glen Rock, with both at 7-1. They’ll get the top two seeds in the sectionals, while Hanover Park is third, followed by Bernards at No. 4. That puts the Mountaineers in a bracket with Westwood, the team they lost to on the road last year in the Group 2 state semifinals after an undefeated regular season and North 2, Group 2 title, the first in program history in the playoff era. So we could see that rematch in the finals if things go chalk. Bernards is the only Big Central team in this section. It looks like if 13th place Rutherford beats Saddle Brook today, they would jump to 12 and Bernards would host Madison (5-3), while a Rutherford loss would drop them to 15 and Bernards would host Newton (5-3).
South Group 2: Looks like the top 13 is settled here, barring any tiebreakers or head-to-head issues, which we’ll get to later. We have Camden locked in as the overall No. 1 seed, and Rumson-Fair Haven at No. 2 will get the other top seed. We have Johnson locked in at No. 8, Delaware Valley looking locked in at 10, with Hillside behind them solidly at 11. So, we think the Comets open at Haddonfield, Del Val opens at Delran (try that one five times fast!) and ALJ hosting Willingboro in the opening round. Spotswood is at 15, but we think if Bordentown wins at Pemberton today – both are 4-3 – Spotswood moves up to No. 15. Regardless, we call them in, while Metuchen needs a Haddon Heights (1-6) loss or a tie against Pemberton (4-3) to stay in at 16. With a Haddon win; we think they’re out. Four Big Central teams on in, one on the bubble.
North Group 1: The top seeds are set, as they should go to overall No. 1 Cedar Grove (9-0) and overall No. 2 Butler (8-0). New Providence appears locked in at four overall, so they would be a two-seed in Cedar Grove’s section and have home field through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. After that, Belvidere (7-1) is in, just a matter of where they go. They host Middlesex (6-2) today, and you can follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for live updates. A loss would only drop them as low as 14, but they’ll still be in, while a win could get them as high as No. 9. With New Providence finishing fourth, they would play the 13 seed, so it’s too early to tell yet. It’ll depend on the Belvidere-Middlesex game and potentially Saddle Brook (3-4) as well. They’re in 15th, but could jump up to 13 with a win-and-get-in game at home against Rutherford (5-2) Saturday. Two Big Central teams qualify here.
South Group 1: Glassboro and Shore – both 8-0 – appear locked in to get the top two overall seeds and the No. 1 seeds in their respective sections, likely Glassboro in South and Shore in Central, but only if Middlesex wins today. If they lose at Belvidere today (follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for live updates) that would drop them from fourth to 8th in power point rank, pushing Woodstown – currently behind them in power point average – from 6th to 5th. That sheds 0.4 UPR off, and Woodstown was tied with Paulsboro at 3.6 UPR, with Shore at 3.4 UPR. Woodstown becomes a 3.2 UPR and would jump into second over Shore. Meanwhile, we think Manville is locked in at No. 13. Penns Grove (1-7) at 17 has a game vs. Salem (0-8) today, but even a win only keeps them at 17. It’s just a question of who Manville plays: whoever the fourth seed is. And it appears that even though the top seeds are in flux, the Mustangs will be on the road at Paulsboro in the opening round of the playoffs. Two Big Central teams are in here.
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