Though the playoffs (and consolations) have begun for public schools – and most non-publics will begin postseason play this week – Strength Index values continue to be tracked by the state through the end of the playoffs. Central Jersey Sports Radio will continue to publish the Big Central and New Jersey Power Rankings through the very last game of the 2024 season.
Simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula – which helps determine a team’s OSI, which is 60% of the UPR playoff formula – the rankings will change each week as games are played. See methodology at the bottom of this page.
The rankings use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. Our rankings use the official SI calculations as of October 23, 2024.
This week’s rankings do not include Monday’s non-playoff game between Parsippany and North Warren. That will be added to next week’s rankings.
In the Big Central, the top five remain unchanged with Somerville followed by Phillipsburg, Ridge, St. Thomas Aquinas and Piscataway.
The top six remain the same across the state, with Winslow at No. 1, followed by Bergen Catholic and Toms River North, all with SIs over 100. Don Bosco Prep, Millville and Union City round out the top six. In the Big Central, Somerville drops a spot to 8th, with Phillipsburg is up one to tenth.
Ridge and St. Thomas Aquinas dropped out, but are close: the Red Devils were just 0.27 SI points out, in 26th, while the Trojans dropped to 28th at 86.11 on an idle week before they begin the playoffs this Friday night at home against St. Mary-Rutherford.
Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.
Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).
Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.
Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.
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