Group 4 Playoff Chase: Undefeated Phillipsburg 2nd overall in North Group 4, but in great shape for top-seed in North 2 section

As we continue taking a look at the playoff races here in New Jersey high school football with just three weeks left before the cutoff, the latest standings find Phillipsburg looking in very good shape in the North Group 4 supersection standings.

Though undefeated (5-0), Phillipsburg is second overall in the UPR standings, but that’s good enough for a top-seed. The Stateliners would get the North 2, Group 4 top seed, as the other No. 1 would be Northern Highlands, which is geographically further North, and would be the top-seed in North 1, Group 4. (That’s the team the Stateliners beat on a field goal by Alexie Moreira to make the state Group 4 final last season.)

As with many of the other sections, all the Big Central teams are in what used to be their “natural sections,” which is North 2 Group 4. Phillipsburg leads the pack, and there’s a tight bunch of conference teams behind them, with Montgomery fourth overall, Ridge sixth and Woodbridge eighth, all seeded one through four in North 2. Then there’s Colonia at 5, but as we’ve talked about, they’re 11th in UPR overall, while Woodbridge (fourth in the section) is eight overall. So for Colonia to get a home game and jump to fourth in the section, they’d have to jump four teams to move up one spot.

Don’t forget to tune in to Central Jersey Sports Radio’s “Playoff Projection Show” as Mike Pavlichko and Marcus Borden go through the projected playoff brackets at 6 pm on Saturday, October 25th, Cutoff Weekend!!!

Westfield also is in the thick of things, but Watchung Hills is “on the bubble,” tied for 15th in UPR with Millburn. Hackensack and Garfield are close behind them. The Warriors close with a road game this week at Rahway, then home games with Elizabeth and Somerville. A win against either the Indians or Minutemen might get them in, since even a loss to a highly-rated Somerville probably wouldn’t hurt them too much.

Now, one might wonder why Woodbridge – undefeated – isn’t a top seed. While they’re 6-0 and Phillipsburg is 5-0, the SI values of their opponents dictate, and according to the formula, the Stateliners have a more challenging schedule.

There aren’t any Big Central teams in the South 5 supersection, the only one in the state without any BCC teams. But this, again, is another well-balanced set of brackets. Each has four of the top eight teams. And the geography works out pretty good as well, with the longest trip from Middletown South to brick Memorial, while the furthest trip in the South might just be across the state from the Philly area to the Jersey Shore.

UPDATE: With Gridiron New Jersey’s update of out-of-state opponent Strength Index values Tuesday night, there was one change, as Middletown North and Shawnee flip-flopped. Pope John Paul II (PA) saw it’s SI go up, and since Shawnee played them, they jumped up to nine and Middletown North fell to 10. But it also underscores the change in seeding procedure this year. Since they are in separate sections geographically, and were the only two teams affected, they remain the fifth seed in their respective sections.