Quickie playoff update: Key takeaways and how Saturday games affected Big Central teams

Gridiron New Jersey has come out with the official Week 6 playoff standings, and after Saturday’s games, there was still more shuffling going on.

And a little more could take place after Monday, with two West Jersey Football League games scheduled, at least one of which – Camden at Timber Creek – reportedly is related to cases of Coxsackie virus that started at Delsea and delayed their game with Millville from last weekend to this past Monday. Delsea had played Timber Creek the week before.

In all, six supersections will be affected one way or another by those games, including all five South Jersey groups and North Group 4, since Willingboro played Rahway, and the Chimeras’ new SI value will be factored into Rahway’s OSI.

All that aside, as of Sunday afternoon’s update, here’s a look at some of the notable changes in each supersection’s overall standings. We’ll have more detailed updates on scenarios for all the Big Central Conference teams once Monday’s two games are done.

North Group 1:

• New Providence stayed at No. 2, but it’s UPR went from 2 to 2.6 as teams behind them jockeyed for OSI position. They lead Cedar Grove (3rd place) by one UPR point.

South Group 1:

• Manville took sole possession of the 9th spot even though their UPR stayed the same, falling out of a tie with Audubon.
• Bound Brook saw it’s UPR drop from 14.4 to 14.6 but moved up from 15th to 14th.
• Highland Park fell back from 17 to 18 as they got jumped by KIPP Cooper Norcross with a win Saturday. They still might have a shot at the playoffs, but they would have to win at Manville (7-0) this Friday to have any hope.

North Group 2:

• Bernards picked up some residuals and moved into a second-place tie with Shabazz. With no common opponents with Shabazz and no head-to-head, that would go to Bulldogs on the next tiebreaker, OSI. Shabazz is at 64.08, Bernards at 58.70.
• Dayton – which played its way in with a huge win at previously-unbeaten Spotswood Friday night – dropped from 12 to 14 based mainly on residuals from other games.

South Group 2:

• Saturday’s action knocked Johnson down three spots in a tight pack of teams, as the Crusaders fell from fifth to eighth.
• Spotswood fell to 15 after it’s Friday night loss to Dayton, and now finds itself in a three-way tie with Pt. Pleasant Boro (2-4) and Overbrook (5-2) for 15th place. That tie likely won’t last, but the Chargers likely need to win out to make the playoffs.
• Governor Livingston dropped one spot to 19th after Saturday’s action with two completely opposite teams the next two weeks: unbeaten Bernards this Friday, winless New Brunswick next week. They would have to win out to get in, most likely.

North Group 3:

• Summit fell out of the top two, to third, after Saturday’s loss to Bernards, but they’re still in that race, just 0.8 UPR points behind second-place West Morris.

South Group 3:

• Somerville stayed in fourth, but fell a bit further back in UPR, by 0.4 points, and the Pioneers are 1.4 UPR points behind second-place Cedar Creek, with Holmdel in between in third, 0.8 ahead of Somerville.

North Group 4:

• While it surely was disappointing for Phillipsburg to see their unbeaten season come to an end, their loss at St. Joseph-Metuchen Saturday afternoon didn’t affect their standing. They remain in second, and their UPR remained the same, but Mount Olive is a bit close now, just one UPR point behind at a 2.6, with a 1.6 for the Stateliners.
• Rahway edged up from 13 to 12 on residuals.
• Watchung Hills fell from 16 to 19, getting jumped by Hackensack, Millburn and Garfield, all on residuals. But with home games the last two weeks against Elizabeth and Somerville, they still have a shot.

North Group 5:

• Union edges in from 17 to 16 on residuals, jumping Montclair, but at 1-6 still has to get another win to become playoff eligible. They close with road games at Phillipsburg and Elizabeth.
• Plainfield edged closer, going from 19 to 17, jumping Columbia and Montclair on residuals. The Cardinals close with two road games, at Somerville (this Friday on CJSR) and Linden. They might need a sweep to get in.

South Group 5:

• Hillsborough dropped from ninth to a tie for 11th with Eastern on residuals, but they probably won’t drop in their section as both should be in the South while the Raiders would be in the North