UNOFFICIAL Playoff Update: Here are CJSR's projections on Week 7 playoff standings through Friday games for all five public school sections

With Thursday and Friday action in the books for Week Seven of the high school football season, we’re updating our unofficial playoff standings for all ten public school supersections, Groups 1 through 5.

Please note, we have not performed any UPR or top-down head-to-head tiebreakers. Note that teams in red are ineligible for the playoffs due to accumulating more than two disqualifications during the season, per NJSIAA rule.

Only four out-of-state opponents have residuals to give this week, but only Wheat Ridge (CO) has a reported score on MaxPreps, and they lost; Wayne Hills played them earlier in the season. We’re missing scores for Tottenville (NY) against Lincoln (for Manalapan and Wall) and Clarkstown (NY) vs. Eastchester (for Waldwick), as well as IMG (FL) for Winslow, but their game on MaxPreps has their opponent listed as a TBA (“Varsity Opponent”).

Haverford (PA) (for Plainfield) plays Saturday against Malvern Prep.

We’ll take a closer look at how the sections breakdown later Saturday morning.

A table displaying the unofficial playoff standings for Week Seven of high school football, featuring North Group 5 teams with columns for wins, losses, ties, points averaged, and rankings.

Bridgewater-Raritan dropped from first to second, while Piscataway held in third, and Elizabeth climbed from six to three with a win Friday night. Linden likely clinched a playoff berth with its Friday win, and Union moved up, despite a loss to Phillipsburg. They would still need to beat Elizabeth to make the playoffs, even if they finish in the top 16, since two wins is the minimum set by the NJSIAA for qualification. If they lose, finish in the top 16, and Plainfield finishes 17, they would make it in the field at 16.

A table displaying the unofficial playoff standings for high school football, specifically for South Group 5 teams, including team names, wins, losses, ties, point average, and rankings.

Despite a loss to Montgomery Friday night, Sayreville holds in third, but has St. Thomas Aquinas next Friday, which is a multiplier. So, they still may have a shot at a top seed. A win by Old Bridge moved the Knights up one spot, while Hillsborough‘s loss to Piscataway only dropped them one place. Franklin is a longshot with winless North Brunswick next week, holding at 18 with a win over Monroe, while Hunterdon Central fell two to 19th and could be a longshot, but next Friday at Hillsborough could be a play-in game for the Red Devils.

Table displaying the unofficial playoff standings for high school football Week Seven, listing teams, wins, losses, ties, and various metrics for North Group 4.

Playing winless Union hurt Phillipsburg, which won, but drops from second to third. But they could jump back up next week with a better Bridgewater-Raritan team as their Cutoff Weekend opponent. Montgomery climbed three places after powering past Sayreville. Woodbridge dropped one spot with a three-point home loss to Summit. Ridge won, but against winless North Brunswick, and they fell from seven to nine, while Colonia holds in 11th after a win, and Rahway dropped from 12 to 16 but has a game Saturday at winless New Brunswick. They get a stronger opponent next Friday night when Montgomery visits. Westfield held at 14 despite a loss to Bridgewater-Raritan. JFK climbed from 20 to 19, and is now 6-2, but still on the outside looking in, 2.8 UPR points away. We’ll have to dig deeper to see if their chances are slim or none.

Weekly high school football playoff standings for South Group 4, including win-loss records, points per average, and ranking details.

There are no Big Central teams here. The top two remain the same, Winslow and Brick Memorial.

A table displaying high school football standings for North Group 3, including team names, wins, losses, ties, and various performance statistics.

Summit holds in third after a 10-7 win at Woodbridge Friday, while Cranford drops two places after a loss to Colonia. Note that with Weequahic ineligible, the 17th-place team will get in here. Carteret moves up to 19 despite a loss to Linden, while South Plainfield‘s victory over winless South River dropped them from 19 to 22, and they’re out of the running.

Table displaying unofficial playoff standings for Week Seven of high school football, detailing teams, wins, losses, ties, and ranking metrics.

Somerville‘s win over Plainfield helped them stay in fourth, but they may still have a shot at a top seed if they beat Watchung Hills away next week and get some help.

A scoreboard displaying the unofficial playoff standings for North Group 2 high school football teams, including win-loss records, points per game averages, and UPR rankings.

Bernards dropped from two to four after a home win over Governor Livingston. They might be out for a top seed, or else, it won’t be easy, even if they beat Carteret next week. Dayton fell to 16 after a victory over winless Dunellen; Brearley next week.

Table displaying unofficial playoff standings for South Group 2 high school football teams, showing wins, losses, ties, and various performance metrics.

Johnson stays in 8th after a shutout win at North Plainfield. Voorhees dropped from 12 to 15 after its 7-0 win over Hillside, and they may not be locked in yet, with 1-7 North Hunterdon next week. Spotswood fell out of a 16th-place tie to 18 behind Camden Eastside, getting little help from teams around them after beating winless South Hunterdon. But the real prize is Roselle Park next Friday, since the Panthers are 5-2. Stay tuned.

Image of a table displaying playoff standings for North Group 1 high school football, including team names, wins, losses, ties, power points average, opponent strength index average, and rankings.

New Providence hung on to No. 2 after a win over Bound Brook. Brearley is in 18th, and we’ll have to look closer, but we think even their Thursday loss to Metuchen may not have killed their chances yet, as they held their position and are just 0.6 UPR points away, getting 1.4 closer thanks to some help from other teams this week.

Table displaying unofficial playoff standings for South Group 1 high school football teams, including wins, losses, ties, and rankings.

Manville drops to 12 after beating Highland Park, which climbed to No. 15, just 0.6 points out of a playoff spot. But we’re not sure they can hold it with a game at winless South River next Saturday. We think Bound Brook could get in with a win over Manville Friday, and maybe even with a loss depending on how everything else plays out.