Projected moves in Week 7 NJSIAA UPR playoff standings: Bernards edges down, Spotswood’s gap grows slightly, Voorhees closer to the bubble

Central Jersey Sports Radio has done its own unofficial calculations on the state’s playoff standings, and a few teams moved around after Saturday’s Week 7 action across the state.

We’ll have more in-depth analysis once we confirm our numbers with Gridiron New Jersey, which performs the official calculations for the NJSIAA. That typically is on Sundays, and then all the SI numbers lock in for Week 8, Cutoff Weekend. At some point, teams could shift again as out-of-state SI numbers are adjusted one last time. That will affect 14 different schools in six different supersections.

North 5

• Union dropped from a 14th-place tie with Passaic to a 16th-place tie with Morristown, with its UPR picking up 0.6 points. For the Farmers, however, they would have to beat Phillipsburg on the road Friday night to reach the minimum of two wins needed for playoff qualification.
• Plainfield dropped from 17 to 18, but it’s UPR stayed the same, and it’s actually closer to one of the final playoff spots in terms of UPR points; they were 1.4 points out of the last spot, now it’s a single point.

South 5

• Hunterdon Central flip-flopped with Franklin and now sits in 18th, with the Warriors in 19th. The Red Devils likely win if they win at Hillsborough Friday. The Warriors may not be able to make up the ground they need to, playing winless North Brunswick.

North 4

• A Bergenfield win – they were No. 21 – saw them jump Rahway, and now the two are tied at 16th, with a 17.8 UPR. The Indians could get in with a win over Montgomery Friday at home, a 6:30 game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

North 2

• Bernards edged down one spot to fourth, flip-flopping with Hanover Park. The Mountaineers host Carteret (3-4) Friday night, and we’re not sure they’ll have a path to the top seed; they might at least need some help.

South 2

• Voorhees drops from 16 to 15 as Overbrook jumped them from behind with a win Saturday.
• Spotswood started Saturday as a true 18 (18th in power points, OSI and UPR), and they remain there, but are further back in UPR points. They were 2.6 back, now they’re 3.6 behind 16th-place Voorhees.