North 2, Group 1 Final Preview: New Providence Pioneers vs. Cedar Grove Panthers

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 1 Final:
When: Friday, 6:30 pm
Where: Leider Field, New Providence, NJ
Matchup: #4 Cedar Grove (8-3) at #3 New Providence (10-0)
Coverage: Follow Marcus Borden on Twitter.
Weather: 44 degrees, cloudy, wind WNW 3 mph (crosswind from press box side of the field)

HEAD COACHES:

New Providence: Chet Parlavecchio, Jr. (9th season, 61-31)
Cedar Grove: Rob Gogerty (10th season, 81-29)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

New Providence:
First Round: def. #6 Secaucus, 38-0
Semifinals: def. #2 Hasbrouck Heights, 28-21 (OT)

Northern Highlands:
First Round: def. #6 5 Glen Ridge, 35-20
Semifinals: def. #1 Mountain Lakes, 22-15

Who’s next? The winner of this game will play the North 1, Group 1 winner in the Group 1 semifinals. That title game features top-seed Butler (10-0) hosting second-seed Kinnelon (7-3) Friday night at 7:00, kicking off a half-hour after New Providence and Cedar Grove. This year’s Northing seeding scheme worked perfectly, as the two schools are just a few miles apart. New Providence, if it advances, would play at Butler or host Kinnelon, as the Bulldogs are the overall top-seed in the North 1 supersection. New Providence was fourth, and Kinnelon is sixth.

SERIES HISTORY:

A rematch of last year’s final – played at Cedar Grove, and won by the Panthers, 35-14 – these two teams have played often, but hadn’t played in a while until the 2024 title game. Their previous meeting had come in 2011, also in the playoffs, in the North 2, Group 1 semifinals, with New Providence the 2-seed and Cedar Grove the No. 3 seed; the Pioneers lost that one, too, 20-14. That was also New Prov’s last trip to the sectional semifinals, until last season.

Overall, Cedar Grove leads the series 8-7 with two ties, and there’s some odd symmetry in their meetings. The two ties came in the first two years’ of New Providence’s program, in 1965 and 1966. The Pioneers then won three straight over the next three years (1967-1969), then lost two straight (1970-71).

They wouldn’t meet up again until 1983, the first of nine straight playoff meetings. The first was a 3-0 New Providence loss in the North 2, Group 1 title. The Pioneers also lost to the Panthers in the 2000 sectional final, 12-0.

The Pioneers lead the regular season series 3-2-2, while Cedar Grove owns a 6-4 advantage in the playoffs.

NEW PROVIDENCE PREVIEW:

New Providence, Cedar Grove to rematch in North 2, Group 1 title game, but this time on Pioneers’ home turf

FINALS HISTORY:

New Providence:

New Providence is in the finals for the second season in a row, but last year was the Pioneers’ first trip since 2010, when they were the top seed in North 2, Group 1 and beat sixth-seed Lincoln 21-8 at Met Life Stadium. Before that, they had lost in their last eight finals appearances since winning three in a row from 1987 to 1989. They then lost six more in the ’90s, and again in 2000 and 2004.

New Providence also won a title in 1976, and in the first year of the playoffs, 1974, they were declared champions.

Overall, they have been to 20 prior finals, going 6-14 in those title games.

Playoff Berths: 41
Playoff Record: 36-34

North 2, Group 2
1974: declared champions
1975: #2 Madison def. #4 New Providence, 35-6
1976: #1 New Providence def. #2 Butler, 20-17
1979: #1 Madison def. #3 New Providence, 13-6
North 2, Group 1
1982: #1 Glen Ridge def. #1 New Providence, 28-14
1983: #3 Cedar Grove def. #1 New Providence 3-0
1984: #2 Chatham def. #1 New Providence, 20-14
1987: #2 New Providence def. #1 Mountain Lakes, 29-0
1988: #2 New Providence def. #1 Brearley, 30-14
1989: #1 New Providence def. #2 Governor Livingston, 24-0
1990: #2 Butler def. #1 New Providence, 19-13
1993: #1 Roselle Park def. #2 New Providence, 10-7
1994: #2 Butler def. #1 New Providence, 35-21
1996: #3 Butler def. #4 New Providence, 16-8
1998: #6 Madison def. #1 New Providence, 19-13
1999: #2 Belvidere def. #4 New Providence, 6-0
2000: #2 Cedar Grove def. #4 New Providence, 12-0
Central Group 1
2004: #2 Florence def. #4 New Providence, 35-7
North 2, Group 1
2010: #1 New Providence def. #6 Lincoln, 21-8
2024: #1 Cedar Grove def. #2 New Providence, 35-14

Cedar Grove:

The Panthers won their first title five years into the playoff era, but without virtue of a playoff game; they were declared champions in 1978. They won their first title game in 1983, and it took another 17 years for them to get to another, which they also won in 2000, the first of five titles in six trips to a championship that decade. This will be Cedar Grove’s fourth trip to the finals in the five years since COVID, including 2021, when they also won the North Group 1 Regional Championship.

Playoff Berths: 34
Playoff Record: 39-25
Previous Finals Berths: 14
Sectional Titles: 9

North 2, Group 1
1978: declared
1983: #3 Cedar Grove def. #1 New Providence, 3-0
2000: #2 Cedar Grove def. #4 New Providence, 12-0
2001: #6 Verona def. #1 Cedar Grove, 15-14
2004: #3 Cedar Grove def. #3 Hoboken, 6-0
2007: #3 Cedar Grove def. #1 Belvidere, 17-0
2009: #2 Cedar Grove def. #1 Secaucus 30-14
2011: #3 Cedar Grove def. #4 Weequahic, 34-21
North 1, Group 1
2012: #3 Pompton Lakes def. #1 Cedar Grove, 28-13
2015: #4 Verona def. #3 Cedar Grove, 21-14
2019: #4 Boonton def. #2 Cedar Grove, 34-21
North 2, Group 1
2021: #2 Cedar Grove def. #1 Mountain Lakes, 15-7 (Cedar Grove def. Park Ridge in North 1 Regional Championship, 13-12)
2022: #2 Weequahic def. #4 Cedar Grove, 21-10
2024: #1 Cedar Grove def. #2 New Providence, 35-14

2025 NEW PROVIDENCE COVERAGE:

Football teams gather on the field during a game, with players in green and white uniforms and orange and black uniforms in the background. — *New Providence players celebrate before heading to the handshake line after topping Hasbrouck Heights 21-14 in the North 2, Group 1 semifinals on Friday, November 8, 2024. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)*

NEWS & NOTES:

Milestones continue…

Now in his ninth season, head coach Chet Parlavecchio, Jr., picked up his 50th with with the Pioneers in their playoff-opening home win over Boonton last season, but with a 10-win season already, this year he moved past the next milestone, the big 6-0!

With a win in the sectional Friday night, he’ll be 62-31, and ever closer to hitting the 70-win mark next year.

This will be his second appearance in a title game as head coach.

Repping Union County…

While Union has won the most titles in the playoff era, taking home eleven trophies since 1974, it’s New Providence that actually leads the county with 41 playoff berths in 51 postseasons (none in 2020 due to COVID) and 21 finals berths overall, including this year.

And while last year was their first trip to a sectional title game in 14 years, they are in the finals for back-to-back years, the first Union County team to do so since Hillside did it in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Westfield also made the finals three straight years – and won all three, going 36-0 – in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Pioneers’ turn to run…

Last year, Cedar Grove was one of eleven New Jersey football teams to enter Championship Weekend undefeated, at 11-0. This year, it’s New Providence who is undefeated, at 10-0, and one of just seven non-Ivy (playoff eligible) teams that remain unblemished.

And like Cedar Grove, the Pioneers have had some great success since COVID. They are 37-16 since then, and were even 8-1 in that pandemic-shortened season. They had a brief downturn in 2022 and 2023, going 5-5 and 4-6, respectively, but are 19-3 in the last two seasons combined.