NJSIAA switches South Jersey non-public finals sites due to travel concerns, moves Rutgers Prep girls and St. Joseph-Metuchen title games

Typically, the NJSIAA has its sites chosen for neutral site state tournament games well in advance. And the championship games for the same sections are placed at the same venues, that way one school doesn’t have its boys’ and girls’ teams playing at the same time at different locations.

But one thing has been an issue among schools in the “south” half of the state, at least according to NJSIAA geography: travel.

And now that the non-public sectional finals are set after Thursday night games, the NJSIAA is making a change

Originally, Non-Public South B finals were supposed to be at Jackson Twp. High School (formerly Jackson Liberty), while the South A finals were to be held at Lenape H.S. in Medford Lakes.

But on Friday, the NJSIAA announced a change. All the South A finals have been moved from Lenape to Jackson, while the South B finals are going from Jackson to Lenape.

Locally, that means the South A boys’ final between St. Joseph-Metuchen and St. Peter’s Prep – yes, both are considered “south” due to the prevalence of teams up in North Jersey and the paucity of teams in South Jersey – will be in Jackson, while Rutgers Prep’s game against Gloucester Catholic for the South B girls’ title will be down at Lenape.

All the times remain the same, with St. Joe’s playing at 5 pm and Rutgers Prep at 7 pm.

There had been some chatter on social media about the methodology that left two teams from Middlesex and Hudson Counties playing a title game in Burlington County. It’s unknown, however, whether anyone from the participating schools contacted the NJSIAA about the matter.

None of the Non-Public North games were changed.

NON-PUBLIC SOUTH FINALS SCHEDULE

At Jackson Twp. (formerly Jackson Liberty)

• South A Boys’ Final: (4) St. Joseph-Metuchen vs. (3) St. Peter’s Prep, 5 pm
• South A Girls’ Final: (2) St. John Vianney vs. (1) Red Bank Catholic, 7 pm

At Lenape

• South B Boys’ Final: (5) Bishop Eustace vs. (2) Holy Cross, 5 pm
• South B Girls’ Final: (1) Rutgers Prep vs. (2) Gloucester Catholic, 7 pm