Where do the Big Central Conference division races stand? Some are settled, but we take a closer at the ones that aren’t

We’re down to the last two weeks of the high school football regular season, with this also being the final week of divisional play in the Big Central Conference, and there are still a number of division titles up for grabs.

Some already have been decided, so we decided to take a look at who’s already been crowned, and which ones still are up for grabs.

Divisional Champs…

Eight of the 12 Big Central Divisions already have been decided, with two outright: Belvidere and Hillside. The other six are decided due to tiebreakers between the division leaders and the next team back. Here’s a closer look.

• American Gold – Elizabeth: The Minutemen are perfect in 2026, 7-0 and No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten. And they may be the most high-powered offense in the league, averaging 41.1 points per game, only once scoring fewer than 28 points – in a 19-7 win at Union in their third game of the year. They also have topped 50 twice. It’s a small division – just four teams – so there are only three division games, and their last comes this Saturday when they visit Westfield (1-5). They close at home against Somerville on Cutoff Weekend in a game that should see a lot of points scored.
• Freedom Silver Division – Belvidere: The County Seaters swept through the division this year, going 5-0, just like they did in 2024, making this their second division title in three seasons, and second all-time in the BCC. Belvidere’s high-powered offense averaged 38 points per game against Freedom Silver opponents – never scoring fewer than 34 points in any of the five – while allowing just under ten a game. Their only loss came in their opening game, a 27-8 defeat at Hackettstown, and they have won eight straight games against Big Central foes, dating back to October 10 of last year. Belvidere has a non-conference game at North Warren this Friday night before hosting Delaware Valley on Saturday of Cutoff Weekend.
• Liberty Gold – Rahway: The Indians aren’t finished with divisional play yet, but they are 3-0, with a trip to Colonia this Friday. But the only team that could tie them in the division is Woodbridge, and Rahway has the tiebreaker, courtesy of a 42-21 road win back on September 11. Their lone loss this year came three weeks ago at home to Cranford, 14-7; the Cougars remain undefeated. Rahway has won two straight since, 38-20 over South Brunswick and 35-6 at Plainfield Friday night. The Indians close divisional play at Colonia this week before a crossover home game against Edison the week after.
• Liberty Silver – Montgomery: The Cougars are in the same situation as Rahway, 3-0 in the division, with Somerville behind them at 2-1, but Monty beat The ‘Ville for a second year in a row, 38-35, back on September 25. And, eerily similar to Rahway, they also lost to Cranford, 13-12, two weeks ago. Montgomery has won four of its last five games after an 0-2 start, with wins at Watchung Hills and Hunterdon Central, and at home over Colonia and the Pioneers. Monty visits divisional foe North Hunterdon Friday night, then plays a home crossover Friday of Cutoff Weekend against Hillsborough in the “Carty Bowl.”

• National Gold – Old Bridge: Ditto here for the Knights, who are 3-0, with Piscataway behind them at 2-1, but Old Bridge beat the Chiefs 27-26 three weeks ago, erasing a 26-0 halftime deficit with four unanswered touchdowns – two on the ground, two through the air – by Chase Rizzo. The Knights (6-1) have won six straight since an eight-point loss to Shawnee in the Battle at the Beach down in Ocean City in Week Zero, and have now won eleven straight contests against Big Central competition, the longest active streak in the league. They play their final division game of the season Friday night at Lombardi Field against East Brunswick before heading up to Ridge on Friday night of Cutoff Weekend.
• National Silver – Sayreville: The Bombers also are 3-0 in the division, with St. Thomas Aquinas behind them at 2-1, and Sayreville owns the tiebreaker via a 37-21 win over the Trojans three weeks ago. Their only two losses have come in crossovers, 2-17 to Ridge and 14-12 at Old Bridge two weeks ago, but they bounced back with a 23-16 win at Somerville back on Friday in their third straight road game. They will close divisional play this Friday with their fourth straight trip, this time to North Brunswick, before finishing up at home against Piscataway, Friday night of Cutoff Weekend, in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.
• Patriot Gold – Hillside: The Comets swept the division, going 4-0 with wins over Delaware Valley, North Plainfield, Voorhees and New Brunswick, their most recent coming Saturday against the Canucks, 26-0, at Conant Street Park. In those four, they scored an average of 31.5 points per game and allowed a total of just ten, with two shutouts, also blanking New Brunswick. In fact, in their six wins this season, they’ve allowed just 17 points, but their lone BCC loss was a 20-19 home defeat at the hands of Bernards last week. Hillside closes with two road crossovers this week at next, first at Manville, then at Cranford.
• United Silver – Bernards: In a small, four-team division, the Mountaineers are 2-0, with wins over the two teams immediately behind them at 1-1, South Plainfield and Governor Livingston. With those tiebreakers in hand, Bernards is an outright division champ for the fifth straight year. They shared the Division 2A title in a three-way tie with Delaware Valley and Hillside in 2021, and did the same in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with Hillside and Governor Livingston.

Still to be decided…

That leaves four divisions whose champions are yet to be determined, and will be decided this week. Here’s a closer look at the potential scenarios, with one potential three-way tie.

• American Silver: This will be decided Friday night at Maloney Stadium in Phillipsburg, where the likely well-rested Stateliners – coming off a bye – will host Bridgewater-Raritan in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio this Friday night. But it could get complicated. The Panthers are 2-0 in the four-team division, with just three division games, while Phillipsburg is 1-1. Should Bridgewater-Raritan win, they’d be 3-0 and claim the title outright. If the Stateliners win, both would be 2-1, with Phillipsburg claiming the title on a tiebreaker with one exception. If Ridge wins at Hillsborough Friday – and the Red Devils should be a heavy favorite against the Raiders – there would be a three-way tie. Ridge will have split with Bridgewater and Phillipsburg, Bridgewater would have beaten Ridge but lost to P’burg, and the ‘Liners would have beaten Bridgewater, but lost to Ridge; that defeat came on the final play of their October 2 game at Lee Field.
• Freedom Gold: This one is a lot simpler. With five division games, to play, and four in the books, it comes down to Highland Park (7-0) and Dayton (5-2) this Friday night in Springfield. The Owls have pitched five shutouts this season – blanking New Brunswick, Middlesex, JP Stevens, South River, and Brearley – while allowing 13 points all season, with just six allowed by the defense; the other seven came via an interception return for a touchdown two weeks ago at Bound Brook. Roselle Park is the only offense to score on them. Dayton’s only two losses have come out of the division, at Governor Livingston in Week Zero and at home to New Providence two weeks ago.
• Patriot Silver: The resurgent Panthers are 6-1, 4-0 in the division, and will be going for their seventh win this Friday when A.L. Johnson comes to Waters Stadium in the Bay City Friday night; a win would give them their most victories in a season since 1967. But more importantly, the division title is on the line. Both are 4-0 in the division, with wins over Roselle, Spotswood, Governor Livingston and Metuchen, so this one is for all the marbles.
• United Gold: Undefeated Cranford is 2-0 in this small division, with Summit and Carteret both 1-1. But the Cougars already have beaten Summit – shutting out the Hilltoppers 29-0 on September 18 – so Summit can’t lay claim to the division title if the Cougars (6-0) drop their first game of the year this weekend when they visit The Pit to take on the Ramblers. But if they do, Carteret would get the title, as both would be 2-1 in the United Gold, with the Ramblers owning the tiebreaker.