Category: Top Ten

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg still No. 1 in Big Central Power Rankings, but Elizabeth, Rahway make make strides, narrow the gap; plus a new No. 1 in New Jersey as Winslow falls

Just as they have been all year long, Phillipsburg remains No. 1 in the Big Central Conference Power Rankings for Week Four, while Elizabeth and Rahway continue to make strides and have narrowed the Stateliners’ lead.

Despite a win over South Brunswick, Piscataway’s SI value fell, and big wins by Elizabeth and Rahway moved the Minutemen and Indians over the Chiefs to take the No. 2 and 3 spots, with Piscataway dropping to four. Somerville joined the top five, knocking out St. Thomas Aquinas, which dropped to six with the win, while Bridgewater-Raritan’s narrow win over Ridge pushed the Panthers down just a bit in SI, but they fell from three to six with the gains made by Elizabeth and Rahway.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.

Rounding out the top ten, it’s New Providence up two spots to No. 8, Sayreville up two to nine, and Old Bridge falling one spot to No. 10. St. Joseph-Metuchen fell out of the top ten with its loss at Elizabeth Friday night.

Around the state, there’s a new No. 1, after Winslow lost to St. Augustine, a defeat that also dropped the only team with an SI over 100 back below that mark, leaving Don Bosco Prep in the top spot. Glassboro pulled up to second, and St. Augustine made a massive jump with the win from 15 to No. 3. Winslow fell three spots to four, while Bergen Catholic dropped two spots to fifth, bouncing Donovan Catholic out of the top five.

Once again this week, there were no Big Central teams in the Top 25, but Phillipsburg – which was in it two weeks ago before falling out after a loss to Freedom (PA) of Bethlehem – climbed a bit closer, from 33 to 29 after a blowout home win over Hillsborough. Other Big Central teams made gains, too.

  • Elizabeth shot up from 67 to 33.
  • Rahway rose from 59 to 37.
  • Piscataway checks in at 39, up four spots.
  • Somerville is at 41, climbing 15 places.
  • Bridgewater-Raritan fell one spot to 46.

Overall, that’s six Big Central teams in the top 50 in the state.

Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.

Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).

Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.

Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.

Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

Three top-ten matchups force big shuffle in Bellamy & Son Paving Week 4 Top Ten, but Phillipsburg still leads the pack

It was inevitable that at least three ranked Big Central Conference football teams would go down this weekend, with three all-Top Ten matchups on tap. In the end, no one else lost, but those three games helped reshape the Bellamy & Son Paving Week Four rankings, while Phillipsburg remains at the top of the list.

Phillipsburg (3-1) got back on the winning track against its first New Jersey opponent of the year, beating Hillsborough Friday night at Maloney Stadium, 35-7. The Stateliners are back in action at No. 5 St. Joseph of Metuchen this Saturday for a 1 pm matinee against the Falcons.

Piscataway (4-0) edged up one place to No. 2 after a 41-17 win over South Brunswick on Friday, coupled with previous No. 2 St. Joe’s taking a loss. The Chiefs will look to go 5-0 for the first time since 2018, when they finished undefeated at 13-0 – and won the North Group 5 Regional Championship – when they visit No. 4 Old Bridge Friday night at 6 pm. The Knights built an early lead but hung on to beat then-No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas Friday night, 26-24.

Moving from seven to three is Elizabeth, which is 4-0 for the first time since 2011, a year they also started 5-0, following a 62-35 shootout win at home over then-No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen heard Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The Minutemen visit No. 10 Ridge Friday night at 6:30. St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-1) falls to fifth with that loss, and hosts No. 1 Phillipsburg this Saturday at 1:00.

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To make room for Elizabeth, Bridgewater-Raritan (3-1) and Somerville (3-1) both edge down one spot, to fifth and sixth, respectively. The Panthers were 7-3 winners over then-No. 9 Ridge Friday night, and visit Westfield for a 1:00 kick Saturday afternoon, while the Pioneers were 55-24 winners against Watchung Hills Friday, and visit Montgomery at 6 pm this Friday.

Rahway (4-0) continues to rise, and finds itself at No. 8 this week, up two spots after a 42-14 win at Linden Friday. The Indians host Cranford at 6:00 this Friday night.

St. Thomas Aquinas (3-1) edges down one spot to No. 9 after taking its first loss of the season, falling to No. 4 Old Bridge, 26-24, Friday night when a second-half rally fell just short. The Trojans are back at it this Friday night as they host Sayreville at 6 pm.

And down one spot to ten is Ridge (2-1), after their 7-3 loss at then-No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan. The Red Devils entertain third-ranked Elizabeth Friday night, a 6:30 kickoff.

Below is the complete 2026 Week Four Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Another week at the top for Phillipsburg in Big Central Power Rankings, but there’s a new No. 2

Phillipsburg remains No. 1 in the Big Central Conference Power Rankings for Week Three, but there’s a New No. 2 in town.

Piscataway rose from sixth to No. 2 this week after a blowout of East Brunswick, while Bridgewater fell to No. 3 after a blowout win over Hillsborough. St. Joseph-Metuchen fell one spot to fourth, while St. Thomas Aquinas rose from No. 11 to No. 5

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.

Rounding out the top ten, Somerville climbed four spots to No. 6, Rahway edged up one spot to seventh, dropping Elizabeth one to eight. Old Bridge fell from five to nine, while New Providence dropped six spots into the tenth position.

Statewide, Phillipsburg, which made its move into the Top 25 last week, fell back out to 33. Four Big Central teams are in the Top 50. Besides Phillipsburg, there’s Piscataway (43), Bridgewater-Raritan (45) and St. Joseph-Metuchen (50).

Atop the rankings, the lead is ever slimmer for No. 1 Winslow, but they are also the first team to crack 100 this season, and we’ve only played three weeks. Don Bosco narrowed the gap, but remains in second at 99.64, followed by Bergen Catholic, which rose eleven spots to third and knocked Glassboro and Donovan Catholic down to four and five, respectively.

Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.

Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).

Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.

Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.

Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

All but Phillipsburg win, and all ten teams remain the same in Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Top 10

Sure, there was a full slate of games in the Big Central in Week Two, but Top Ten wise, it was very quiet.

And while No. 1 Phillipsburg (2-1) was the only team to lose, falling 32-31 to Freedom (PA) in their final Pennsylvania game before getting into the BCC slate, that loss didn’t cost them, as they retained their top spot in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Week Three Top Ten.

This week, the Stateliners open divisional play in the BCC American Silver Division when they come back home to Maloney Stadium to take on Hillsborough.

In fact, nobody moved this week – all ten teams remained in their same positions as last week.

That includes St. Joseph-Metuchen (2-0), which beat Westfield on the road Friday night, 28-6. They’ll be one of six teams involved in three Top Ten matchups this weekend, as they travel to No. 7 Elizabeth (3-0) Friday night to face the Minutemen in a battle of unbeatens you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, with kickoff set for 6 pm. Elizabeth was a 19-7 winner at Union Friday night.

Holding in third is Piscataway (3-0). The Chiefs were 42-7 winners at East Brunswick on Thursday night, and this week are back at Kenny Armwood Stadium to face South Brunswick at 6 pm.

Old Bridge (3-0) remains in fourth after a 21-0 win at South Brunswick Thursday night, in which starting QB Aiden Rios dinged up his non-throwing shoulder. The Knights will hope he can be back Friday for a home date with No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas. The Trojans (3-0) were 40-0 winners Friday night at Franklin.

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Holding at No. 5 is Bridgewater-Raritan (2-1), which beat Hillsborough for the first time since 2017 Thursday night, 40-14. The Panthers, whose lone loss came in a barnburner at St. Joseph-Metuchen last Saturday afternoon, are back in action for a Top Ten matchup against No. 9 Ridge (2-0) at Basilone Field Friday night. They won out at Hunterdon Central Thursday night, 23-17.

Somerville (2-1) maintains the sixth spot, thanks to a 54-6 drubbing of North Hunterdon at Brooks Field Thursday night. The Pioneers are back in the Ville again this week, hosting Watchung Hills at 6:30 pm.

And No. 10 Rahway (3-0) held serve with a 42-21 win at Woodbridge, the return of head coach Brian Russo to his alma mater, where he also coached. The Indians visit neighbor Linden Friday night at 7.

Below is the complete 2026 Week Three Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg continues to lead Big Central Power Rankings in Week Two, and now joins the statewide Top 25

Once again, Phillipsburg and Bridgewater-Raritan remain the top two teams in the Week 2 Big Central power rankings – just as they did last week. And just like last week, there was much movement behind them.

St. Joseph-Metuchen – with a win over the Panthers Saturday afternoon, 43-36 – pulled up from No. 5 to No. 3. And while Bridgewater’s Strength Index rating fell as a result, it was not low enough overall to drop them in the rankings.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.

New Providence held at No. 4, while Old Bridge got its first win of the season and pulled up from 12th to fifth. Piscataway climbed four spots to No. 6 on the strength of a 28-14 win over a Somerville team that was rated higher than them. Elizabeth climbed four spots to seventh, Rahway edged up a spot to eight after knocking off Summit at home, Ridge went from 15 to 9 after a win over Sayreville, and Somerville’s loss to the Chiefs dropped them to ten.

Statewide, Phillipsburg made its move into the Top 25, the first team from the Big Central to appear there after no one did in the preseason or Week One. The Stateliners check in at No. 24 this week, a shade ahead of No. 25 Passaic Tech, going up six spots from No. 30. Bridgewater-Raritan had been knocking on the door at 32, but fell to 44 with the loss to the Falcons.

No. 1 Winslow saw its lead shrink a bit over Don Bosco Prep, from 5.58 points to 4.46, but continues to hold the top spot over the Ironmen. Glassboro remains in third, but Donovan Catholic surged up from nine to four with a 45-13 rout of St. John Vianney, while Shabazz moved into the five spot from six with a 13-0 whitewash of Passaic Tech.

Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.

Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).

Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.

Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.

Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

Top teams win, middle teams drop games, so Bellamy & Son Paving Week 2 Top Ten sees more changes; Phillipsburg still No. 1

Four of the teams in the Bellamy & Son Paving Week One Top Ten lost last weekend, which leaves half of them still in the rankings, and the other half out, while the top four all stayed put in Week Two.

That starts with Phillipsburg (2-0) still atop the list, after a 24-10 win at Emmaus (PA) Friday. The Stateliners finish out their three-game Pennsylvania stretch to start the season this Friday when they visit Freedom (PA).

St. Joseph-Metuchen (1-0) won its season-opener in thrilling fashion Saturday afternoon, outlasting then-No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan, 43-36. The Falcons are back at it Friday afternoon at 4 when they travel to Westfield.

Holding in third is Piscataway (2-0). The Chiefs were 28-14 winners over then No. 5 Somerville Friday night in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week, the first time the Pioneer offense has been held without a point since 2023. Thus week, it’s a Thursday trip to East Brunswick for Piscataway.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

Rounding out the unchanged top four is Old Bridge (1-1), which got in the win column after a season-opening non-conference loss to Shawnee in the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City with a 49-21 win over Montgomery Friday. Thursday, the Knights visit South Brunswick, in our Friday night Bellamy & Son Paving Game of the Week on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Up a notch from six to five this week is Bridgewater-Raritan (1-1). Though the Panthers lost, they hung in nearly to the wire Saturday in a 43-36 loss at No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen. This week, it’s the Battle of Route 206 as Bridgewater welcomes in Hillsborough.

Flipping with Bridgewater and dropping one spot to sixth is Somerville (1-1), which took a 28-14 loss at No. 3 Piscataway Friday night in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Game of the Week. The Pioneers host North Hunterdon on Thursday.

A sign featuring the text 'BELLAMY & SON PAVING' in bold red and yellow letters, highlighting residential and commercial paving services.

The next two teams both move up two spots this week, after losses by then-No. 7 Sayreville and then No. 8 Summit, both of whom dropped out. It starts with Elizabeth (2-0) at No. 7, following a 43-20 home win over Plainfield Friday. The Minutemen visit Union this Friday. And St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0) moves up to No. 8 after a 24-20 win over Scotch Plains-Fanwood, with a Friday date at Franklin awaiting the Trojans.

The final two teams join the rankings for the first time this season. Ridge (1-0) is at No. 9 after opening its season with a 21-7 win over then-No. 7 Sayreville. The Red Devils visit Flemington to play Hunterdon Central this Thursday.

And Rahway (2-0) comes in at No. 10, after a 21-10 home win over previously-No. 8 Summit. The Indians visit Woodbridge Friday as head coach Brian Russo goes up against his alma mater, where he also previously coached.

Below is the complete 2026 Week Two Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Top two hold, but others make some jumps in Big Central Power Rankings after opening weekend

Phillipsburg and Bridgewater-Raritan remain Nos. 1 and 2 in the Week 1 Big Central power rankings, but there was some movement behind them.

With a season-opening home win over South Plainfield, Somerville vaulted from five to three, jumping New Providence and St. Joseph-Metuchen, though neither team opened their season last week and will kickoff 2026 this weekend. And the Falcons will have a big game at home against Bridgewater-Raritan, a top five matchup.

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.

St. Thomas Aquinas took a big jump up from 17 to six, helped by their season-opening win over Frank J. Macchiarola (NY) in Brooklyn as well as losses by teams ahead of them like Old Bridge, Bernards and Woodbridge. Manville also benefitted from those defeats, and a blowout of Keansburg, jumping from 14 to seven. Sayreville dropped two spots to eight, while Rahway was up three places to nine and Piscataway edged up one spot to round out the Top Ten.

Statewide, there are still no Big Central teams in the Top 25, but Phillipsburg checks in at 30 (up from 35), while Bridgewater-Raritan is two spots behind, up 12 spots from 46 after a season-opening win at Woodbridge.

No. 1 Winslow extended its lead a bit over No. 2 Don Bosco Prep, but a loss by Bergen Catholic dropped them from three to eight, while Glassboro took the Crusaders’ place at No. 3. Meanwhile, Brick Memorial shot up from 12 to four, and Paramus Catholic soared into the five spot from 14, as Washington Twp. dropped from five to 11 despite a win over Pope John in the Battle at the Beach.

Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.

Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).

Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.

Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.

Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

No change atop the Week 1 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, but two new teams join the list

There was little change from the preseason in the latest Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with Phillipsburg remaining atop the rankings, while two other teams flip-flopped and two others near the bottom dropped out with losses in their opening games.

Phillipsburg remained at No. 1 after a season-opening 28-21 win over Parkland (PA) at Maloney Stadium. The Stateliners open the season with three straight Pennsylvania opponents, and this week, they cross the “state line” to go play Emmaus (PA) Friday night at 7.

St. Joseph-Metuchen was idle, and remains in the No. 2 spot. The Falcons will welcome in No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan (1-0) Saturday for a 1 pm matinee to kick off their 2026 campaign.

Piscataway won its opener, hanging on with a goal line stand to win 26-20 at East Orange, moving them up one spot to No. 3 in the rankings. They’ll play host to No. 5 Somerville – their first meeting since 1987 – Friday night at 6 in a game you can hear live on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Old Bridge dropped a tough 43-35 decision to Shawnee out of the West Jersey Football League Friday down at the Battle at the Beach in Ocean City. The drops them one spot to fourth this week. Friday night at 6, they visit Montgomery.

Rounding out the top five is Somerville. The Pioneers beat South Plainfield in their opener at Brooks Field, 40-21, on Friday night, and this week, travel to No. 3 Piscataway. You can hear that game live on Central Jersey Sports Radio at 6 pm.

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Bridgewater-Raritan holds in the No. 6 position after opening the season with a dominating 28-7 win at then-No. 8 Woodbridge Friday night, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio. This week, it’s a tough test at No. 2 St. Joseph-Metuchen, Saturday at 1 pm at Brenner Family Field.

Sayreville also won its opener, beating Plainfield 23-19 Friday night. That lets them keep the seventh position. The Bombers will host Ridge this Friday at 6:30 pm.

Summit moves up a spot to No. 8 after beating Colonia at home Friday afternoon, 23-21, with Jackson Marx intercepting a two-point conversion just outside the goal line late in the fourth-quarter to help preserve a lead that ended up being the final margin. This week, they visit Rahway for a 6:00 start Friday night.

Jumping in at nine is Elizabeth, one of two new teams in this week’s rankings. The Minutemen were 53-6 winners at Carteret on Friday night, and will visit Plainfield this Friday for a 6 pm kickoff.

The other new team is St. Thomas Aquinas, which won its opener out in Sheepshead Bay over Frank J. Macchiarola (NY), 36-12. The Trojans are back in action Friday, when Westfield visits North Edison for a 6 pm kickoff.

Below is the complete 2026 Week One Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten:

Dropping out this week are previous No. 8 Woodbridge and previous No. 10 Bernards. The Barrons lost to Bridgewater-Raritan, 28-7, Friday night, in a game heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio, while the Mountaineers fell 26-20 at Rutherford Friday night.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg, Bridgewater-Raritan begin season at Nos. 1 and 2 in Big Central Preseason Power Rankings

Just like they were at the end of 2025, Phillipsburg and Bridgewater-Raritan – both state sectional champions last fall – are the top two teams in the preseason 2026 Big Central Conference Power Rankings.

In the world of the NJSIAA’s Strength Index, values carry over from the pervious year, though they are re-centered toward a midpoint of 60 by one-third. That means a team rated a 90 (30 points away from 60) would get an 80 ranking (one-third of 30 is ten), while a team rated a 51 (nine points away from 60) would get a 54 ranking (one-third of nine is three).

The power rankings are simply based on the state’s Strength Index formula, which helps determine a team’s OSI, and is 60% of the UPR playoff formula. SI values and will change each week as games are played. See the methodology at the bottom of this page.

New Providence – a sectional finalist last season – along with St. Joseph-Metuchen and Somerville round out the Top Five in the BCC. Sayreville, Old Bridge, Bernards, Montgomery and Woodbridge finish out the rest of the Top Ten.

Statewide, no Big Central team finished in the Top 25, with state Group 4 champion Winslow leading the pack, followed by Non-Public Group A runner-up Don Bosco Prep, Group A quarterfinalist Bergen Catholic, state Group 1 champion Glassboro, and state Group 5 champion Washington Twp.

Non-Public Group A champ St. Joseph-Montvale – which finished as the No. 1 team in the state in NJ.com’s final rankings – comes in sixth, while state Group 2 champion Camden begins the year seventh.

There were three Big Central teams that cracked the Top 50 however. Phillipsburg checks in at No. 35, while Bridgewater-Raritan is at 46, and New Providence is at No. 48.

Strength Index Methodology: Team A and Team B are compared to find the difference between their rankings, which provides the Expected Result. The margin of the final score is figured in positive or negative terms compared to the Expected Result. The difference is divided by five, and the teams increase or decrease by the resulting number.

Example #1: Team A has an SI value of 80, while Team B has an SI value of 60. The Expected Result is +20 for Team A. When the game is played, Team A wins by 30. That is 10 points higher than the expected result. Than number is divided by 5, meaning Team A increases by 2 (Team A now has an SI of 82) while Team B decreases by 2 (Team B now has an SI of 58).

Example #2: In the same scenario, Team A defeats Team B by 20. That is the same as the Expected Result, no there is no change. Team A remains with an SI value of 80, while Team B retains its 60 SI value.

Example #2: Team A defeats Team B by 10. That is 10 points fewer than the expected result. Divide by 5 to get 2, but in this case, Team A drops by 2 points to 78 (because Team A “underperformed”) while Team B increases by 2 points to 62.

Out-of-State Opponent SI: Strength Index ratings for non-New Jersey teams are calculated by finding their MaxPreps national ranking, then averaging the SI ratings of the next New Jersey team above and below them in the MaxPreps rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg starts 2026 where it ended 2025: Atop the Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten

Most seasons, in most sports – at least as far as we’re concerned – are a crap shoot when it comes to preseason rankings.

It is, of course, impossible to get to see all 59 teams we cover in the Big Central Conference. There are scrimmages, but no true preseason games like in the pros. Coaches are going to talk up their teams, whether they were 1-8, 5-5, or 14-0 and state champs. Sometimes that 1-8 team will have a big turnaround, sometimes a sectional champ will lose a lot of players.

We do our best to weigh who’s coming back, and who graduated, but more often than not, we’ll give the top teams from the year before the benefit of the doubt: a place in the Top Ten is theirs to lose.

And of course, it’s never where you start, but where you finish. And rankings based on opinion are just that: opinion – no matter how objective we try to be.

Nevertheless, there’s a little bit of both in the 2026 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football Preseason Top Ten, starting at the top.

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Phillipsburg opens the season at No. 1, coming off a 10-3 season a year ago in which they reached their fourth straight sectional final, and won their second straight North 2, Group 4 title. Though they’re expected (official classifications are not out yet) to bump up to Group 5 this year due to the “success formula” for open-enrollment and similar type schools, that doesn’t affect who they play in the regular season. They’ve got a bunch back, and should be solid again.

St. Joseph-Metuchen begins the year at No. 2, up one spot, coming off a very good 8-2 season in which they beat all eight of their Big Central Conference opponents before falling in their regular season finale to Donovan Catholic, and in the opening round of the playoffs to Bergen Catholic.

Old Bridge has lost some key talent, but the Knights are coming off a 10-2 season in which they were one of only two BCC schools in Group 3 or higher to win ten games. The Knights – who went to the Central Jersey Group 5 title game last year, will start the season at No. 3.

Right behind them at No. 4 is Piscataway, which was 8-3, and beat to Old Bridge in the regular season by a touchdown, but was knocked out of the playoffs in the sectional semis. The Chiefs, however, bring back an experienced group led by Landon Pernell at quarterback.

Checking in at No. 5 is Somerville. The Pioneers had a surprising early exit from the playoffs in the first round last year, but finished 8-2 and are expected to be right back in the mix for the division and a sectional title this year. At 20-3 over the past two seasons under Matt Bloom, with a Central Jersey Group 3 title in 2024, that’s the expectation every year, and they have the horses.

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Checking in at No. 6 is last year’s North Jersey, Section 2 Group 4 champion, Bridgewater-Raritan. The Panthers were 6-3 heading into the playoffs last year, but won all three games in their section – including a thriller in the final against Bayonne – to claim their first-ever sectional title. Still, they face some significant losses, and they’ll work to earn their way back up in ’26.

Sayreville will begin the year at No. 7, taking a huge blow in the loss of Shaun Jackson, who led the Big Central in rushing each of the last two seasons. Still, that’s a program, and alum Mark Poore has done a great job his first two years, and they will remain in the mix this season.

Woodbridge – which will start at No. 8 – finished out of the Top Ten at the end of 2025, but coming off an 8-3 season in Year two under veteran mentor Joe Goerge – after going 10-1 his first year – we know the Barrons are well-coached, and that Goerge can adapt his offensive system to the talent he has, and there certainly is talent in the cupboard.

Summit checks in at No. 9, coming off a 9-3 season and a trip to the North 2, Group 3 final last year, where they lost to West Morris. They dealt with all kinds of injury adversity last year, and this well-coached program will again be highly-competitive.

Bernards comes in at No. 10, and another tremendous regular season, despite a firs-round playoff loss. The numbers speak for itself: The Mountaineers haven’t lost to a Big Central opponent since September of 2022, a defeat at the hands of Hillside. Since then, they have won 32 straight BCC contests, three shy of the record 35 set by St. Thomas Aquinas, which came to an end last year. Since the start of 2022, Bernards has an overall record of 40-5, by far the best in the league over that stretch.

Below is the complete 2026 preseason Bellamy & Son Paving High School Football Top Ten: