Category: Football Top Ten

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph-Metuchen stays atop Big Central Power Rankings, with Phillipsburg right behind as Falcons and Stateliners stay in Top 25

For the second week in a row, St. Joseph-Metuchen leads the Big Central Power Rankings, with Phillipsburg right behind them, but some other teams made some moves.

New Providence – still unbeaten – continues to climb, hopping over Somerville and Old Bridge – now in fourth and fifth, respectively – into third place.

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

Ridge edged up to six, while Montgomery pulled into seventh with a win at Sayreville. Bernards went from eleven to eight, with Colonia climbing ten spots to ninth and St. Thomas Aquinas falling from six to ten.

A table displaying the Big Central Power Rankings for high school football in 2025 Week 7, showing team rankings, names, Strength Index (SI) values, and state rankings.

Statewide, Don Bosco Prep fell to third, despite a win over Seton Hall Prep Saturday night, and the Ironmen dropped below 100, but Bergen Catholic and Winslow both topped that mark this week, and take to No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively.

Of the Big Central teams, St. Joseph-Metuchen – which made its debut last week at No. 18 – climbs to 14th, while Phillipsburg jumps from 25 to 19. New Providence and Somerville are No. 33 and No. 35 in the state, but out of the Top 25.

Table displaying the New Jersey Power Rankings for high school football teams for Week 7 of 2025, including school names and their respective Strength Index (SI) values.

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. 1 still goes to St. Joe’s, but seven other teams move around as upsets rock Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Top Ten heading into Cutoff

There was a second straight week of major upheaval in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Top Ten, with Montgomery handing Sayreville its first loss, No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen ending St. Thomas Aquinas’s 35-game league winning streak, and Woodbridge falling to unranked Summit for the Barrons’ first loss of the season.

The result saw the Falcons stay at No. 1 with perhaps the two biggest wins of the season by any team in the league, but nearly everyone else moved around, with No. 6 Bernards the only other team to hold its position.

St. Joseph-Metuchen kept its perfect regular season alive with two games to play – remember, the non-publics play an extra week before the playoffs are seeded – with a 41-19 win at then-No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas. Next up, the Falcons host No. 5 Woodbridge (7-1) Saturday afternoon, before closing on Halloween at Donovan Catholic.

Up two places to No. 2 is Phillipsburg (6-1), right behind the Falcons after their defeat in Metuchen two weeks ago. The Stateliners were 42-0 winners over Union at home Friday, and are at Maloney again this week when they host Bridgewater-Raritan (6-2).

Montgomery (6-2) shot up this week with their second win over a ranked team this season, a 43-15 win at then-No. 5 Sayreville. The Cougars visit Rahway (5-3) this Friday night at 7 pm in the Bellamy & Son Paving “Big Central Game of the Week,” which you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio with Mike Pavlichko and Dom Savino on the call.

Somerville (7-1) moves up from seventh to No. 4 after a 40-28 home win over Plainfield, heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio. The Pioneers will travel to Watchung Hills (3-5) Friday for their regular season finale.

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Down three spots to fifth is Woodbridge (7-1), which took its first loss Friday, 10-7, to Summit. And it’s a tough task ahead for the Barrons, who will travel to top-ranked St. Joseph-Metuchen (7-0) Saturday afternoon.

Holding court at No. 6 is Bernards (8-0). The Mountaineers extended their regular season win streak to a state best 33 games with a 35-7 home win over Governor Livingston back on Friday, and host Carteret (3-4) this Friday. Bernards now has won 31 in a row in Big Central play, four away from tying the league record, which just ended Friday.

That’s St. Thomas Aquinas (5-3), which drops to seventh after falling 41-19 at home to No. 1 St. Joseph-Metuchen on Friday. The Trojans’ had their 35-game Big Central win streak go by the boards in the process, and they’re back in action against No. 8 Sayreville (7-1), which dropped three spots this week after falling 43-15 at home to then-No. 10 Montgomery.

Down one place each – due to Montgomery’s rise – are Piscataway and Old Bridge. The Chiefs are 6-2 after a 21-7 win at Hillsborough Friday, and are at Monroe (1-7) this Friday . The Knights are 7-1 – but that loss is to Piscataway – after a 45-29 win at Hunterdon Central. Old Bridge closes at home against Colonia (6-2) this Friday night at Lombardi Field.

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No one dropped out this week.

In the Also Considered category are Voorhees (7-1), New Providence (7-0) Ridge (5-2), and Manville (8-0), all the same schools as last week.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Seven Top Ten:

Image of the Week Seven Top Ten rankings for the Big Central Conference, featuring team names, records, and previous rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

St. Joseph-Metuchen vaults into Top 25 of NJ Power Rankings; Phillipsburg stays in, too, but Falcons now lead Big Central rankings

Week 6 of the high school football season has brought us our fourth different team to lead the Big Central Conference Power Rankings.

Somerville led the preseason rankings, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas for two weeks, and it’s been Phillipsburg atop the pile since after Week 2 of play. But this week, St. Joseph-Metuchen – by virtue of its 21-0 win over the Stateliners Saturday – have vaulted to the top of the heap.

Statewide, the Falcons join the Top 25, and Phillipsburg drops, but remains in at No. 25.

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

In the Big Central, the Falcons and Phillipsburg are followed by Somerville, which gets bumped to third on St. Joe’s rise. New Providence drops from three to five while Old Bridge holds steady at four.

Big Central Power Rankings for Week 6, 2025, showing the ranking positions, school names, Strength Index (SI) values, and state rankings of various high school football teams.

Statewide, Don Bosco Prep maintains the top spot after taking it away from Glassboro last week. They fall to fifth this week. Bergen Catholic hangs in at two, followed by Winslow up a spot to third, and Ramapo jumping from seven to four.

Of the Big Central teams, St. Joseph-Metuchen makes its debut this week at No. 18, with Phillipsburg dropping to No. 25.

A table displaying the New Jersey Power Rankings for Week 6 of 2025, listing schools and their corresponding Strength Index (SI) values.

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

St. Joseph-Metuchen win over Phillipsburg in battle of unbeatens shuffles nearly entire Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central Top Ten

So much for consistency.

While some teams have moved around a bit, Phillipsburg has spent the entire season at No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving Big Central rankings, but that changed this week.

Saturday, No. 6 St. Joseph of Metuchen blanked the No. 1 Stateliners at home, 21-0, to dethrone the Big Central’s top-ranked team. Phillipsburg had occupied the top spot since last year’s final poll, overtaking Somerville after becoming the first BCC team to reach a state final, where they lost the Group 4 title to Winslow Twp.

And that move caused a seismic reshuffling of the rankings here in Week 6. For some, a move down wasn’t necessarily due to a loss, but other teams moving up.

And so, the No. 1 ranking this week goes to St. Joseph-Metuchen (6-0). It’s the first time the Falcons have ever been No. 1 in the Bellamy & Son Paving/Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten, going back to CJSR’s inaugural 2020 season. In fact, it’s the first time in the history of the program they have been ranked No. 1 in rankings put together by Mike Pavlichko, dating back to the WCTC years (2000-2019), with the program’s first varsity season being played in 2013.

But it’s the second time head coach Bill Tracy – who won his 150th career game Saturday – has had a team of his earn a No. 1 ranking. The last time was in 2013, when he was at Ridge. The Red Devils won the North 2, Group 4 title over Union at Rutgers, finishing a perfect 12-0.

St. Joseph will visit No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas (5-2) this Friday night.

The next two spots were the only ones to remain unchanged.

Woodbridge (7-0) held at No. 2 after a come-from-behind, 41-31 win at then-No. 8 Montgomery. The Barrons are back in action Friday at home against Summit (5-2), which has lost two straight after a 5-0 start.

And St. Thomas Aquinas (5-2) holds steady in third. The Trojans won 41-6 at Edison Friday, and this week host St. Joe’s (6-0) Friday night.

Phillipsburg drops to fourth after the loss to the Falcons. Now, 5-1, the Stateliners host Union (1-6) back at Maloney Stadium this Friday night.

Up two spots to No. 5 is Sayreville (7-0). The Bombers were 37-28 winners at Franklin back on Friday, and this week host No. 10 Montgomery (5-2).

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Checking in at No. 6 – down two spots, mainly because other teams moved up – is Bernards (7-0). The Mountaineers gutted out a 17-14 win at Summit Saturday afternoon, and are back home at Olcott Field to take on Governor Livingston (3-4) Friday night.

Somerville (5-1) also goes down two spots to No. 8 despite a 43-14 win at North Hunterdon Friday night. The Pioneers will be featured on the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving Friday night, as they entertain Plainfield (3-4), with kickoff set for 6:30 pm.

Up two spots to No. 8 is Piscataway (5-2), which got past East Brunswick at home 35-0 Friday. The Chiefs travel Friday to Hillsborough (3-4), which has won two straight and put itself back in the playoff picture after a 1-4 start.

No. 9 is Old Bridge (6-1), up one spot. The Knights got a shutout win, 35-0, at Monroe Friday night, and they’re back on the road Friday when they visit Hunterdon Central (4-3).

And checking in at ten this week is Montgomery (5-2), down two spots after the loss to Woodbridge. The Cougars’ other loss is to a solid Summit team that has been in the “also considered” category most of the year, dropping out this week after the Bernards loss. Montgomery will travel to No. 5 Sayreville (7-0) this Friday.

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Dropping out this week was No. 9 Bridgewater-Raritan, which lost 30-18 at Hillsbroough back on Friday.

In the Also Considered category are Voorhees (6-1), New Providence (6-0) Ridge (4-2), and – new this week – Manville at 7-0. Small schools are always tough to fit into a league-wide top ten, especially with 59 schools, but we think they deserve some recognition for their best start since 1968, when they finished the season a perfect 9-0.

Manville closes the regular season with Highland Park this week, then at Bound Brook the Friday of Cutoff Weekend in a game that will determine the Freedom Silver Division title.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Six Top Ten:

Graphic displaying the Week Six Top Ten rankings for the Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Conference, featuring team names and their records.

by Mike Pavlichko

Somerville, New Providence, Old Bridge overtake two parochials behind Phillipsburg in Big Central Power Rankings; ‘Liners edge down in NJ Top 25

Another week, another Big Central Conference Power Ranking with Phillipsburg at the top, but a few new schools have climbed up right behind them.

Somerville, New Providence and Old Bridge – all with wins this weekend, including the boys in orange knocking off unbeaten Summit Saturday – have pulled up to spots two through four, with St. Joseph dropping three places to fifth, and St. Thomas Aquinas down five places to eighth, despite wins.

Sayreville climbed five spots to sixth after winning at Piscataway Friday, while Ridge held in seventh. Bernards and Rahway each dropped a spot to ninth and tenth, respectively, while Manville fell to 16 despite remaining undefeated.

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

Table displaying the Big Central Conference Power Rankings for 2025, listing schools alongside their Strength Index (SI) values and state rankings.

Statewide, Don Bosco Prep wrested the top spot away from Glassboro, with the Bulldogs dropping down to third behind idle Bergen Catholic. Winslow and Washington Township also won and remain four and five, while Phillipsburg fell a bit to No. 11 from the eighth spot after a close win over West Orange.

Table displaying the New Jersey Power Rankings for 2025 Week 5, listing schools and their corresponding Strength Index (SI) scores.

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

First six hold steady, Phillipsburg still No. 1, but Sayreville-Piscataway result shuffles bottom half of Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten

Consistency again was the name of the game in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten for Week Five, as one result – Sayreville’s 42-24 win over Piscataway – caused a shift in the bottom half of the rankings, but St. Thomas Aquinas’ loss to Paramus Catholic in a non-conference game didn’t yield any changes.

Phillipsburg (5-0) stays in the top spot after a come-from-behind, 24-20 win over West Orange, a battle of two teams very much in play for playoff top seeds in their respective supersections. The Stateliners are back in action Saturday afternoon when they visit No. 6 St. Joseph-Metuchen in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm at Brenner Family Field.

Holding at No. 2 is Woodbridge (6-0). The Barrons pounded Perth Amboy 41-0 back on Friday night, and have a big showdown this Friday night at No. 8 Montgomery (5-1). CJSR analyst Marcus Borden will have coverage of that game.

In third is St. Thomas Aquinas (4-2), despite taking a Week five loss. That came out of conference to North Jersey parochial Paramus Catholic, 42-14. This week, the Trojans stay in town again, but play Edison on the road Friday evening.

In fourth still is Bernards (6-0), which narrowly escaped a road trip to South Plainfield with a 7-0 win as A.J. MacKracken became the first freshman to start at QB for the Mountaineers in 50 years, according to head coach Jon Simoneau. Bernards will visit Summit Saturday.

Speaking of Summit, the Hilltoppers were handed their first loss of the season Saturday by Somerville (5-1), which holds at No. 5 this week. The Pioneers were 41-20 winners, and return to action Friday at North Hunterdon, which beat Monroe Friday for its first win of the season.

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At No. 6 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (5-0). The Falcons hold serve after a 42-7 win at North Brunswick Friday, and host No. 1 Phillipsburg Saturday at 1:00 on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Sayreville (6-0) moves up to No. 8 in the rankings after a 42-24 win at previous-No. 7 Piscataway Friday night. The Bombers have gotten 100-plus yards in all six games from Shaun Jackson, and the Bombers will take their act to Franklin this Friday night.

The next two teams behind Sayreville also notched up a spot this week. Montgomery (5-1) moves from nine to eight after a 22-16 home win over Linden Friday night, the first game at the newly-dedicated Zoran Milich Field at Cougar Stadium. They’re back home again Friday night when No. 2 Woodbridge visits on a 15-game regular season winning streak, tied for fourth-best in the state.

And Bridgewater-Raritan (5-1) is back on the winning track, rising after a 34-23 win over Elizabeth Friday night. The Panthers travel to Hillsborough Friday in the Battle of Route 206.

Falling down to tenth and tying with Old Bridge (5-1) – who they beat in Week Two – is Piscataway (4-2). The Knights were 24-0 winners out of conference over Morristown, an host Monroe Friday night, while the Chiefs fell at home, 42-14 to then-No. 9 Sayreville. Piscataway will entertain East Brunswick this Friday.

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Again no one dropped out, and the same four teams remain in the “Also Considered” category. Summit is still there at 5-1 – despite dropping their first game of the season Saturday, to Somerville – with New Providence at 5-0 and Voorhees 5-1, while Ridge at 3-2 is still in the mix.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Five Top Ten:

Table displaying the Week Five Top Ten rankings for the Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Conference, showing team names, records, and previous rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg edges up in NJ Power Rankings while Big Central Top Ten sees shuffle

Phillipsburg continues to be the dominant team in the Big Central Conference, still at No. this week in the Week Four Big Central Conference Power Rankings.

But while the Stateliners remain in the state Top Ten, and atop the league rankings, many other Big Central teams shuffled around, and there’s a new No. 1 statewide.

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

In the league, the top two remained the same with Phillipsburg followed by St. Thomas Aquinas, but Somerville dropped from third to fifth and Bernards went from four to eight, even though both won, just against weaker opponents. New Providence gained a spot to fourth, St. Joseph-Metuchen moved up three spots to third. Old Bridge and Ridge each went up one spot, while a loss by Bridgewater-Raritan knocked the Panthers out of the league top ten, and Woodbridge won, but over 1-4 Linden, dropping them from ten to 15. Rahway and Manville – the second of which is 5-0 – joined the Top Ten.

Table displaying the Big Central Conference Power Rankings for Week 4, 2025, including schools, their Strength Index (SI) values, and state rankings.

Statewide, Bergen Catholic’s showdown loss to Don Bosco Prep allowed Glassboro to take over the No. 1 spot, with the Crusaders moving down to two. Washington Township won, but dropped two places to fifth, with DePaul – a winner over 1-4 Paramus Catholic – suffered a similar fate dropping from five to seven. Don Bosco went from four to three. Winslow Twp. joined the Top Five at No. 4

From the Big Central, Phillipsburg moved from nine to eight.

Table displaying New Jersey high school power rankings for week 4 of 2025, including school names and their corresponding Strength Index (SI) values.

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 two – Phillipsburg, Woodbridge – stay put, but rest of Bellamy & Son Paving Week 4 Top Ten shifts with Bridgewater-Raritan’s first loss

It was just one game, and it didn’t exactly cause major upheaval in the Bellamy & Son Paving Week Four Big Central Top Ten, but it did move some teams around.

Only four of the eleven teams in the Week Three rankings stayed in the same spot this week (there was a tenth place tie last week). Additionally, nobody dropped out.

Phillipsburg (4-0) remains No. 1 following a 50-29 road win at Hillsborough Friday night. The Stateliners are winning by an average 32.5 points per game through their first four, and host West Orange (4-1) in a non-league game this Friday night at Maloney Stadium. Phillipsburg is second in the latest UPR playoff standings in the North Group 4 supersection, which puts them in line for one of the top two seeds. West Orange is in the same spot in North 5, right behind Bridgewater-Raritan.

Woodbridge (5-0) remains at No. 2 after a 27-20 victory at Linden Friday night. The Barrons are back home this Friday against winless Perth Amboy (0-5).

Moving up a spot this week to three is St. Thomas Aquinas (4-1). Their lone loss came out-of-state, and the Trojans beat a solid Elizabeth school at home Friday night, 35-21. They’re back to an out-of-conference game this week as Paramus Catholic (1-4) comes to North Edison Friday night.

Switching places with STA is Bernards (5-0), checking in at No. 4. After a 39-0 cruise past JP Stevens, the Mountaineers go to South Plainfield (2-3) this Friday night, carrying with them the No. 2 spot in the North Group 2 supersection, putting them in line for a top-seed in the playoffs.

Holding steady at No. 5 is Somerville (4-1). The Pioneers were 21-7 winners Friday over Watchung Hills, and play a very good undefeated Summit (5-0) team on the road this Saturday afternoon.

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Checking in at No. 6 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (4-0). The Falcons blanked Westfield at home Friday night under the temporary lights – an annual tradition at St. Joe’s – 24-0, and are back in action this Friday with a road trip to North Brunswick (0-5).

Holding at seven is Piscataway (4-1), which also had a shutout win this week, 28-0 at South Brunswick. The Chiefs will host Sayreville (4-1) in an old-fashioned GMC rivalry game at 6 pm, the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Piscataway also will honor early 2000s standout Kyle Wilson at halftime; he went on to star at Boise State and play in the NFL with the Jets and New Orleans.

Up a spot to No. 8 is Sayreville (5-0). The undefeated Bombers were 46-7 winners over North Brunswick at home Friday night, and as mentioned above, visit Piscataway this Friday night on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Up one to ninth is Montgomery (4-1). The Cougars were 36-7 winners over Watchung Hills at home Friday night, and will host Linden (1-4) this Friday.

Old Bridge (4-1) remains in tenth, tied again this week, this time with Bridgewater-Raritan (4-1), which falls from sixth after a 33-14 loss at Ridge, without senior QB Declan Kurdyla, who missed the first of at least three games with a knee injury. He’ll be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the Panthers will host Elizabeth (2-3) Friday, while the Knights will play Super Football Conference opponent Morristown (2-3) at home this Friday night.

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While no one dropped out, a fourth team is now in the “Also Considered” category. Summit is still there at 5-0, with New Providence at 4-0 and Voorhees 4-1, while Ridge at 2-2 joins the fray. The Red Devils beat Bridgewater-Raritan this week, and their two losses have both come to unbeaten teams in the Top Ten: St. Joseph-Metuchen and Phillipsburg.

As for next week, Summit hosts Somerville (5-0) on Saturday, New Providence is at Middlesex (2-3), Voorhees hosts North Plainfield (2-2) and Ridge travels to Union (0-5).

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Four Top Ten:

Table displaying the Week Four Top Ten rankings for Central Jersey Sports Radio's Big Central Conference, including team names, records, and previous rankings.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg stays atop Big Central Power Rankings, but is only team left in NJ Top 25

Phillipsburg remains No. 1 again this week in the Big Central Conference Power Rankings, but they are now the lone remaining team from the BCC in the statewide Top 25.

That’s because even though St. Thomas Aquinas beat Franklin 57-45 Friday night in a shootout in North Edison, the state’s Strength Index formula says the Trojans “underperformed” against the Warriors. STA had an SI of 83.98 coming into the game, with a 57.42 rating for Franklin. That meant Aquinas should have won by 26.6 points. They won by 12, and that dropped St. Thomas to an 83.98, while Franklin jumped to a 60.33 SI.

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

But the Trojans remain No. 2 in the Big Central rankings, while Bernards moved up from fourth, knocking Somerville down a peg.

A table displaying the Big Central Conference Power Rankings for 2025 Week 3, listing schools with their corresponding Strength Index (SI) and state rankings.

Statewide, Bergen Catholic moved back into the top spot after a win over Pope John, while Glassboro – which won at Salem Saturday – fell to No. 2. Washington Twp. remains third, while DePaul and Don Bosco flip to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Only Phillipsburg remains in the state Top 25 this week. Aquinas dropped to 28 in New Jersey, while Somerville – which dropped out last week after a loss to Montgomery – is at 36 (down one spot) and Bernards fell nine spots to 37.

New Providence rounded out the top five, up a spot from last week. New Providence checks in at 45, leaving five Big Central teams in the state Top 50.

Table showing New Jersey Power Rankings for schools in 2025 Week 3 with their respective Strength Index (SI) values.

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

Six unbeaten teams make the Week 3 Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten, with Phillipsburg, Woodbridge, Bernards still 1-2-3; Sayreville joins

It was back to a sense of stability in the top half of the Week Three Bellamy & Son Paving high school football rankings, with the top six teams all staying put, and teams eight and nine moving up after wins. Undefeated Sayreville joins the fray this week, too with eleven teams ranked again for the second week in a row.

Phillipsburg (3-0) remains No. 1 after a 28-6 home win over Ridge, behind another solid defensive effort. The Stateliners visit Hillsborough (1-3) this Friday.

Holding at No. 2 is Woodbridge (4-0), which won it’s bragging rights game with Colonia, 34-21 at home on Friday night. The Barrons – who have won 13 straight regular season games dating back to lsat season’s opener – go to Linden (1-3) this Friday night.

In third is Bernards (4-0), which remains there after a 31-21 win at Voorhees, as the Mountaineers adjust to life without Thomas Diemar, their all-time sack leader, who injured his ACL and meniscus a week ago Friday in a win over Delaware Valley. Winners of 29 straight regular season games – the best in the state – and 27 straight in Big Central play – second-best in the league – Bernards hosts JP Stevens (0-4) Friday night.

St. Thomas Aquinas (3-1) holds in fourth. A 57-45 shootout home win over Franklin Friday night extends their Big Central record win streak to 33 games heading into Friday’s home game with Elizabeth (2-2).

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Holding in fifth is Somerville (3-1), which rebounded from its first loss of the season last week to then-unranked Montgomery with a 20-7 victory at Rahway Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers come back home to host Hillside (1-2) at Brooks Field Friday evening.

At six again this week is Bridgewater-Raritan (4-0), which was a 43-7 winner over then-7th-ranked Hunterdon Central Friday night in the “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. But starting QB Declan Kurdyla went down in the game with a leg injury, and his status for next week is unknown. The Panthers travel to Ridge (1-2) Friday night.

The next two teams both moved up a spot.

Piscataway (3-1) is up to seventh after a 16-8 win Saturday afternoon over a very tough Ridgewood squad, which employs the Wing-T offense. The Chiefs are at South Brunswick (2-2) Friday, and will have two transfers from St. Thomas Aquinas ready to play, in Josiah Zayas and Mickeye Simmons, who had to sit out 30 days due to NJSIAA transfer rules.

Up one to No. 8 is St. Joseph-Metuchen (3-0). The Falcons are 3-0 for the third time in four seasons under head coach Bill Tracy, following a 41-20 win Saturday afternoon over Elizabeth at Brenner Family Field. They visit Westfield (2-2) Saturday afternoon.

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New this week at No. 9 is Sayreville (4-0), which has beaten Colonia, Linden, Edison, and – last week – Hillsborough, 28-14, the third straight game the Bombers have allowed just 14 points. The Bombers are back in action Friday night at War Memorial Stadium when North Brunswick (0-4) comes to town.

And again this week, two teams are tied for tenth. Montgomery (3-1) held after a 24-8 win over North Hunterdon. While the Lions are 0-4, it was their first loss this season by more than eight points. The Cougars host Watchung Hills (2-2) this Friday night at the newly-named Zoran Milich Field.

Old Bridge (3-1) is the other team in tenth with Monty, rebounding off a loss to Piscataway with authority, picking up a 45-7 win over South Brunswick. This Friday, they’re at East Brunswick (1-3), which just got its first win last week for new head coach Zack Gega, a 36-25 victory at Monroe.

Here’s the complete 2025 Bellamy & Son Paving Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Week Three Top Ten:

Image of a table displaying the Week Three Top Ten rankings for the Big Central Conference, detailing team names, records, and previous rankings.

Dropping out this week was previous No. 7 Hunterdon Central (2-2), which lost its second straight game Friday, falling 43-7 at No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan.

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In the “Also Considered” category, Sayreville jumped into the Top Ten, while Voorhees (3-1) and Summit (4-0) remain, while New Providence is back in, too. The Vikings remain despite a loss to Bernards at home, 31-21 Friday, while the Hilltoppers won at Carteret Friday, 21-0, in the Ramblers first game back at Walt Overholt Stadium after summer renovations. New Providence (3-0) was a 30-0 winner at Metuchen on Saturday.