Category: Football Top Ten

by Mike Pavlichko

Big Central Conference, New Jersey Power Rankings: 2025 Preseason lists find three BCC teams ranked statewide

Every week this season – as we have for the last two years – Central Jersey Sports Radio will publish the Big Central and New Jersey Power Rankings.

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

Please note, our calculations are typically unofficial, with all results based on scores reported to Gridiron New Jersey, which does the official SI calculations for the NJSIAA. However, the preseason power rankings use the official 2025 starting SI numbers, as reported on July 17th by Gridiron New Jersey.

Meanwhile, three Big Central teams are ranked in the Top 25 statewide, with defending Central Jersey Group 3 champion Somerville leading the way at No. 11, followed by St. Thomas Aquinas at No. 13, and Phillipsburg – defending North 2, Group 4 champs – at No. 17 in the rankings.

In addition to the three from the Big Central, two West Jersey Football League teams – defending Group 4 champion Winslow and defending Group 1 champ Glassboro – are ranked No. 1 and 2, with the WJFL having eight teams represented in the Top 25. The Super Football Conference has the most, with eleven. The Shore Conference has two teams, while the NJIC has one, Butler.

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Central Jersey Sports Radio unveils preseason Big Central Conference Top Ten: Mainstays mostly remain, while newcomers will have to earn it

This was an easy Top Ten to figure out, but it wasn’t. Probably even more than the 13 teams presented here – ten ranked, three “also being considered” – will be in and out of the rankings all season.

For now, the 2025 preseason Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten features many of the same teams in the final 2024 rankings, with one exception. And the few we have on the outside looking in could be just as worthy as anyone else, but we’ll leave it like that for now, and see if they can earn their way in.

After all, it’s not where you start the season – everyone is undefeated on August 25th – but where you finish.

So if the team you root for – or the team you play on – isn’t here, go get some of those dubs, and the rankings will take care of themselves.

And now, the preseason Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central Top Ten for 2025:

Just like those “also being considered” will have to earn their way in, the top spot is Phillipsburg‘s to lose. The Stateliners finished last year 11-3, and though they didn’t win their division, they did win the North 2, Group 4 title, and became the first Big Central team to make the state finals, in its third season of existence in 2024. Gone are some big names – Jett Genovese, Felix Matos, Matthew Scerbo, Jr. – but they have plenty left, and that’s not even counting the newcomers. P’burg doesn’t rebuild, they just reload.

The next couple of teams lost a lot, too. That starts with No. 2 Somerville, which went 12-1 last year – with an undefeated regular season – and won the Central Jersey Group 3 title as well as the Liberty Silver Division flag. But like the ‘Liners, they also lose some huge talent in Brenden Pacheco, Terrell Mitchell and Brady Scheier. But this is an excellent coaching staff, and the teams behind them that were their peers last year are in much of the same boat.

Woodbridge remains at No. 3 to start the year, after a 10-1 campaign, a perfect regular season, and a Liberty Gold Division title. The Anderson twins – Derek and Bryan – are gone, but there are still experienced players on the roster, and now Joe Goerge – in his second year as head coach – will run more option than he did last year, when he deftly sprinkled it into an offense that already was running well, and just got better.

Bernards went 11-1 last year and also had a perfect regular season; they won the Patriot Gold Division and made the North 1, Group 2 finals. This program is humming along right now, and like the others, loses some key pieces, but has some big ones back, too – including the school’s sack leader, Thomas Diemar. Opposing quarterbacks better stock up on ice.

St. Thomas Aquinas has the longest active win streak against Big Central competition – 31 games, while Bernards is No. 2 at 23 – but has a new coach and lost some key players to transfer, and drops one spot to No. 5. Still, the defending National Silver Division champs should be very good, and new mentor Shamir Bearfield – out of St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City – has an outgoing attitude that should work well in North Edison.

Ridge holds at No. 6 after an 8-2 year in which they beat Phillipsburg in the regular season, and wound up winning the American Silver Division. Andy West stepped down as head coach after the season, and fellow alum Jeff Sutherland takes over. Gone is bulldog rusher Adian Stieglitz – also a great baseball pitcher – but Ridge also is a well-oiled machine, and they could stick around in the rankings much of the year.

The winner of last year’s tongue-in-cheek “OMG! He’s Back Another Year” award was Andrew Avent, who this year officially becomes a four-year starter at runningback for Rahway. Last year, he was six carries shy of 200, logging 1,412 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Indians check in at No. 7 this year, and could very well make some noise.

Piscataway finished 7-4 last season, and is looking to take one more step up this year, and maybe take home a championship for the first time since their 13-0 season in 2018, when they won the North Group 5 “bowl game” over Ridgewood. With a number of returnees back – and the addition of Josiah Zayas, who has transferred back to his hometown school from St. Thomas Aquinas, but will have to sit the first few weeks – the Chiefs could just do it.

Old Bridge is the only team in the preseason rankings that didn’t finish there last year. But the Knights have high expectations with senior quarterback Brody Nugent returning, and word on the street is this could be a big year for them. We’re not the only one who thinks so, so we’ve put them in at No. 9.

And then, a smaller school at No. 10: New Providence. The Pioneers were 9-3 last season and finished strong, reaching the North 2, Group 1 finals. While exciting dual-threat quarterback T.J. Munn is gone, star runningback A.J. Whitehead and there’s plenty of talent on the roster from a team that put up a lot of points last year, and also turned in some solid defensive efforts.

Here’s the complete 2025 Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central preseason Top Ten:

As for the teams “also considered,” Hillsborough (7-4) finished at No. 9 last year, but loses the player who broke all kinds of records no one ever thought would fall. Jackson Jankowicz, winner of last year’s “Unbreakable Record” award. He topped Shawn Mayer’s rushing TD record of 24, and tied Tommy Amankwaa’s record of 30 total touchdowns in a single season. Head coach Sean Carty – who also coached Amankwaa, and his brothers, said last December, “I thought that might stand forever.” Bottom line: Jankowicz is tough to replace, and the Raiders may be very good. So, right now, they’re being considered.

Cranford (7-3) also had a very solid year, and will lose some key parts, but they always tend to have some good line play, and top runningback Gabe Worrell rushed for over 800 yards last year – as a sophomore! The Cougars made the North 2, Group 3 semifinals last year; we’ll see if they can climb even higher.

And St. Joseph-Metuchen may have finished just 5-5 last year, but they started out hot at 5-0. Things took a turn after a mid-season road loss at Phillipsburg, and just never recovered. But Bill Tracy is a solid coach, and some late-season injuries didn’t help either. Justin Scaramuzzo threw for 1,953 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior last year. He’s back, and we think the Falcons will finish stronger in 2025.

NJSIAA Group 4 Championship
by Marcus Borden

Phillipsburg and St. Thomas Aquinas take No. 1 spots in Coach Borden’s final Big Central Conference and GMC 2024 Top Tens

It is hard to believe the 2024 football season has come to an end with the finals of Group 2 and Group 4 Championships which were held at Rutgers this past Wednesday.

Phillipsburg was the first Big Central Conference team to advance to an Overall Group Championship game in the league’s short history.

When I began the BCC Camp Caravan Tour on August 12, my goal was to be sure I saw all 59 teams over the last two years, whether it was at a preseason practice, scrimmage or game. Mission accomplished!

This year I was able to see in person 48 of the 59 teams in the aforementioned scenarios and 2 others in a 7 vs 7 Passing Tournament.

I am also grateful to Joe Bellamy of Bellamy & Sons Paving, Carleigh Stillwagon of Elite Custom Apparel and Bob Trivosonno of Metro Team Sports for helping me honor 59 players from the BCC as members of the 2024 Borden’s Ballers Football Team.

A BIG THANK YOU TO MIKE PAVLICHKO & THE CREW AT CJSR!

Happy Holidays to all the Coaches, Players, Team Managers and your families!

by Mike Pavlichko

Final 2024 Big Central, NJ Power Rankings

With the 2024 season in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take a look at the final New Jersey Top 25 and the Big Central Power Rankings.

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

The rankings typically use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. However, since those are only updated in the regular season, we do our own unofficial calculations for the entire state.

Here are the Final rankings in the Big Central and statewide:

In the Big Central, Phillipsburg’s loss to Winslow in the State Group 4 Final dropped them to third, behind Somerville – which moved to No. 1 – and St. Thomas Aquinas.

Statewide, Winslow finished off its chokehold on the No. 1 spot with its 35-point win over Phillipsburg, leaving them with a 115.38 SI value.

Among Big Central teams, Phillipsburg dropped one spot to No. 13, while Somerville moved up to 11th, and St. Thomas Aquinas went up to No. 13.

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg finishes No. 1 in final Central Jersey Sports Radio Big Central football rankings

The 2024 high school football season has come to a close, and the Phillipsburg Stateliners will close it out as the No. 1 team in the final Central Jersey Sports Radio rankings of the year.

Not only did Phillipsburg win its ninth New Jersey state sectional title in the playoff era, but the Stateliners became the first Big Central Conference team to make the state finals, in the third year of the event.

Phillipsburg finishes the year 11-3, after a loss to Winslow in the Group 4 final at Rutgers Wednesday night.

Somerville (12-1) finished second, the only other league team to win a sectional title this year. The Pioneers beat Delsea to win the Central Jersey Group 3 title, but fell to Mainland in the Group 3 semifinals for their only loss. They also were Liberty Silver Division champions in the Big Central.

Checking in at No. 3 is Woodbridge (10-1), which also had a perfect regular season, and won the Liberty Gold Division in the Big Central. The Barrons went to the sectional semifinals in North 2, Group 4, bowing out to finalist Northern Highlands.

Fourth is St. Thomas Aquinas (8-3), which won the National Silver Division and will head into 2025 with a league-record 31-game Big Central Conference winning streak. The Trojans won their first playoff game since 2001, beating St. Mary-Rutherford, before bowing out to Holy Spirit in the Non-Public B quarterfinals.

Checking in at No. 5 is Bernards (11-1). The third Big Central team to go undefeated this regular season, a trip to the North 1, Group 2 finals might have been a dream in the preseason, after losing key players to graduation following last year’s sectional title win, but they ended up running the table in the regular season and got right back there, falling to eventual Group 2 finalist Shabazz.

Ridge (8-2) clocks in at No. 6, the American Silver Division Champions. They were the only Big Central school to beat Phillipsburg this year, handing them a touchdown loss back on September 20th.

In seventh is Rahway (7-3), which had a big win over Watchung Hills in early October.

The eighth-place team was one that was recognized all year, but never ranked: New Providence. The Pioneers finished 9-3, and were consistent all year, making it all the way to the North 2, Group 1 title game, where they fell to Cedar Grove, which ended up a state finalist, falling to Glassboro in the Group 1 title game.

Checking in at No. 9 is Hillsborough, which finished 7-4, coming on straight to win four straight heading into the playoffs. They bowed out in the second round to Rancocas Valley.

And in tenth is Piscataway, which also finished 7-4, but behind the Raiders because they lost to Hillsborough late in the season.

Also considered in the final rankings were the Freedom Gold and Freedom Silver champions, respectively – Spotswood (8-2) and Belvidere (8-2) – along with Cranford (7-3).

Below is the complete 2024 Final Central Jersey Sports Radio High School Football Top Ten:

by Mike Pavlichko

Big Central, NJ Power Rankings: Week 12

Even though we’re down to the final three days and seven games of high school football in New Jersey – as champions are set to be crowned at Rutgers and Met Life Stadium following Thanksgiving – Strength Index continues to be measured across the state.

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

The rankings typically use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. However, since those are only updated in the regular season, we do our own unofficial calculations for the entire state.

Here are the Week 12 rankings in the Big Central and statewide.

In the Big Central, Phillipsburg and Somerville flip-flop, with the Stateliners moving on to the Group 4 championship thanks to a 35-6 win over Ramapo, while Somerville lost in overtime, 36-35 to Mainland in the Group 3 semifinals.

Statewide, Winslow solidified its top spot in the rankings with a 13-7 win Saturday in the Group 4 semifinals over Millville. The Eagles will face Phillipsburg in the Group 4 title game Wednesday, December 4th at Rutgers University, with kickoff time set for 7 pm.

Meanwhile, DePaul moved up from No. 5 to third, while Bergen Catholic moved from No. 7 to fourth, and Don Bosco Prep fell from third to fifth.

Among Big Central teams, Phillipsburg rose four spot to No. 13, while Somerville dropped to right behind them, in 14th. St. Thomas Aquinas dropped two spots to No. 15.

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Big Central, NJ Power Rankings: Week 11

As the playoffs continue on the the group semifinal stage among all schools – public and non-public – and everyone else wrapped up with regular season play, except for those who keep Thanksgiving rivalries alive, Strength Index continues to be measured across the state.

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

The rankings typically use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. However, since those are only updated in the regular season, we do our own unofficial calculations for the entire state.

Here are the Week 11 rankings in the Big Central and statewide.

In the Big Central, Somerville’s win over Delsea in the Central Jersey Group 3 final – coupled with St. Thomas Aquinas losing in the Non-Public Group B quarterfinals – moves the Pioneers ahead of the Trojans. The rest of the top eight remain the same.

Statewide, Winslow and Millville remain Nos. 1 and 2, but Don Bosco’s Prep big win over St. Joseph-Metuchen propelled them up to third, a jump of two spots. That knocked Bergen Catholic to fourth, while DePaul went from tenth to No. 5, knocking Union City from fourth to eighth.

Among Big Central teams, title winners Somerville and Phillipsburg gained, while St. Thomas dropped. The Pioneers edged up from No. 11 to tenth, while Phillipsburg soared six spots to No. 12. St. Thomas Aquinas. dropped from eighth to 13th.

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Big Central, NJ Power Rankings: Week 10

As the playoffs continue – with sectional title games this weekend – and everyone else wrapped up with regular season play, except for those who keep Thanksgiving rivalries alive, Strength Index continues to be measured across the state.

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

The rankings typically use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. However, since those are only updated in the regular season, we do our own unofficial calculations for the entire state.

Here are the Week 10 rankings in the Big Central and statewide.

In the Big Central, a 61-6 win by St. Thomas Aquinas over St. Mary-Rutherford in the opening round of the Non-Public B playoff section propelled the Trojans to No. 1, leapfrogging Ridge, Phillipsburg and Somerville, which fall to second, third and fourth, respectively. Piscataway had been fifth, but dropped with a loss at West Orange, bumping up Hillsborough, despite a sectional semifinal loss at Rancocas Valley.

Winslow remains the No. 1 team, upping its SI this season to 113.02. Millville jumped from fifth to second this week, jumping Bergen Catholic, which falls to No. 3. Union City jumps from sixth to fourth, and Don Bosco Prep moves up one to fifth.

St. Thomas Aquinas jumps from out of the Top 25 to No. 8 after their blowout of St. Mary, passing Somerville and Phillipsburg. The Pioneers drop three places to 11th after a closer-than-usual win score-wise (it wasn’t really that close) over Ocean City, and Phillipsburg dropped two spots, right behind Somerville in 12th.

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Big Central, New Jersey Power Rankings: Week 9

Though the playoffs (and consolations) have begun for public schools – and most non-publics will begin postseason play this week – Strength Index values continue to be tracked by the state through the end of the playoffs. Central Jersey Sports Radio will continue to publish the Big Central and New Jersey Power Rankings through the very last game of the 2024 season.

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

The rankings use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. Our rankings use the official SI calculations as of October 23, 2024.

This week’s rankings do not include Monday’s non-playoff game between Parsippany and North Warren. That will be added to next week’s rankings.

In the Big Central, the top five remain unchanged with Somerville followed by Phillipsburg, Ridge, St. Thomas Aquinas and Piscataway.

The top six remain the same across the state, with Winslow at No. 1, followed by Bergen Catholic and Toms River North, all with SIs over 100. Don Bosco Prep, Millville and Union City round out the top six. In the Big Central, Somerville drops a spot to 8th, with Phillipsburg is up one to tenth.

Ridge and St. Thomas Aquinas dropped out, but are close: the Red Devils were just 0.27 SI points out, in 26th, while the Trojans dropped to 28th at 86.11 on an idle week before they begin the playoffs this Friday night at home against St. Mary-Rutherford.

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.

by Mike Pavlichko

Big Central, New Jersey Power Rankings: Week 8

While the regular season is over for public schools – except for those that play on Thanksgiving – and the playoffs start for them next week, Strength Index values continue to be tracked by the state through the end of the playoffs, and Central Jersey Sports Radio will continue to publish the Big Central and New Jersey Power Rankings.

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

The rankings use the official NJSIAA Strength Index values calculated by Gridiron New Jersey, which updates them on each team’s page on a weekly basis. Our rankings use the official SI calculations as of October 23, 2024.

In the Big Central, Somerville goes to the top of the pack, with a 94.62 SI, ranked seventh in New Jersey. That drops Phillipsburg to second. Ridge and St. Thomas Aquinas hold third and fourth, respectively, but Piscataway overtook Hillsborough at five with a 52-0 win over Monroe last Friday.

As for the state Top 25, all four Big Central Conference teams remain on the list. Somerville has reached the top ten at No. 7, while Phillipsburg drops from nine to 11. Ridge went up to 16 from 17, but St. Thomas Aquinas dropped five places to No. 25.

Statewide, Winslow and Bergen Catholic remain Nos. 1 and 2 yet again, with Toms River North third. Don Bosco Prep goes up to fourth, with Millville dropping to No. 5.

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.