Central Jersey Group 3 Final:
When: Friday, 7 pm
Where: Brooks Field, Somerville
Matchup: #7 Delsea (4-6) at (1) Somerville (11-0)
Coverage: LISTEN LIVE on cjsportsradio.com (Mike Pavlichko, Chirs Tsakonas)
Weather: 48 degrees, clear, wind NW 6 mph (from NW corner of one end zone to SE corner of the other)

HEAD COACHES:

Somerville: Matt Bloom (2nd full season season, 18-6)
Delsea: Jason Volpe (1st season, 4-6)

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Somerville:
First Round: def. #8 Absegami, 40-0
Semifinals: def. #4 Ocean City, 30-14

Delsea:
First Round: def. #2 Burlington Twp., 29-12
Semifinals: def. #3 Cedar Creek, 28-14

Who’s next? The winner of this game will play the South 5 sectional winner in the Group 5 semifinals. That title game is Friday night at 6 pm, when second-seed Mainland (8-3) plays hots to fourth-seed Seneca (8-3). With Somerville being the top overall seed in the South Group 3 supersection, the Pioneers would host the semifinals next week – regardless of opponent – if they win the title Friday night. It would be Somerville’s first-ever trip beyond the sectional finals, joining Hillsborough (2021) and Bernards (2023) as the only other teams to do it since the playoffs expanded beyond sectional finals for the 2018 season.

SERIES HISTORY:

Playing teams from deep South Jersey – which started in 2019 when the NJSIAA moved away from using true geography to define sections – is a relatively new thing. To that end, Somerville hasn’t played many opponents from that part of the state, despite playing varsity football since 1903.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the Pioneers and Delsea. And should The ‘Ville win and move to next week’s semis, they don’t have much history there, either.

Somerville has never played Mainland, though they have played Seneca twice, both times in the last few years. The Pioneers lost to the Golden Eagles on the road in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs – Matt Bloom’s first playoff game as head coach – but beat them at home in the 2019 South Group 3 semifinals under Dallas Whitaker. That sent them to the title game at Woodrow Wilson – now Camden Eastside – a game they lost in a shootout, 54-30.

PREVIEWS:

• Somerville looking in championship form heading into Central Group 3 title game against deceptive Delsea
• Among SEC, ACC recruits, Somerville’s Scheier making his own mark with Pioneers
• Delsea – with just two wins at the Cutoff – coming into form ahead of Friday’s Central Jersey Group 3 final at undefeated Somerville

FINALS HISTORY:

Somerville:

The Pioneers have a long and storied playoff history, having won eight titles in 15 prior appearances – both Somerset County records – for an 8-7 record in sectional finals all-time.

They won their first championship in 1976, then won more in 1977 and 1979. After the Kevin Carty era in the 1990s – which saw them win the title over Manasquan in 1994 – there was a big downturn, but the program was rejuvenated by Jeff Vanderbeek, who delivered the Pioneers’ eighth and most recent title in 2017, topping Rumson-Fair Haven at Rutgers. They’ve been to two finals since, losing both times: in 2018 to Rumson again, and in 2019 down at Woodrow Wilson, now Camden Eastside.

Playoff Berths: 30
Playoff Record: 34-20
Previous Finals Berths: 15
Sectional Titles: 8

Central Group 2
1976: #1 Somerville 27 def. #2 Red Bank 6
Central Group 3
1977: #3 Somerville def. #1 Hightstown, 28-6
1979: #1 Somerville def. #2 Manasquan, 27-14
1981: #2 Ewing def. #4 Somerville, 21-18 (OT)
Central Group 2
1983: #1 Somerville def. #3 West Windsor, 30-6
1984: #1 Asbury Park def. #2 Somerville, 16-0
1985: #2 Somerville def. #1 Freehold Boro, 27-25
1986: #1 Somerville def. #2 Manasquan, 10-0
1990: #1 Manasquan def. #2 Somerville, 35-0
1994: #2 Somerville def. #4 Manasquan, 21-14 (Giants Stadium)
1999: #1 Manasquan def. #2 Somerville, 26-19
2000: #2 Manasquan def. #1 Somerville, 7-3
Central Group 3:
2017: #2 Somerville def. #1 Rumson-Fair Haven, 20-15 (at Rutgers)
2018: #2 Rumson-Fair Haven def. #1 Somerville, 42-35
South Group 3:
2019: #1 Woodrow Wilson def. #2 Somerville, 54-30

Delsea:

The Crusaders have been a consistent winner in the playoffs, especially in the past few years. Delsea has not only won two straight sectional titles, but has been to both Group 3 state finals. They lost their first trip in the inaugural season of group champs, falling to Old Tappan 24-14 at Rutgers, but came back and capped a second straight 12-1 season last year with a 28-3 win over West Essex in the Group 3 final, also at RU.

Playoff Berths: 34
Playoff Record: 59-17
Previous Finals Berths: 21
Sectional Titles: 16

South Group 2
1976: #1 Delsea def. #3 Pleasantville, 14-6
South Group 3
1979: #1 Delsea def. #2 Eastern, 42-0
South Group 2
1982: #1 Delsea def. #2 Salem, 20-12
1984: #1 Delsea def. #2 Woodstown, 22-6
1986: #1 Delsea def. #3 Clearview, 16-13
1989: #3 Delran def. #1 Delsea, 28-8
South Group 3
2000: #2 Delsea def. #5 Ocean City, 35-21
2002: #3 Mainland def. #1 Delsea, 21-7
2005: #1 Delsea def. #2 Lacey, 21-6
South Group 2
2008: #1 Delsea def. #2 West Deptford, 17-14
2009: #1 Delsea def. #3 Haddonfield, 40-22
2010: #1 Lacey def. #2 Delsea, 56-7
South Group 3
2012: #2 Delsea def. #4 Northern Burlington, 41-12
2013: #4 Delsea def. #3 Barnegat, 31-7
2014: #2 Delsea def. #1 Allentown, 42-35
2015: #1 Delsea def. #3 Camden, 21-12
2016: #1 Wall def. #3 Delsea, 20-7
2017: #4 Delsea def. #2 Woodrow Wilson, 29-28
2021: #1 Cedar Creek def. #3 Delsea, 30-13
2022: #1 Delsea def. #3 Hopewell Valley, 44-7 (Delsea def. Camden, 20-14, in Group 2 semifinals) (Old Tappan def. Delsea, 24-14, in Group 3 Finals at Rutgers)
2023: #1 Delsea def. #3 Seneca, 43-7 (Delsea def. Camden, 28-12, in Group 3 semifinals) (Delsea def. West Essex, 28-3, in Group 3 final at Rutgers, finished 12-1)

2024 SOMERVILLE COVERAGE:

• Somerville gets past Ocean City, 30-14, to claim first sectional finals berth since 2019
• No. 1 Somerville shows no signs of slowing, firing on all cylinders as they host Ocean City for a trip to Central Group 3 title game
• NJSIAA unveils 2024 football playoff pairings; Phillipsburg, Somerville get top seeds, as expected, while 28 Big Central publics qualify
• Somerville overtakes Woodbridge for top spot in CJSR Week 7 H.S. Football Top Ten
• Thursday Night Big Central Roundup: Somerville, Ridge, Piscataway win big; Scott gets first win as head coach at Union
• Somerville’s speed sparks Pioneers past Summit for Week 5 Chris’ Auto Body “Drive of the Week”
• Somerville’s Brenden Pacheco needed just 24 minutes to log 5 TDs, earn Week 5 Bellamy & Son Paving Player of Week Award
• No. 3 Somerville blows past Summit, 41-0, in battle of undefeated teams at Brooks Field
• Saturday Big Central Roundup: Great starts continue for No. 3 Somerville, No. 9 St. Joseph, and Summit
• Sunday Conversation:  Kevin Carty, Sr., looks back at Somerville’s ’94 Cinderella title run
• INSTANT REPLAY: No. 5 Somerville 21, No. 3 Hillsborough 20
• No. 5 Somerville withstands two second-half TDs by No. 3 Hillsborough for tense 21-20 win
• No. 5 Somerville brings back major talent ahead of season opener against No. 3 Hillsborough

NEWS & NOTES:

Offense/Defense…

This year’s Somerville football team is putting a lot of points on the board, and not giving up many at all. At 11-0, they have scored 391 points for an average of 35.5 per game. On defense, they have pitched three shutouts, holding seven opponents to fewer than ten points, allowing a total of 92 points for a total of 8.4 a game.

How does that compare to the more recent Somerville success? The 2016 squad that lost in the sectional semifinals to Rumson scored 46.7 per game overall, allowing 16.2. The 2017 title team scored 39.8 overall, and allowed 20.2, the fewest points they scored and most they allowed per game in the four-year run that saw The ‘Ville go 43-4 over four seasons, reaching three sectional finals.

But the 8.4 points allowed a game is not a record. It’s only the best since Kevin Carty was head coach in 2004. That team lost in the opening round of the Central Group 2 playoffs to Carteret, 28-8, but only allowed 72 points all year for a 7.2 points per game average. Take out the playoff loss, and they allowed just 4.9 a game during the regular season. This squad allowed 8.6 per game in the regular season.

Thanks for the Turf …

While grass football fields are a rare find these days – Spotswood just got their new field, and Middlesex is hoping it’ll have it soon, waiting on flood control projects in the area since Mountainview Park is in a flood zone – Somerville has had turf since 2009 at Brooks Field. And it’s only been a positive.

Back in the day, Brooks Field used to take a pounding, since nearby Immaculata also played their games there. The Spartans no longer play there, moving to the Torpey Athletic Complex in Bridgewater, just southeast of downtown Somerville. And if it rained? The place turned into a mud bowl.

Certainly guys like Terrell Mitchell and others in past seasons are super fast, but playing on turf just makes them that much more difficult to catch.

The Undefeated, With a Catch…

Since the playoffs expanded to eight teams per section in 1998, there have been six state sectional title winners from Somerset County. (Middlesex has had 28 in that time period.) Three of them have gone undefeated. That includes Hillsborough in 2021 (13-0), Ridge in 2013 (12-0), and Immaculata in 2006 (12-0). Somerville in 2017 and Ridge in 2003 were both 11-1, while Hillsborough’s 2000 upset win over Sayreville had them finish at 9-2.

There are two Somerset County teams playing for titles Friday – Bernards in addition to Somerville – but neither are new to titles. The Pioneers have won eight, and the Mountaineers won their first sectional title of the playoff era last season.

The one quirk here is that Bernards last year became the fourth undefeated sectional champion ever from Somerset County – sort of. They were undefeated after winning their championship, but ended up with a 12-1 record after losing in the Group 2 semifinals to Westwood. That stage didn’t come into play until 2018, and of course, now we have had group champions – one additional round – since 2022.

So, Bernards and Somerville conceivably could both win titles again with undefeated records, but not finish that way.

Hillsborough’s 2021 team is the only other team to go beyond the sectional finals, and they beat Kingsway at Rutgers in the South 5 Regional Championship to finish with a perfect season. The Radiers hold the Somerset County record for victories in a season, with 13.

Only one other Middlesex school has hit that mark: Piscataway, which went 13-0 in 2018, the first year of the expanded playoffs.

Double dip?

If Bernards and Somerville can win titles this weekend, it would be the first time Somerset County has had multiple winners since 1994, when Franklin won Central Jersey Group 3, Somerville won Central 2, and Immaculata won Parochial Group 3.

Two teams won in 1987, but while Franklin beat West Windsor for the Central 3 title, Ridge’s Central 2 title was “declared,” as no other teams qualified in that section. (Teams had to be .500 by the Cutoff to qualify.)

This is also the first time two Somerset schools have reached the finals in the same year since 2017, when Somerville won it’s last championship, topping Rumson-Fair Haven 20-15 at Rutgers, while Bridgewater-Raritan lost to Westfield at Met Life Stadium, 20-7. That was the Panthers third trip – and third straight visit – to the finals; they dropped all three to the Blue Devils, who went a combined 36-0 in that stretch.

Here’s the list of seasons with multiple sectional title winners from Somerset County:

1994: Franklin, Somerville, Immaculata
1987: Franklin, Ridge*
1985: Somerville, Immaculata
1984: Franklin, Immaculata

*declared champions