With a paucity of Group 2 teams in the Big Central Conference to begin with – something that has caused issues for some in the past – just two right now are in the field of 16 in either supersection: Bernards in North 2 and Spotswood in South 2.
Quite the contrast with Group 4, with has seven of the eight teams in the North 2 section from the Big Central Conference. That means we might be guaranteed a sectional champion there after the first round! But we digress.
In the northern half of the state, the only team even there is Bernards, and the Mountaineers have a shot at one of the two top seed. Either way, they’ll be in the North 2 section rather than North 1, with Bernards currently sitting in second. But they’re just 0.4 UPR points behind Shabazz, ground that’s not impossible to make up, especially if they can win Saturday at Summit (5-1). That’s no easy task, but there are a ton of power points up for grabs.
Gone are the struggles Spotswood had with a one-loss team hoping they’d make the playoffs. The Chargers have been so good this year, 6-0, one of eight unbeaten teams left in the Big Central Conference. Their reward? They’re sitting 12th overall, sixth in the Central Group 2 section.
Bound Brook – which Spotswood beat last week – has helped their cause. After a couple of years of struggles, the Crusaders had four wins coming into that game. That was a strength-of-schedule killer before, but now it’s an asset.
And the better news for Spotswood is that the teams ahead of them in Central 2 are tightly packed. They won’t need to jump extra spaces. While the Chargers are 12th overall, 6th in their section, ahead of them is Wall (11th overall), Bordentown (10th) and Manasquan (9th) in fourth in the section. There’s a direct path to a home game, and if they win out, there’s a chance they could get one.
On the outside looking in right now are Voorhees and Governor Livingston, back to back. And they play each other this weekend in what could best be described as a pseudo play-in game. Each may be able to make it regardless, but if it comes down to one being 16th and the other 17th on Cutoff Weekend, the head-to-head could get that 17 in, or keep the 16 out.
For what it’s worth, Voorhees is significantly closer than the Highlanders, even though it’s one spot. They’re just 0.6 UPR points behind Pt. Pleasant Boro and Overbrook, who are tied for 15th, and the eight-seeds in their respective sections (Point in Central, Overbrook in South).
The Highlanders are 18th overall, 4.6 UPR points out. That’s a lot of ground to make up, and they’re 3-3. Having winless New Brunswick (UPR 21.6) on Cutoff Weekend won’t help. Assuming they win that game, which they should, they’ll still need to make up ground and – at the very least – probably need to beat either Voorhees at home this week or Bernards on the road next week to get in. It’s highly likely 1-2 in those three games won’t cut it.
