Tag: Gridiron New Jersey

by Mike Pavlichko

NJSIAA, Gridiron New Jersey emphasize urgent importance of reporting football scores this weekend and at the Cutoff

The NJSIAA is reminding football coaches across New Jersey to report their scores as soon as possible after games this week – and next week, Cutoff Weekend – to Gridiron New Jersey, the website that performs all the official calculations for the state’s playoff seeding.

Score reporting to Gridiron is required by NJSIAA rule, and it’s the only outlet that teams are required to do so. Yet, often, they end up on other media outlets first.

In a memo sent to schools and noted in an NJFCA email newsletter Tuesday, coaches are reminded that both schools – winning and losing teams – are required to report their scores, to assure accuracy. Particularly this week, scores still affect the Strength Index, which is used to calculate OSI, 60 percent of the NJ UPR formula, along with power points, which account for the other 40 percent.

Per the NJSIAA’s 2025 Football Tournament Regulations, which are publicly available on their website, “Final scores must be reported within 2 hours of the conclusion of each game to Gridiron New Jersey via email to football@njsiaa.org or via text to Jon Fass. … Please be sure to include both team names and final score. For those schools not timely reporting their game results, as indicated above, a warning will be given the first time the school fails to comply. Future failures to timely report results may be subject to a $150 fine.”

In addition, the NJFCA email to coaches Tuesday reminded all coaches to notify Gridiron of any Week 8 games (Cutoff Weekend, next weekend) that will start at 4 pm or later. The email says “In order to have brackets released as early as possible on Sunday, October 26, then we need scores reported as timely as possible on Saturday, October 25.”

According to the schedule on NJ.com, only one game involving NJSIAA member schools is set to start after 1 pm, that being Lawrence and Riverside in a West Jersey Football League game slated to kickoff at 1:30 pm, while there’s one TBA game in the NJIC: Palisades Park at Bogota. However, the Bogota athletic website indicates that game is at 6 pm. While Palisades Park is currently 24th in the North Group 4 standings and shouldn’t affect anything there, Bogota is 11th in the North Group 1 standings and that results surely will impact that supersection.

However, it would likely only affect the standings in North 1 Group 1, as the sections are determined by Northing. It’s unlikely a Bogota win or loss would affect the 16th or 17th team in the standings, which means the same teams should be in the field regardless, and all that could change is jockeying of position in North 1 Group 1.

Since SI values are locked in prior to Cutoff Weekend, the score won’t affect the standings. Additionally, since Bogota has already played seven games and Palisades Park will play its seventh this week, that game will not count toward residuals for any of their opponents.

That means Bogota, and only the teams in the North 1 Group 1 section would be affected.

by Mike Pavlichko

Some H.S. football teams still not reporting scores to Gridiron New Jersey; NJFCA reminds coaches of their obligations

For the second week in a row, the New Jersey Football Coaches Association is reminding high school coaches in its weekly email that they must report their scores to Gridiron New Jersey as soon as possible after their games are completed.

While many log in and add scores and update statistics on NJ.com, the only mandate from the NJSIAA is that all scores of all games must be reported to Gridiron New Jersey within two hours of a game’s completion, and they need to be reported by both teams for the sake of accuracy.

According to the NJSIAA’s football regulations for 2024: “Final scores must be reported within 2 hours of the conclusion of each game to Gridiron New Jersey via email to football@njsiaa.org or via text to Jon Fass. Please be sure to include both team names and final score. For those schools not timely reporting their game results, as indicated above, a warning will be given the first time the school fails to comply. Future failures to timely report results may be subject to a $150 fine.”

On Week Zero, dozens of scores were not reported around the state, and the NJFCA sent coaches an email reminder.

So far in Week One, with 16 games scheduled Thursday night, four of them were missing as of the NJFCA’s email sent out around 10:15 am. By lunchtime, the missing scores had been reported.

Because the NJSIAA uses Strength Index to determine OSI, which is 60 percent of the UPR playoff formula, and Strength Index is reliant on the scores of game, it’s important scores are reported in a timely fashion, and are accurate.

A wrong score, discovered weeks later, not only affects the two teams in that game, but any subsequent games played by those two opponents, and anyone else they played.

For example, if Team A and Team B play, and their score is wrong, and it’s discovered two weeks later, it also will affect Team A’s next two opponents, and Team B’s. And when Team A plays Team C the following week, it will affect Team C’s and Team A’s opponents the following week.

So, one wrong score, can affect up to a dozen or more teams just two weeks down the line.