NJIC – Central Jersey Sports Radio

A win in the Group 4 title game over Ramapo makes Winslow Twp. the top-rated New Jersey high school football, according to the Strength Index, a major part of the NJSIAA’s playoff formula.

In Central Jersey Sports Radio’s final unofficial calculations, the Eagles finished the year No. 1, with an SI value of 109.49 points. That’s 4.63 points higher than Don Bosco Prep, which was upset by St. Joseph-Montvale in the Non-Public Group B final, and finished at 104.86; the Green Knights finished at 100.79, seventh statewide.

Non-Public B champion DePaul finished 13th in the state, with a 93.64 rating.

Among the other public schools, Group 1 champ Glassboro came in fifth at 102.29. Group 2 winner Camden checked in at 104.52, in third. Group 3 winner Cedar Creek was at 97.97, finishing tenth, and Washington Township – the Group 5 champ – finished sixth with a 101.64 SI value.

South Jersey public schools swept the Group Finals in 2025.

Before the 2026 season begins, each team’s ranking will be “centered” by one-third around a mid-point of 60. Teams above 60 are reduced by one-third (i.e., a team rated 90, which is 30 points higher than 60, would be reduced by 10 and start the year as an 80), while the opposite would happen for teams below 60; their SI value would increase. This is to make the value less reliant on historical data, since the SI carries over from the previous season.

Here are the final, unofficial, Strength Index ratings for all NJSIAA schools, first by rank, then in alphabetical order, in PDF format.

2025 FINAL STRENGTH INDEX RATINGS Download

2025 FINAL STRENGTH INDEX RATINGS (alphabetical)Download

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.

A handful of Big Central football teams could stand to benefit from the 23 North Jersey schools that have agreed to skip the playoffs this year in exchange for schedule relief.

Those schools are currently listed in the UPR standings on Gridiron New Jersey, which is the official calculator of the NJSIAA’s complex playoff qualification formula. But they will be taken out of the UPR formula by Gridiron New Jersey in the coming weeks, according to Westwood Athletic Director Dan Vivino.

That could lead to a better playoff position – or even a better shot at getting in the playoffs – for several Big Central teams. Those in the North 5, North 4, North 3, and North 2 supersections would be affected.

The teams hail from the North Jersey Super Football Conference’s Ivy White and Ivy Red Division, as well as the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference’s United Division, according to Vivino.

In North 5, Memorial, Dickinson and Bergen Tech would be out. Memorial is the only team currently in the top 16, which make the playoffs. That could boost the chances for a team like Plainfield, which is 1-3 at the moment, but 19th in the standings.

North 4 would lose Cliffside Park, Ferris, Palisades Park, Fair Lawn, and Tenafly. Cliffside Park is the closest to the playoffs, sitting in 17th at 2-1.

In North 3, Dover, Dwight Morrow (Englewood), Fort Lee and Snyder would be out. Fort Lee would be the most notable exception, at 3-0, in 18th place. An NJSIAA rule says any team that finishes the year undefeated automatically makes the playoffs, regardless of their standing. North Plainfield (1-3) is right behind them in 19th.

North 1 could see the biggest impact, with Glen Ridge, Bogota, Saddle Brook and Weehawken out. Glen Ridge is in 15th at 2-1, Bogota is 6th at 2-0, and Saddle Brook is three places out of a playoff spot at 1-1. Brearley of the Big Central currently sits in 12th at 3-0 in that supersection.

Typically, an NJSFC schedule would follow the “3-3-3” rule, three challenging teams, three games that could go either way, and three more winnable games, all in an effort to achieve parity and fairness.

Vivino – the scheduler for the NJSFC – says the idea of giving teams “relief” is to give them an easier schedule with similar schools to avoid demoralizing defeats, getting blown out week in and week out.

But asking for relief comes at a price: giving up a shot at the playoffs. The theory being that teams asking for relief could load up and run the table against much weaker squads, then make the playoffs over teams that might be more deserving.

Vivino says each of those schools has to sign a letter – approved and recognized by the NJSIAA – acknowledging they won’t be in the playoffs, regardless of where they stand at the end of the year.

Vivino says Gridiron New Jersey is working to remove those teams from its display of the UPR standings, though they will probably be around for another week.

It’s not as simple as “skipping over” one of the ineligible teams in the UPR standings, either. That’s because the UPR is made up of 40-percent power point average rank, and 60-percent OSI rank. Each team must first be taken out of those rankings, the new rank calculated, and a new UPR calculated.

Take Bogota, for example. They’re 6th in UPR, but 8th in power point average and in OSI. Once they’re removed, Mountain Lakes would move from 9th to 8th in power points, but stay where they are at third in OSI. So their UPR drops 0.4 points to an 8.2. Even though they’re ahead of Bogota in UPR, they could move up, if there were a team close enough to them to jump. (There’s not now, but there could easily be any other given week.)

In addition, all games played will still count toward power points for other teams, as well as for Strength Index and OSI. And those teams’ SI numbers must be calculated each week as well, since they are used as part of the basis for the next season (recentered up or down around a midpoint of 60 at the start of each year).

In a way, it’s like a team that has multiple ejections and is ineligible for the playoffs. They still play, power points still count for other teams, etc. They just can’t be in the postseason. The same applies here.

However, Vivino points out that – at least in the NJSFC – there will be a non-NJSIAA postseason for the top teams in the Ivy Divisions, and even a trophy handed out to the champion.