As the folks at Varsity Aces – Twitter home of the Bergen Record high school sports scribes – noted on Friday, conversation among reporters in the MetLife Stadium press box during the first four of seven state football championships centered around the seeding procedure for the state tournament.

Specifically, it appeared to center around how the state divides up its “sections” on Cutoff Weekend.

“Back in the day” – we’re talking just eight years ago, by the way, not 1974 – there were 20 geographic sections in the state for public schools, four per group. Each had approximately 16 teams, and the top eight made the playoffs.

Some sections were brutal, like North 2, Group 5. Some were not. But that’s the way it went.

Starting in 2018, the NJSIAA – mainly at the behest of a couple of mammoth superconferences, the Super Football Conference in the North and the West Jersey Football League in the South – came up with the “NJ United” plan. And it instead divided the state into two supersections per group, North and South.

The top 16 of 32-or-so teams made in, then they were divided geographically. Eventually, it was decided to “snake” brackets so that each was relatively equal based on strength. State championships in each group were added for the first time in 2022, and this past season, teams were divided geographically again, after the fact, mainly to cut down on travel times in the most congested state in the country.

Now, there is talk of forgetting North and South and taking the top 32 teams in each group statewide, regardless of geography, and splitting them up, perhaps going back to the snaking model.

Who’s ready for a first round game with Montclair traveling down to Washington Township? Hammonton at Northern Highlands? Park Ridge at Glassboro?

Does anyone else see how ridiculous that is?

When will someone stand up and be the voice of reason and simply say, “No.”

We’ll find out in the off-season, when the NJSIAA football committee meets, and takes into account a recent New Jersey Football Coaches’ Association survey on snaking and geography. They’ll come up with yet another tweak, then roll it back the next year when people see how it actually worked – or didn’t – in real life.

The only other big-time sports organization that does anything like this is the NCAA Tournament. The Big Dance. March Madness. And when was the last time you heard a school say “We’re South Regional champs?”

Exactly. Never. They don’t say it. They say “We’re in the Final Four!”

So why are New Jersey’s high school football coaches hell-bent on stripping any meaning away from sectional titles?

Washington Township won the Central Jersey Group 5 title this season. The home field of the Minutemen is 15 miles in a straight line southeast of Center City Philadelphia.

For God’s sake, someone please look at a map!

And the NJSIAA needs some consistency on this issue. In 2024, it eliminated group size from the football power points formula, noting (correctly) that group size isn’t a great indicator of strength. Then, perhaps most notably, they did the same in all other sports, making it consistent across the board.

And a few years ago, the NJSIAA also eliminated the Tournament of Champions. Besides the fact that it reasoned the same few teams won it every year (who cares?) it also sought uniformity; some sports had it, some did not. The result was to get rid of it entirely.

Further back in the day, it was St. Anthony of Jersey City and CBA battling it out every year in the sectional finals in high school basketball. They could never meet in the Tournament of Champions. That’s just the way it was.

In five of the last six playoff seasons, the Colonia boys’ basketball team has won the North 2, Group 3 title. In all six of those, Ramapo has won the North 1, Group 3 title. That means Colonia and Ramapo have faced off in the same round five of the last six years. Would it be better if they played some years for the sectional title, some years in the sectional semis, and other years in the group semis?

Nope.

So what makes football different? Absolutely nothing.

Here’s a thought. Stop tweaking formulas based on who someone thinks should win a title, or who someone thinks should be the top seed. Or, who gets in the playoffs to begin with based on how good someone thinks a team is.

Playing tough opponents – and losing – doesn’t mean squat, folks. Sorry, about that. The only thing that matters in terms of making the playoffs and where you’re seeded is (or should be) winning.

Now, if you want to give me two 4-4 teams or two 8-0 teams and compare their strength of schedules, that’s a fair comparison. If one 8-0 team played all seven-win teams and the other played cupcakes, by all means, give it to the team with a tougher schedule. That only makes sense.

But a 3-6 team that “challenges” itself – and doesn’t successfully meet that challenge – isn’t worthy of a chance to be a champion. Nor are they worthy of the playoffs.

Win, baby, win.

To be the best, you have to play the best, but you also have to beat the best. If that were the case, Rutgers would be in the College Football Playoff almost every year. (Exaggeration, but you get the point.)

But back to the geography question, and the 1-32 seeding theory. Such an idea would take any and all meaning away from sectional championships. They are still esteemed and revered in every other sport. Because they are first determined by geography, not concerned with equal brackets.

But if the football coaches in this state want the best 32 statewide in each group, do us all a favor and don’t pretend anyone is the champion of a section.

They’re just in the Final Four.

Numbers don’t lie.

And sometimes statistics don’t tell the whole story, or even the current story, but they can tell an interesting story, too.

For example, while JP Stevens has struggled in recent years, did you know they have the best overall winning percentage in the playoffs of any Big Central Conference school, with a .714 mark (15-6). That might not stand for long however, as Phillipsburg – which has more playoff game wins than any other BCC team – is right behind them at .710, with a record of 49-20.

A victory over Ramapo this Friday in the Group 4 semifinals would tie the Stateliners with Stevens, but the Hawks still would lead Middlesex County – and by a lot – with the next closest team behind them being Piscataway at .682, though the Chiefs have a lot more overall wins, with 45.

Here are some other noteworthy stats on the Big Central and the state playoffs, which are now in their 51st season, having first come on the scene in 1974. (Remember, there were no playoffs in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Who’s got the most titles?

While no BCC team has won a group championship yet – the NJSIAA only started that three seasons ago, in 2022 – Union leads the Big Central Conference in sectional titles with eleven, followed by Piscataway and Phillipsburg with ten each, and Somerville with nine. The next closest are Sayreville, JP Stevens, Highland Park, Franklin and Hunterdon Central with six each.

Here’s a look at where the Big Central stands statewide, among public schools. *Won title in 2025; BCC schools in bold.

• 1. Paulsboro – 19
• 2. Delsea – 16
• 3. Ramapo* – 15
• 4. Glassboro* – 13
• 5. Cherokee*, Manasquan – 12
• 6. Union, West Morris* – 11
• 7. Butler*, Cedar Grove*, Hoboken, Madison, Middletown South, Phillipsburg*, Piscataway, Wayne Hills, West Essex – 10
• 8. Mainland, Rumson-Fair Haven, Shawnee, Somerville, South River, Summit, Toms River North – 9
• 9. Elizabeth, Glen Rock, Montclair, Woodbury – 8

Who’s made the most finals?

Among public schools, which are more difficult to qualify for, especially in the last decade or so where essentially any non-public that doesn’t opt-out gets in the playoffs, New Providence leads the BCC with 21 trips to the finals after making its second straight appearance this season. But a few teams aren’t far behind. Phillipsburg has made 19 sectional title games, while Piscataway has made 17 and Somerville 16.

Here’s the statewide look again. *Made sectional final in 2025; BCC schools in bold.

• 1. Paulsboro – 30
• 2. Middletown South – 23
• 3. Delsea, Glassboro*, Montclair – 22
• 4. New Providence* – 21
• 5. Ramapo*, Wayne Hills* – 20
• 6. Manasquan, Phillipsburg* – 19
• 7. Hammonton, Hoboken, Mountain Lakes, West Essex – 18
• 8. Butler*, Cherokee, Piscataway – 17
• 9. North Bergen (SFC Ivy), Shawnee, Somerville, South River, West Morris* – 16
• 10. Rumson-Fair Haven, 15

What about playoff berths?

It’s New Providence leading the BCC at 41 appearances in 51 seasons. The next highest total also comes out of Union County, with Union at 36m, while Summit and Elizabeth each have 32. Piscataway has made 31, while South River and Somerville have made 30. Immaculata – a non-public – has 38.

Here’s a look at statewide playoff berth leaders among public schools. *Made playoffs in 2025; BCC schools in bold.

• 1. Paulsboro* – 43
• 2. Mountain Lakes* – 42
• 3. New Providence* – 41
• 4. Manasquan* – 40
• 5. Glassboro*, Hammonton – 39
• 6. Lenape Valley – 38
• 7. North Bergen (SFC Ivy), West Morris* – 37
• 8. Union – 36

Here are a few other statistical notes of interest around the Big Central and the playoffs:

• Somerset County saw history and milestones: Not counting Pingry, which opted out of the playoffs, ten of 12 Somerset County football programs made the finals, including Immaculata. Franklin (5-4 at the cutoff) and North Plainfield (3-6) were the only ones to miss. Meanwhile, Manville picked up its first playoff win ever in six appearances. Montgomery – in just its ninth – made its first ever sectional final, falling back on Friday in the North 2, Group 4 title game at Phillipsburg. The Cougars went 2-1 in the postseason, doubling their previous postseason win total; they had been 1-8, and now are 3-9. And laurels to Bridgewater-Raritan, which won its first-ever sectional title – in its fourth trip to the finals – beating Bayonne to win the North 2, Group 5 championship.
• Middlesex saw its fewest playoff qualifiers in the modern era, but still made history: Only seven “GMC” schools – five public – qualified for the postseason: Colonia, Woodbridge, Old Bridge, Sayreville and Piscataway. By the way, those are three Group 5 schools and two Group 4s. Not a single Group 1, 2 or 3 school from Middlesex County made the postseason – despite Spotswood being 8-1. Either way, it’s the smallest number of schools from Middlesex since the playoffs expanded to eight teams per section in 1998. The previous low was eight, in 2002 and 2003, and the best was 2014, a year when 13 GMC schools (at the time) qualified. And all five teams won their opening round games, the first time the county has gone perfect in the opening round – 5-for-5 – albeit without that many teams in action to begin with. Old Bridge was the only one to make a sectional final, falling to Washington Twp. Since the playoffs expanded, at least one Middlesex County school had made the sectional finals every year until 2013. And while that was only a temporary blip, Middlesex County has only had two sectional finalists since the playoffs resumed in 2021 after the COVID season with no playoffs in 2020. Edison won Central Jersey Group 5 over Lenape in 2022, and then Old Bridge made it this year, leaving the GMC with just one sectional title trophy since 2018.
• Far West BCC did well, but it didn’t pay off: There are seven “outpost” schools, if you will, in the Big Central, including five Hunterdon County schools (Voorhees, Delaware Valley, and the three Hunterdons – North, South and Central) and two from Warren (Phillipsburg and Belvidere). While South Hunterdon and North Hunterdon each struggled through one-win seasons, all the others had very respectable seasons. Besides Phillipsburg – which is 10-1 and playing this Friday in the Group 4 semifinals against Ramapo – Belvidere went 5-5, Delaware Valley 6-4, Voorhees 8-2 and Hunterdon Central 4-5. But only the Stateliners and Voorhees made the playoffs, the Vikings falling in the opening round to Camden. Hunterdon Central’s miss – along with that of Hillsborough – breaks a string of three straight years where all five schools in the American Silver Division had made the playoffs.
• Union had a so-so year, but those that did well… The Union County schools saw 10 of 17 football teams qualify for the postseason. And while only two of them advanced past the first round, those two went to the sectional finals. New Providence made it for the second straight year, falling for a second straight time to Cedar Grove, this time at home in the North 2, Group 1 final. Summit made the North 2, Group 3 title game, but lost at West Morris.