Shore Conference – 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.

The Shore Conference announced with much fanfare in the off season that its last two weeks of regular season play would include pod championships, inspired by what leagues did during the 2020 COVID season when the NJSIAA decided not to have state playoffs. They would group the top four teams in a bracket, followed by the next four, and the next four, and award trophies to each champion.

But on the week those pods would have been announced, a surprise announcement: that plan is dead in the water.

As first reported by NJ Advance Media, the surprise announcement came today, along with a full, pre-determined schedule of games for Weeks 8 and 9.

Marlboro Athletic Director Dave Ryden told NJ Advance’s Joe Zedalis that the pods turned out to be a logisitcal nightmare, including issues like finding buses on short notice, rematches from earlier regular season games, and getting intent cards to the NJSIAA with unnamed opponents.

The NJIC up in North Jersey has run a similar system for years now, seemingly without such major issues, and will continue to do so this year.

The full schedule of Week 8 and 9 games can be found here.

The changes could affect Big Central conference teams vying for playoff berths, home playoff games, or even one of the top seeds in the sectionals. A strong team might have faced two similarly strong opponents, and lost both. Now, opponents will be predetermined both weeks.