At least a dozen GMC football teams have unofficially qualified for the playoffs
by WoodbridgeFootball.com / MyCentralJersey.com / NJ.com on 11/05/16
A dozen Greater Middlesex Conference high school football teams have
unofficially qualified for the NJSIAA playoffs and one more team remains
on the bubble.
The NJSIAA will announce official playoff pairings and consolation matchups for non-qualifiers on Sunday.
A marquee first-round matchup will unofficially pit fifth-seeded South Brunswick at fourth-seeded Old Bridge in Central Group V, where the defending sectional champion Vikings are looking to avenge a 31-28 season-opening loss to the Knights.
The eight teams with the most power points in each section at the conclusion of this weekend’s action will qualify for the playoffs, which commence with first-round games next weekend at the site of the higher seed.
The semifinals will be contested on the weekend of Nov. 18-19, also at the higher seed, while the public school sectional finals and non-public school group championships will be played Dec. 2-4 at neutral sites to be determined.
The sectional finals will be contested at MetLife Stadium (10 games on Dec. 2-4), at Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions Stadium (four games on Dec. 10), at Kean University’s Alumni Stadium (four games on Dec. 10) and at Rowan University’s Richard Wackar Stadium (five games on Dec. 2-4).
The NJSIAA’s power point ranking system is predicated upon the sum total of the best seven of a team’s eight completed games at the time of the state cutoff date, which is Saturday night.
Piscataway and New Brunswick have also unofficially qualified in Central Group V, while Carteret and South Plainfield have unofficially qualified in Central Group III.
Sayreville, Colonia, Woodbridge and J.F. Kennedy have unofficially qualified in North 2 Group IV.
St. Joseph has secured the No. 8 seed in Non-Public Group IV and will play at either Paramus Catholic or Bergen Catholic, depending on how the NJSIAA interprets a convoluted power point ruling as it pertains to those North Jersey Super Conference powers.
As the No. 7 seed in Non-Pubic Group III, Bishop Ahr will make its 22nd postseason appearance, playing a first-round game at DePaul.
Piscataway locked up the No. 2 seed in the section with a 52-13 win over Edison on Friday night. The victory knocked the Eagles out of playoff contention while simultaneously securing for New Brunswick a postseason berth.
New Brunswick, the No. 8 seed, will unofficially face top-seeded Manalapan, which rallied from a 10-0 deficit for a 21-10 victory over Piscataway last weekend. The Chiefs will host a first-round game against No. 7 seed Hunterdon Central.
Sayreville appears to have qualified as the No. 5 seed in its section and will likely play a first-round game at Phillipsburg.
Colonia appears to be the No. 6 seed in its section and will likely play a first-round game at Summit or Middletown North, whose seed will be determined by residual points. Woodbridge appears to be the No. 7 seed in the same section and will play either Summit or Middletown North.
J.F. Kennedy is unofficially the No. 8 seed in its section and will play at Middletown South.
South Plainfield appears to have secured a first-round home game in its section. The Tigers could be seeded as high as third, depending on residual points.
Carteret, also depending on residual points, could be seeded seventh or eighth in its section.
Highland Park could be the 13th GMC school to qualify for the playoffs.
The Owls (4-4) entered this weekend’s action with 56 power points, the eighth most in Central Group I and one less than a 2-6 Keansburg team it defeated 33-20 earlier this season. Highland Park needed Florence to lose to New Egypt, which happened on Friday night, to keep its postseason hopes alive. The Owls’ playoff hopes may hinge on residual points. Keansburg can pick up residual points on Saturday with a South River win over Dunellen and with a Sussex Tech win over Morris Catholic. The Owls can pick up residual points from whoever wins the South River at Dunellen game.
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