Bergen Catholic, wearing red earlier in the season, improved to 4-1 and remains in the Top 5. (photo courtesy whsbombersfootball.com)
Welcome to the New Jersey site of CoachesAid.com, where each Monday we will unveil our rankings of the top 20 football teams in the state, regardless of classification. We will also rank the top 10 teams in each of the five classifications. You agree with our rankings? Disagree? Please make your case in our forum or by emailing Andy Mendlowitz, site editor, at andymendlowitz@coachesaid.com
NEW JERSEY RANKINGS
1 DON BOSCO IRONMEN (4-0) 1 (Previous Ranking)
Last Week: Def. Clifton, 71-0
This Week: at Kennedy, Saturday, 1 p.m.
2 ST. JOSEPH-MONTVALE GREEN KNIGHTS (4-0) 2
Last Week: Def. Fair Lawn, 37-0
This Week: vs. West Milford, Saturday, 1 p.m.
3 WAYNE HILLS PATRIOTS (4-1) 3
Last Week: Def. Bayonne, 56-0
This Week: at Teaneck, Saturday, 7 p.m.
4 ST PETER’S PREP MARAUDERS (3-1) 4
Last Week: Def. Union City, 50-0
This Week: vs. North Bergen, Saturday, 1 p.m.
5 BERGEN CATHOLIC CRUSADERS (4-1) 5
Last Week: Def. Bergen Tech, 53-14
This Week: vs. Hackensack, Saturday, 1 p.m.
6 CHEROKEE CHIEFS (4-0) 6
Last Week: Def. Pennsauken, 24-21 (OT)
This Week: at Washington Township, Friday, 7 p.m.
7 DELSEA CRUSADERS (5-0) 8
Last Week: Def. Absegami, 28-21
This Week: vs. Salesianum, Friday, 7 p.m.
8 MANASQUAN WARRIORS (4-0) 10
Last Week: Def. Barnegat, 21-14
This Week: vs. Middlesex, Saturday, 2 p.m.
9 WILLIAMSTOWN BRAVES (4-0) 10
Last Week: Def. Paramus Catholic, 35-7
This Week: at Clearview, Friday, 7 p.m.
10 PATERSON CATHOLIC COUGARS (5-0) 11
Last Week: Def. Pompton Lakes, 39-0
This Week: at Waldwick, Friday, 7 p.m.
11 HAMMONTON BLUE DEVILS (4-0) 12
Last Week: Def. Ocean City, 41-7
This Week: at Mainland, Friday, 7 p.m.
12 UNION FARMERS (5-0) 13
Last Week: Def. Hillsborough, 42-21
This Week: at Plainfield, Saturday, 1 p.m.
13 MIDDLETOWN SOUTH EAGLES (5-0) 14
Last Week: Def. Central, 49-0
This Week: vs. Wall, Friday, 7 p.m.
14 TIMBER CREEK CHARGERS (4-0) 15
Last Week: Def. Camden, 34-12
This Week: at Shawnee, Friday, 7 p.m.
15 SAYREVILLE BOMBERS (5-0) 17
Last Week: Def. Freehold, 20-7
This Week: vs. East Brunswick, 7 p.m.
16 GLASSBORO BULLDOGS (4-0) 16
Last Week: Def. Gloucester City, 34-7
This Week: vs. Woodstown, Friday, 7 p.m.
17 HUNTERDEON CENTRAL RED DEVILS (5-0) 18
Last Week: Def. Elizabeth, 19-6
This Week: vs. Bridgewater-Raritan, Friday, 7 p.m.
18 HOWELL REBELS (5-0) 19
Last Week: Def. Manalapan, 48-21
This Week: Idle
19 EGG HARBOR EAGLES (5-0) NR
Last Week: Def. Kingsway, 35-15
This Week: vs. Vineland, Friday, 7 p.m.
20 PHILLIPSBURG STATELINERS (3-1) 20
Last Week: Def. Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 40-0
This Week: vs. Elizabeth, Friday, 7 p.m.
Notes: Previous No. 9 Mainland had its toughest test of the season, and the result was a 42-7 loss to Holy Spirit to snap their 15-game winning streak. The rebuilding Mustangs (3-1) now must play No. 11 Hammonton on Friday. … The Top 4 teams dominated, as Don Bosco,St. Joseph-Montvale, Wayne Hills and St. Peter’s outscored their opponents a combined, 214-0. In all, there were seven shutouts from Top 20 teams. … No. 6 Cherokee’s game against Burlco/Olympic American Division foe Pennsauken lived up to expectations, as the Chiefs won on an overtime field goal. Consider that like a conference semifinal, as Cherokee now plays Washington Township (4-0) with the winner likely getting the crown. Washington nipped Pennsauken 12-8 two weeks ago. … Toms River North (3-1), which dropped out of the rankings last week after a 7-3 loss to No. 18 Howell, bounced back nicely with a 34-7 win over Brick Memorial (3-2). … Some tough games await ranked teams this week, including No. 14 Timber Creek at Shawnee (2-2) in a key Burlco/Olympic Liberty Division game, No. 15 Sayreville vs. East Brunswick (4-1) in a Greater Middlesex Conference Red Division game and No. 17 Hunterdon Central vs. Bridgewater-Raritan (4-1) in a Mid-State 39 Delaware Division contest.
GROUP 4
1 Cherokee (4-0) 2
2 Williamstown (4-0) 3
3 Union (5-0) 4
4 Sayreville (5-0) 5
5 Hunterdon Central (5-0) 8
6 Howell (5-0) 9
7 Egg Harbor Township (5-0) 7
8 Phillipsburg (3-1) 10
9 Roxbury (5-0) 6
10 Washington Township (4-0) NR
Notes: Previous No. 1 Mainland drops out with a 42-7 loss to Holy Spirit. … Preseason No. 1 Piscataway (3-2) has bounced back from defeats to No. 4 Sayreville and No. 8 Howell with three wins, including an impressive 44-13 victory over Old Bridge last week. … The remaining undefeated Group 4 teams are Columbia (5-0), Linden (4-0) and Toms River East (4-0).
GROUP 3
1 Wayne Hills (4-1) 1 (Previous Ranking)
2 Hammonton (4-0) 2
3 Middletown South (5-0) 3
4 Timber Creek (5-0) 4
5 Pascack Valley (5-0) 5
6 Irvington (4-1) 7
7 Wayne Valley (3-2) 8
8 Morristown (4-1) 9
9 Ocean (4-0) NR
10 Neptune (3-1) NR
Notes: Previous No. 9 Paramus drops out with its second tough loss in a row, 38-35 to Lakeland. Two weeks ago they lost 22-21 to No. 7 Wayne Valley. … Previous No. 6 Nutley (4-1) drops out after a 31-24 loss to Group 2 West Essex. The Raiders entered averaging 39.8 ppg. … Does No. 7 Wayne Valley ever get a cupcake opponent? The Indians handed Passaic Valley (3-1) its first defeat with a 34-19 win Friday. Next up is Lakeland. Wayne Valley lost twice—7-0 to No. 1 Wayne Hills on Sept. 25 and 2-0 to Clifton in the season-opener. … Ocean gets in at No. 9 after improving to 4-0 with a 49-7 win over winless Colonia. … Neptune enters at No. 10 off a bye week because of the explosive way they did jumping jacks in a practice I attended. Just joking, they get in via their 39-0 win over Wall (3-1) on Oct. 2, and the Fliers have won three straight since their opening 14-6 loss to No. 9 Ocean. … Talking about rebounds, No. 6 Irvington has won four in a row since a 19-6 loss to still undefeated Pope John…. Tenafly is 5-0 but unranked because the Tigers have yet to play a Group 3 school on its Bergen County Scholastic League schedule. However, Tenafly is a small Group 3 school and its 26-20 win over River Dell last week was impressive. … Northern Valley Old Tappan (4-0) gets a chance to show I made a mistake by not ranking them with Friday’s game against No. 5 Pascack Valley.
GROUP 2
1 Delsea (5-0) 1 (Previous Ranking)
2 Manasquan (4-0) 2
3 West Deptford (5-0) 4
4 Summit (5-0) 5
5 Rumson-Fair Haven (5-0) 6
6 River Dell (4-1) 3
7 Lenape Valley (5-0) NR
8 Matawan (3-1) 8
9 Raritan (3-1) 10
10 Long Branch (5-0) NR
Notes: Previous No. 7 Haddonfield (4-1) drops after a 35-13 loss to No. 3 West Deptford. … Previous No. 10 Hillside (3-2) drops out for the second time this season following a 28-26 loss to North Plainfield (2-3), despite outgaining them in total yards, 430-223. Lenape Valley (5-0) enters after an impressive shutout over Chatham. … Long Branch (5-0) is 10th and they have a signature 14-7 win over Red Bank Catholic. … Lincoln (5-0) isn’t ranked because their two Group 4 wins were against teams with a combine 1-9 record and they beat two Group 1 schools. Still, their 68-0 win Saturday over Snyder was impressive. … Keyport (4-0) isn’t ranked because they played all Group 1’s so far.
GROUP 1
1 Glassboro (4-0) 1 (Previous Ranking)
2 Cedar Grove (5-0) 2
3 Mountain Lakes (5-0) 3
4 Penns Grove (4-0) 4
5 Paulsboro (5-0) 5
6 Secaucus (4-0) 6
7 Butler (5-0) 7
8 Hasbrouck Heights (4-0) 8
9 Asbury Park (3-1) 9
10 David Brearley (4-1) 10
Notes: No one loss last week, thus no movement. … No. 6 Secaucus impressively beat Wallington (2-2) in a key Bergen County Scholastic League National game Friday. … In a battle of unranked, unbeaten teams, Belvidere (5-0) nipped Dayton (4-1), 18-13. … Next week, No. 2 Cedar Grove gets a test against Group 2 Orange (3-1) in a nonconference game, and No. 5 Paulsboro plays Woodbury (3-1) in a key Colonial Conference Patriot Division contest. In a Northwest Athletic Conference Independence Division game, No. 7 Butler plays Boonton (4-1). In a common opponent check against Pequannock, Butler won 24-14, while Boonton lost 27-20.
NON-PUBLIC
1 Don Bosco (4-0) 1 (Previous Ranking)
2 St. Joseph-Montvale (4-0) 2
3 St. Peter’s Prep (3-1) 3
4 Bergen Catholic (4-1) 4
5 Paterson Catholic (5-0) 5
6 Saint Augustine (4-0) 6
7 Pope John (5-0) 7
8 Camden Catholic (3-1) 8
9 DePaul (3-2) 9
10 Bishop Eustace (4-0) 10
Notes: For the second straight week, nobody lost in a status quo week. But unlike last week, there were no heart stompers and five big shutouts. … Friday, No. 10 Bishop Eustace plays at Paul VI (5-0).
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