When the NJSIAA high school football playoffs start next weekend, 25 teams from the 59-school Big Central Conference are expected to participate, with 14 of them starting at home, and two of them earning top seeds: Bridgewater-Raritan in North 2 Group 5, and defending North 2 Group 4 Phillipsburg. Here's a look at Central Jersey Sports Radio's unofficial projected matchups, by section.

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio's projected playoff brackets for all four Group 1 public sections. The NJSIAA will unveil the official brackets Sunday via Gridiron New Jersey. The brackets will become official at noon Monday.

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio's projected playoff brackets for all four Group 2 public sections. The NJSIAA will unveil the official brackets Sunday via Gridiron New Jersey. The brackets will become official at noon Monday.

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio's projected playoff brackets for all four Group 3 public sections. The NJSIAA will unveil the official brackets Sunday via Gridiron New Jersey. The brackets will become official at noon Monday.

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio's projected playoff brackets for all four Group 4 public sections. The NJSIAA will unveil the official brackets Sunday via Gridiron New Jersey. The brackets will become official at noon Monday.

Here are Central Jersey Sports Radio's projected playoff brackets for all four Group 5 public sections. The NJSIAA will unveil the official brackets Sunday via Gridiron New Jersey. The brackets will become official at noon Monday.

With Friday night's Cutoff Weekend high school football games all in the books, Central Jersey Sports Radio is updating the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings as we head into Saturday action. We'll have further analysis late morning into the afternoon Saturday, with our 2025 "Playoff Projection Show" scheduled for 6 pm where we give our bracket projections. The full tournament for the public schools will be unveiled on Sunday by the NJSIAA via Gridiron New Jersey.

With Friday night's Cutoff Weekend high school football games all in the books, Central Jersey Sports Radio is updating the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings as we head into Saturday action. We'll have further analysis late morning into the afternoon Saturday, with our 2025 "Playoff Projection Show" scheduled for 6 pm where we give our bracket projections. The full tournament for the public schools will be unveiled on Sunday by the NJSIAA via Gridiron New Jersey.

With Friday night's Cutoff Weekend high school football games all in the books, Central Jersey Sports Radio is updating the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings as we head into Saturday action. We'll have further analysis late morning into the afternoon Saturday, with our 2025 "Playoff Projection Show" scheduled for 6 pm where we give our bracket projections. The full tournament for the public schools will be unveiled on Sunday by the NJSIAA via Gridiron New Jersey.

With Friday night's Cutoff Weekend high school football games all in the books, Central Jersey Sports Radio is updating the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings as we head into Saturday action. We'll have further analysis late morning into the afternoon Saturday, with our 2025 "Playoff Projection Show" scheduled for 6 pm where we give our bracket projections. The full tournament for the public schools will be unveiled on Sunday by the NJSIAA via Gridiron New Jersey.

With Friday night's Cutoff Weekend high school football games all in the books, Central Jersey Sports Radio is updating the unofficial NJSIAA playoff standings as we head into Saturday action. We'll have further analysis late morning into the afternoon Saturday, with our 2025 "Playoff Projection Show" scheduled for 6 pm where we give our bracket projections. The full tournament for the public schools will be unveiled on Sunday by the NJSIAA via Gridiron New Jersey.

Nothing will be known officially, for real, until Sunday, when the NJSIAA announces the seeding for the high school football playoffs some time late Sunday morning or early in the afternoon. But as of Friday night, it appears three Big Central teams that were on the bubble - or at least just not sure if they had clinched a playoff spot, like in the case of Hillsborough - clinched or solidified their postseason futures.

It was all there laid out for the Manville football team this week. A chance to clinch their first perfect regular season since 1968, and a chance to win the Freedom Silver Division title in the Big Central Conference. They took those chances, and ran with it. And threw it. And scored a bunch in a 49-7 road win at Bound Brook, which has put together a nice five-win regular season, and may still have a chance at making the playoffs with some help.

With Cutoff Weekend here, many games across the state will have playoff implications, and the Big Central Conference is no exception. There are 22 games in the league tonight - seven of them involving teams in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten - and XXXXX will have some kind of impact on the playoff races, even if just for one of the teams.

Every year, the NJSIAA seems to tweak the playoff formula a little bit. Last year, it was the multipliers and power points. Group size was taken out of the power points formula, with the NJSIAA essentially saying it was no longer relevant to the strength of a team. And multipliers were moved to OSI, with bonuses for beating one eliminated, and the bonus for a loss curtailed significantly.

There were 13 high school football games Thursday night, but only seven playoff-eligible games (Ivy Divisions in the Super Football Conference aren't playoff-eligible). Those games didn't have a big impact on the standings, but when combined with the rest of the results to come in Friday and Saturday, they could have some real sway in who makes the postseason and who doesn't.

The entire high school football season is a lot of fun, from the eternal hope that springs in the hot summer days of August through pre-season camp and scrimmages, to that first time under the lights, to the air getting cooler, right through the sectional and state championships at Rutgers and the Meadowlands. But Cutoff Weekend is one unique ride, indeed.

For the fans, and yes, some of the coaches, Cutoff Weekend is about more than the football game itself. You still may have to go out and win a game. Few teams are locked in like they used to be when we used just regular old power points. But everyone wants to know where they can finish, who they might play, and if they're going to get a home game or not.

It's Cutoff Weekend in New Jersey high school football, and we're taking a look at the playoff scenarios for every Big Central team in contention. This week, Strength Index values are locked in, and out-of-state opponent SI values also have been updated by Gridiron New Jersey, which does all the official calculations of the NJ UPR formula for the NJSIAA. And we've double- and triple-checked our own standings to make sure they match with Gridiron's.

When debating who to choose for the Week 7 Bellamy & Son Paving Player of the week, I asked by broadcast partner for that game, Justin Sontupe, for his take. "No doubt in my mind Somerville loses without him. He did everything." Surely, it takes a whole team to win. He doesn't do what he did without the offensive line. Or the defense - which he had to be a part of when a cornerback went down - holding a talented Plainfield team in check.

Cutoff Weekend is here! We're going to find out this weekend who gets top seeds, home games, who gets in, who's left out, and all the matchups. And that means it's time to talk about it all with Central Jersey Sports Radio analyst Marcus Borden! Mike and Marcus look back at the week gone by, including St. Joseph-Metuchen's win St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as unbeatens Woodbridge and Sayreville getting knocked off.

It's Cutoff Weekend in New Jersey high school football, and we're taking a look at the playoff scenarios for every Big Central team in contention. This week, Strength Index values are locked in, and out-of-state opponent SI values also have been updated by Gridiron New Jersey, which does all the official calculations of the NJ UPR formula for the NJSIAA. And we've double- and triple-checked our own standings to make sure they match with Gridiron's.

As we've been doing all season long, Central Jersey Sports Radio is highlighting the high school football "Speedster of the Week" presented by Higgins Speed Lab in South Brunswick, recognizing the top runningbacks in the Big Central Conference every week. And the Week Seven winner is Somerville's Aidan Vesuvio-Bush! Back on Friday night, in a 40-28 win over Plainfield heard live on Central Jersey Sports Radio…

It's Cutoff Weekend in New Jersey high school football, and we're taking a look at the playoff scenarios for every Big Central team in contention. This week, Strength Index values are locked in, and out-of-state opponent SI values also have been updated by Gridiron New Jersey, which does all the official calculations of the NJ UPR formula for the NJSIAA. And we've double- and triple-checked our own standings to make sure they match with Gridiron's.

Once again, it's time for the "Elite Performers of the Week," brought to you by Elite QB Football Training Academy, for Week 7 of the New Jersey high school football season! Founded and run by Matt Bastardi, a former high school and college quarterback who has either played the position or coached it for over 40 years, Elite QB trains players at all position levels, with an emphasis on QBs.