No Central Jersey In New High School Football Classifications

Is there a Central Jersey? Not according to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), at least not when it comes to football.

The NJSIAA recently posted its public schools classifications for the upcoming high school football season, and there’s a big change from past seasons.

North I and North II are no more, as there are only classifications for North Jersey as a whole. Central Jersey has been eliminated as a classification altogether, as those teams are now considered part of South Jersey.

The new classifications are part of the revamped playoff system that was approved in the spring. While there are still five groups divided according to school size, there are now two regional playoffs in each group, as opposed to four. Instead of four regions of eight teams, there will be two regions of 16, and there will be an additional round added to the playoffs.

The sectional quarterfinals will be held in Week 9, followed by the sectional semifinals in Week 10 and the sectional finals in Week 11. Sectional finals will now be played at the home field of the higher seeded team. After Thanksgiving, a new round of the playoffs will be held.

The new round will be known as the Public “Single A” and “Double A” bowl games, and each game will match champions from each of the sections. The two teams from North Jersey will play each other, and the South champion will play the Central champion, with all games taking place at MetLife Stadium.

Read more here: New Playoff Format For NJ High School Football Begins This Fall

As a result, teams in Mercer County now find themselves in regions labeled “South Jersey.” To see where each team is placed, visit njsiaa.org.

This could be considered one more aspect of the debate whether Central Jersey exists. Gov. Phil Murphy and comedian Jon Stewart certainly believe. The new question now is how many of these Central Jersey teams will be crowned South Jersey champions?

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