After an exciting second week of the high school football playoffs, one new team moved into the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25 rankings.
Every week, voters from across theNetwork rank the Top 25 teams in the state. The statewide rankings will be posted every Tuesdaymorning.
Here are the Top 25 rankings after Week 11:
25. Woodrow Wilson (7-2)
Last game:Quarterback Devin Kargman threw three touchdown passes, including his program-record 72ndof his career, and rushed for a fourth score as the two-time defending sectional champion Tigers checked back into the title game. NuNu Oglesby found the end zone twice, including one on a long 70-yard pass play.
Next game: Friday at Rumson-Fair Haven (9-1)
24. Irvington (9-2)
Last game: Raheem Wright scored twice, including a 19-yard touchdown grab from Saquan Gordon with 23 seconds left, to lift the Blue Knights to a 14-7 win over Colonia on Friday night. The top seed in North 2, Group 4 held an opponent to seven points or less for the seventh time this season.Irvington has never won a sectional championship in football.
Next game:Friday vs. Middletown South (8-1)
23. Somerville (8-3)
Last game:The fourth-seeded Pioneers lost 27-0 to top-seeded Cedar Creek in the South Group 3 semifinals. Somerville’s two other losses were 32-20 against state-ranked Northern Highlands on Sept. 5 and a COVID-related forfeit on Oct. 8.
Next game:Season complete
22. Union (9-2)
Last game:The top-seeded Farmers forfeited their game against fifth-seeded Eastside in the North 2m Group 5 semifinals because of positive COVID tests. Union had won nine-straight since an opening 31-28 loss to state-ranked Millville.
Next game:Season complete
21. St. Joseph (Montvale) (6-4)
Last game:The third-seeded Green Knights lost to sixth-seeded Don Bosco, 31-7, in Sunday’s Non-Public A quarterfinal. Junior QB Luck Henrich threw a 70-yard TD pass to junior Donovan McKoy in a game suspended Saturday late in the first quarter due to bad weather.
Next game:Season complete
20. Ocean City (11-0)
Last game:Ocean City remained unbeaten with a 45-10 semifinal win over Long Branch. Jacob Wilson rushed for a game-high 152 yards and a score while Sean Mazzitelli added 100 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. The 45 points are a season-best for Ocean City, which has topped 40 points in three of its last four games.
Next game: Friday at Millville (9-1)
19. Winslow (8-2)
Last game:The top-seeded Eagles soared to their third straight win with a 41-14 victory over Colts Neck in the Central Jersey Group 4 bracket, securing the team’s first-ever appearance in a sectional title game. Trey Thorpe created havoc on both sides of the ball as he rushed for three touchdowns and picked off three passes.
Next game: Saturday vs. Shawnee (7-3)
18. Cranford (10-0)
Last game: The top-seeded Cougars remained unbeaten with a 42-7 win over fourth-seeded Pascack Valley in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals as Colin Murray rushed for 212 yards and two TDs.
Next game:Friday vs. Sparta (8-3)
17. Seton Hall Prep (7-4)
Last game:A 20-point fourth quarter saw the Pirates comeback attempt fall short in a 21-20 loss to St. Peter’s Prep in the Non-Public A quarterfinals on Friday. Jaden Craig found Brody Davis for a 28-yard touchdown pass and Myles Thomason rushed for two touchdowns in the final quarter, but a two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete to end their season.
Next game:Season complete
16. St. Joseph Academy (8-2)
Last game:The third-seeded Wildcats extended their winning streak to six with a 45-12 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas in the Non-Public B tournament. St. Joseph racked up 323 yards on the ground, including a game-high 136 by Kevin Mayfield. Cohl Mercado (98 yards) and Mayfield each rushed for two touchdowns apiece.
Next game: Friday at Red Bank Catholic (9-1)
15. Ramapo (10-1)
Last game:The second-seeded Green Raiders broke 40 points for the eighth time thi season with Friday’s 41-31 victory over sixth-seeded Ridge in a North 1, Group 4 semifinal. Junior QB Jack Grusser went 16-for-26 for 217 yards and five touchdowns, and junior WR Ben Robinson had nine catches for 83 yards and four scores.
Next game:Friday at Northern Highlands (11-0)
14. East Orange (10-0)
Last game:The Jaguars withstood poor weather and a nearly one-hour lightning delay in a 14-0 home win over rival West Orange in Saturday’s North 1, Group 5 semifinal. Kyle Louis broke a scoreless tie with a 70-yard punt returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Damon Phillips rushed for 152 yards to lead the East Orange offense
Next game:Saturday vs. Passaic Tech (8-3) in the North 1, Group 5 final
13. Delsea (11-0)
Last game:The third-seeded Crusaders earned a spot in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game after accepting a forfeit from Wall, which bowed out of the tournament following an alleged hazing incident within its program. Delsea has posted 40 or more points in four straight games, including a 48-21 victory over Ewing on Nov. 5.
Next game: Saturday at Cedar Creek (11-0)
12. St. Peter's Prep (8-3)
Last game:The fourth-seeded Marauders held off fifth-seeded Seton Hall Prep, 21-20, in a Non-Public Group A quarterfinal after denying a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. Senior RB Sam Slade ran for 203 yards and a touchdownas the Marauders beat Seton Hall Prep by one point for the second time this season.
Next game:Saturday at Bergen Catholic (10-0)
11. Millville (9-1)
Last game:The top-seeded Thunderbolts checked into their first sectional final in five years with a 50-15 rout of Pennsauken in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament on Friday. LeQuint Allen rushed 20 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns while Nate Robbins became the first quarterback in program history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in a season.
Next game: Friday vs. Ocean City (11-0)
10. Rumson-Fair Haven (9-1)
Last game: The defense put together another dominant performance, holding a Burlington Township team that had been averaging 35.6 points a game to no first downs and 20 yards of total offense in a 34-0 win. It was the second consecutive playoff game that Rumson-Fair Haven held the opposition without a first down.
Next game:Friday vs. Woodrow Wilson (7-2)
9. Red Bank Catholic (9-1)
Last week:One day after his mother died from cancer, senior quarterback Alex Brown accounted for eight touchdowns – six passing and two rushing – in the Caseys' 58-34 win over Morris Catholic in a Non-Public B quarterfinal. Brown went 12-for-21 for 238 yards passing and carried seven timesfor 75 yards rushing.
Next game:Friday vs. St. Joseph Academy (8-2)
8. Donovan Catholic (6-5)
Last game: A Jalin Butler to Kyree Drake 48-yard TD pass on a slant pulled the Griffins within 14-7 early in the second quarter, but No. 1 Bergen Catholic pulled away in the second quarter for a 35-7 win in a Non-Public A quarterfinal.
Next game:Season complete
7. Don Bosco (7-4)
Last game:Junior RB Ronnie Heath rushed for four touchdowns and the sixth-seeded Ironmen avenged a regular-season loss with Sunday’s 31-7 victory at third-seeded St. Joseph (Montvale) in a Non-Public Group A quarterfinal. Junior QB Nick Minicucci was 7-for-12 for 149 yards.
Next game:Friday at St. Augustine (9-1)
6. Cedar Creek (11-0)
Last game:The Pirates’ defense came up with one of its best performances of the season, silencing Somerville in a 27-0 shutout in the South Jersey Group 3 bracket. With three takeaways, Cedar Creek notched its first shutout since it began the season with four straight. Somerville had been averaging close to 40 points per game.
Next game: Saturday vs. Delsea (11-0)
5. Hillsborough (11-0)
Last game:Senior running backTyler Michinardset a school record with seven touchdowns – six rushing and one receiving – and ran for 151 yards on 23 carries as top-seeded Hillsborough rolled to a 49-14 win over fifth-seeded Williamstown in the Central Group 5 semifinals.
Next game:Friday vs. North Brunswick (8-3)
4. DePaul (8-2)
Last game:The top-seeded Spartans’ 42-2 victory over eighth-seeded Immaculata in Friday’s Non-Public Group B quarterfinal marked the fifth time their defense has not allowed a touchdown this season. Senior QB AJ Rodriguez threw two TD passes and ran for a score.
Next game:Friday vs. Holy Spirit (4-5)
3. Northern Highlands (11-0)
Last game:Monmouth-bound senior QB Enzo Arjona threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for a score, to pace the top-seeded Highlanders to Friday’s 28-7 victory over fifth-seeded Mount Olive in a North 1, Group 4 semifinal. They led 28-0 in the third quarter.
Next game:Friday vs. Ramapo (10-1)
2. St. Augustine (9-1)
Last game:The second-seeded Hermits ran their winning streak to nine with a 28-13 workmanlike victory over Delbarton on Friday. Kanye Udoh rushed 32 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns while Trey McLeer threw for 135 yards and two scores. St. Augustine is chasing the program’s first title since it won Parochial Group 1 in 1995.
Next game: Friday vs. Don Bosco Prep (7-4)
1. Bergen Catholic (10-0)
Last game:Senior RB Ryan Butler rushed for three touchdowns and caught a scoring pass as the top-seeded Crusaders pulled away to a 35-7 win over Donovan Catholic in a game that was completed Sunday after beingsuspended Saturday due to weather.
Next game:Saturday vs. St. Peter’s Prep (8-3)
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Caldwell, Clifton, Newton
