Football Cinderella Scenarios: Three Low-Seeded Teams that can Win Their Section

The New Jersey public school football playoffs have arrived, and with them 20 brackets and 160 teams vying for championship glory. While of course the postseason continues for two more rounds, a sectional title is still considered a state championship (they do order rings for them after all!), and hold an incredible amount of value as measuring the success of a season. 

Not all brackets are created equal on these championship journeys, with some packed to the brim with talent (I’m looking at you North 2, Group 3). A few sections are so deep that the seedings are more like suggestions than set in stone rankings of who is truly most likely to win the whole thing. With that said, here are three teams not hosting in the first round that I believe have a real shot to shock the state and take home a sectional championship.

Summit Hilltoppers (6-3, #6 in North 1, Group 4)

As I mentioned above, some brackets have a high density of talented teams, and Summit’s is certainly among them. The top three seeds of Roxbury, Northern Highlands, and Morris Knolls are all legitimate contenders with well-respected head coaches, and dimensions on their teams that give them an “it” factor. Heck, even the number eight seeded Carteret has one of the top-10 rushers in the state!

Some might look at that depth of talent as daunting, but Summit should see it as an opportunity. Few coaches are more creative than the Hilltopper’s Kevin Kostibos. Last season they lost their starting quarterback to injury and responded by converting to a wildcat offense in the first half of the year before converting a star linebacker into their signal-caller. That star linebacker – Matt McKeever – is now third in the state among primary quarterbacks in rushing, and first in yards per carry, while tallying a staggering 89 tackles on defense. Tailback Gavin Schnall has also chipped in over 900 yards this season, as part of a one-two punch that’s given Summit the 15th best rushing attack in the state. 

On the other side of the ball, the Hilltoppers have generated 15 turnovers, registered 41 tackles for a loss, and held opponents to an average of 16.2 points per game. Those figures right there along with their ability to run the football, give them more than a fighting chance against their first round opponent in Morris Knolls.

Will it be easy? Absolutely not. Summit’s section is an absolute gauntlet, and they’ll open against the best scoring offense in the state. But hey, they weren’t “supposed to” make it to the sectional finals last year and proved the doubters wrong. Why can’t they take it a step further this season?

Somerville (5-4, #6 Seed in North 2, Group 3)

Last postseason was a huge bummer for the Pioneer faithful. As defending Central, Group 3 champs, the ‘Ville looked poised to repeat, grabbing the number two seed after a brilliant 8-1 regular season. Then came Matawan, and a first round exit. 

Now Somerville is back, this time as a six seed in a playoff field littered with unfamiliar foes. In fact, the only team out of their seven counterparts they’ve ever played is their first round opponent Holmdel, who won the Central, Group 3 section last season. That unfamiliarity could bode well for a Pioneers team whose four losses were against traditional Big Central Conference rivals who have a little more insight into what Matt Bloom’s teams like to do. 

In a way, those losses actually help paint the picture of just how good this team is. The Pioneers held leads in each game, causing fits for Group 5 powers Piscataway and Sayreville, dominating Montgomery in stretches, and nearly halting #18 Elizabeth’s perfect regular season. 

And when Somerville won, they won big with an average margin of victory of +26.8 points. 

It’s also worth noting that the Pioneer’s schedule was stacked, featuring just one opponent in their group, three in Group 4, four in Group 5, and one Non-Public B. 

Additionally, this roster is flushed with talent in all phases of the game. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Boehm has taken a huge step forward in his second season as a starter, complimented by the emergence of wide receiver James Hampton as a dual-threat to form a lethal combination on offense. As for the defense, take your pick. Seniors Shyheim Hobbs-Harris and Nikhai Smith have been nightmares to gameplan against, anchoring a unit that amassed 17 sacks, 43 tackles for a loss, and 11 turnovers. 

Overall, Somerville is a squad that has the rare combination of having faced a lot of adversity, the talent to overcome it, and the coach to help get them there. They’re another team that has a lot of obstacles in front of them, but make no mistake, they have just as good a shot of winning it all as anyone. 

Mountain Lakes (5-4, #5 Seed in North 2, Group 1)

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the success of the Herd Wing-T. Despite losing the three headed backfield monster of Carson Fitch, Billy Barrett, and Massimo Corvelli to graduation, Mountain Lakes still managed to rush for over 2,000 yards and win five games in a schedule loaded with very good Group 2 schools. 

Like the other two teams on this list, the Herd have impeccable leadership, with four-time sectional champ and 2023 Group 1 title winner Darrell Fusco steering the ship. Talent obviously plays a big role, but more than almost any other sport, especially at the high school level, coaching has perhaps the biggest impact on a football team’s postseason potential. 

In a section with Cedar Grove, Hasbrouck Heights, Butler, and Wood-Ridge, Coach Fusco will undoubtedly have his boys prepared to handle anything thrown at them.

The elephant in the room here of course is the Herd’s 34-0 loss at home against top-seeded Cedar Grove, a game which was played without the services of starting quarterback and Division-I lacrosse commit Lawson Fagan. Now excuses in football are about as good as snapping the ball out of your own end zone, but it is worth considering that a full-strength team would’ve at the very least put up a better fight. It’s also worth mentioning that Mountain Lakes is 3-0 in rematches since 2021, including a playoff win against Weequahic who had won the previous matchup, so take that for what it’s worth.

Back in the present, this version of Lakes comes with a wrinkle last seen in their 2023 Group Championship season: a legitimate passing threat. The aforementioned Fagan isn’t your everyday Wing-T signal-caller who’s passing options are limited to a handful of waggle plays to keep the defense honest. Lakes will often run out of the Gun-T, with Ty Plotts and Vance Fusco serving as athletic downfield threats to make opponents think twice about loading the box.

Mountain Lakes’ first round game will be a classic, and including the Herd here is no disrespect to Wood-Ridge, but if you’re going to have faith in a 5-8 seed winning a section in Group 1, the Herd may very well be your team. 

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