The playoffs are set.
Here are a few observations:
1. All of the groups have interesting nuggets but North 1, Group I is particularly fascinating. NJIC champion Butler is the top seed and the favorite, but there are some interesting subplots.
Old SCIL rivals Kittatinny and Wallkill Valley meet in Hardyston in a rematch of a regular-season game won by the Cougars (14-13).
Three years ago, then-first-year coach Dustin Grande took his unheralded Kinnelon team (and its Power-T offense) up to No. 2 seed Park Ridge and stunned the Bergen County school, 36-34. The two meet once again, this time at Kinnelon. The Colts are 8-1 and showed that they are for real in losing more than winning. They lost a 28-14 decision at Shabazz, which gets its kids from all over Newark. Kinnelon gets its kids from … Kinnelon. Big difference.
2. In North 2, Group I, Mountain Lakes has the section’s best backfield (Carson Fitch, Billy Barrett, Massimo Corvelli) but will that be enough? Cedar Grove is not as good as last year’s juggernaut but is still always a threat. Those two should meet in the semifinals next week. Third-seeded New Providence, coached by former Delbarton standout Chet Parlavecchio (son of New Jersey coaching great Chet), has an easier road to the finals than the first seed (the Herd).
3. Boonton was nosed out of a playoff berth. The Bombers finished 4-4 but didn’t qualify because of an overtime loss to Wallkill Valley and … get this … Brearley stopping 6-1 Dayton on the goal line with just one second left. “We had a chance to sneak in,” Bombers coach Sean Norton lamented.
4. Hanover Park is having a terrific season but is in a BRUTAL section. The Hornets should get past Becton in the first round but high-flying Bernards is probably up next. Formidable Shabazz is the No. 1 seed.
5. Madison coach Chris Kubik is retiring after an outstanding run with the Dodgers. He guided the team to no less than five sectional championships, including a three-year dynasty from 2010-2012 that saw Madison go 12-0 for three straight seasons. Kubik will go down as one of the best coaches in Morris County history.
6. A Bernards-Shabazz sectional final in Group II would be fascinating. The Newark school was moved up to Group II last year after spending time in Group I. Did anyone see Bernards coach Jon Simoneau’s quotes after the sectional semifinal game won by Shabazz last year? Several Shabazz transfers didn’t become eligible to play until the fourth game of the season. Simoneau didn’t hold back after his team lost to Shabazz.
“I’ve got to be honest, man, we got out-recruited. Write it, I mean that,” Simoneau told Guy Kipp of Tapinto. I’m being very honest. It’s not sour grapes. The NJSIAA ain’t gonna do nothin’ about it. Actions speak louder than words, so they sent a loud message to every one of us, and we gotta start recruiting at the public schools, because the other public schools are allowed to. Back to the drawing board for some of what we do, but you can’t be upset about it, because they did it. It doesn’t take anything away from the kids, they played a good game today.
“Give credit to their coaching staff because those kids … they were only here for six games and look how well they played. Credit where credit’s due, because that’s not easy. They were able to take a group of kids not from (Newark) and get them to gel at the right time of year for the second year in a row. The state doesn’t stop it, so it’s what other public schools have to do, too.”
7. In North 1, Group II, I think High Point is a team to watch. Look for the sixth-seeded Wildcats to get past Ramsey and Glen Rock and reach the finals. Fourth-seeded Caldwell, meanwhile, has already beaten top-seeded Westwood. This bracket could well come down to High Point vs. Caldwell. High Point is looking for its first state title.
8. Consolation games are back in full swing and I already know of one (Parsippany vs. Par Hills) that is a terrific matchup. Sometimes the NJSIAA gets hung up on power points when assigning consolation games so it’s nice to see a Group III (Par Hills) face a Group II (Parsippany). Other matchups that could draw interest include Lenape Valley-Hopatcong, Whippany Park-Morristown-Beard, Randolph-Dover, Boonton-Pequannock are other matchups that would add a little more meaning to consolation games.
9. There was some crazy stuff in New Jersey where TWO 8-1 teams (Spotswood and Sterling) didn’t get in in South Group II. I know they had soft schedules but the only way Spotswood and Sterling could have qualified was for each to be perfect for the entire season. Isn’t that asking a lot of high school kids?
10. Montville has its work cut out in North 1, Group III against a West Milford team that is on a mission and shut out Sparta in a battle between the two best in the Patriot Red two weeks ago, 31-0.
11. We could be looking at a Roxbury-West Morris sectional semifinal in two weeks. The Wolfpack dominated in their first meeting three weeks ago, 34-3, and scoring the game’s final 34 points.
12. If Mount Olive wants to win a sectional crown, it will have to be at its best in a probable semifinal game at Northern Highlands, followed by a final at Ramapo. Tough section.
13. The Catholic school pairings don’t come out until next week, but did anyone catch what Delbarton did to DePaul last week? The Green Wave knocked off highly-regarded DePaul, 28-6. The Green Wave started out 1-3 and struggled, especially offensively. But they have won three of four. Kudos to coach Brian Bowers and his staff.
DATES TO KEEP
We are approaching Big State Sports’ All-County and All-Area time. Here are the dates to keep an eye on:
Dec. 2 – All Sussex County
Dec. 9 – All Morris County
Dec. 16 – All-Area (Morris and Sussex combined)
Dec. 19 (or thereabouts) – Big State Sports Wrestling Preview
