This coming fall, there is an excellent chance that the Roxbury High School football team just might have the best public school team in all of Morris County.
Before Labor Day, we will all get a chance to see just how good the Gaels are. Coach Ryan Roumes’ team kicks off its season with a game at Garfield on Friday, Aug. 28.
The New Jersey high school football season gets underway that night with several tasty appetizers with Roxbury-Garfield being one of the most interesting.
Another opening matchup in the Morris-Sussex area worth watching will be held in Montville. The Mustangs figure to have a strong team in 2026 and we’ll see what they’re capable of on Aug. 28, when traditional powerhouse West Essex comes to town.
Other games of interest that night include Mendham, and new coach John Hack, entertaining sister school West Morris and Voorhees (and new coach Matt Evancho) playing host to Warren Hills.
Here are some of the best games of each weekend in Morris-Sussex.
Aug. 28-Former Randolph coach Will Nahan is the new head man at High Point and we will see how the Wildcats look when they host West Milford in an American Blue battle.
Sept. 4-Hanover Park swept through the 2025 regular season undefeated. Can the Hornets pull that off again under coach Nick Liberato? We’ll know more after their Friday game against Kinnelon, which made the sectional semifinals under coach Dustin Grande before losing to powerhouse Butler.
The following afternoon, the Curtis Sallie Era begins at Madison, which will host Mountain Lakes. Legendary longtime Dodgers coach Chris Kubik (127-69 career record), who retired after 19 years and five sectional championships, brought in Sallie as an assistant in 2010. Now the program is Sallie’s, himself a former Dodger player in the late 1990s.
Sept. 11-Hanover Park came away with the Cosmo Cardone Cup after defeating West Essex last year. Can the Hornets travel to West Essex and repeat that same feat?
Whenever Mountain Lakes faces Lenape Valley, it seems as though the Herd has to scramble to come away with a win. Last year, Mountain Lakes needed a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs to escape with a wild 28-24 victory. Coach Darrell Fusco’s team figures to be a strong one this year but must be on its toes against Lenape.
After making an amazing run to the Parochial B championship game two years ago, Pope John struggled last year (2-8). Will the Lions roar in 2026? We’ll get a good read on coach Dom Gaston’s team when they travel to Ramsey to face Don Bosco.
How does Delbarton stack up with New Jersey’s Catholic-school behemoths this year? On Saturday, we will find out when the Green Wave entertains St. Joe’s-Montvale.
Madison scored a wild 42-41 victory over Sparta last year and the Dodgers rode that win all the way to a shocking run to the North 2, Group II championship game before losing to Shabazz. The Sussex County school makes a return visit to Madison for the rematch on Saturday.
Sept. 18-Morris Knolls breaks out its new lights when it welcomes Morristown to Denville for a 6:30 start.
Roxbury will travel to West Morris in what is arguably Morris County’s best football rivalry. Strangely, they will not be playing in the same division for the first time since 1994, when the Wolfpack moved from the smaller-schools IHC-Hills to the bigger-school IHC-Iron.
Boonton has a wealth of returnees in its backfield and its home game against Kinnelon could be for the division title in the National White.
Caldwell, which seemingly is moved to a different division every year, finds itself in the American White. The Chiefs are one of the contenders for the league crown and we’ll see how that all pans out when they host Hanover Park on Friday night.
Sept. 25-New Mendham coach John Hack, who played at Immaculata and later coached at the Somerset school, will face his former school. Immaculata will be playing an independent schedule this year.
In a stunning decision (and one that makes zero sense), Randolph and Roxbury are not in the same division as longtime rivals Morris Knolls, Morristown, West Morris and Mount Olive. But the two longtime rivals will meet in Roxbury in a Liberty Blue game Friday night. Others in the Liberty Blue are Mendham, Morris Hills, and Warren Hills.
We will get a good read on Hanover Park and its state championship aspirations when traditional Bergen County powerhouse Westwood pays a call.
Mountain Lakes is seeking to come away with the American White and we’ll see how that plays out when the Herd host Caldwell.
Oct. 2-While West Morris-Roxbury is probably the best football rivalry in Morris County, Hanover Park-Madison is not too far behind. The two tangle in Hanover on Friday night.
Another game of note will be played in Wayne, when Mount Olive visits traditional powerhouse Passaic Tech.
Butler ran away with the NJIC-Meadowlands last year and went on to win its second straight NJIC and North 1, Group I championship. The Bulldogs hope to win the Meadowlands crown again and it may come down to their game Friday night at Hasbrouck Heights.
The Liberty Gold is an interesting assortment of teams and the league could possibly come down to the game in Sparta, when the Spartans host Montville. Par Hills, Passaic Valley, and West Milford are the other schools in the division.
Last year, Wallkill Valley and Kittatinny played two tight games with the Cougars winning both (including a 12-7 slugfest in the first round of the North 1, Group I playoffs). They will face one another at Wallkill on Saturday, possibly with the National Blue division on the line.
Oct. 9-Mountain Lakes came within a few minutes of winning a sectional championship last year before Cedar Grove stormed back for a stunning victory. The Herd entertains the Essex school in a rematch Friday night.
When Morris Catholic coach Dave Albano coached at Parsippany Hills a few years ago, he wanted to set up a Thanksgiving game with Jefferson and coach Jim Matsakis. Both coaches question why the football season ends so early in New Jersey lately (by Halloween, if your team is eliminated from the playoffs). This Morris Catholic-Jefferson game is about seven weeks shy of Thanksgiving, but the matchup will nonetheless take place.
Oct. 16-West Morris and West Essex are in totally separate leagues and counties but what a rivalry they have developed over the last few years. They will meet in North Caldwell Friday night. There is always something at stake when they get together and that should be the case here.
If there were a Morris County championship game this year, chances are it would be between host Roxbury and visiting Mount Olive. On paper, they could well be the two best teams right now.
The Mountain Lakes at Hanover Park game could well decide the American White championship.
Bergen Catholic, arguably New Jersey’s premier Catholic-school program over the years, pays Delbarton a call on Saturday.
Oct. 23-Boonton pays Mountain Lakes a visit in one of the best rivalries in Morris County down through the years.
Morris Catholic is expected to make strides as a program under coach Dave Albano and the Crusaders will use its Newton game as a gauge.
Oct. 30-Delbarton hopes to make an impact in the state playoffs and its game at Don Bosco on Friday night will be a great barometer.
