Seven teams in hunt for playoff spot
With just three weeks remaining in the West Jersey Football League season, it’s time to keep an eye on which teams are in the state playoff hunt.
There are seven Mercer County area teams in contention.
Hopewell, Robbinsville and Allentown currently hold the ninth, 15th and 16th spots in South Jersey Group III under the United Power Rankings. The top-16 teams in each group make the playoffs before they are divided into Central and South sectional brackets.
Nottingham is also in the hunt in that group with the No. 17 ranking.
Hamilton holds the 16th spot in South Jersey Group IV, while Trenton is on the outside in South Jersey Group V at No. 17.
Notre Dame holds the eighth and final spot in NonPublic IV.
Keep in mind that the NJSIAA tweaked the rules this season such that any undefeated team with eight or more wins will automatically be eligible for the postseason. Notre Dame and Robbinsville are both 6-0.
Here’s what’s on tap this week.
Friday
NOTRE DAME (6-0) AT HOPEWELL VALLEY (4-1)
Hopewell became the latest undefeated team to fall last week when the Bulldogs suffered a 35-0 shutout against Hamilton.
While Hopewell should be able to challenge Notre Dame better than previous teams, it’s hard to envision the Irish losing a regular season game. They’ve scored at least 40 points in every contest and allowed six touchdowns the entire year. Mercer County is simply overmatched. ROBBINSVILLE (6-0) AT BORDENTOWN (0-5)
Andrew Patterson has done as fine of a coaching job as anyone in the area, guiding Robbinsville to uncharted territory. The Ravens’ unbeaten run includes three straight shutouts of Clayton, New Egypt and Riverside.
Robbinsville has an excellent chance to extend its run to 8-0 and set up a winnertake-all game with Haddon Township for the Classic Division title on Nov. 2. BISHOP EUSTACE (1-4) AT EWING (0-6)
This is Ewing’s last chance to get a win at home before ending with road games at Cinnaminson and Pemberton.
Bishop Eustace is a modest opponent, but Ewing’s problem all year has been scoring. The Blue Devils’ 14 points at Delran last Friday were a season high.
NO. BURLINGTON (3-2) AT HIGHTSTOWN (1-5)
Northern Burlington had a week off following its 17-14 loss to Hamilton and should have the upper hand against a Hightstown defense that is reeling.
The Rams allowed 104 points over the past two weeks against West Windsor and Notre Dame. STEINERT (1-4)
AT LAWRENCE (3-2)
Steinert is also coming off a bye. The Spartans will have to contend with a Lawrence team that has found its groove offensively and won three straight, although they came against struggling programs.
Steinert’s 28-21 win against Allentown a few weeks back shows that the Spartans are capable of competing.
Princeton (0-5) at West Windsor-Plainsboro (2-3)
It’s officially time to start taking West Windsor’s coop seriously. It followed up a 63-point performance at Hightstown with a 23-20 upset win last Friday against Nottingham. Sophomore Shane Johnson is one of the best quarterbacks in the area.
Saturday
HAMILTON (4-1) AT NOTTINGHAM (2-4)
Hamilton has turned a corner under first-year coach Mike Papero. The Hornets have won four straight, including impressive road victories at Northern Burlington and Hopewell.
Meanwhile, Nottingham has shown flashes of potential under new coach Milo McGuire. The Northstars shut out Trenton three weeks ago but then lost to Hopewell and West Windsor by a combined five points. ALLENTOWN (2-3) AT BURLINGTON TWP. (3-2)
Allentown’s late rally against Trenton last Friday helped keep the Redbirds’ playoff hopes alive.
Burlington is down this season, but veteran coach Tom Maderia and the Falcons pose a challenging road test for Allentown.
EASTERN (3-2)
AT TRENTON (3-3)
Trenton made the playoffs in both of coach Greg Hyslop’s first two seasons, but that streak is on the line now.
The Tornadoes have faded quickly with three consecutive losses. It’ll be interesting to see how their defense matches up with Eastern, which is averaging 40 points per game.