UNION COUNTY — Official practice is now less than two weeks away.
Scrimmages commence one week later.
Then the season begins just four weeks from now.
High school football in Union County and New Jersey in general is set for a Thursday, Aug. 27, kickoff for 2026.
There are new matchups for Union County teams this year, as schedules have changed for the next two seasons.
Eleven of Union County’s 17 football playing schools open the first weekend, known as Week Zero, and then the other six begin their seasons the following weekend, called Week One.
Week Zero is from Aug. 27 to 29 and Week One from Sept. 3 to 5. All 17 Union County schools are in action Week One, with 11 of them playing their second game that weekend.
Some openers are the same from last year, when Rahway High School hosted South Jersey power Willingboro High School and David Brearley High School hosted Bergen County school Wallington Jr/Sr High School. While Rahway is at Willingboro and David Brearley is at Wallington to start this year, there are many new matchups to start the 2026 campaign.
One of them is a first-time Union County vs. Essex County encounter that features Hillside High School at Columbia High School on Friday, Aug. 28.
Hillside is coming off a 3-6 season with second-year head coach Isa Abdul-Quddus, while Columbia, guided by second-year head coach Lys Ruben Blanc, also fashioned a 3-6 record in 2025. Columbia is seeking its first winning season since going 4-3 in 2020 with head coach Gary Mobley, who is now in his second season as an assistant at his alma mater, Union High School.
Two common Union County matchups scheduled for Week Zero include longtime rivals Scotch Plains–Fanwood High School and Westfield High School clashing at Westfield’s Gary Kehler Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 27, and, for the first time in a long time, Governor Livingston High School is playing Jonathan Dayton High School, which will be the night of Friday, Aug. 28, in Springfield.
Westfield and Scotch Plains–Fanwood last faced each other in 2023, with Westfield winning, 31-0, at Scotch Plains. The teams last faced each other at Westfield in 2022, which was a 30-0 Westfield triumph.
Roselle Park High School opens at Bergen County foe Wood-Ridge Jr/Sr High School on Thursday, Aug. 27. The teams clashed during the abbreviated 2020 COVID-19 pandemic season, with Roselle Park winning, 27-19, at Wood-Ridge.
Union County teams opening Week Zero include Scotch Plains–Fanwood, Westfield, Union, Rahway, David Brearley, Roselle Park, Elizabeth, Plainfield, Hillside, Governor Livingston and Jonathan Dayton.
Union County teams opening Week One include New Providence, Linden, Summit, Arthur L. Johnson, Cranford and Abraham Clark.
Cranford, which opens at Bernards on Friday, Sept. 4, has a scrimmage at Westfield on Friday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m., and then its game-scrimmage at Linden High School on Thursday, Aug. 27, at 10 a.m.
Union County common matchups for Week One include Linden at Scotch Plains–Fanwood on Thursday, Sept. 3, Elizabeth at Plainfield and Summit at Rahway on Friday, Sept. 4, and Abraham Clark at Hillside on Saturday, Sept. 5.
New head coaches in Union County this year include Mike Ryan at Arthur L. Johnson, James Roach at Abraham Clark and Anthony Conzentino at New Providence.
Here’s a look at the schedule for the first two weekends of the 2026 season for all 17 Union County football playing schools:
Week Zero
Thursday, Aug. 27 = five games
Scotch Plains–Fanwood at Westfield, 4 p.m.
Union at Edison, 6 p.m.
Rahway at Willingboro, 6 p.m.
David Brearley at Wallington, 6 p.m.
Roselle Park at Wood-Ridge, 6 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 28 = four games
Elizabeth at Carteret, 6 p.m.
Plainfield at Sayreville, 7 p.m.
Hillside at Columbia, 7 p.m.
Governor Livingston at Jonathan Dayton, 7 p.m.
Week One
Thursday, Sept. 3 = four games
Governor Livingston at Bound Brook, 6 p.m.
Belvidere at Roselle Park, 6 p.m.
Voorhees at New Providence, 6:30 p.m.
Linden at Scotch Plains–Fanwood, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 4 = eight games
Union at Watchung Hills, 6 p.m.
Elizabeth at Plainfield, 6 p.m.
Westfield at St. Thomas Aquinas, 6 p.m.
Summit at Rahway, 6 p.m.
Arthur L. Johnson at Delaware Valley, 6 p.m.
Governor Livingston at Monroe, 6 p.m.
Manville at David Brearley, 6 p.m.
Cranford at Bernards, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 5 = one game
Abraham Clark at Hillside, 1 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Roselle Public Schools
