UNION COUNTY, NJ — It seems that the same questions are asked every year concerning local high school football teams.
Which teams will be good? Which teams will show improvement?
Which teams have a chance to win a division title or even a state championship?
To get an initial indication, sort of a pre-season rating, the website www.gridironnewjersey.com has just listed its 2023 Strength Index Ratings.
It’s explained on the website how the numbers are determined.
For example, the school with the highest rating is Bergen Catholic High School at 94.29. The Crusaders went 11-1 last year and captured the Non-Public A state championship by beating Don Bosco Preparatory High School 45-0 in the final at MetLife Stadium. Bergen Catholics’s only loss came at home to Don Bosco Prep in the regular season by the score of 31-7. Don Bosco Prep has a Strength Index Rating of 82.89.
The lowest rating is 28.45 and belongs to Lindenwold High School. The West Jersey League football school went 0-9 in 2022.
Here are the schools, among the 339 that field varsity football, that start 2023 with a rating of at least 80: Bergen Catholic 94.29, Toms River North High School 91.50, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan 85.61, James Caldwell High School 85.45, Delsea Regional High School 85.01, Red Bank Catholic High School 84.93, Don Bosco Prep 82.98, DePaul Catholic High School 82.89, West Morris Central High School 80.39, Ridge High School 80.33, and Rumson-Fair Haven High School 80.15.
Toms River North was the first-ever overall Group 5 state champion last year and Caldwell the first Group 2 champ. Toms River North finished 14-0 and Caldwell 13-0.
The highest-rated Union County schools are Westfield High School at 75.54, Cranford High School at 75.48, Hillside High School at 74.77 and David Brearley High School at 70.9. All four made the playoffs last year, with David Brearley, 10-1, and Hillside, 9-2, winning two playoff games, Westfield, 8-3, one and Cranford, 7-3, none.
Cranford was a state champion two years ago and, last year; David Brearley and Hillside reached state championship games. David Brearley reached a state championship game for the first time in seven years.
Westfield, Cranford, Hillside, and David Brearley will all have new quarterbacks this season, but are still expected to excel as they have in the recent past.
Here are the Strength Index Ratings of the other 13 Union County football playing schools, from highest to lowest: Abraham Clark High School 66.22, Plainfield High School 65.67, Summit High School 65.03, Union High School 63.56, Linden High School 62.84, Arthur L. Johnson High School 59.17, Rahway High School 57.68, New Providence High School 54.89, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School 54.14, Elizabeth High School 53.28, Roselle Park High School 48.40, Governor Livingston High School 44.30, and Jonathan Dayton High School 43.99.
Roselle, Plainfield, Summit, and Linden did not make the playoffs last year in their sections, but all ended up winning Regional Invitational Tournament championships for the first time in the initial year they were contested.
Abraham Clark and Summit won all three of their RIT games, no longer called consolation contests. Linden and Plainfield won both of theirs.
From a won-lost standpoint, Abraham Clark had the most dramatic comeback of any team of any season. The Rams went 8-4, losing their first four games and then winning what turned out to be their final eight.
Abraham Clark rebounded from its 0-4 start to get to 4-4 by the playoff cutoff date. However, the Rams did not have enough power points to qualify as one of the 16 teams out of South, Group 2.
Wanting to still play football before its season-finale the night before Thanksgiving at home vs. Roselle Park, Abraham Clark managed to beat Jonathan Dayton at home and then Bordentown High School and Haddon Heights High School to win its RIT crown.
The Rams then downed the visiting Panthers 44-2 for their third straight win in the second-longest Thanksgiving rivalry in Union County behind only Westfield-Plainfield.
Roselle scored at least 40 points in five of its eight victories and at least 35 in seven of them. The Rams averaged only 10 points a game during their first four and were shut out once.
Defensively during their season-ending eight-game winning streak, Abraham Clark shut out three of their opponents and in two other wins allowed just six and two points.
Summit also did a good job of rebounding from a rare 0-3 start. The Hilltoppers were 3-5 at the playoff cutoff date.
Summit then defeated Governor Livingston 57-8 at home in its first RIT game. The Hilltoppers then went on the road to Hudson County and outlasted Henry Snyder High School of Jersey City 41-34 in overtime.
Summit then came back home to host Bergen County foe Pascack Valley High School at Tatlock Field and came away with a hard-fought 32-30 triumph to capture its RIT title.
Photos by JR Parachini