Jonathan Yardley, webmaster
Home | Standings
| Schedule/Scores
Whew, what a year. The private powers dominated from start to finish, as you would expect, but nobody could have predicted the excitement of and contrast between the Gordon Cup and NJSIAA private championship games. Not to mention the emergence of the Mennen Division as the state’s second-best league and the phenomenal Mennen Cup finish.
South Jersey continued to develop two very strong divisions and is in dire need of realignment for next season, while club vs. high school conflicts and game disqualifications also made headlines this year. In the end, CBA and Morris Knolls were more than worthy champions and the attendance records set at Continental Airlines Arena proved the game is stronger than ever.
Final Top 20
1—CBA (25-3-2, 15-2-1 Gordon) Last Poll – 1
Gordon Cup: lost to Delbarton 6-4 in championship
NJSIAA tournament: defeated Delbarton 2-1 in overtime for private championship
Lost No. 1 ranking w. Gordon Cup defeat but turned in amazing effort Monday to earn the top spot.
2—Delbarton (22-2-6, 12-1-5 Gordon) Last Poll – 2
Gordon Cup: defeated CBA 6-4 for championship
NJSIAA tournament: lost to CBA 2-1 in overtime in private championship
First season in Gordon was amazing, but Gordon Cup champion Green Wave lost season series to CBA.
3—Don Bosco Prep (15-11-1, 12-5-1 Gordon) Last Poll – 5
Gordon Cup: lost to CBA 2-1 in semifinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to CBA 5-2 in private semifinals
Ironmen turned in a great year to finish third in Gordon but could never beat the top pair.
4—Seton Hall Prep (13-8-4, 10-4-4 Gordon) Last Poll – 3
Gordon Cup: lost to St. Peter’s Prep 3-2 in overtime in quarterfinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Delbarton 5-2 in private semifinals
Defending champion Pirates remained competitive all year but never had the firepower of years past.
5—St. Peter’s Prep (11-8-6, 6-6-6 Gordon) Last Poll – 6
Gordon Cup: lost to Delbarton 4-1 in semifinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Seton Hall Prep 3-2 in private quarterfinals
Marauders struggled for consistency in first year in Gordon Conference and never really found it.
6—Bergen Catholic (12-10-3, 8-7-3 Gordon) Last Poll – 4
Gordon Cup: lost to Don Bosco Prep 4-2 in quarterfinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Don Bosco Prep 2-1 in private quarterfinals
Crusaders finished ahead of St. Peter’s Prep but could never pull off a big upset after beating CBA.
7—Pope John (8-13-3, 5-10-3 Gordon) Last Poll – 20
Gordon Cup: lost to CBA 2-1 in overtime in quarterfinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Delbarton 2-1 in overtime in private quarterfinals
Pope John found itself too late down the stretch and lost overtime decisions to the state’s best two teams.
8—Morris Knolls (24-3-3, 10-1-2 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Poll – 8
Mennen Cup: defeated Morristown-Beard 1-0 for championship
NJSIAA tournament: defeated Randolph 4-1 for championship
Golden Eagles finally realized long-awaited potential and won second-best league and state group.
9—Morristown-Beard (19-5-3, 10-1-2 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Poll – 7
Mennen Cup: lost to Morris Knolls 1-0 in championship
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Pope John 4-0 in private quarterfinals
Great regular season, highlighted by tie with CBA, but this group was supposed to win the Mennen Cup.
10—Randolph (20-7-1, 9-4 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Poll – 10
Mennen Cup: lost to Morristown-Beard 4-0 in semifinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Morris Knolls 4-1 in championship
State’s deepest, fastest public school probably overachieved by reaching the Meadowlands.
11—Red Bank Catholic (21-6, 9-3 Southern White) Last Poll – 14
Dowd Cup: defeated Toms River North 3-1 for championship
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Seton Hall Prep 5-0 in private first round
This is where it starts getting hard, but the Caseys avenged two regular-season losses in the Dowd Cup final.
12—Chatham (20-7, 8-5 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Poll – 11
Mennen Cup: lost to Morris Knolls 1-0 in semifinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Morris Knolls 4-1 in public semifinals
A seeming overachiever on a statewide level, here’s hoping Chatham plays a tougher schedule next year.
13—Bishop Eustace (14-7, 11-1 Southern Red) Last Poll – 17
Handchen Cup: defeated Middletown North 2-0 for championship
NJSIAA tournament: lost to St. Peter’s Prep 3-1 in private first round
Crusaders dominated the Southern Red but were just 3-6 in non-league play.
14—Middletown North (15-8-3, 9-2-1 Southern Red) Last Poll – 12
Handchen Cup: lost to Bishop Eustace 2-0 in championship
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Chatham 4-2 in public quarterfinals
Lions arrived on a statewide level this year but could not quite reach elite status.
15—Ridge (21-4-1, 10-2 Central Red) Last Poll – 9
McInnis Cup: defeated Bridgewater-Raritan 4-2 for championship
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Middletown South 4-3 in public quarterfinals
Red Devils put it together down the stretch but early state exit was disappointing.
16—Bridgewater-Raritan (19-8-2, 10-2 Central Red) Last Poll – NR
McInnis Cup: lost to Ridge 4-2 in championship
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Morris Knolls 3-2 in public quarterfinals
In and out of the polls all year long, but the Panthers played very well in losing to Ridge and Knolls.
17—St. Augustine Prep (11-7-3, 8-3-1 Southern Red) Last Poll – 15
Handchen Cup: tied Middletown North 2-2 in semifinals; eliminated in shootout
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Don Bosco Prep 5-3 in private first round
Hermits struggled to find non-league games worthy of their league performance.
18—Toms River North (17-4-1, 10-1-1 Southern White) Last Poll – 19
Dowd Cup: lost to Red Bank Catholic 3-1 in championship
NJSIAA tournament: ineligible due to player disqualifications
Controversial Mariners cost themselves shot at NJSIAA upsets.
19—Bayonne (21-2-3, 10-0-2 Northern Red) Last Poll – NR
Hoerner Cup: defeated St. Joseph Montvale 2-0 for championship
NJSIAA tournament: tied Tenafly 3-3 in public round of 16, eliminated in shootout
I would’ve liked to see Bayonne-Randolph in the states, but a shootout can’t deny a strong season.
20—Middletown South (15-11-2, 5-5-1 Southern Red) Last Poll – NR
Handchen Cup: lost to Bishop Eustace 3-1 in semifinals
NJSIAA tournament: lost to Randolph 5-1 in public semifinals
Made a great state tournament run and is, like its sister school, a developing public power.
Dropped out:
No. 13 St. John Vianney (7-13-3, 5-10-3 Gordon)
No. 16 Notre Dame (23-3, 13-0 CVC Colonial)
No. 18 Old Bridge (20-3-2, 10-0 Southern Blue)
Best of the Rest (ranks 21-32, alphabetically)
Clifton
Cranford
Mendham
Monsignor Donovan
Notre Dame
Old Bridge
Princeton
St. John Vianney
St. Joseph Montvale
St. Joseph’s Metuchen
South Brunswick
Tenafly
Previous Polls: Dec. 18 | Jan 1 | Jan. 8 | Jan. 17 | Jan. 22 | Jan. 29 | Feb. 5 | Feb. 12 | Feb. 19
White/Blue Polls: Jan. 1 | Jan 8 | Jan. 17 | Jan. 22 | Jan. 29 | Feb. 5 | Feb. 12 | Feb. 19 | Final