Northern Highlands, Old Tappan, PCTI football at first public Finals
Old Tappan, Northern Highlands and Passaic Tech are Entering a Brave new world in the history of New Jersey high school sports.
New Jersey will hold its first official public state football championships this weekend, and Old Tappan, Northern Highlands, and Passaic Tech are among 10 teams competing for one of the five group titles at Rutgers. Each game pits a North Jersey Champion against a South Jersey champion.
“It’s an honor to represent the North in the first game,” Passaic Tech junior standout Travon Dye said.
After decades of discussion, the NJSIAA, the state’s governing Athletic organization, changed its bylaws to allow public schools to join non-publics in playing down to a single Champion in each group.
“I’d be lying a little bit if I said us, as a senior group, didn’t think about it a little bit – the first group to make history,” Northern Highlands senior cornerback Andre Johnson said.
Old Tappan (11-1) will face Delsea (12-0) in the Group 3 final at 3 pm Saturday. Northern Highlands (9-3) will follow and battle Millville (11-2) in Group 4 at 6 pm In Group 5, Passaic Tech (11-2) faces Toms River North (13-0) at 3 pm Sunday.
“Now that it’s happening, and we’re playing at Rutgers, it feels kind of surreal,” Old Tappa senior quarterback Tommy Caracciolo said.
Bergen and Passaic counties are considered football hotbeds. Last week at the non-public state finals, DePaul captured the Non-Public B title and Bergen Catholic won the Non-Public A crown.
Since 2018, the NJSIAA allowed public schools to play down to two regional champions (North and South) in each of five groups, creating 10 public champions. Previously, teams in each of the five groups were only allowed to play for a Sectional title, leaving the Garden State with 20 public champions.
“I certainly think 20 Champions was too many,” Northern Highlands Coach Dave Cord said. “I think we play really high-quality football in New Jersey, and I think it’s special to come down to five public school teams.”
“I think this is more realistic to what it should be,” Passaic Tech Coach Matt Demarest said, adding, “I think this is really the true step.”
Playing to a single public Champion allows teams from far-away parts of the state to square off more regularly. It could create more rivalries and possibly determine if one area plays a better brand of football than another.
“When you have good years, you always, after the fact, look at the other teams in the state and say, ‘Oh, we could have played with them, that would have been a great game,'” said Old Tappan Coach Brian Dunn , who has led the Golden Knights to three Sectional titles.
“We always hear the argument, ‘Who plays the Tougher schedule, the North or the South?'” said Travon Dye, whose twin brother, Trashon, is also a two-way standout for Passaic Tech. “There’s Rumors running that the North schedule may be harder, or the South schedule may be harder.”
Cord, in his first year coaching Northern Highlands, is intrigued by facing southern schools after winning Sectional titles as a player at Westwood (2004, 2006) and a North regional crown as interim Coach at Ridgewood (2019).
“To be the first team to have a shot at Group 4, I think that is pretty special,” said Cord, whose Highlanders’ last two victories came in overtime. “And I think it’s cool to see what the South has.”
Adding state championships means lengthening the postseason, with Finalists now playing five games over six weeks. Essentially, each of the five groups features a 32-team team tournament divided into four eight-team sections.
“It has changed everything – 14 games is a lot,” Passaic Tech’s Demarest said. “This is a legit college season.”
“It’s six weeks of playoff football, and nobody does that, not the NFL, certainly college doesn’t,” said Old Tappan’s Dunn, whose team has made a remarkable turnaround from last year’s 5-6 campaign. “It’s a lot of high-intensity football over a long period of time for high school kids and coaches, and a lot of hours without any break.”
You won’t hear too many players complaining, at least not from Old Tappan, Northern Highlands and Passaic Tech. After all, each is trying to become the first public Champion in their group.
“I think it’s a great experience, because you’re able to say you’re the best in New Jersey for your school size,” Northern Highlands’ Johnson said. “And in previous years, we weren’t able to say that.”