Here are scholastic sport venues that you want to be at over the next few days
This is it for high school football fans, the NJSIAA’s championship football playoff weekend.
From Dec. 3-6, the best scholastic teams in the state will do battle on the gridiron in an effort to be crowned a New Jersey sectional playoff king.
Teams from the Greater Media area will be well represented in this weekend’s action.
The big game of the weekend is at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands on Dec. 5 when 11-0 Middletown South plays Phillipsburg in the North Jersey, Section II, Group IV final. Phillipsburg has claimed the last two titles in this section and group.
At stake for the Eagles are a perfect 12-0 season and the No. 1 ranking in the state. If Middletown South succeeds, this will be the program’s 10th sectional championship.
At Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions Stadium on Dec. 5, several area teams are playing for state titles.
It begins at 10 a.m. when St. John Vianney goes for an undefeated season when it plays DePaul in the Non-Public B final. The Lancers are seeking the program’s second state championship
At 1 p.m., top-seed South Brunswick meets its Greater Middlesex Conference rival, Old Bridge, for the Central Jersey, Group V crown. The teams met during the regular season with South Brunswick winning, 20-9. The Vikings are chasing their second sectional title and the Knights are seeking their first
At 4 p.m. it’s the Central Jersey, Group IV final. Jackson Memorial is bidding for a second straight NJSIAA title when the Jaguars meet Brick Memorial in an All-Shore Conference final. These two programs have championship pedigree. The Jaguars are chasing their fifth overall sectional championship and the Mustangs, are after their third.
The day ends at 7 p.m. with another Shore Conference showdown, this one in Central Jersey, Group III. Undefeated Red Bank Regional looks to end its magical season with a state championship. The Bucs are playing a Rumson-Fair Haven squad that is pursuing a third straight sectional title. The Bulldogs have moved up to Group III after winning back-to-back Central Jersey titles in Group II.
The stars seem to be aligning for RBR. It’s the 40th anniversary of the Bucs’ undefeated 1975 state championship team.
At Kean University in Union on Dec. 5, Shore Regional goes for back-to-back Central Jersey, Group I championships when the Blue Devils meet Palmyra at 4 p.m. Shore brings a 19-game winning streak into the contest.
Shore is looking for its seventh sectional crown.
Raritan looks to complete one of the magical runs in state playoff history at 7 p.m. at Kean University when the Rockets play Lincoln in the Central Jersey, Group JII final. The Rockets were 3-5 at one point this season, but, after consecutive upset triumphs and a Thanksgiving Day victory, Raritan brings momentum and a three-game winning streak to the final.
This would be the program’s second NJSIAA crown.
