BY JJ CONRAD
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD
How fun is the race for the inaugural NJIC conference championship going to be?
After creating a revolutionary and innovative football schedule and playoff system this off-season, the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, for the first time, will play down to a true conference champion.
The contenders are starting to emerge. And it’s something they’re all adding to their list of goals.
“I was joking with the guys the other day, but it’s like our own version of [college football’s] SEC,” New Milford coach Bill Wilde said last week. “You have a conference championship that you potentially could play in and then you go to the big time. For them, it’s the final four. For us, it’s the state tournament. It’s all going to be really exciting.”
Wilde’s Knights (1-0) figure to be in the mix to reach the NJIC playoffs, which will have the Colonial and Liberty division winners and Meadowlands and Patriot division winners meet in Week 8 in the semifinals. Those victors will meet in a Week 9 showdown for the title.
Rutherford and Waldwick/Midland Park are atop the standings chasing the Colonial division title with Glen Rock one game back. The Bulldogs, already with a win over the Panthers, aren’t scheduled to meet the Warriors until Oct. 7.
Hasbrouck Heights and Cresskill are vying for position atop the Meadowlands, with those two contenders set to meet next week in a game that will help determine the midseason division frontrunner.
In the Liberty, Pompton Lakes, Lyndhurst, New Milford and Harrison all are unbeaten, though that will start sorting itself out in the coming weeks.
And in the Patriot, Becton and Wood-Ridge — who meet this week, both at 2-0 — are at the head of the class. The winner will emerge as the favorite to reach the NJIC final four.
The new format adds another dimension of intrigue to the regular season. Not only is every game important from a state power points perspective, but the teams near the top of the standings — all eyeing the NJIC title — can’t avoid any letdowns or slip-ups with just a six-game regular season conference schedule.
There is now little margin for error in the NJIC, which makes every week that much more exciting and meaningful.
“There are a lot of great football schools in this conference,” Wilde said. “Now you’re throwing them all in there late in the year and letting them compete for another title. It’s going to be a lot of fun to see how it all plays out.”
And that fun has only just begun.
Email: conrad@northjersey.com
