NJIC postseason set

The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference is the only league in the state that has its own postseason and its 11th four-team playoff begins this week. The matchups are set for Friday with Colonial Division winner Becton (5-2) taking on Meadowlands Division champion Butler (6-0), while Liberty Division winner Rutherford (6-0) clashes with Patriot Division champion Wood-Ridge (6-1). The winners advance to the conference final on Oct. 24, with the losers meeting in the third-place game. Butler won last year’s league title on home turf against Glen Rock, while Rutherford rattled off three championships in a row between 2021-23. Becton collected the crown in 2020 and Wood-Ridge hasn’t won a conference championship, but did reach the final in 2022.