Falcon Football Not Affected by NJSIAA Realignment

Beginning this fall, 160 high school football teams around the state will have the opportunity to win a state sectional championship, under a proposal approved by the NJSIAA this week. The NJSIAA Executive Committee approved the proposal to create a Group V designation in the four public school sections by a vote of 22-5-3 at its meeting in Robbinsville, according to Jack DuBois, NJSIAA assistant director who's in charge of football.

"This creates a greater opportunity for schools and for student-athletes," DuBois said. "It increases the number of teams playing in the playoffs from 128 to 160. At the same time, it eliminates 16 consolation games that schools didn't want to play anyway."

And Athletic Director John DiColo is not in favor of it.

“We all know that football drives the ship,” DiColo said. “But what about other sports? In lacrosse, for example, there are two groups. In our group, we compete against 18 other teams for a championship. In the other group, 33 teams are vying for one championship. That’s upsetting to me.”

The groups are much larger for other sports than they are for football. And the change won’t even have much of an affect on Jefferson Falcon football, according to DiColo.

“Instead of being at the edge of the pack, we’ll probably be right in the middle of it,” he said. “So the change really doesn’t mean much to us.

“And while this new grouping system gives more kids the opportunity to win, it waters down the championship,” he added. “I’m not in favor of it.”

DiColo said he would have preferred that a ruling of this nature go out for a vote to the entire body of NJSIAA athletic directors.

“But there are some things in high school sports that we have no choice on, and this was one of them,” he said.

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