Five football teams from Mercer County qualified for the NJSIAA playoffs, and just one will play at home in the opening round.

That’s WJFL Capitol Division champion Hopewell Valley (7-2), which is the No. 4 seed in Central Group III and hosts a first-round game against No. 5 seed Neptune (8-1).

Also in CJ III, WJFL Valley Division champ Ewing (7-2) is the No. 6 seed and headed on the road to face No. 3 seed Seneca (7-2).

In Central Group IV, Steinert (6-2) is the No. 5 seed and travels to No. 4 seed Red Bank Regional (5-3) in the opening round.

Hamilton West (5-3), despite that heartbreaking loss to Ewing in the regular-season finale, was the beneficiary of Princeton getting booted from the playoffs for violating the NJSIAA’s three-ejections rule and is the No. 7 seed. The Hornets face No. 2 seed Manalapan (6-3).

In Central Group V, Trenton (6-3) qualified thanks to a three-game winning streak to close the regular season and earned itself a No. 7 seed and first-round date at No. 2 seed Sayreville (8-1).

The top 16 in each super section qualified for the playoffs. Those 16 were then sorted by their northing number to determine whether they were placed into the Central or South section. The two section winners meet in the state semifinal, with that winner going on to play in the state final against a team from North Jersey.

The Non-Public brackets will be seeded next week. Notre Dame is sitting in the No. 13 spot in Non-Public B.

NJSIAA Playoff Pairings

Central Group V

(8) Howell at (1) Washington Twp.

(5) Hillsborough at (4) Rancocas Valley

(6) Freehold Twp. at (3) Old Bridge

(7) Trenton at (2) Sayreville

Central Group IV

(8) Marlboro at (1) Brick Memorial

(5) Steinert at (4) Red Bank Regional

(6) Middletown South at (3) Middletown North

(7) Hamilton West at (2) Manalapan

Central Group III

(8) Cinnaminson at (1) Holmdel

(5) Neptune at (4) Hopewell Valley

(6) Ewing at (3) Seneca

(7) Matawan at (2) Somerville

Central Group II

(8) Voorhees at (1) Camden

(5) Johnson at (4) Manasquan

(6) Point Pleasant Boro at (3) Rumson-Fair Haven

(7) Bordentown at (2) Wall

Originally Published: October 26, 2025 at 2:06 PM EDT