Football coaches express views on proposal to play down to overall state H.S. Group winners

By Joe Ragozzino
Sports editor
In high school football, should state public champions be crowned? Or should the system stay the way it is, with playoffs ending at the sectional levels?
That’s the debate which has raged for the past few months.
The idea of implementing a playoff system to crown high school varsity football state champions for public schools took a big step toward reality after the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association executive committee in May approved a proposal to amend the association’s constitution to allow for such a change.
The member schools of the NJSIAA will vote on the matter in December. If approved, the NJSIAA will consider proposals to come up with a plan to have state public Group champions for the 2013 season.
The public school playoff system currently ends on the sectional levels, with a maximum of eight teams in each section. Teams with at least a .500 record by their eighth game of the season and in the top eight in the power-point standings qualify for the playoffs.
There are 16 public school sectional champions each year, which is broken down into four sections - North Jersey Section 1, North Jersey Section 2, Central Jersey and South Jersey - for each of the four Group levels. The Group levels pertain to the enrollment of the schools.
Each team in the state plays a nine-game regular-season schedule. Teams that don’t make the playoffs play one state consolation game. As a result, each team plays at least 10 games in a season.
There are three rounds in the playoffs: first round, semifinals and championships. A team that reaches the sectional championship will have played 12 games. 
Most varsity sports have tournaments that go beyond the sectionals and crown state champions in each of the four Group levels.
The non-publics, in contrast, have state champions for football for each of the four Group levels. The non-publics, unlike the publics, do not have sectional playoffs, but rather state Group playoffs.
The high school playoff system began in 1974.
Brick athletic director Bill Bruno and East Brunswick football coach Marcus Borden have devised different proposals that were presented to the advisory committee before it moved to the executive committee. Bruno and Borden now are combining their proposals. The proposal is being tweaked, and deals with such issues as whether to start the season early, keep Thanksgiving Day games and shorten the regular season.
Head coaches in the Worrall Community Newspapers publishing area in Essex County expressed their views on this matter.
Irvington head coach Pete Pascarella is in favor of state champions, but as long as it keeps intact Thanksgiving Day games and the sectional playoff format.
“I like playing down to a state champion, as long as they crown a sectional champ,” Pascarella said. “I am for it. I also understand there is a lot of tradition for the Thanksgiving game for a lot of people. It’s a chance for alumni to come back. That’s a New Jersey tradition. I like them to work it out and see if we can play down to one champion and keep the Thanksgiving Day game.”
Orange head coach Randy Daniel feels either system is fine.
“Both have advantages,” Daniel said. “There are a lot of advantages the way it is now, because a lot of teams get to participate in the playoffs; a lot of teams get to walk away as winners; in the new system, there would be less winners. But both have their advantages.”
Belleville first-year head coach John Dubuque says that as long as the season isn’t extended, having state champions should be explored.
“I would love to go down to one Group, but the thing is, right now, we are talking 11, 12, 13 games in a season, and that is a lot of contact for kids at that level,” Dubuque said.
Nutley head coach Steve DiGregorio, whose team played in the state North Jersey Section 2, Group 3 championship last year, losing to Morristown, likes the proposal that would keep the same amount of games in a season.
“Playing down to a group championship is what a lot of states do and I guess with the proposal that it is now, we would do it by not adding any more games and that is a positive,” DiGregorio said. “Twelve games is plenty.”
West Orange head coach John Jacob feels the time is now to play down to a state champion.
“We are the only sport that isn’t playing to a true champion,” Jacob said. “Football is so highly-regarded in New Jersey, I think we are short-changing the sport by not doing it. I think we are short-changing the football community by not doing it.”
There are some coaches who aren’t enamored with the proposal.
Bloomfield head coach Mike Carter feels the current system is fine, saying it allows many teams to experience the joy of ending their season with a championship.
“I like it the way it is now,” Carter said. “There are a whole lot of teams who get to walk away with solid memories. You can have a hell of a year, except for that last game under the proposal. I don’t think it’s necessary to change it.”
East Orange Campus head coach Marion Bell guided his team to two state North Jersey Section 1, Group 4 championship games, winning it in 2007 and losing it in 2009. But Bell opposes the proposal, saying New Jersey doesn’t have to join other states that conduct playoffs to determine a state champion.
“I feel it’s a copy-cat proposal,” said Bell. “We are New Jersey; we don’t have to do what other states are doing.”
Bell, however, likes the idea of a system that pits the two North Jersey champions in one game and the Central Jersey and South Jersey champions in another game for each Group.
Glen Ridge head coach Duke Mendez adamantly opposes the proposal, saying it doesn’t benefit Group 1 teams such as his team.
“I like it the way it is now,” Mendez said.
Columbia head coach Dave Curtin said he doesn’t necessarily disagree with the proposal, as long as teams that fail to qualify for the postseason don’t have to play two state consolation games, instead of one consolation game that is currently in place. Curtin said he would like to see an extra Group added to make the postseason fair for all teams. For instance, Columbia was the fourth seed in the state North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 playoffs last season, losing to fifth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan in the first round for its lone loss. If Columbia was in Section 1, it would have been the No. 2 seed, noted Curtin. There also were other sections that had less than eight teams qualify for the playoffs, Curtin pointed out.