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FOOTBALL

Which Morris County football teams made the playoff cut?

Joe Hofmann
Correspondent

The NJSIAA playoffs are upon us, beginning Nov. 13 and 14. Here is a peek ahead to the sections involving Morris County schools.

NORTH 1

GROUP I — Boonton reached a sectional semifinal last year with a stunning come-from-behind win over perennial powerhouse Hasbrouck Heights before losing to Cresskill. Can Bryan Gallagher's Bombers go all the way this year? They very well could, but this section is impossible to predict accurately because there will be eight quality teams and pretty much all of them can make a valid case.

GROUP II— Pequannock is prolific offensively and can put up points in a hurry. But this past Friday night, the Golden Panthers scored one of their biggest regular-season wins in years, 29-0 against Mountain Lakes — a whipping I don't think too many people saw coming. The Herd hadn't lost in the NJAC-Independence since falling to Pequannock in 2011.

GROUP IV— Three of the section's best teams —Roxbury, Morris Knolls, West Morris — are from Morris County. Roxbury was considered the favorite until it was dismantled by Delbarton. Cosmo Lorusso's Gaels appeared to be back in full form after routing Randolph, 42-7.

Can anyone outside of Morris County stop a classic Bill Regan-coached Veer offense with only a week to prepare? If there is a sleeper in this section, it is Morris Knolls.

West Morris is a group of scrappy overachievers and this is one of Kevin Hennelly's finest coaching jobs.

NORTH 2

GROUP II — A very interesting section with a distinctly local flavor. Dover could get the No. 8 seed but would be a live underdog against No. 1 Lenape Valley, despite having lost to the Patriots, 14-10.

Hanover Park beat Lenape Valley earlier this year and has a better record but finds itself second right now, a flaw in the NJSIAA's power point system that should be addressed. Hanover Park faces a good Madison team in Week Nine. Those points, should the Hornets win, would come after the cutoff eighth week. Lenape Valley had the good fortune of beating Madison before the eight-game cutoff and therefore gets more credit, power-point wise.

In a very interesting 4-5 game, Mountain Lakes could host Madison. The Dodgers clobbered the Herd in Week One, 33-6. Can Madison attain those heights again? And can the Herd find a way to make a game out of it if they meet again?

Even though this might be considered a rebuilding year at Mountain Lakes, the Herd still achieved its 31st straight winning season since 1984, which is quite remarkable. Thanks to former Herd assistant coach Charlie Roche for that interesting tidbit.

GROUP III — Kudos to Chatham for stepping up on more than one occasion during a winner-take-all game against Parsippany Hills for a playoff berth Friday night. Chatham took an early 10-point lead only to have Parsippany Hills climb back into the game to tie it. The Cougars then went back up by seven, only to have the Vikings come back again. Chatham took its final lead in the fourth quarter and stayed there to earn its first berth since 2011.

NON-PUBLIC

GROUP III — Delbarton has ridden a roller coaster all year, on the field and off. Bergen County behemoth St. Joseph of Montvale moved up to Group IV, but ultra-talented DePaul has moved up from Group II. Delbarton then lost all-everything junior Andrew Papantonis to a knee injury. The Green Wave's youth showed early in losing its first two games to St. Anthony (Long Island) and Morris Knolls. But Brian Bowers' team has come on of late, winning its last six games, including a very impressive 40-7 victory over Roxbury two weeks ago. The Green Wave are playing with confidence and are most certainly a contender to win a NJSIAA title.

Morris County Top 10

1. Delbarton (6-2)

2. Roxbury (7-1)

3. Hanover Park (8-0)

4. West Morris (6-2)

5. Morris Knolls (6-2)

6. Chatham (6-2)

7. Boonton (7-1)

8. Pequannock (7-1)

9. Butler (5-3)

10. Madison (5-2)