It is 11:30 PM on a Friday in mid-November. You are sitting in a diner in North Jersey, or maybe a Wawa parking lot in South Jersey, refreshing a browser tab until your thumb hurts. You’re looking for nj high school football scores because the radio cut out or the Twitter feed you were following went dark right before a goal-line stand.
Honestly, there is nothing quite like the chaos of Jersey football. One minute you're watching a powerhouse like Bergen Catholic trade blows with Don Bosco, and the next, you're tracking a Group 1 underdog in Glassboro that hasn't lost a game since the first Biden administration. This isn't just about numbers on a scoreboard; it is the lifeblood of towns from High Point down to Cape May.
The 2025 Season: A Quick Reality Check
If you missed the end of the 2025 season, you missed a lot of history. This wasn't just another year of the "Big North" dominating everything. We saw Camden High School—led by Coach Rob Hinson—finally grab that elusive first-ever state title. They beat Shabazz 27-8 at Rutgers' SHI Stadium on December 3, 2025. It was a massive moment for South Jersey.
The defense for Camden was basically a brick wall. They forced five turnovers. Talib Shakir, a kid headed to Colgate, had a 54-yard pick-six that basically broke the game open. Meanwhile, Ibn Muhammad signed his letter to Syracuse at 7 AM that same day and won a ring by dinner. That’s the kind of drama that keeps us obsessed with nj high school football scores.
Who Actually Won? The 2025 Champions
People get confused by the NJSIAA "Group" system. It’s confusing! You have sections, then you have regional championships, and finally the state finals. Here is the gist of who ended the 2025 season on top:
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- Group 5: Washington Township finished a perfect 14-0. They beat everyone in their path, including a gritty win over Old Bridge.
- Group 4: Winslow Township was a juggernaut. Jalen Parker tied the state record for career TD passes (105), matching Devin Leary's mark.
- Group 2: As mentioned, Camden took this one home, ending a legendary run for a city that lives for football.
- Group 1: Glassboro. These guys are scary. They finished 14-0 and haven't lost in 26 straight games.
Why Finding Real-Time NJ High School Football Scores Is Such a Pain
You'd think in 2026 it would be easier. It’s not. Most of the time, you're piecing together info from three different sources. The NJSIAA official site is great for the "official" brackets, but they aren't always the fastest on a Friday night when a game in Rumson is delayed by lightning.
Usually, the most reliable way to track live nj high school football scores is a mix of Gridiron New Jersey, MaxPreps, and honestly, following specific local beat reporters on social media. Big outlets like NJ.com or Shore Sports Insider are the gold standard for the Shore Conference, but if you're looking for a random mid-week JV score or a small-school upset, you've gotta dig.
The Non-Public Paradox
We have to talk about the Non-Public Group A and B. This is where the "super-conferences" live. Teams like St. Joseph Regional (Montvale), Don Bosco Prep, and Bergen Catholic.
In 2025, St. Joseph Regional clawed their way back to the top of the rankings. They finished 10-2 but played a schedule that would make some college teams sweat. Nate Bailey was the man there, putting up over 200 all-purpose yards in the semifinals against St. Peter’s Prep. If you’re checking nj high school football scores in October, these are the games that usually decide who is the "No. 1" team in the state, regardless of school size.
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Surprises That Caught Us Off Guard
Nobody expected Washington Township to go 14-0. Seriously. They were good, but a perfect season in Group 5 is a gauntlet. Jaylen Robinson was a beast for them, especially in the second half of that South/Central Group 5 semifinal against Kingsway. He ran for 135 yards in just two quarters.
Then there's the bethea-led Cedar Creek. They won a wild 48-38 shootout against Holmdel where Frenchmon Bethea put up 420 yards of total offense. If you weren't watching that score ticker, you missed one of the best offensive displays in recent Jersey history.
How to Get the Scores You Need Without Losing Your Mind
If you're trying to stay ahead of the curve for the upcoming 2026 season or just catching up on the 2025 archives, follow this logic:
- Check the UPR: The United Program Ranking is what the NJSIAA uses for playoff seeding. It’s a mix of winning percentage and "strength of program." If a team has a weirdly high seed despite a few losses, the UPR is why.
- Gridiron New Jersey: This is the "secret" site the real junkies use. It's not pretty, but it has the power points and the schedules long before the big media sites catch up.
- The Rutgers Factor: Remember, the state finals are almost always at SHI Stadium or MetLife. If you’re looking for nj high school football scores in late November, just head to those stadium-specific feeds.
What’s Next for Jersey Football?
We are seeing a massive shift in where the talent goes. While the North Jersey parochial schools still get the headlines, the public schools in South Jersey (like Winslow and Millville) are producing NFL-level talent at an insane rate. Lotzeir Brooks out of Millville and Cameron Miller at Winslow are names you’ll be hearing on Saturdays very soon.
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The 2026 season is already shaping up to be a battle of the "streaks." Can Glassboro keep the 26-game win streak alive? Can Washington Township repeat?
Your Saturday Morning Checklist
To stay on top of things, don't just look at the final score. Look at the "Power Points." A 21-20 win over a winless team is worth way less than a 35-0 loss to a top-5 team in the eyes of the playoff committee.
If you want to be the smartest person at the tailgate:
- Bookmark the NJSIAA tournament regulations page so you actually understand the "multiplier" for non-public games.
- Follow the "High School on SI" rankings, which usually drop every Monday or Tuesday.
- Check the weather in the Highlands versus the Shore; a rainy night in Phillipsburg changes a score way more than a turf game in Bergen County.
Keep your eyes on the brackets as they drop in late October. That is when the real season starts, and that is when nj high school football scores go from "interesting" to "everything."