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NJSIAA Realignment Plan Includes Skyland Conference
ROBBINSVILLE -- In a plan to realign high school football conferences in northern New Jersey, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is considering merging the Skyland, Mountain Valley, and Watchung Conferences.
Fourty schools in those conferences play football, and would be merged to form a conference comparable in size to the Shore Conference. The new conference would have four divisions, with 10 schools each.
The original intent of the plan was to realign conferences to address the imbalance between public and parochial/non-public schools in northern New Jersey. The plan essentially eliminates most current conferences. The plan fails to address what many have wanted, however: a separate league for the non-public powers.
The NJSIAA Executive Committee will vote on the plan in October, and if passed, will go in to effect for the 2009 football season. Schools may send appeals by September 2 to address their concerns.
Schools are sorted into divisions by enrollment.
Immaculata, which many people think should play in the Delaware East division in the Skyland, would be in Division C under the new plan along with Skyland Conference schools Bernards, Delaware Valley, Hackettstown, and North Plainfield, and Mountain Valley schools Cranford, Governor Livingston, Hillside, A.L. Johnson, and Roselle.
Immaculata head coach Pierce Frauenheim said that he doesn't want to play the big school each week, but also recgonizes most of the schools in Division C would not be willing to play the Spartans. He is in favor of moving up one division to Division B, but adding "playing up two (divisions) would be suicidal for us."
North Plainfield coach Bob Lake is not happy about the plan, stating that the current Skyland Conference has competitive balance and that it's unfair to have to conference broken apart.
Bound Brook Director of Athletics also indicated he was against the proposal, noting that as long as the power point system is used, this plan is not good for Group I schools.
The plan would provide extra motivation for Watchung Hills' squad, according to Warriors coach Jim Benedict. He included that it would be "exciting, because you are going to play a good team every week." Watchung Hills would be in Division A, with Skyland schools Hunterdon Central, Bridgewater-Raritan, Hillsborough, Franklin, and North Hunterdon, along with Elizabeth, Union, Linden, and Westfield from the Watchung Conference.
Skyland Conference President Carl Weigner said he'd make only one revision to plan, stating "I think I'd put Immaculata in the second tier, and move Somerville down to the third. If I was (Immaculata coach) Pierce (Frauenheim), I'd be writing an appeal to the state now."
REALIGNMENT PLAN
DIVISION A
Bridgewater-Raritan (Skyland); Elizabeth (Watchung); Franklin (Skyland); Hillsborough (Skyland); Hunterdon Central (Skyland); Linden (Watchung); North Hunterdon (Skyland); Union (Watchung); Watchung Hills (Skyland); Westfield (Watchung)
DIVISION B
Montgomery (Skyland); Phillipsburg (Skyland); Rahway (Mountain Valley); Ridge (Skyland); Scotch Plains-Fanwood (Watchung); Somerville (Skyland); Summit (Iron Hills); Voorhees (Skyland); Warren Hills (Skyland)
DIVISION C
Bernards (Skyland); Cranford (Mountain Valley); Delaware Valley (Skyland); Governor Livingston (Mountain Valley); Hackettstown (Skyland); Hillside (Mountain Valley); Immaculata (Skyland); AL Johnson (Mountain Valley); North Plainfield (Skyland); Roselle (Mountain Valley)
DIVISION D
Belvidere (Skyland); Bound Brook (Skyland); David Brearley (Mountain Valley); Dayton (Mountain Valley); Manville (Skyland); New Providence (Mountain Valley); North Warren (Skyland); Pingry (Colonial Hills, Skyland in 2009); Roselle Park (Mountain Valley); South Hunterdon (Skyland)
Information from this report was taken from Harry Frezza's article in the August 20, 2008 Courier News.
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