Bridgewater-Raritan Opens State Title Defense At Passaic Tech On Oct. 30

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s football team will begin its North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state sectional playoff run on the road after receiving the No. 5 seed in the official power points released by the NJSIAA on Monday, Oct. 26.

The Panthers are scheduled to play fourth-seeded Passaic County Institute of Technology on Friday, Oct. 30, in Wayne. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

Bridgewater-Raritan entered the postseason as the defending sectional champion.

Last fall, the Panthers won the program’s first state sectional playoff championship with a 21-14 win over Bayonne High School at Basilone Memorial Field in Bridgewater.

Their run ended in the Group 5 overall state playoff semifinals, where Passaic County Institute of Technology beat Bridgewater-Raritan 23-14 at Basilone Memorial Field.

The matchup adds another chapter to a recent rivalry between the two programs.

Before last season’s playoff meeting, Bridgewater-Raritan also lost to Passaic County Institute of Technology, 32-7, in Wayne to open the 2022 season.

Passaic County Institute of Technology later lost to Washington Township, 31-12, in the 2025 Group 5 state playoff final and moved from Section 1 to Section 2 this season.

Bridgewater-Raritan finished the regular season 7-2. Passaic County Institute of Technology ended 6-3 but secured more power points to claim the higher seed and home field for the first-round game.

If the Panthers win Friday, they would face the winner of top-seeded Elizabeth High School, which is 9-0, and eighth-seeded Linden High School, which is 4-4, in the sectional semifinals on the weekend of Nov. 6-7.

Elizabeth already beat Linden 39-18 this season and would host the semifinal if it advances. The sectional championship game is scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 13-14.

Other contenders in the bracket include third-seeded Phillipsburg High School, which is 6-2 and beat Bridgewater-Raritan 35-14 on Friday, Oct. 16, and second-seeded East Orange Campus, which is also 6-2.

Around Group 5, the other top seeds are Ramapo High School in Section 1, Old Bridge High School in Central Jersey and defending state champion Washington Township High School in South Jersey. Washington Township is 9-0 and has won 23 straight games.

The Group 5 state playoff semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 20-21 at the field of the higher seed. The Group 5 state playoff championship game is set for either Nov. 28 or 29 at MetLife Stadium.