Field hockey: Newton, Voorhees eye top state seeds

Hard to believe, but the NJSIAA sectional tournaments begin early next week with preliminary-round action on Monday (Groups 3 and 4) and Tuesday (Groups 1 and 2), followed by second-round games next Thursday, Oct. 30 (Group 3), Friday, Oct. 31 (Group 4), Saturday, Nov. 1 (Group 1) and Monday, Nov. 3 (Group 2). The Non-Public tournaments begin on Nov. 1.

Sectional finals are slated for Friday, Nov. 7 (Groups 3 and 4), Saturday, Nov. 8 (Groups 1 and 2) and Wednesday, Nov. 12 (Non-Public). The state semifinals (involving sectional winners) are set for Wednesday, Nov. 12 with the Group finals to be held on Saturday, Nov. 15.

Official sectional pairings will be released on Wednesday with today serving as the cut-off date for qualifying teams. Those teams with at least a .500 record will automatically earn berths and the brackets will be seeded according to power points through a team's first 13 games. Teams with less than .500 record may be seeded as determined by the committee.

Here's a preliminary look at the sections involving teams from the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area.

(Note: Power points are unofficial and season records are through Monday's games)

North 1

Group 4

1. Ridge (10-5-1, 269); 2. Montclair (11-5, 242); 3. Millburn (8-7-1, 164.25); 4. Randolph (9-7-1, 150); 5. Phillipsburg (5-9-2, 145.75); 6. Westfield (4-11-1, 143.75); 7. Morris Knolls (6-9, 133.5); 8. Watchung Hills (3-12, 121); 9. Columbia (3-11, 113.5); 10. North Hunterdon (2-13, 103); 11. Hackensack (1-14, 86); 12. Livingston (1-13-1, 83.5); 13. Union (4-12-1, 72.5).

Group 3

1. West Morris (15-1, 376.5); 2. Northern Highlands (16-1, 346); 3. Wayne Hills (14-1-1, 293); 4. Sparta (9-5-1, 208); 5. Montville (9-6-1, 198.5); 6. Passaic Valley (6-8-1, 180.25); 7. Wayne Valley (5-7-3, 173); 8. West Milford (6-7-2, 157.5); 9. Old Tappan (4-10-1, 143.5); 10. Mount Olive (7-9, 127); 11. Roxbury (2-12, 92.5); 12. Demarest (0-15, 74).

Group 2

1. West Essex (15-0-1, 353.75); 2. Madison (13-1, 340.5); 3. Hackettstown (10-3, 286); 4. Ramsey (15-1-1, 285); 5. Chatham (12-4, 274.5); 6. Parsippany (9-4, 243); 7. River Dell (7-8-1, 186.5); 8. Lakeland (8-8-2, 177.75); 9. High Point (4-9-4, 170.5); 10. Vernon (2-11-2, 98.5); 11. Jefferson (2-13, 88); 12. Morris Hills (1-15, 77.5); 13. Parsippany Hills (1-12-1, 64).

Group 1

1. Newton (9-4-3, 252.75); 2. Lenape Valley (11-4, 243.5); 3. Kittatinny (10-4-1, 216.75); 4. Westwood (7-7-2, 203); 5. Pompton Lakes (9-7, 192.5); 6. Boonton (8-8-1, 186.5); 7. Wallkill Valley (5-8-1, 158.25); 8. Belvidere (9-7-1, 155); 9. North Warren (7-7-1, 148.25); 10. Mountain Lakes (4-10-1, 142); 11. Pequannock (5-10-1, 127.5); 12. Butler (9-7, 122); 13. Whippany Park (4-8-3, 120.5).

North 2

Group 4

1. Bridgewater-Raritan (15-1, 353.5); 2. Monroe (16-0-1, 323); 3. Hunterdon Central (11-5, 273.5); 4. West Windsor North (9-7-1, 192.25); 5. South Brunswick (8-6-1, 170.25); 6. East Brunswick (8-8-2, 166.75); 7. Hillsborough (4-10-2, 164.25); 8. Montgomery (6-10, 151.5); 9. Sayreville (3-9-2, 126.25); 10. Franklin (6-10-1, 116.25); 11. Old Bridge (2-12-1, 108.75); 12. Piscataway (0-14-2, 74.25).

Group 3

1. Mendham (13-2, 340); 2. Warren Hills (14-3, 321.5); 3. Princeton (15-2, 274.5); 4. Ocean Township (12-3-2, 243.75); 5. Morristown (10-7, 220); 6. Middletown South (9-6-1, 194); 7. Hopewell Valley (10-8, 176.5); 8. Middletown North (7-9-1, 170); 9. Hightstown (5-8-1, 149.5); 10. Red Bank Regional (6-12, 117); 11. Colts Neck (2-14-1, 108.25); 12. Nottingham (0-16-1, 72.5).

Group 2

1. Voorhees (15-1-2, 320.75); 2. South Plainfield (15-1-1, 291.5); 3. Summit (10-6, 222); 4. Delaware Valley (6-8-1, 200.5); 5. Holmdel (8-5-2, 198.75); 6. Governor Livingston (7-6-2, 180.25); 7. Johnson (7-7-1, 175.25); 8. Cranford (5-9-2, 165.75); 9. Somerville (6-6-2, 150.75); 10. Matawan (4-8-2, 142.5); 11. Raritan (8-8-2, 123); 12. North Plainfield (1-15, 62).

Group 1

1. Bernards (13-2, 295); 2. Shore Regional (13-2-2, 290.5); 3. Bordentown (11-6, 237); 4. Glen Ridge (6-9-1, 194.75); 5. New Egypt (5-8-1, 193); 6. South Hunterdon (7-7, 174.5); 7. Henry Hudson (6-8, 170.5); 8. Metuchen (6-6-4, 168.75); 9. Riverside (7-6-1, 167.25); 10. Florence (7-6-1, 141.25); 11. Keyport (5-7, 134); 12. Burlington City (0-10-1, 44).

Non-Public North

1. Oak Knoll (15-1, 346.5); 2. Kent Place (13-3, 288.5); 3. Morristown-Beard (9-3-1, 273.5); 4. Pingry (6-9-1, 198.25); 5. St. John Vianney (8-6-1, 194.25); 6. Pope John (7-6-1, 164.5); 7. Mount St. Mary (6-7, 162); 8. Dwight-Englewood (6-9, 152).