New Jersey High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams - Oct. 7

The New Jersey high school football rankings continue to shift moving into the second week of October.

DePaul Catholic is now the No. 2 team in the state following a big victory over No. 7 Don Bosco Prep. Absecon Holy Spirit is now in the top 10 after winning a defensive battle against St. Augustine Prep.

Below are the updated top 25 teams in the state, according to the On3 Massey Ratings, as of Oct. 7.

The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

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1. Bergen Catholic

Previous: No. 1
The Crusaders are coming off a bye week with a 4-1 record and remain the top-ranked team in the Garden State heading into the second half of the season. Bergen took down Don Bosco 24-20 last time out and will look to make it five wins in a row on Saturday when they host No. 18 Paramus Catholic. The Crusaders’ offense and defense both remain No. 1 in the state, per the Massey Ratings.

2. DePaul Catholic

Previous: No. 4 (+2)
Ohio State wide receiver commit De’Zie Jones continues to look like one of the top players in the state and is a big reason why DePaul is now 7-0 this season. The Spartans survived 21-20 on the road at Don Bosco over the weekend and now enter a bye week. They’ll return to action on Oct. 17 against No. 13 Jersey City St. Peters Prep.

3. Hun School

Previous: No. 2 (-1)
Hun School continues to crunch its opposition and is now 6-0 this season following a 48-0 shutout of Blair Academy on the road. The Raiders are now averaging 44.8 points per game and are yet to even play a game at home. That will finally change this week as they prep for their biggest game of the season against nationally-ranked Baltimore St. Frances Academy.

4. St. Joseph Regional

Previous: No. 3 (-1)
The Green Knights are coming off a bye week riding a four-game winning streak and are now set to take on three top-10 teams across the next four weeks. First up is a trip to No. 7 Don Bosco on Friday, while home tilts against No. 1 Bergen and No. 2 DePaul Catholic wait in the wings at the end of the regular season. St. Joseph’s offense and defense both rank No. 3 in the state, per the Massey Ratings.

5. Delbarton School

Previous: No. 6 (+1)
Delbarton got all it could handle over the weekend but pulled out a 35-34 win over Pope John XXIII to improve to 5-1 on the season. The Green Wave have a top-five defense in the state, per the Massey Ratings, and now enter a bye week as they prepare for a monumental test at top-ranked Bergen on Oct. 19.

6. Winslow Township

Previous: No. 7 (+1)
Winslow Township improved to 6-0 with a calm 40-6 victory over No. 22 Camden. The Eagles have now picked up three ranked victories in a row and are nearing top-five status in-state. They head to 0-5 Eastside this week and are favored to win each of their remaining regular season contests. Their defense ranks No. 8 in the state, per the Massey Ratings.

7. Don Bosco Prep

Previous: No. 5 (-2)
The Ironmen fell 21-20 to now-No. 2 DePaul Catholic over the weekend and are now 2-3 on the season having faced some stout competition. Don Bosco has taken each of the top two teams in the state down to the wire and will look to get back to winning ways on Friday in another big clash, this time at home against No. 4 St. Joseph Regional.

8. Toms River North

Previous: No. 8
Toms River North shutout Toms River South 41-0 over the weekend, improving it to 5-0 on the year. The competition has been lackluster thus far, but the Mariners are averaging 41 points per game and are winning by an average of 34.4 points. The expectation is an undefeated 2024 campaign, with the next test coming on Thursday against Farmingdale Howell.

9. Millville

Previous: No. 9
After falling to Winslow Township the week prior, Millville got back on the horse and held Delsea Regional to just a touchdown in a 23-7 win last week. The Thunderbolts are now 5-1 with three ranked victories already under their belt. After an upcoming idle week, they’ll return to the field on Oct. 18 at Marlton Cherokee, the current No. 29 team in the state.

10. Absecon Holy Spirit

Previous: No. 13 (+3)
Holy Spirit picked up its biggest win of the season over the weekend, besting St. Augustine in a 14-10 slog. Now 5-1 on the season, the Spartans check in inside the state top 10 and are on track to finish the regular season winners of nine straight. They now head to Franklinville to take on Delsea Regional this week.

Teams 11-25 in latest New Jersey High School Football rankings

11. Old Tappan (+1)
12. St. Augustine Prep (-2)
13. St. Peters Prep (+5)
14. Rumson-Fair Haven (-3)
15. Mainland Regional

16. Red Bank Catholic
17. Washington Township
18. Paramus Catholic (+2)
19. Ridge (+2)
20. Phillipsburg (+2)

21. Seton Hall Prep (-7)
22. Camden (-3)
23. Morris Knolls (previously unranked)
24. Metuchen St Joseph
25. Union City

Dropped Out: #23 Passaic County Tech