The 2021 high school football season in New Jersey kicks off on Aug. 27 and MaxPreps has your look at the state's top teams. After checking in at No. 11 in the national Preseason MaxPreps Top 25, Bergen Catholic naturally owns the top spot in our state rankings.
Vito Campanile begins his fourth season as head coach and has led the Crusaders to a 20-7 record since taking over in 2018.
There was no postseason last year with teams played anywhere from four to eight games. The plan is for a return to a full schedule in 2021 with zero week games beginning Aug. 27. The first round of the playoffs is scheduled to begin on Nov. 5.
St. Peter's Prep is the last team to win the Non-Public Group 4 championship, which is one of the most competitive postseason brackets in the country.
K.J. Miles (Georgia Tech commit),
Trent McGaughey,
Andre' Oben (Purdue),
Avery Powell and 2020 MaxPreps Freshman All-America selection
Xavier Miles will give the Marauders one of the best teams in the state.
Rich Hansen III takes over for his dad, Rich Hansen, who was the head coach at Prep for the past 33 seasons. He went 274-77-1 during his tenure, led the Marauders to five state titles (1989, 1994, 2005, 2014, 2019) and will still be involved with the program as the athletic director.
Hansen III was a team captain when he played for the Marauders and has been coaching at St. Peter's Prep for the last 19 years, including the last 14 as the defensive coordinator.
See the complete list below.
Bergen Catholic takes the field last November for a showdown against St. Peter's Prep.
Photo by John Jones
