Teams Jockey for Positioning in Week 5

When the Hillsborough football team's offense plays well, the Raiders make .

On Thursday night at home against the Ridge, Hillsborough had 429 yards of total offense, and the Raiders' defense allowed only three points. The Raiders got started early with a touchdown in the first quarter and never looked back, scoring 27 points before Ridge could make it onto the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.

With the win, Hillsborough now has both a 3-2 overall and divisional record and trails three of the top teams in the conference in Hunterdon Central, Franklin and Phillipsburg in the Delaware Division. Ridge, a team that has struggled all season, is now 1-4.

Behind Ridge in the Delaware Division are the Bridgewater-Raritan Panthers at 0-5. On Thursday, the Panthers hosted . The first half was not so bad for Bridgewater, though. Going into the half, the Panthers were behind only 7-3, but in the second half of the game Immaculata outscored Bridgewater 35-0.

Bridgewater’s schedule is not going to let up next week, though, as the Panthers are scheduled to face Franklin, a 3-1 team that currently sits in second place of the Delaware Division, on Friday at 7 p.m.

Watchung Hills has played close games almost every week of the season, yet the Warriors are still winless. But they haven’t come as close to winning this year as they did on Thursday against Linden. In the second quarter, the Warriors struck first with a touchdown in the second quarter, and held that lead until the fourth when Linden responded with a game-tying touchdown of its own.

With the game tied at the end of regulation, the Warriors went to overtime for the first time this season and were the closest they have come to securing a win since their last victory in 2009, but Linden scored six in overtime and ended up . Last season, Linden scored 50 points against the Warriors.

Biggest Upset of Week 5

Roselle was 2-1 going into its game against the 3-1 Dayton Bulldogs on Thursday. Before the season, Dayton was predicted by NJ.com to take second place in its division, while Roselle was predicted to take fourth in that same division. But on Thursday, it was Roselle that walked away with a commanding 34-14 win over their divisional rival. After the loss, Dayton is still in second place in the division, but Roselle has already had its bye week and could catch up during Dayton’s bye.

Standout Performance

Hillsborough’s John Banaciski rushed for 215 yards in 19 carries, an average of more than 11 yards per carry, and was against Ridge on Thursday. One of his runs was a 69-yard run for a touchdown.

Mid-State 39 Standings

Standings are a combination of Patch records, as well as from NJ.com. Coaches are required by the NJSIAA to submit results to NJ.com in order to be eligible for the post season, due to a contract between the two.

Delaware Division

Watchung Division

Mountain Division

Union Division

Raritan Division

Hills Division