The opening-round spotlight falls on New Providence, seeded 13th, against Union, the 12th seed. The report says the winner will advance to face Westfield, the fifth seed, in the second round.
That matchup gives Westfield a difficult entry point. Rather than opening the tournament, the fifth seed will meet a team already carrying competitive momentum from the October 15 game. On the other side of the section, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, the defending champion and fourth seed, is scheduled to enter in the quarterfinals.
The other route toward Linden, listed as the sixth seed, begins with Dayton against Plainfield. Dayton is seeded 14th, while Plainfield holds the 11th position, and the reported schedule places their game in the opening round.
The winner will face Linden on October 17, creating another test for a seeded team against an opponent that has already survived a knockout match. The section also includes direct quarterfinal entries for Elizabeth, the third seed, and other leading teams elsewhere in the bracket.
The report lists Summit as the tournament’s top seed and Cranford as the second seed. Both are scheduled to begin in the quarterfinals, alongside Elizabeth and Scotch Plains-Fanwood. The remaining first-round ties include Brearley-Johnson, Union Catholic-Roselle Park, Roselle-Rahway and Oratory-Gov. Livingston.
The second round is set for October 17, followed by quarterfinals on October 20 and 21 and semifinals on October 24.
The next storyline arrives on October 15, when the first-round winners begin shaping the paths toward Westfield and Linden. From there, the bracket’s balance between early momentum and seeded byes will define the race to the October 31 final.