Don’t look now, but the 2025 New Jersey high school football playoffs have arrived. The first round of the NJSIAA/Xfinity Football State Championships kicks off this weekend in all five groups. In Group 5, No. 8 seed Passaic (4-4) faces No. 1 seed West Orange (7-2) in the North Jersey, Section I quarterfinals.
WATCH LIVE: Passaic vs. West Orange football is streaming live on NFHS Network
Led by junior linebackers Xavier Davis (72.5 tackles, 11 tackles for loss) and Israel Giles (59 tackles, 9 tackles for loss), West Orange boasts a suffocating defense that has allowed just 12.7 points per game this season. The Mountaineers have won three in a row and are coming off a 46-0 rout of Bloomfield last week.
Top football players in NJ: Best Group 5 players | Best Group 4 play

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