Football rankings: Big Central Conference Top 15, through Week 5

(Records in parenthesis)

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (6-0) – last week ranked No. 1 – The Trojans defense came through with four turnovers in a 17-0 win over Hillside. Big Central Conference United Gold champion STA travels to Rahway (3-3) on Friday and took last year’s meeting 33-0.

2. Ridge (4-1) – last week ranked No. 2 -- The Red Devils held off a late rally to beat Bridgewater-Raritan 30-24 and maintain their hold on a shot at the American Silver title. Ridge would win the outright title with a Phillipsburg loss to BR this week, and would share the crown with the Stateliners and Hillsborough if the Raiders also win. The Red Devils play host to South Brunswick (4-2) on Friday in a non-division game, having won last year’s game 24-7.

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3. Hillsborough (5-1) – last week ranked No. 3 -- The Raiders withstood a test from Union to prevail 15-7, as Jackson Jankowicz, who ran back the game’s opening kickoff 97 yards for a TD, intercepted a pass near the goal line in the final minute to seal the win. Hillsborough can win a share of the American Silver championship with a win over Hunterdon Central (4-2) Friday, plus a Phillipsburg win over Bridgewater-Raritan. The Raiders won last year’s meeting with Central 29-15.

4. Phillipsburg (4-1) – last week ranked No. 4 – The Stateliners overcame the absence of injured QB Jett Genovese to beat Hunterdon Central 21-7, on the strength of two Nick Stettner touchdown passes and John Wargo turning in a big game. Phillipsburg can win the outright title in the American Silver Division with a win this weekend at Bridgewater-Raritan (1-5), plus a Hillsborough loss to Hunterdon Central. The Liners share the title if they win and Boro wins. P’Burg beat the Panthers 28-13 last season.

5. North Brunswick (5-0) – last week ranked No. 5 –The National Silver Division champion Raiders scored a 50-0 win over Franklin last weekend, and head into this weekend’s matchup with New Brunswick (0-6) after winning that meeting 41-10 last season.

6. Montgomery (6-0) – last week ranked No. 6 -- The Cougars won a huge 28-21 win over Watchung Hills on Saturday night, not only improving to 6-0 for the first time in program history, but also clinching the Liberty Silver Division championship. Montgomery heads to North Hunterdon (0-6) this weekend.

7. Bernards (6-0) –– last week ranked No. 8 -- The Mountaineers not only rolled through North Plainfield 40-0 Friday night, they also clinched the United Silver Division title with Bound Brook’s loss to Delaware Valley. It’s the third straight division crown for Bernards, which will take on Bound Brook (1-4) this weekend.

8. Watchung Hills (5-1) – last week ranked No. 7 -- The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season Saturday night, 28-21 in a hard-fought against undefeated Montgomery. Watchung Hills has another tough task on tap this weekend when it visits Plainfield (4-1). Watchung Hills beat the Cardinals 31-22 last season.

9. Summit (4-1) – last week No. 11 —The Hilltoppers rolled over Scotch Plains-Fanwood last weekend, scoring a 42-6 win, finishing second in the United Gold behind St. Thomas. Summit draws a tough non-division opponent this weekend when it plays host to Linden (5-1). The Hilltoppers won 28-14 when they met last season.

10. Union (4-2) –– last week No. 9 – The Farmers played another outstanding contest, but this time came up short, 15-7 against Hillsborough, snapping a four-game winning streak. The American Gold Division champ will take on a dangerous Elizabeth team this weekend. The Minutemen are 0-6, but all six losses have come by seven points or less, including three straight that were three or fewer points. Union won 41-7 when they met last year.

11. Sayreville (4-2) – last week ranked No. 13 – The Bombers blasted East Brunswick 41-9 last weekend and will wrap up their divisional slate this weekend with a game against Franklin (2-4), which Sayreville won 15-0 last year.

12. Somerville (4-2) - last week No. 14 – The Pioneers scored a much-needed 17-14 win over Elizabeth on Friday night, snapping a two-game slide. Somerville heads to Westfield (2-3) on Saturday, looking to snap a 15-game head-to-head losing streak that included a 37-0 loss to the Blue Devils last season.

13. Hillside (3-2) –last week ranked No. 10 – The Comets’ Saturday afternoon get-together with St, Thomas didn’t go quite as planned, as the Trojans sent Hillside to its first loss since opening day, 17-0 at Conant. The Comets play host to A.L. Johnson (4-1) this weekend in a winner-take-all contest that will decide the Patriot Silver Division title. Hillside beat the Crusaders 38-7 when they met last year.

14. Hunterdon Central (4-2) – last week No. 12 – The Red Devils suffered their second straight loss, despite a solid effort at Phillipsburg, falling 21-7. Central has another elite opponent on tap this weekend, playing host to Hillsborough (5-1). The Red Devils have lost four straight to Boro, including 29-15 last year.

15. Plainfield (4-1) – last week No. 15 -- The Cardinals visit to North Bergen was a happy one Friday night, as they came back to Union County with a 33-0 victory. Big test on tap Saturday when Plainfield plays host to Watchung Hills (5-1).

ALSO RECEIVING CONSIDERATION: Linden (5-1), Woodbridge (4-2).

Simeon Pincus has been covering New Jersey sports since 1997. He can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus

Andy Mendlowitz can be reached at AMendlowitz@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @Andy_Mendlowitz

BIG CENTRAL CONFERENCE WEEK 6 SCHEDULE

Thursday, Oct. 5

Highland Park at Brearley, 6 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 6

Colonia at Perth Amboy, 6 p.m.

East Brunswick at Piscataway, 6 p.m.

North Plainfield at J.P. Stevens, 6 p.m.

Spotswood at Dayton, 6 p.m.

St. Thomas Aquinas at Rahway, 6 p.m.

Union at Elizabeth, 6 p.m.

Woodbridge at J.F. Kennedy, 6 p.m.

Bound Brook at Bernards, 7 p.m.

Phillipsburg at Bridgewater-Raritan, 7 p.m.

Carteret at Governor Livingston, 7 p.m.

Cranford at Scotch Plains-Fanwood, 7 p.m.

Hillsborough at Hunterdon Central, 7 p.m.

Manville at Belvidere, 7 p.m.

Metuchen at New Providence, 7 p.m.

Montgomery at North Hunterdon, 7 p.m.

New Brunswick at North Brunswick, 7 p.m.

Old Bridge at Monroe, 7 p.m.

Roselle at Ridgefield Park, 7 p.m.

Roselle Park at Middlesex, 7 p.m.

Sayreville at Franklin, 7 p.m.

South Brunswick at Ridge, 7 p.m.

South Hunterdon at Dunellen, 7 p.m.

St. Joseph-Metuchen at Edison, 7 p.m.

Voorhees at South Plainfield, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 7

Watchung Hills at Plainfield, 1 p.m.

A.L. Johnson at Hillside, 2 p.m.

Delaware Valley at South River, 2 p.m.

Somerville at Westfield, 2 p.m.

Linden at Summit, 2:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Football rankings: Big Central Conference Top 15, through Week 5