Because there were only three teams that qualified for the Non-Public 1 tournament, St. Joseph has a bye to the state title game on the weekend of Dec. 2-4. The Wildcats will face the Immaculate Conception-St. Mary winner in a game that, on paper, could be a 40-point blowout.
"Many of our seniors have played a quarter or a half in many of our games," said Sacco, whose team has outscored opponents by a combined 391-16. "I really thought they would get more of a chance to play in the tournament this year."
Last year, the NJSIAA combined Non-Public 1 and Non-Public 2. St. Joseph won that title, beating St. Mary in the championship game at Rutgers by 40-0.
Sacco was hoping the NJSIAA would realign the Non-Public teams into three groups this season. That would have created much more competition - or at least given St. Joseph the opportunity to play two or three tournament games, like other championship teams.
But the NJSIAA split the Non-Public teams back into four groups before this season.
"We've never had an opportunity to play 12 games," Sacco said. "This team, with all the work these kids have put in, will only play 10 games. It's just not fair."
Home sweet home. Pennsauken (7-1) earned the No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group 4, and the Indians will host a playoff game for the first time since 2005 when eighth-seeded Atlantic City visits on Saturday.
"It's a big thing for us," Pennsauken coach Clint Tabb said. "We're not getting out of our routine. We're not getting on a bus. We're not playing on a Friday night when the weather could be bad."
Tabb knows Atlantic City is a dangerous No. 8 seed.
"If they beat Millville [which defeated Atlantic City by 27-19 on Friday night], they could be a No. 2 or No. 3," Tabb said of the Vikings. "We look at them as one of the upper-echelon teams."
