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The
Ridgewood Junior Football Association (“RJFA”)
began as an in-town recreation league in 1959. Players were
grouped by school grade and competed in intramural games in
much the same manner as Ridgewood’s current recreational
baseball and soccer programs.
In 1964 the North Jersey Junior Football League (“NJJFL”)
was established to promote junior football and Ridgewood became
a member. The focus of RJFA efforts subsequently shifted to
forming “traveling” teams to compete against other
NJJFL member towns.
The NJJFL consists of 16 teams from Bergen, Passaic and Morris
counties divided into two conferences, each further divided
into two divisions. Divisional assignment is based on school
enrollment, number of participants, and prior performance.
Ridgewood competes in Conference A along with Wayne Boys Club,
Wayne Police Athletic League, Wyckoff in Division I and Fairlawn,
Mahwah, Ramsey, and Upper Saddle River/Allendale in Division
II.
Each team plays a nine game schedule that begins shortly after
Labor Day and concludes in early November. The top team in
each Division and the two teams with the next best records
in each Conference compete in a single elimination playoff
format for the Conference Championship. The Conference A Champion
then competes against the Conference B Champion in the NJJFL
Super Bowl to decide the ultimate Champion for each age level
(Pee Wee, Junior and Senior).
For the first 38 seasons of NJJFL participation, no RJFA team
from any level managed to reach the League Championship game.
Then in 2002, the Jet ‘A’ team broke the ice and
became the first Ridgewood team to advance to the NJJFL League
Championship game, falling to Wayne Boys Club 12-0 in Super
Bowl XIV.
One year later the 2003 Jet ‘A’ team became Ridgewood's
first NJJFL Division I Champion and followed up on the success
of the 2002 Jets by also making it to Super Bowl XV. Unfortunately
the result was the same as the Jets fell to Ramsey by a 25-12
count.
In 2004, the Rocket ‘A’ team advanced to Super
Bowl XVI and was once again defeated by Ramsey.
Last season, the 2005 Rocket ‘A’ team was crowned
Division I Champion and Conference A Champions, and defeated
Upper Saddle River 33-27 in Super Bowl XVII for the RJFA’s
first League Championship title.
The RJFA fields teams at each of the NJJFL competition levels
–
Senior (7th and 8th grade), Junior (5th and 6th grade) and
Pee-Wee (3rd and 4th grade). Each level is further subdivided
into two or more teams – an “A” level team
for the older and more advanced players and “B”
level team(s) for the younger and less experienced players.
If player participation warrants, an additional “C”
level team may be formed in accordance with the rules set
forth by the NJJFL.
The RJFA has created unique team names for our participants
at each level. The Senior program is called the Ridgewood
Rockets. The Jets
represent the RJFA at the Junior level, while the Missiles
compete at the Pee-Wee level.
Each team is assigned a coaching staff dedicated to that team’s
needs and adheres to regularly scheduled practice sessions
and a complete game schedule against NJJFL opponents. All
RJFA practices and home games are held at Veteran’s
Field in Ridgewood.
In 2000 the RJFA expanded operations to include a recreational
non-contact Flag football program
for 2nd grade players. The 2001 season saw the Flag football
program extended to 3rd grade as an option to participation
at the Missile level.
In addition to the football program, the RJFA also sponsors
a Cheerleading program that
mirrors the grade levels of each football team.
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