Panthers and Warriors Meet in the Playoffs for Only the 2nd Time Ever
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – For only the second time ever, a school from Bridgewater-Raritan will be facing Watchung Hills in the state playoffs. The two school districts have met numerous times over the years in the regular season.
The rivalry between the two districts actually began in 1968 when Bridgewater-Raritan was split into two high schools: Bridgewater-Raritan East and Bridgewater-Raritan West. Watchung Hills played Bridgewater-Raritan East almost every year until 1990 and was edged in the series 12-11. The Warriors were outscored by the Minutemen 306-253, or by an average of 13-11 per contest.
Watchung Hills also played Bridgewater-Raritan West every year until 1989 and then played one last time in 1991. The series between the Warriors and the Golden Falcons ended at 11-11-1. Bridgewater-Raritan West outscored Watchung Hills by a margin of 291-276 over the span of the 23 games played or by a slim margin of about 13-12 per contest.
Bridgewater-Raritan East and Bridgewater-Raritan West merged to form Bridgewater-Raritan High School in 1992, and the Panthers and Warriors played every year until 2009. Since then, Watchung Hills and Bridgewater-Raritan have only played five times with the Warriors winning the last two in 2022 and 2023.
Bridgewater-Raritan leads the all-time series 16-7. The Panthers won the first eight meetings between the two schools until Watchung Hills won in 2000. The last 15 meetings between the two schools have been fairly even with Bridgewater-Raritan holding an 8-7 edge. The last time the two schools met in the playoffs was in 2017 when Bridgewater-Raritan defeated Watchung Hills 41-0 en route to its third straight sectional finals appearance at the time. Check out this rivalry at a glance.
| Year | Winner | Winning Score | Loser | Losing Score |
| 1992 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 7 | Watchung Hills | 0 |
| 1993 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 20 | Watchung Hills | 14 |
| 1994 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 19 | Watchung Hills | 14 |
| 1995 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 8 | Watchung Hills | 7 |
| 1996 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 20 | Watchung Hills | 19 |
| 1997 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 7 | Watchung Hills | 0 |
| 1998 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 23 | Watchung Hills | 18 |
| 1999 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 21 | Watchung Hills | 7 |
| 2000 | Watchung Hills | 20 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 18 |
| 2001 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 7 | Watchung Hills | 0 |
| 2002 | Watchung Hills | 21 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 8 |
| 2003 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 26 | Watchung Hills | 22 |
| 2004 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 37 | Watchung Hills | 17 |
| 2005 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 16 | Watchung Hills | 0 |
| 2006 | Watchung Hills | 35 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 0 |
| 2007 | Watchung Hills | 31 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 10 |
| 2008 | Watchung Hills | 12 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 7 |
| 2009 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 40 | Watchung Hills | 21 |
| 2014 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 28 | Watchung Hills | 17 |
| 2015 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 42 | Watchung Hills | 28 |
| 2017* | Bridgewater-Raritan | 41 | Watchung Hills | 0 |
| 2022 | Watchung Hills | 38 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 14 |
| 2023 | Watchung Hills | 14 | Bridgewater-Raritan | 7 |
| 2023 Playoffs |
*NJSIAA playoff game.
- Bridgewater-Raritan has outscored Watchung Hills by a margin of 426-355, or by an average of about 19-15 per contest.
- Bridgewater-Raritan has 5 shutouts.
- Watchung Hills only has one shutout.
- Longest winning streak: Bridgewater-Raritan with 8 straight wins from 1992 to 1999.
- Watchung Hills’ longest win streak: 3 games (from 2006 to 2008).
- 12 games have been decided by 7 points or less.
- Most points scored in a game: 42 by Bridgewater-Raritan in 2015. Watchung Hills scored 38 in 2022.
- The largest margin of victory: 41 by Bridgewater-Raritan (41-0 in 2017). Watchung Hills defeated Bridgewater-Raritan in 2006.
- The two schools met once before in the playoffs with Bridgewater-Raritan winning 41-0 in 2017.
