Only 36 New Jersey high school football teams will be playing the first weekend of December in state sectional finals. And only sixteen of those squads get to play at Giants Stadium. Remarkably, four of those 16 hail from the Jersey Sports Now coverage area.

Here's an early look at the three games involving our local teams:

North Jersey Section 1, Group 3:

Wayne Hills nearly suffered a nightmare collapse in its semifinal game against Sparta, coughing up a 21-point lead and needing overtime to pull out the victory. But a win's a win, especially in the state playoffs, and the top-seeded Patriots are headed to their 6th straight state final and 12th in the last 13 seasons. Adding extra juice is the presence of old rival Ramapo in the final for the first time since 2003.

Their game will take place Saturday, December 5th at 4:30 pm (right after the Don Bosco-St. Peter's matchup). The Patriots have put up some staggering numbers this year, but they've had trouble against their three top opponents: Wayne Valley, St. Joe's and Sparta. Wayne Hills also has some injury concerns heading into the final. Ramapo barely made it into the states, but the Green Raiders have hardly looked like a #7 seed in their two playoff victories. So don't expect an easy win for the Patriots this year... if they capture another title, they'll have to earn it.

North Jersey Section 1, Group 1:

Two local teams will go head-to-head in this final, which will be played immediately after the Wayne Hills-Ramapo game, with kickoff set for 7:30. One finalist was widely expected to make it here, while the other shocked just about everyone.

Coming off a perfect season and a sectional crown in 2008, and with a fair amount of talent returning, Mountain Lakes was deemed by many as the favorite in this section even before the season began. The Herd has not disappointed, running off another 11 straight wins to extend its streak to 24. In fact, only one team managed to come within 20 points of Mountain Lakes all season.

That team was Butler, and based on that result (a 14-7 defeat) it shouldn't be a surprise that the 3rd-seeded Bulldogs made it to the final to take another shot at the top-seeded Herd. But when you rewind to the start of the season, only the most wide-eyed optimist could have predicted this. Butler suffered through an excruciating 0-10 campaign a year ago, and while the switch to a new conference gave reason to expect a better season, the Bulldogs are remarkably just that one loss away from a perfect record. They would love nothing better than to avenge that defeat, but knocking off Mountain Lakes will take Butler's best effort.

North Jersey Section 2, Group 3:

Like Butler, Passaic Valley hardly seemed a realistic candidate to reach a sectional final when practice began in August. The Hornets went 5-5 in 2008, then brought in a new head coach and switched to a tough new conference. But coach Al Cappello and his staff built this team around defense, as became perfectly clear with two shutouts to open the season. That defense also carried the 4th-seeded Hornets into the sectional final, allowing just a single touchdown in each of the first two playoff games.

It must be noted that this is not the strongest section in the area, but the competition level will definitely elevate in the final, which will be played Friday, December 4th at 8:00 at the Meadowlands. The opponent is 3rd seed West Morris, which lost twice during the regular season but has stepped up its game in the states, outscoring its two opponents by a total of 92-7. For Passaic Valley to win, they'll need to rely on a familiar formula: stout defense and opportunistic offense. -- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now