When the new high school sports season opens in September, two Jersey Sports Now area schools will find themselves in a new competitive group for many sports. And in football, the new classification appears to move one team up and one team down.

These groupings determine whom schools must compete against for sectional and state titles. (They are also often used by conferences to determine divisional alignments, although no major changes are expected this year on that front.) In past years we have seen the classifications revised several times by the NJSIAA before being finalized, so changes do remain possible.

General classification:

One local school is moving up to the join the largest schools, while another moves back down after several years at a higher class.

Wayne Valley is poised to become the first Group IV school in the Jersey Sports Now area. The school's population for the top three grades is listed at 1120 students. That pushes Wayne Valley up to North Jersey Section 1, Group IV, where it would be the smallest school.

Assuming the new sports classification holds, Wayne Valley would appear to be at some disadvantage facing schools with more students, but it's hard to imagine that the new section would be any tougher than North 1, Group III, which is always one of the roughest in the state. The bad news for the Indians is that they would remain in Group III for football, remaining in a brutally tough section rather than the much easier Group IV.

The school dropping down is Pompton Lakes, which saw a very large senior class graduate earlier this month. It moved up to Group II three years ago when the Class of 2011 started to be counted by the NJSIAA. Now that they'll be gone, Pompton Lakes is dropping back to North Jersey Section 1, Group I.

The change would appear to be good news for the Cardinals on the playing field. The school hasn't had much success in the state tournament in Group II (the field hockey team, with its three straight sectional titles, remained in Group I under a sport-specific classification). Pompton Lakes should be more competitive among the smaller schools.

All of the other local schools remain in the same sections and groups as 2010-11. Kinnelon and Hawthorne will be among the smallest schools in North Jersey Section 1, Group II, but do not appear on the verge of moving down.

The general classification is used for soccer, tennis, basketball, baseball and softball. Other sports have individual group classifications, and the NJSIAA has also released those groupings for several sports for 2011-12.

Football Classification:

Pequannock reached the state playoffs the last two seasons while playing in Group II, but ended up as the 7th seed both times and lost first-round road games. But a dip in the school population will move the Panthers down to Group I for football in 2011.

North 1, Group I is hardly a pushover section. In fact, Pequannock's power point total last year would have put the Panthers in the #8 seed as opposed to 7th. But Pequannock has been competitive with Mountain Lakes the past two years, and the Herd has reached this sectional final each of the last three seasons (winning twice).

The other local team slated to switch sections in football this fall is Lakeland, the champion of North 1, Group II last season. According to the listing released by the NJSIAA, the Lancers are moving up to the extremely difficult North 1, Group III section, alongside teams like Wayne Hills, Ramapo and Old Tappan.

Last year Lakeland had 812 students in grades 10 through 12, which is what the association uses to determine group classification. This year, the NJSIAA lists Lakeland with 873 such students. So long as that increased number is correct, the Lancers will not get the chance to defend their Group II sectional title and will have to compete with the big boys in '11.

As mentioned above, Wayne Valley just misses out on moving up to Group IV in football, one sport where it would be a clear benefit to change groups. No other Jersey Sports Now area school appears close to a shift in groups at this time.

Field Hockey Classification:

Again, two teams are set to change groups based on the initial listing by the NJSIAA. Pequannock would drop from Group II to Group I, which moves the Panthers out of a section featuring powerhouse teams like West Essex, Madison and Newton. Pequannock's legendary coach, Carole Schoen, is retiring after 43 years, so the future of the program is unclear. But if the Panthers can get back to the level they were at just a couple of years ago, they could challenge for a section title in North 1, Group I.

The other team set to move is Lakeland, based on the population increase cited above. The Lancers would jump up to Group III, leaving no local teams in Group II.

Wrestling Classification:

Only one local team is on the move according to the NJSIAA, and that is Boonton. The Bombers remain in Group I but slide from North Jersey, Section 2 to North Section 1.

It's a bad break for Boonton, which was just a couple of points away from a sectional title last winter. Now the Bombers will have to compete in a much tougher section, including strong wrestling teams like Kittatinny, Newton, Emerson/Park Ridge, Pequannock and Pompton Lakes.

No one else is changing sections, but local teams that compete in North Jersey Section 1, Group III are celebrating. High Point, the #1 wrestling team in New Jersey last year, will drop to Group II this winter. That means teams like Montville, Wayne Valley and Passaic Valley have a far more realistic shot at a sectional crown this year.

Classifications for other sports like ice hockey and lacrosse will be released at a later date.

-- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now