2026 Shore Conference Flag Football Tournament Seeds and Pairings

The field is set for the 12-team tournament that will decide the Shore Conference flag football champion this spring. 

The seedings were announced on Friday by Shore Conference flag football commissioner John Tierney, who is the head coach at Pinelands. 

By rule, the winners of the Shore Conference’s three divisions (North, Central, South) were awarded the top three seeds. Their order was determined by the team’s overall record and points against, which meant South Division champion Barnegat (9-0, 53 points allowed) got the nod over Central Division champion and fellow unbeaten Trinity Hall (9-0, 63 points allowed) for the No. 1 seed. 

Middletown South and Holmdel tied for the North Division title but the Eagles have a head-to-head win over the Hornets and also have less points allowed, so Middletown South was awarded the No. 3 seed. 

The top four seeds get a bye into the quarterfinals. 

The remaining teams were seeded No. 5 through No. 12 using the same criteria of overall record and points allowed. Also, if a team has a head-to-head win over a team seeded one spot ahead of them, they jump them for the higher seed. For example, Central jumped Pinelands for the No. 6 seed because of a 14-13 win over the Wildcats during the regular season. 

Each division has four teams represented in the tournament, so even if the fifth-place team in one division has a better record or less points allowed than the fourth-place team in another division, the fourth-place team is awarded the spot. 

The three-time defending champion is Rumson-Fair Haven, which is the No. 7 seed. 

 

Here are the seeds, pairings and tournament schedule: 

1 Barnegat (9-0)

2 Trinity Hall (9-0)

3 Middletown South (8-1)

4 Holmdel (8-1)

5 Central (7-2)

6 Pinelands (7-2)

7 Rumson-Fair Haven (7-3)

8 Red Bank Catholic (6-2)

9 Colts Neck (8-2)

10 Keansburg (6-3) 

11 New Egypt (6-3)

12 Shore (5-4)

Pairings

No. 12 Shore at No. 5 Central, winner plays at No. 4 Holmdel

No. 11 Egypt at No. 6 Pinelands, winner plays at No. 3 Middletown South

No. 10 Keansburg at No. 7 Rumson-FH, winner plays at No. 2 Trinity Hall

No. 9 Colts Neck at No. 8 Red Bank Catholic, winner plays at No. 1 Barnegat

Schedule

All the games are at the home field of the higher-seeded team, including the championship game.

First round: Must be completed by May 12

Quarterfinals: Must be completed by May 14

Semifinals: Must be completed by May 19.

Championship game: May 21.