St. Joseph's football team won 28 state championships in the playoff era that started in 1974, including in Non-Public B South in 1977 (awarded by NJSIAA), 1983, 1985 and 1989–1993; in Non-Public I in 1996, 1997, 1999–2002, 2004 and 2011–2015; in Non-Public II in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2017 and 2018; and in Non-Public I/II in 2010. The team won the 1985 South Jersey Group B state sectional title with a 33-8 win against Saint James High School in the championship game. The 1989 team won the Parochial B South title with a 19-0 win in the playoff final against three-time defending champion Bishop Eustace. The team won the Non-Public Group I title in 1996 with a 28-16 win in the championship game against Marist High School played at The College of New Jersey. The 2000 team won the Non-Public Group I title against St. Mary High School by a score of 47-7 in the championship game played at Kean University. The team finished at 10-1 in 2001 after winning the Non-Public Group I state title with a 49-0 victory against Immaculate Conception High School of Montclair in the playoff finals. The team won its seventh consecutive sectional title in 2015 with a 19–6 win against Hudson Catholic Regional High School in the Non-Public Group II playoff championship game. In 2017, the team finished the season with a 12–0 record and won the Non-Public Group II state championship with a 30–14 win against third-seeded Mater Dei High School in the tournament final; the victory was the program's eighth in nine seasons, the only exception being in 2016, when Mater Dei won its first state championship with a 26–0 win against St. Joseph. Though only dating to 2000, NJ.com ranked the "Holy War" rivalry between St. Joseph and Holy Spirit High School 11th on its list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football", with St. Joseph winning 12 of the 18 games played through 2017. Head coach Paul Sacco finished the 2019 season with 20 state championships and an overall career record of 336-66-5 in his 39 years at St. Joseph, ranking him second in wins among active football coaches.