EASTON (Pa.) – For all the pomp and excitement of the Phillipsburg-Easton holiday football game – and all of it was on full display Thursday – the Stateliners craved the biggest part – a win.
After six straight losses, several of them heartbreaking, Phillipsburg rolled 35-14 at Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium in 115thousand meeting in the country’s longest interstate rivalry.
“It means everything to us, the team played amazing football — hopefully it starts a new era here on this field,” said Phillipsburg sophomore Matt Scerba Jr., who made a tough third-quarter touchdown catch.
Easton leads the all-time series 67-43-5.
Phillipsburg scored four touchdowns on fourth down, the last of which came on a fake punt with 7:34 left in the game. Caleb Rivera snapped and broke free – and a pair of tackles – en route to a 42-yard TD to make it 35-7.
The result snapped both schools’ longest streak in the series.
Phillipsburg finished its season 11-1, rebounding from a 28-7 home loss to West Orange on Nov. 10 in the North 2 Group 5 final. Easton, however, is who the Liners really want.
“It’s our biggest game of the year, so it’s very, very important,” said Pburg coach Frank Duffy, who entered the game 0-5 against Easton. “It’s important for our community, it’s very important for our kids, I couldn’t be prouder of them. I’m most proud of the fact that when we made mistakes, we bounced back very quickly, we didn’t go into a shell. We responded. Our kids are so resilient.”
Key game
Phillipsburg led 14-7 at halftime and got a shot in the second half. The Liners were driving against the Red Rovers, but a personal foul pushed them back to the 16. On fourth-and-goal from the 16, sophomore QB Jett Genovese lofted a pass high into the end zone, where 6-foot-3 sophomore Matthew Sterbo Jr. used his size advantage to get the ball against a smaller defender for a touchdown, giving the Liners the lead 20-7.
Numbers
Phillipsburg had a 271-170 rushing yardage advantage and a 357-256 total yardage advantage. Easton was penalized seven times for 65 yards; Phillipsburg had three for 36. The Stateliners were 3-for-3 on trips into the red zone; Easton is 2-for-3.
A game of balls
Pburg senior Xavier Moore rushed for 130 yards on 17 carries, including a 73-yarder in the first quarter, and was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player.
Junior Cameron Bohal led Phillipsburg with 11 tackles and was named the game’s defensive MVP. Phillipsburg senior Tien Walters was named the game’s lineman of the game.
Junior Caleb Rivera ran for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
Easton senior Aidan Hutchison rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries.
They said it
“I just trust our kids to play in those tough situations. They’re so resilient, so resilient,” said Phillipsburg coach Frank Duffy, who is 5-for-6 on fourth down conversions.
