Phillipsburg and Hillsborough players in the handshake line after the Stateliners’ beat the Raiders 34-0 at Maloney Stadium on Friday, September 23, 2022. (Photo: Chris Tsakonas)
HIllsborough came into Maloney Stadium in Phillipsburg Friday night riding the state’s third longest winning streak, at 16 games.
It got back on Route 22 to head home with its first loss since a 50-49 barnburner in late November 2020.
Top-ranked Phillipsburg got balanced scoring en route to a 34-0 win over the third-ranked Raiders, who won all 13 games a year ago to take the South Jersey Group 5 regional championship, returning the favor after a 21-14 overtime defeat in Hillsborough early last season.
Five different players scored for the Stateliners, who got on the board early with a one-yard TD run by Xavier Moore.
Quarterback Jett Genovese followed with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Scerbo, Jr., then Genovese took one in for himself, 67-yards to the house down the right sideline, giving P’burg a 21-0 halftime lead. The sophomore signal called was 14-for-18 for 171 yards and one TD pass.
In the fourth, Phillipsburg added two more scores, on a one-yard TD run by John Wargo, then an Isaiah Jackson 53-yard punt return for a score.
Click below to hear postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas: