Early West Orange TDs, turnovers do in top-seed, undefeated Phillipsburg in North 2, Group 5 title game

The Phillipsburg offense was slow to get going, and West Orange capitalized to get the first two scores of the game, leading 14-0 at the end of one quarter of play.

And while the Stateliners would cut it to a touchdown, on a 13-yard Xavier Moore run with under six minutes to go before halftime, the early deficit would prove too much to overcome, as top-seed and previously-unbeaten Phillipsburg suffered its first loss of the season, a 28-7 defeat in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 title game on their home field at Maloney Stadium.

A Jett Genovese interception – just his second of the year – gave the Mountaineers primo field position, at the ‘Liners’ 28, and three plays later West Orange punched another one in to go up 21-7 just before the half.

In those first 24 minutes, Phillipsburg managed just 81 yards of total offense, 77 of which came on the ground. By the time it was all over, the Mountaineers had outgained P’burg 295-166. That was a season low offensive output for the Stateliners; their previous low was 188 total yards gained in a 28-0 win over East Brunswick in Week Eight.

And the second half wasn’t much better, beginning with a fake punt run on the opening possession called off on a false start. A late third-quarter drive ended with a fourth-down incompletion in the end zone. Another drive that started deep only got them to their own 20.

West Orange iced the game with a 13-yard pick-six by Jarvis Jones with 2:54 left for the final margin, 28-7.

Though Phillipsburg’s playoff run is over, the Stateliners still have what many would call their most important game of the year, against Easton on Thanksgiving at Lafayette.

The last time P’burg started was 10-0 was in 2017, when they won their first eight regular season games plus two playoff games before falling to Easton 21-14. They then came back and lost the next week in the North 2, Group 4 title game at MetLife to North Hunterdon, 21-20.

The Lions play Saturday at noon in the North 2, Group 4 final against Randolph, in a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio.

Click below for postgame reaction from Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Chris Tsakonas with Phillipsburg head coach Frank Duffy: