Philipsburg head coach Frank Duffy talks to his team after a 42-19 win at Bridgewater-Raritan on October 6, 2023. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Bridgewater-Raritan has always given Phillipsburg fits.
Two years ago, the Panthers scored a huge 17-7 win at Maloney Stadium en route to a 6-4 campaign.
This year’s BR team came in 1-5, but didn’t lay down at all.
Granted the fourth-ranked Stateliners had a 21-0 lead at halftime, but Bridgewater kept fighting, and scored three second half touchdowns.
The ‘Liners, however, kept punching back en route to a 42-19 road win at Basilone Field.
John Wargo scored a touchdown on the opening drive, then capped the first half scoring with a pick six that made it 21-0 with the PAT.
Colin Woodring caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jack Bray to get the Panthers within two scores after the opening drive of the second half, but P’burg answered with another score from John Wargo late in the third to go up 28-7.
Bray got one back for the Panthers by hitting Frankie Verano for a score, but again, countered. This time it was Felix Matos on a 14-yard run to make it 35-13.
Dane Sorensen than grabbed a huge 44-yard touchdown pass to cut it to 35-19, but the two-point pass failed after a five-yard penalty, and then the Stateliners added one more score to make it 42-19.
Phillipsburg improves to 5-1; Bridgewater-Raritan drops to 1-6.
Click below for postgame reaction presented by the Sportsplex at Metuchen:
