North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 Final:
When: Friday, 7 pm
Where: Maloney Stadium, Phillipsburg
Matchup: #1 Phillipsburg (9-1) vs. #2 Union City (9-1)
Coverage: Marcus Borden on Twitter
Weather: 43 degrees, wind WSW 4 mph
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Phillipsburg:
First Round: def. #8 Morristown, 49-7
Semifinals: def. #4 Westfield, 49-24
Union City:
First Round: def. #7 Hackensack, 41-7
Semifinals: def. #6 West Orange, 20-14
Who’s next: The winner goes on to the Group 5 semifinals against the North 1 champion. That game will be in Wayne Friday night when top-seed Passaic Tech (11-0) takes on third-seed Montclair (8-3). Should Phillipsburg win, they would play either at Passaic Tech, which was the overall top-seed in the supersection, or host Montclair if the Mounties pull off the upset.
SERIES HISTORY:
This will be just the second meeting between the schools. In 2021, third-seed Phillipsburg beat sixth-seed Union City at Maloney Stadium 23-6, but lost in the semifinals to second-seed Clifton 28-21.
PREVIEWS:
- Phillipsburg well-prepped for Union City’s Wing-T thanks to regular season experience
- Wargo and Phillipsburg have gotten through dings and dents, but are ready for North 2, Group 5 finals battle with Union City
FINALS HISTORY:
Phillipsburg:
The Stateliners were upset in last year’s final by West Orange, the sixth-seed, but all was well by Thanksgiving, when P’burg got its first win over arch-rival Easton since 2014. Still, they’d love to bring home a ninth sectional title and atone for last year’s loss.
Playoff Berths: 27
Playoff Record: 42-18
Previous Finals Berths: 16
Sectional Titles: 8
- 2018: North 2, Group 4: #1 seed, beat #3 Irvington 42-7
- Lost “North 4 Bowl Game” to North 1, Group 4 champion Wayne Hills 35-21 at MetLife (10-3)
- 2017: North 2, Group 4: #1 seed, lost to #2 North Hunterdon 21-20 at MetLife (10-2)
- 2015: North 2, Group 4: #2 seed, lost to #1 Middletown South 35-7 at MetLife (9-3)
- 2014: North 2, Group 4: #2 seed, beat #1 Colonia 28-21 in OT at Rutgers (11-1)
- 2013: North 2, Group 4: #1 seed, beat #6 Mendham 39-0 at Rutgers (10-2)
- 2009: North 2, Group 4: #2 seed, beat #5 Ridge 34-7 at Kean (10-2)
- 2008: North 2, Group 3: #4 seed, beat #6 Rahway 20-6 (10-2)
- 2006: North 2, Group 4: #1 seed, lost to #3 Elizabeth 14-9 (10-2)
- 2005: North 2, Group 4: #1 seed, beat #2 Piscataway 15-6 at Rutgers (12-0)
- 2004: North 2, Group 4: #2 seed, lost to #1 Piscataway 27-26 in OT at Rutgers (10-2)
- 2001: North 2, Group 4: #5 seed, beat #2 Montclair, 10-7 (9-3)
- 1979: North 2, Group 3: #1 seed, lost to #2 Rahway 14-6 (8-3)
- 1978: North 2, Group 3: #3 seed, lost to #4 Rahway 23-16 (7-4)
- 1977: North 2, Group 3: #2 seed, beat #1 Parsippany 26-0 (10-1)
- 1975: North 2, Group 3: #2 seed, lost to #1 Morris Hills 7-0 (7-3-1)
Union City:
Like Phillipsburg, the Soaring Eagles are in a sectional final for a second straight year. Last year, in the North 1, Group 5 championship game, second-seeded Union City lost to top-seed Passaic Tech 14-7. If the Soaring Eagles win the title, they could rematch with PCTI, but in the Group 5 semifinals.
Playoff Berths: 13
Playoff Record: 14-12
Previous Finals Berths: 3
Sectional Titles: 0
2022: North 1, Group 5: #2 seed, lost to #1 Passaic Tech, 14-7
2018: North 2, Group 5: #2 seed, lost to #1 Piscataway, 28-7
2017: North 1, Group 5: #3 seed, lost to #1 Montclair, 35-14
NEWS & NOTES:
Running the rock…
Union City may run the Wing-T – like two other teams on Phillipsburg’s schedule: Ridge and Sayreville, which they both beat – but unlike the Red Devils and Bombers, they almost exclusively keep the ball on the ground. They have only attempted 25 passes all year long, fewer than three per game through ten contests.
Out of 2,611 yards gained this year, all but 124 have come from the run game. But as unbalanced as that attack is, the ground game itself has been balanced. Junior Mark Boyd is the leading rusher with 959 yards and 11 scores, while senior Elijah Rose has 780 yards and a team-leading 14 scores, and fellow senior Tyler Koffa adds another 481 yards and 7 TDs.
Stateliners mix it up…
On the other hand, while Phillipsburg rushes more than they throw, they can certainly do both, and take what the opposition gives. Junior quarterback Jett genovese has thrown for 1,183 yards, and when he missed a couple of games, senior Nick Stettner filled in nicely.
On the ground, ten players have at least ten carries, led by John Wargo with 829 yards on 105 carries, with 13 touchdowns. On the receiving side, junior Matthew Scerbo, Jr., is the top option at 40 catches, 612 receiving yards and six touchdowns, while senior Kevin Burgess is option 1b, with 24 grabs for 438 yards and a team-leading seven touchdown receptions.
Points, points, points…
This year’s Phillipsburg team has been one of the best scoring teams in recent memory. They’ve scored 40-plus points in six of their nine games, the most since 2007, when the Stateliners topped 40 seven times under legendary head coach Bob Stem, who recently passed away. That ’07 team went a perfect 12-0, including a 17-0 win over Easton on Thanksgiving, followed by a 15-6 win over Piscataway in the North 2, Group 4 title game. That victory snapped a string of three straight state titles by the Chiefs.
First time…
Should Phillipsburg win the title, it will be the their first Group 5 sectional title in school history, and their third different group in which they’ve won a championship. The four playoff titles they won from 1975 to 1979 came in Group 3. They won their next four titles as a Group 4 school, then were back to Group 3