Westfield head coach Jim DeSarno talks to his Westfield team after a 28-9 win over Plainfield in their annual Thanksgiving Day game on November 23, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)
With two games on Thanksgiving – and one on Thanksgiving Eve – involving Big Central teams, Westfield, Phillipsburg and St. Thomas Aquinas all won their Turkey Day rivalry games.
Westfield 28, Plainfield 9
The Blue Devils (6-5) got 100 rushing yards on 20 carries out of Luke Jordan – along with two second half interceptions on the defensive side of the ball, as Westfield took their 118th meeting with Plainfield.
It was the eleventh straight win in the series, which the Blue Devils now lead 55-45, with seven ties.
The Cardinals – who also finish 6-5 on the year – were seeking their first win in the series since 2011.
Westfield got on the board first after a scoreless second quarter, on an 11-yard touchdown run by quarterback Mac Cho, to go up 7-0 with the extra point. Plainfield got to within four on a 26-yard field goal by Armando Avril, but Sebastian Magherini’s 20-yard touchdown catch on a pass from Cho made it 14-3.
In the third quarter, Cho threw another TD pass, then Jordan ran for a 25-yard touchdown to put the Blue Devils up 21-3.
In the fourth, Joel Cordoba caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Kamai Lowery, that got them to within 21-9 after the a two-point pass attempt failed. Then Jordan caught a 25-yard TD pass, with the PAT making it 28-9, the final.
Click below for postgame reaction from Marcus Borden at Hub Stine Field presented by Sportsplex at Metuchen:
Phillipsburg 47, Easton 12
Last year, the Stateliners beat Easton for the first time since 2014. This year, they made it two straight for the first time in two decades, since they turned the trick in 2002 and 2003.
Phillipsburg (10-2) ran the ball for 319 yards and seven touchdowns, pounding their way on the ground to a 47-12 win at Fisher Stadium at Lafayette College. It was also P’burg’s second-largest win in the series, a 35-point margin.
John Wargo was named offensive MVP by the attending media, going for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries; he also had two receptions in the game for 33 yards. Sophomore Sam Dech – who filled in more than ably when Wargo missed a couple of games due to injury this season – ran the rock 12 times for 136 yards, including long touchdown runs of 50 and 75 yards.
Easton still leads the overall series, 67-44-5.
St. Thomas Aquinas
In a new rivalry game this year, St. Thomas Aquinas closed out its season with a 42-14 win over Immaculata out of the Super Football Conference.
The Spartans (6-4) opened the scoring on an Own Blum touchdown pass from quarterback Mason Geis, and Anthony Brown returned a kick 90-yards for six in the second quarter. But Aquinas got the next three scores to take the lead before the half. Chase Young ran in a two-yard touchdown, Elijah Abass-Shereef scored from six yards out, and Roman Blanks took one in from a yard out to make it 21-14 at the half.
After a scoreless third period, the Trojans put up three more scores in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Young added a one-yard score, and Abass-Shereef added two more, the first of which went for 42 yards on the ground.
STA finishes the year 10-1, tying a program record for wins achieved just twice before. Aquinas went 10-1 in 1989, and also in 1984 when they beat Holy Cross to win the Non-Public South A title. That was their first of three straight state titles from 1984 through 1986, a span that saw the program go 28-4, winning its only three titles in program history.
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