Championship-winning kick, textbook PATs earn Phillipsburg’s Alexie Moriera 2024 CJSR Special Teams Player of the Year honors

He didn’t try a lot of field goals this year, but of the three he made, one was one of the biggest in Phillipsburg history, both literally and figuratively.

Literally, the 46-yarder Alexie Moriera booted on November 15th was not only a career long, but the longest in Stateliner gridiron history, and we’re talking a lot of football here.

Figuratively, it gave P’burg the North 2, Group 4 title in a wild 13-11 win over Northern Highlands, in which Maloney Stadium’s visitors went ahead on a touchdown and two-point conversion with just 24 seconds left.

That left the ‘Liners needing to march down the field and score. And score they did. Alternating between Jett Genovese runs and passes to Matthew Scerbo, Jr., the two got Phillipsburg to the 29 yard line. Cue Moreira.

Click below to see the full drive – the Week 11 Chris Auto Body Drive of the Week – capped by Alexie Moreira’s 46-yard field goal.

And it was on PATs – never a sure thing at the high school level – where Moreira also left his mark, going 57-for-59 on the season.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko speak with Alexie Moreira of Phillipsburg, our Special Teams Player of the Year:

Honorable Mentions:

• Noah Ochab, Bernards: The junior could have been the starter last year, but he was stuck behind last year’s Special Teams Player of the year, Jonas Gonzalez. Ochab (pronounced “OH-shahb”) was 5-of-10 on field goals this year, including a school-record 48-yarder against Voorhees, against whom he also ran in a two-point conversion on a fake extra point. He was 32-of-33 on those PATs this yea, and kicked off 13 times for touchbacks. Head coach Jon Simoneau says he’s an excellent multi-directional punter – only one was returned all year – and Ochab downed nine inside the 20-yard line.
• Gavin Periera, Spotswood: Also a junior, Gavin nailed 27 of 28 PATs for the Chargers this season in just his first year kicking. He also had two multiple field goal games, going 8-of-10 overall – tied for third most makes in the state – and booting a career-long 44-yarder against Highland Park in late September. He also recovered his own onside kick against Bound Brook, and had at least a dozen touchbacks.
• Joe Squicciarini, Bridgewater-Raritan: This is the guy tied with Periera for third in the state for field goals; he was 8-of-12 this season, and kicked a career-best 41-yarder against Union City in the playoffs.