Phillipsburg seeking fourth straight sectional final bid when Colonia comes to Maloney Friday

Discipline. Ignore the Noise. Grit.

Every team has a slogan, a manta, and this is Phillipsburg’s.

D.I.G.

Perhaps more than most teams in the state, that middle part may be the most important for the Stateliners.

They are the equivalent of a Michigan, a Southern Cal, an Alabama. It doesn’t matter the coach or the players, they are football royalty. They could be 0-8, but a win over them is to be celebrated. They are a name program.

Of course, they’re never 0-8. (Well, they’ve only lost that many games four times since their inaugural season in 1899!) But one thing Phillipsburg gets is a lot of attention, whether it be around town, or in the press. And there’s a lot of press that “follows” Phillipsburg. Not just covers them a few times a year. Follows them.

Tuning it all out is a process, ingrained in Phillipsburg football early on. Focus on the game, all the rest will take care of itself.

And that will be no different this Friday, when the top-seeded Stateliners (8-1) take on five-seed Colonia (7-3) at Maloney Stadium in Phillipsburg in the North 2, Group 4 finals. And the ‘Liners will be looking to make it to their fourth straight sectional final, after falling in the North 2, Group 5 final in 2022 and 2023, then beating Northern Highlands last year on a field goal as time expired by Alexie Moreira to win North 2, Group 4.

You can hear the defending sectional champions and the Patriots do battle here on Central Jersey Sports Radio, in our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Kickoff is at 7, but Mike Pavlichko and Justin Sontupe join you from Maloney at 6:45 with the pregame show; click here to listen.

Phillipsburg is coming off a 55-14 blowout win over 8th-seed Newark Central, a team that was overmatched in every facet of the game last week, despite being a six-win team out of the Super Football Conference. Head coach Frank Duffy was emptying the bench early in the second quarter.

And while that certainly was the sportsmanlike thing to do, it wasn’t without its advantages for the Stateliners, as Duffy and his staff got to evaluate his backups and third-team under the lights in live game action. That’s something that happens often around these parts, and its one reason this year’s team is as successful as it is, considering the graduation losses of players like Jett Genovese, Felix Matos, and Matthew Scerbo, Jr., the most decorated receiver in ‘Liner history.

Against Colonia, they will be challenged. This is a Patriot team that knocked off fourth-seed Ridge, 20-19, last Friday night in the opening round, thanks in large part to Harsimran Mann, who blocked not one, but two extra points, in a game the Pats won by one.

Click below to hear Phillipsburg head coach Frank Duffy talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about the Stateliners’ playoff matchup with Colonia: