Phillipsburg senior runningback Shane Moore at Conference Media Day at Kean University’s Harwood Arena in Union on August 5, 2026. (Photo: Mike Pavlichko)
Every football program in New Jersey has their goals. For many, it’s: win the division, win a sectional title, win a state title.
At Phillipsburg, of course, there’s one more to throw in: Beat Easton.
The last four years have been highly successful for the Stateliners in different ways. In 2022, they beat Easton for the first time in eight seasons, and lost in a Group 5 state sectional final. The next year was the same. In 2024, they moved down to Group 4, and again went to two sectional finals, this time winning both, even going to the Group 4 state final in ’24 – but they also lost to Easton that year, and last season.
So, what will the move to Group 5 bring?
That’s an interesting question, as the Phillipsburg program has decided to opt-out of taking most Big Central Conference crossovers this year.
They have three divisional opponents – Ridge, Bridgewater-Raritan and Hillsborough – while playing crossovers against Hunterdon Central and St. Joseph-Metuchen. But they will open with three straight Pennsylvania opponents, harkening back to their days in the East Penn Conference from 1976 to 1994, before they “came back” to Jersey and joined the Skyland Conference, which allowed them to take part in the state playoffs.
But that’s all side stuff and noise. Something Phillipsburg players ignore when they talk about D.I.G: Discipline, Ignore the Noise and Grit. That’s what allows their team talent – and team unity – to take over.
On the offensive side, Dominic Bracco ran the offense superbly last year as a sophomore. While he threw for just 714 yards, the team ran for over 3,400, led by now-graduated senior Sam Deck (1,530 yards, 23 TDs). But the cupboard is hardly bare. Bracco ran for 255 himself, and there are many others, like senior Shane Moore (75 carries, 451 yards, 1 TD last year), who expects to see an increased load on what should again be a run-heavy team.
Duffy calls him a “typical Phillipsburg runningback” who has “great vision and runs very hard.”
Defensively, the loss of Aedan Hywell – who led the team and was near the top of the Big Central in sacks with 14 1/2 in 2025 – will be a big one, but watch out for guys like rising senior Elijah Montgomery (2 1/2 sacks, 6 TFLs.
Click below to learn more about the Phillipsburg Stateliners in 2026 from head coach Frank Duffy, along with senior runningback Shane Moore, senior TE/DE Donovan Samson and senior two-way lineman Alex Randazzo with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko at Big Central Conference Media Day:
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