Tag: Union City

by Mike Pavlichko

North 2, Group 5 Final Preview: Phillipsburg Stateliners vs. Union City Soaring Eagles

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:

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

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg well-prepped for Union City’s Wing-T thanks to regular season experience

Few high school football teams see the Wing-T offense once in a year.

Phillipsburg has seen it twice now, and will get a third look Friday night when the Stateliners host Union City Friday at Maloney Stadium in the North 2, Group 2 Finals.

Heading into their second straight trip to a sectional title game, the ‘Liners saw that style of offense when facing Ridge and Sayreville, games they both won this year.

Union City, though, may play it more physical than both, and certainly runs the ball at a much higher rate than either Ridge or Sayreville do. The Red Devils’ rushing attack accounted for 70-percent of their total offensive yards this year. Sayreville got 81-percent of its yards on the ground.

Union City? They’re rushed for 2,487 yards and thrown for just 124, only attempting 25 passes all season.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Phillipsburg head coach Frank Duffy about the Stateliners’ season and their title game matchup with Union City:

by Mike Pavlichko

Wargo and Phillipsburg have gotten through dings and dents, but are ready for North 2, Group 5 finals battle with Union City

Every football team has injuries to deal with during the course of a season.

Phillipsburg is no exception, but unlike many of the others, they are one of the two public schools in the Big Central Conference left standing in the state playoffs.

On a team that – when healthy – has so many offensive weapons, and does a good job spreading it around, that added depth has been key, like when senior runningback John Wargo was out. He credits sophomore Sam Dech with holding down the fort.

Just for a sample: Wargo is the team’s leading rusher, with 829 yards and 13 touchdowns for the run-heavy Stateliners. And yet he still only accounts for about a third of his team’s total rushing yards this season.

But when top-seed Phillipsburg (9-1) takes on second-seed Union City (9-1) Friday night at Maloney Stadium for the North 2, Group 5 title (follow Marcus Borden on Twitter for live updates) Wargo knows defense will be just as important as the offense.

Union City plays the Wing-T, which is rare to see, but Wargo and the Stateliners have seen it twice this season already with Sayreville and Ridge, both of whom they’ve beaten. Wargo says there are some variations, but they may have more experience than most.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Phillipsburg senior John Wargo:

by Mike Pavlichko

Phillipsburg’s Wargo will be just one of many keys for Stateliners in North 2, Group 5 final

As a senior, John Wargo has been through the battles.

The Phillipsburg senior runningback/linebacker-turned-defensive end has been through the wars, has a win over Easton, and played in a state sectional title game last year.

This Friday night? The goal is to bring that trophy home.

It didn’t happen last year, as the Stateliners were upset by West Orange at Maloney Stadium, but Wargo and the rest of his P’burg teammates are bent on making sure that doesn’t happen again.

It’ll sure be a tough task when Union City comes out to the far reaches of Warren County Friday night for the North 2, Group 5 title game. Both teams are excellent, run the ball a lot, and are 9-1 on the season.

Follow Marcus Borden for updates on Twitter, and we’ll have postgame reaction on cjsportsradio.com after the game.

Click below to hear Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko talk with Phillipsburg senior John Wargo:

by Mike Pavlichko

Westfield’s Wragg wants Blue Devils to have success he saw growing up

From 2015 to 2017, Westfield went 36-0, and won three straight North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 championships, all at MetLife Stadium and all coming over Bridgewater-Raritan.

Dylan Wragg say those games as a kid, and now – as a senior – has a chance to go out that way – as a champ – if his team can win two more games.

The first of those two comes Friday night, when the third-seeded Blue Devils (7-2) visit 6-seed Union City (8-1) in the North 1, Group 5 semifinals. The winner will play either top-seed Passaic Tech or fourth-seed Clifton.

Wragg is the leading rusher on the team, with 929 yards and nine touchdowns, while senior quarterback Trey Brown – the son of one0time Giants QB Dave Brown – runs the offense well, going 51-for-121 on the season with 648 yards and five TDs.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Westfield senior runningback Dylan Wragg about his season, growing up with football, and watching the Blue Devils of the mid-2010s win back-to-back-to-back championships: