Phillipsburg 37, Hunterdon Central 14 – Rapid Recap

Phillipsburg High School’s football team christened its new turf in fine style Friday with a 37-14 victory over Hunterdon Central in a Mid-State 38 Delaware Division contest at the newly renovated Bellis Field at Maloney Stadium.

Matt Quetel ran for four touchdowns, quarterback Ben Ries threw for another the P’burg defense stifled visiting Central’s offense.

Turning point: The Stateliners took advantage of Central miscues, turning a pair of first-half fumbled kickoffs into touchdown drives to take a 21-7 lead into the locker room.

The Red Devils never recovered.

It took P’burg just 14 seconds to get on the scoreboard, when Christian Chiulli recovered a fumble on the Red Devils’ 23. Quarterback Ben Ries then hit Tommy Coury down the middle on the ‘Liners first play from scrimmage to put P’burg ahead.

Top Phillipsburg performer: Quetel, a senior running back, carried 29 times for 212 yards and four touchdowns. He had TD runs of 2, 5, 14 and 40 yards in three quarters before the ‘Liners emptied the bench for the final 12 minutes.

Top Hunterdon Central performer: Will Ezema provided the bulk of the Red Devils’ offense, rushing 15 times for 97 yards and both Central scores.

What it means: The Stateliners improve to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Delaware Division and are moving toward a showdown with division rival Hillsborough on Oct. 11.

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