Phillipsburg football turns turnovers into points early to beat Bridgewater-Raritan

The Phillipsburg High School football team had to wait 14 days to atone for its painful one-point loss to Ridge, which was followed by its bye week.

The Stateliners’ defense set the tone with a pair of early fumble recoveries and their offense capitalized on those opportunities by scoring touchdowns on each of their first four offensive possessions.

Phillipsburg built a 21-0 lead at halftime and earned a 35-14 win over Bridgewater-Raritan at Maloney Stadium Friday night.

“After that loss, we took it very personal. I’m gonna keep it real, I was crying, it hurt,” Phillipsburg junior running back Vincent Berger said. “I think this whole team took it personal and we responded.”

The Stateliners improved to 5-2 and picked up an important win to improve their spot in the NJSIAA North Group 5 Power Points rankings.

“All three phases of the game complimented each other, playing physical football, offensive linemen did a great job staying on their blocks,” Phillipsburg coach Frank Duffy said. “Defensively, running to the ball, we had some violent hits on the defensive side of the ball.

“Our guys were eager to play, we had a bye week after a really tough loss. We needed a game, we needed to play a game, I needed to coach a game to be honest with you,” Duffy continued. “It was good to get that win and hopefully increase our chance of playing here at Maloney (when the sectional playoffs begin).”

The Panthers (6-2) looked like they would get on the scoreboard early as they returned the opening kickoff past midfield, before senior running back Jahmier Black rushed for 7 yards to the Phillipsburg 40 on the first play from scrimmage.

Bridgewater-Raritan appeared to have picked up a first down on the next play, but senior Evan Woodring fumbled shortly after hauling in sophomore JB Baxter’s pass and Phillipsburg junior Xavier Campbell-Graham recovered at the Stateliners’ 29.

“We overheard them (Bridgewater-Raritan) say that this is our championship. Right from the jump, they thought they’d come on our turf and take the win,” Campbell-Graham said. “That heated us up. Right from the jump, we wanted to punch them in the mouth. That turnover just sparked things up for us.”

Phillipsburg moved the chains four times before junior Dominic Bracco dropped back to pass on second-and-10. Bracco faced pressure immediately but lofted a pass to a wide-open Donovan Samson, and the senior sprinted the rest of the way on a 17-yard touchdown reception.

“I think it flipped the switch for the whole game,” Bracco said. “It stopped their momentum and we just picked up on it. Once we picked up, we just kept going.”

“Capitalizing on the opportunities, it was a really big deal for us,” Campbell-Graham said. “It shows that we’re improving as a team.”

After the Panthers were gifted a second chance at their second possession due to a muffed punt by Phillipsburg, they moved to the Stateliners’ 8 on a 9-yard slip screen from Baxter to Black. On third-and-4 from the 8, Black fumbled shortly after taking the handoff and Phillipsburg junior David Pacewicz recovered at the Stateliners’ 18.

“Just guys flying to the football with attitude and effort,” Duffy said. “We had two takeaways. ‘Be more intentional about taking the ball away,’ is what we said and you saw that today.”

Three plays later, senior Shane Moore broke free to his right on a 63-yard gain and was dragged down two yards shy of the goal line. Moore plunged in from there and sophomore Charles Tavormina’s PAT extended P’burg’s lead to 14-0 with 7:20 left in the second quarter.

“Our defense had great stops and then, for our offense to respond, it was just amazing,” Berger said.

The Stateliners forced Bridgewater-Raritan into a three-and-out on its next possession and took over at their own 39 with 5:27 left before halftime.

Bracco found junior Aiden Rovi in the flat for a gain of 14 to start the drive. P’burg then moved the chains three times on short runs, two by Berger and by Moore, before Moore gained 8 yards to the Bridgewater-Raritan 17.

The Stateliners took their first timeout and then their second after Bracco scrambled for a gain of one. Moore picked up 4 yards and, after P’burg took its last timeout, Bracco was sacked at the Panthers’ 14.

Bridgewater-Raritan took a timeout with 30 seconds left after the sack, possibly hoping to get the ball back with time for a late drive. That plan backfired, though, as Bracco rolled left and lofted a pass to the end zone on third-and-long that Pacewicz dove to make an over-the-shoulder catch for a 14-yard touchdown reception.

“They couldn’t guard the rub routes,” Bracco said. “Playmakers make plays, David is a playmaker.”

Tavormina hit the PAT to extend the Stateliners’ lead to 21-0 with 30 seconds left in the first half.

The Panthers attempted an onside kick to start the second half, but an offsides penalty forced them to re-kick P’burg took over at midfield following a short kickoff after the penalty.

Berger capped a 12-play, 50-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.

Both teams traded punts before Bridgewater-Raritan drove 99 yards to get on the scoreboard.

Phillipsburg senior Amir Heath dove to down Bracco’s pooch punt at the one, but Baxter found Woodring on a deep post for a gain of 59 yards to the Stateliners’ 40 on the first play of the drive.

Nine plays later, Baxter hit Woodring on a 6-yard touchdown pass 30 seconds into the fourth quarter.

P’burg recovered the Panthers’ onside kick attempt two yards shy of midfield and took six minutes off the clock before Berger scored his second 3-yard rushing touchdown of the night.

Berger entered the game with 15 carries and 77 rushing yards on the season and surpassed both those marks as he took 18 handoffs for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

“I think I proved myself tonight,” Berger said. “It was just a decision that we made and I was extremely happy about the decision.”

Moore paced the Stateliners on the ground with 110 yards and a score on 19 carries.

Bracco completed all but two of his 11 throws for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Jaxon Matos, who made his season debut after being sidelined by injury, led P’burg with three catches for 42 yards.

“We had Jaxon Matos come back, he’s been injured for quite some time, so to get him back was really nice,” Duffy said. “Obviously, Dominic had some great completions. Dominic was outstanding tonight, this might have been his best football game. He was outstanding and making good decisions with the football.

Baxter and Woodring connected on a 33-yard touchdown throw and catch for the final score of the night with 3:50 remaining. Baxter completed 15 of 23 passes for 218 yards while Woodring hauled in five catches for 123 yards.

The Panthers are set to host Watchung Hills 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 to conclude their regular season.

Phillipsburg hosts Hunterdon Central 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23.