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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

L
Relayer said:
bucks, I went up to the 1988 Thanksgiving game between CBE and CBW at Del Val College. West had their 53 game winning streak at stake and a trip into the inaugural state playoffs. The game ended in a tie and that sent Neshaminy to the playoffs, not West. It was a crazy scene with Neshanimy players celebrating on the field.

To your point, Brent Musberger showed highlights of this game during the CBS broadcast.
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I was there and totally shocked at games end.
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6A Eastern Final

B
roxychknpoxy said:
You’ve been beating the same drum for a while now so I’ll dive in. Open enrollment is clearly a major advantage. But why would kids come from a 45 minutes to hour radius and pay tuition and be held to some pretty intense academic standards? Seriously? A number of them are that good that they will be recognized and play anywhere right? They most certainly will get noticed, so why bother with all the other items? Dig deeper - what is it? Seriously? Is it the ability to schedule competitive out of league games? Is it the travel to one big away game? Has the opportunity for visibility and NIL at the next level driven it? Are less or more kids playing the game? What would do it? Because I can tell you for certain that it’s much easier to play in most other if not all other places, so the question is why?
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for the same reason kids choose Michigan or Alabama when they live outside of those states, when they could commit to a local school like Temple where playing time would be almost guaranteed

most of the best players or prospects want to play for the best programs that consistently compete in the biggest games
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6A Eastern Final

T
RoverNation05 said:
What is different about Ohio again?

Division I has had public schools win state titles in - 2019, 2017, 2009, 2006, 2004, 2000, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1990, 1987, 1986, 1983, 1981, 1978, 1974, and 1972. So 17 of the 51 championships, and only six of the last 24. There are MORE private schools and pass the titles around, but St. Ed's, Archbishop Moeller, Bishop Elder, St. Xavier, St. Ignatius all dominate.

In smaller schols, you have Toledo Central Catholic with five titles, St. Vincent St. Mary's with seven, Cleveland Benedictine with seven, Cardinal Mooney with eight, Bishop Hoban with five (all since 2015 when they made a real commitment to football), Cincinnati LaSalle has four (all since 2014), Youngstown Ursuline has four.

Division II, there have been public school champs in 2023, 2021, 2013, 2011, 2010 - so only five in the last 14 years. Division III has had public school champs from 2017-2022, but didn't have a public school champ for ten years before that (Bishop Hoban moving up certainly helped there). There are not a lot of small private schools in Ohio (in the same way there aren't small private schools in Central PA) because almost all of the small schools are super rural and their cutoffs for Divisions (they have eight) are way smaller than ours.

There are more non-boundary powerhouses, so rather than one school winning eight of eleven, you have four different schools splitting them up (though Ed's has six since 2014) but non-boundary schools absolutely dominate Ohio high school football, and have since forever.

This year, St. Ed's and Moeller are heavy favorites in semis in D1. Archbishop Hoban is a big favorite in D2, three of the four teams in D3 are catholic schools (Ursuline, Toledo CC, and Bishop Watterson), D4 has Glenville, which is like Cleveland's Imhotep, then all of the tiny, tiny town public schools in the lower divisions.
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I don't pay as close attention as you do to Ohio high school football, but it seems that even in the days when St. Ignatius and Moeller were so good, they didn't beat the public schools by anything like the margins SJP has been beating PA public schools in most recent years. St. Ed's may be a heavy favorite this week, but they lost two or three games earlier this year to public schools--and they were up 35-7 at the half against SJP (though the final score, 35-21, was probably a better indicator of the difference between the two on that day.) Last year, as I recall, St. Ed's beat a public school team in the final by a single score--nothing like the margins SJP had in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023.

My basic point is that while several Catholic (non-boundary) schools have done very well in PIAA football playoffs, SJP stands out from them all. I think we can all agree to that. Part of the reason is that their location allows them to draw students (including football playing students) from all parts of the Philly area. But, as I've said, Roman is even more central, and LaSalle, Malvern, Haverford, etc. have their own advantages. And it's not as if there haven't been good public school programs during SJP's run. I will be very surprised if SJP's dominance in the PCL since 2013--2015 being the only year they didn't represent District 12 in the playoffs--continues to anything like the same degree in the next several years. We saw LaSalle close the gap substantially this year and there's no reason to think it won't be a hard-fought rivalry for the foreseeable future. No sign, either, that Roman, Malvern, Bonner, etc. won't be at least equally ambitious.
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6A Eastern Final

R
What is different about Ohio again?

Division I has had public schools win state titles in - 2019, 2017, 2009, 2006, 2004, 2000, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1990, 1987, 1986, 1983, 1981, 1978, 1974, and 1972. So 17 of the 51 championships, and only six of the last 24. There are MORE private schools and pass the titles around, but St. Ed's, Archbishop Moeller, Bishop Elder, St. Xavier, St. Ignatius all dominate.

In smaller schols, you have Toledo Central Catholic with five titles, St. Vincent St. Mary's with seven, Cleveland Benedictine with seven, Cardinal Mooney with eight, Bishop Hoban with five (all since 2015 when they made a real commitment to football), Cincinnati LaSalle has four (all since 2014), Youngstown Ursuline has four.

Division II, there have been public school champs in 2023, 2021, 2013, 2011, 2010 - so only five in the last 14 years. Division III has had public school champs from 2017-2022, but didn't have a public school champ for ten years before that (Bishop Hoban moving up certainly helped there). There are not a lot of small private schools in Ohio (in the same way there aren't small private schools in Central PA) because almost all of the small schools are super rural and their cutoffs for Divisions (they have eight) are way smaller than ours.

There are more non-boundary powerhouses, so rather than one school winning eight of eleven, you have four different schools splitting them up (though Ed's has six since 2014) but non-boundary schools absolutely dominate Ohio high school football, and have since forever.

This year, St. Ed's and Moeller are heavy favorites in semis in D1. Archbishop Hoban is a big favorite in D2, three of the four teams in D3 are catholic schools (Ursuline, Toledo CC, and Bishop Watterson), D4 has Glenville, which is like Cleveland's Imhotep, then all of the tiny, tiny town public schools in the lower divisions.
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6A Eastern Final

T
Fletchster1 said:
Sounds like good questions to ask Prep kids and their families. I’m sure their reasons are multifaceted.

Regardless, the reasons wouldn’t begin to justify allowing non boundary teams to play in the same playoff bracket as boundary teams. It’s ridiculous and the non boundary squads are delusional if they don’t see it.
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As Roxy said, we certainly see the advantages of not having boundaries, but we also don't think that's close to the whole story.

Why is it quite different in Ohio where boundary and non-boundary schools have been playing each other in playoffs and (much more than in PA) regular season games for a long time?

I'll throw one more idea into the mix. Playing at SJP requires a greater sacrifice (from parents as well as players) than playing at just about any public school. Many have pointed out that roughly a third of the players come from Jersey--mostly from towns in Jersey at least 10 miles from the school, sometimes 30 or more miles from the school. (Some of the PA players also travel about as far each day.) Almost no Prep players come from within 5 miles of the school. What that means is that players like Sacco, Smith, and Foulke--like McCord and the Johnsons before them--each day spend about two hours travelling to and from school--or to and from practice, on days when classes aren't held. And if they don't do a fair bit of homework each school night, they won't last at the school. (I'm not saying players at other schools don't have homework to do or don't sometimes have a commute--but if they are at a boundary school it's hard to see how their commute can be more than 15 minutes and, on average, they probably have less homework than Prep players do. I also recognize that players at public schools, especially in poor areas, sometimes have significant challenges at home and in their neighborhoods.)

I've seen tapes of Roken talking to the players and reminding them about the sacrifices they've made. A sacrifice grows out of a commitment; it also strengthens that commitment. About a week ago Rover pointed out that Catholic / non-boundary schools have been doing very well in a wide range of sports within the PIAA, not just football and basketball. Maybe part of the reason is that the athletes and their families make sacrifices (of time as well as of money) so they can attend the schools they attend and participate on the schools' athletic teams. This doesn't make them better people but it does mean they are more invested in the schools and the teams. Being intentional can be very helpful.
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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

R
Relayer said:
bucks, I went up to the 1988 Thanksgiving game between CBE and CBW at Del Val College. West had their 53 game winning streak at stake and a trip into the inaugural state playoffs. The game ended in a tie and that sent Neshaminy to the playoffs, not West. It was a crazy scene with Neshanimy players celebrating on the field.

To your point, Brent Musberger showed highlights of this game during the CBS broadcast.
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Not to be a one-upper, but the 1988 Easton-Phillipsburg game was nationally televised on ESPN, one of the first (if not the) first high school game shown to a national audience.

This article from ESPN in 2006 before the 100th game (also nationally televised on ESPN) says it was the first HS game on national TV. https://www.espn.com/college-sports/recruiting/columns/story?columnist=gola_henry&id=2670517
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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

B
Relayer said:
bucks, I went up to the 1988 Thanksgiving game between CBE and CBW at Del Val College. West had their 53 game winning streak at stake and a trip into the inaugural state playoffs. The game ended in a tie and that sent Neshaminy to the playoffs, not West. It was a crazy scene with Neshanimy players celebrating on the field.

To your point, Brent Musberger showed highlights of this game during the CBS broadcast.
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Absolutely, that one lives in West lore although it was a crushing day. I’ve seen the film of Musburger before but can’t find a link at the moment.
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6A Eastern Final

R
Fletchster1 said:
DWest has better practice facilities, an awesome stadium, and even has heat (and AC) in the school. That should make up for the slight advantage of pulling from solely inside school district boundaries versus building a roster from anywhere in SE PA.

It should be an all-time classic, down-to-the-wire game.
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You’ve been beating the same drum for a while now so I’ll dive in. Open enrollment is clearly a major advantage. But why would kids come from a 45 minutes to hour radius and pay tuition and be held to some pretty intense academic standards? Seriously? A number of them are that good that they will be recognized and play anywhere right? They most certainly will get noticed, so why bother with all the other items? Dig deeper - what is it? Seriously? Is it the ability to schedule competitive out of league games? Is it the travel to one big away game? Has the opportunity for visibility and NIL at the next level driven it? Are less or more kids playing the game? What would do it? Because I can tell you for certain that it’s much easier to play in most other if not all other places, so the question is why?
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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

Relayer
bucksftball said:
It’s one of those games that they should break away from the NFL game during a break to highlight. They’ve done that at times.
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bucks, I went up to the 1988 Thanksgiving game between CBE and CBW at Del Val College. West had their 53 game winning streak at stake and a trip into the inaugural state playoffs. The game ended in a tie and that sent Neshaminy to the playoffs, not West. It was a crazy scene with Neshanimy players celebrating on the field.

To your point, Brent Musberger showed highlights of this game during the CBS broadcast.
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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

R
RoverNation05 said:
Game officially sold out for both schools, standing room only tickets included.

On the preview show on JAJL Radio, Easton athletic director Matt Baltz wryly noted that on Thursday they’ll have more people than “all six PIAA championship games combined.” We’ll be singing a different tune if we ever get there, but he’s not wrong.
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This is one of the gems of high school football and deserves far more national recognition. A documentary is far overdue. It’s the best of high school football.
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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

R
Game officially sold out for both schools, standing room only tickets included.

On the preview show on JAJL Radio, Easton athletic director Matt Baltz wryly noted that on Thursday they’ll have more people than “all six PIAA championship games combined.” We’ll be singing a different tune if we ever get there, but he’s not wrong.
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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

R
I think the weather is going to be miserable. After the fall being so incredibly dry, of course it rains on Thanksgiving.

Easton had to cancel the Wednesday night bonfire because of the burn ban in Northampton County. First time since the '60s (not counting 2020 when the whole game was cancelled) that there is no night before bonfire. No idea what every business in Easton is going to do with all of the pallets of wood they save all year to donate. Instead, they're going to reverse the parade (usually it goes from Cottingham to the high school) where the band will march to Cottingham where they'll hold a pep rally. Making the best of a bad situation, and the kids (at least from what I hear from friends who are on staff) have been largely good about it. But it's going to be a different Thanksgiving this year.

Phillipsburg won powderpuff on Monday, 40-32, so they drew first blood in weekly competitions.

I posted the Easton portion of the Hall of Fame class in the Historical Easton Stuff thread, but there will be a ceremony at 9 on Thursday inducting the following people into the Easton-P'burg Football Hall of Fames:
Easton
Jason Groller '04 - All state linebacker on the 2003 Eastern Finalists
Tyler Greene '13 - All state defensive tackle and single season sacks record holder
Mike Fleming '15 - All state offensive tackle
Shane Simpson '15 - All state running back and career leader in touchdowns

Phillipsburg
Kevin Kane '88 - All state linebacker/defensive coordinator for three Sectional champions
Keith Kullman '96 - Quarterback who set P'burg single-season passing record
Malcolm Dock '06 - All state wide receiver and defensive back for the undefeated 2005 Sectional champions
Eric Deery '09 - All state running back for 2008 Sectional champions
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Easton vs. Phillipsburg: The 117th Meeting (Thanksgiving Morning)

R
Thursday morning will be the 117th iteration of Easton-Phillipsburg, played in front of 15,000 fans at Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium on College Hill. The game pits 10-2 Easton, the EPC Champions, against 12-1 Phillipsburg, winners of the Big Central Conference, sectional champions, and New Jersey Group 4 state finalists. Easton’s season is finished after a loss in the District 11 semifinals, while Phillipsburg will have one game after the Rovers – a date next Wednesday against Winslow Township at Rutgers for the New Jersey state championship. Both teams come into the game with double-digit wins for the first time since 2014, where P’burg won a 19-15 classic thanks to a 70 punt return touchdown by Stephen Friedman with six minutes left on a rare Saturday Easton-P’burg after snow forced postponement of the game. Phillipsburg went on to win a Sectional Championship in New Jersey that season. This season is Phillipsburg’s first shot at a true state championship in New Jersey after the NJSIAA expanded to a true state football tournament in 2022.

Easton’s Season
Coming off of back-to-back 3-8 seasons, Easton was picked fifth in their own division this year. After a season opening loss to CB West, the Red Rovers ripped off ten consecutive wins, going undefeated in East Penn Conference play and earning their first conference championship in ten years and entered D11 play as the top seed. They dropped a heartbreaker in D11 semifinals to Emmaus, losing 20-19 after going for 2 and missing in the final seconds after what was nearly a game winning touchdown.

Phillipsburg’s Season
The Stateliners have cruised since a week 3 loss to Ridge (28-21), winning by an average margin of 20 points. They own a regular season win over Non-Public Group A quarterfinalist St, Joe’s (Metuchen), 49-14, and won a thriller in the Sectional championship over Northern Highlands with a last second field goal, then blitzed Ramapo last week in the North Jersey championship, running for 306 yards, with quarterback Jett Genovese running for 149 yards and four touchdowns. Phillipsubrg has won sectiona championships in 1977, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2018, but this is their first chance to win the entire state after New Jersey consolidated the four sections into a true state tournament in 2022. The Stateliners are going for their third straight win over Easton, something they have not done since winning four straight from 1987 to 1990.

Last Time They Met: Phillipsburg 47 Easton 12
Last season, Phillipsburg throttled Easton is the second largest blowout by the Stateliners in rivalry history. It was the most points Easton has ever given up in an Easton-P’burg game. P’burg took advantage of early Easton miscused to set up short field touchdowns and take a 20-6 halftime lead. They scored coming out of the break and poured it on in the second half, with Easton unable to stop the Stateliner rushing attack. Fullbakc John Wargo ran for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 13 carries on his way to game MVP, with tailback Sammy Dech pitching in 139 yards and two more touchdowns. Easton imploded, committing ten penalties for 110 yards, including Jasir Frutchey getting ejected and suspended for the CB West season opener this year. After the game, Easton coach Matt Senneca issued a public apology to the community, and noted that “everything about our program needs to change.” It was the first time Phillipsburg beat Easton in back-to-back years since 2002 and 2003.

Phillipsburg Lineup
QB: Jett Genovese (Sr. 5’11 205): 93-141, 1,720 yards, 16 TDs, 3 INTs/87 carries, 652 yards, 10 TDs
RB: Sam Dech (Jr. 5’8 175): 78 carries, 712 yards, 8 TDs
RB: Ziyahn McGurn (Jr. 5’10 195) 39 carries, 306 yards, TD
RB/WR: Felix Matos (Sr. 5’11 190: 76 carries, 570 yards, 10 TDs/34 catches, 626 yards, 5 TDs
WR: Matt Scerbo Jr. . (Sr. 6’4 195): 46 catches, 1,058 yards, 11 TDs
TE: Luke Hywel (Sr. 5’10 200): 4 catches, 22 yards, TD
TE/H-Back: Jah’quil Dooley (Jr. 6’1 200): 22 carries, 240 yards, TD/2 catches 34 yards, TD
LT: Ryan Mulvaney (Jr. 6’2 220)
LG: Louis Manochio (Sr. 6’0 260)
C: Ben Coury (Sr. 6’0 225)
RG: Ky Stocker (Jr. 5’10 240)
RT: Zach Pherson (Jr. 6’4 245)
It’s old school football on offense, with the Liners running tons of misdirection, gap scheme blocking, and try to punish you up front. They’re not big, but it’s a kamikaze roster, and just about everybody can block and get in your grill. Genovese is really good in the option game, he’s fast and physical for a quarterback, and makes really good decisions to give or keep. He’s got a pair of home-run hitters in the backfield with him in Matos and Dech, who are both really fast. But the highlight player is Scerbo, who is fielding Divsision I offers as a basketball player (where he’s already a 1,000 point scorer and can make a run at the P’burg career record this winter) and FCS offers in football (the whole Patriot League, for example). He’s the first 1,000 yard receiver in P’burg history and with his size and massive improvement in route running is a real match-up problem. He should be All State in New Jersey when teams come out, and is one of the most impactful players in the state. He gives P’burg a dimension they haven’t had in the past on the perimeter. Pherson is their best recruit on the offensive line, who is similarly getting FCS looks from teams that think he can put on more weight on the 6’4 frame.

DE: Khalil Lewis (Sr. 5’9 195): 32 tackles, 6 TFL, 6 sacks
DT: Luke Hywel (Sr. 5’10 200): 18 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks
DT: Aedan Hywel (Jr. 5’11 185): 56 tackles, 9 TFL, 5 sacks
DE: Ben Coury (Sr. 6’0 225): 19 tackles, 2 TFL
DE: Jah’lil Dooley (Sr. 6’3 220): 20 tackles, 5 TFL, 5 sacks
LB: Jayden Lucas (Sr. 5’10 215): 104 tackles, 10 TFL, sack
LB: Charles Maina (Sr. 5’8 215): 43 tackles, INT
LB: Jett Genovese (Sr. 5’11 205): 46 tackles, 2 TFL, sack, INT
LB: Sam Dech (Jr. 5’8 175): 32 tackles, 2 TFL, sack, INT
LB: Jah’quil Dooley (Jr. 6’1 200): 23 tackles, 2 TFL, sack
DB: Jaysen Blacknell (Jr. 5’11 175): 36 tackles
DB: Felix Matos (Sr. 5’11 190): 46 tackles, 2 INTs
DB: Matt Scerbo Jr. (Sr. 6’4 195): 36 tackles, TFL, 3 INTs, RET TD

Like the offense, P’burg plays with real edge, which you saw in how they physically manhandled Ramapo last week in the state semifinal. They’re not big on defense at all, but they fly to the football and gang-tackle, they’re in great shape, and they’ve got some thumpers in the back seven who are really well coached and can fill gaps in the run game. Lucas is the headliner, he’s an All State linebacker who is having a tremendously productive year. Scerbo is the main cover guy, with Matos also a corner who is getting college looks on defense. They’ve been a defense first team all year, and particularly with the conditions Thursday, will lean on this side of the ball to take over.

Easton Lineup
QB: Cole Ordway (Jr. 5’11 170): 108-185, 1,773 yards, 15 TDs, 4 INTs/79 carries, 506 yards, 6 TDs
RB: Dorian Thomas (Sr. 5’9 170): 208 carries, 1,1375 yards, 19 TDs/4 catches 12 yards
RB: Will Day (Sr. 5’10 185): 165 carries, 1,081 yards, 21 TDs/7 catches, 81 yards, TD
WR: Jasir Frutchey (Sr. 6’4 215): 29 catches, 491 yards, 7 TDs
WR: JC Wilson III (Sr. 6’3 205): 23 catches, 489 yards, TD
WR: Andrew Biddle (Jr. 5’10 165): 25 catches, 431 yards, 3 TDs
TE: Kurtis Crossman (Jr. 6’3 225): 6 catches, 124 yards
TE: Justin Cosover (So. 6’1 190): 3 catches, 22 yards, TD
LT: Algee Macon (Jr. 6’2 205)
LG: Marquis Labossiere (Sr. 5’10 255)
C: Gavin Crosson (Jr. 6’1 290)
RG: Jackson Fuhrer (Sr. 6’3 240)
RT: Elijah Grovesnor (Jr. 6’4 250)
Even in a losing effort to end their season, Easton racked up over 400 yards of total offense against an excellent Emmaus defense. They’ve got a two headed rushing attack, with 1,000 yard backs Dorian Thomas and Will Day, that has become a three-headed monster as junior QB Cole Ordway has improved in the read option game. He ran for over 100 against Emmaus, a week after throwing for over 300 against Stroudsburg. The Express-Times preview noted he might be the most improved player in the EPC throughout the year, and he lets Easton make in-game adjustments to counter punch good defenses. They’ll have to do that here. Easton is huge on the perimeter with Wilson and Frutchey, one of whom will probably be blanketed by Scerbo at all times. The other will have to make hay with their size advantage, though they’ve really gotten Biddle involved in the passing game late in the year on little bubbles and chances to get him in space to use his speed. They HAVE TO cut down on holding penalties and issues in the red zone, where Ordway needs to be more accurate when they get in the 10-20 range where drives have stalled. Thomas also needs to hang onto the football after fumble issues helped doom their championship run.

DE: Algee Macon (Jr. 6’2 205): 37 tackles, 13 TFL, 7 sacks, INT
DT: Marquis Labossiere (Sr. 5’10 255): 30 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks
DT: Omar Mahmoud (Sr. 5’11 255): 17 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks
DE: Kurtis Crossman (Jr. 6’3 225): 34 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks
DE: Anthony Diaz (Jr. 6’3 215): 13 tackles, 3 TFL
LB: Mekhi Grant (Sr. 5’10 215): 56 tackles, 12 TFL, 5 sacks, 2 INTs
LB: Mason Fleming (Sr. 5’11 195): 59 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sacks, INT
LB: Jasir Frutchey (Sr. 6’4 215): 42 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 INTs
DB: Cael DiSora (Sr. 6’3 195): 53 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 INTS, FF
DB: Andrew Biddle (Jr. 5’10 165): 32 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 INTs
DB: Will Day (Sr. 5’10 185): 57 tackles, 2 TFL, sack, 3 INTs, FF
DB: Sean McPeek (So. 6’ 4195): 28 tackles, 2 INTs
DB: JC Wilson (Sr. 6’3 205): 15 tackles
A really improved Easton defense, they’ve gotten a ton out of their defensive line where Crossman and Macon have had breakout years and will be one of the bettere defensive end combos in eastern Pennsylvania next year with both back. Grant was the Northampton County defensive player of the year and is a really smart and physical linebacker. They’ll line Frutchey up everywhere to take advantage of the size and speed mismatches he can create depending on the situation. Day is a similarly versatile defender. They’re also uniquely suited to match up with Scerbo as Frutchey, Wilson, DiSora, and McPeek are all huge defensive backs. McPeek, the sophomore, has really stepped his game up late in the year and is a building block for the future. They’ve been suspecitible to big plays, getting done-in by a 98 yard TD run against Emmaus. Phillipsburg absolutely has the athletes to capitalize on that.

Keys to the Game
When P’Burg Has the Ball – Who Controls the Line of Scrimmage
Easton has largely been good in stopping the run and creating big plays on defense. Phillipsburg has thrived on hammering away at opponents and wearing them down late, plus having a big play option on the perimeter when teams devote too many resources to the box and leave Scerbo one-on-one. If P’Burg can break the 200 yard barrier running the football, they win, if Easton can keep them under, they probably win.

When Easton Has the Ball – Can They Throw It?
Easton has been able to counterpunch good defenses with their passing game in a way they haven’t in years. They want to establish the run with their two dynamic backs, but P’burg is the best run defense they’ll see all year, and hammering away 40 times is not going to cut it. Easton has been able to get great match-ups on the edge all year, but hasn’t consistently hit balls over the top to keep defenses honest. Can they get the ball to Wilson and Frutchey to take pressure off their running game in a way that opens up options. Also look for Ordway to keep a lot early to give them a numbers advantage in the run game.

The Pick:
This is probably the best Phillipsburg team since the 2003 unit that won a Sectional title and beat an Easton team that went to the PIAA Eastern Final. That game was a 26-23 classic, and came down to an game sealing interception in the red zone with less than a minute to play. Expect something similar.

Phillipsburg has a lot to play for. Yes, they have a state championship game to prepare for in addition to the Rovers, but I think all eyes and attention are on caputinrg that three game winning streak. Scerbo is the best player on the field and probably the best Liner since Pitt recruit Brandon Mason in the early 2000s. It’s going to take Easton’s full effort and best game of the season to win here. But Matt Senneca has pushed almost all of the right buttons since getting embarrassed last Thanksgiving, and I think with the playoff loss Easton has had three weeks to make this their Super Bowl after falling short of their other big goals. It’s going to be a classic, and I’m picking with my heart rather than my head, but the good guys will find a way. Easton 21-17
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