Phillipsburg has relied on a stalwart defense averaging 16 points allowed per game, but that average took a hit on Friday. They came out on top against the Hillsborough Raiders by a score of 42-35. The Stateliners pushed the score to 42-20 by the end of the third, a deficit the Raiders cut but never quite recovered from.
Phillipsburg's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jett Genovese led the charge by rushing for 113 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, while also throwing for 192 yards and two touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes. Genovese's longest rush was for an incredible 87 yards. Matthew Scerbo Jr. was Genovese's top target, picking up 153 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Phillipsburg was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 286 rushing yards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Hillsborough only rushed for 104.
Phillipsburg's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Scerbo Jr. and Felix Matos. The dominant performance also gave Matos a new career-high in rushing yards.
Despite the loss, Hillsborough still got an impressive performance from Jackson Jankowicz, who rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 79 receiving yards.
Phillipsburg's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-1. As for Hillsborough, they now have a losing record at 2-3.
Phillipsburg is taking a road trip to take on West Orange at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in West Orange's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three games. As for Hillsborough, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Westfield at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
