Phillipsburg football takes advantage of Sayreville miscues to win season-opener
SAYREVILLE — Big plays were the story Friday night as Phillipsburg, No. 23 in the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey Top 25 rankings, outlasted Sayreville, 14-7, in the season opener for both schools on Friday evening.
Phillipsburg, No. 2 in the MyCentralJersey.com Big Central Conference rankings, scored on a 74-yard run by Xavier Moore in the first quarter and a 68-yard interception return by John Wargo in the third.
Sayreville, No. 5 in the BCC rankings, scored its touchdown on a 77-yard tear by Zaimer Wright in the third.
The Bombers squandered a touchdown on a fumble at the goal line in the third quarter and muffed a punt deep in its own territory midway through the fourth. The pick-six came after quarterback Michael Colonello suffered an upper body injury early in the third quarter and was thrown by a sophomore reserve making his first varsity pass attempt.
Moore was the game’s leading rusher with 161 yards on 18 carries, while Wright paced Sayreville with 123 yards on 19 tries.
What it means
Phillipsburg captured its season opener for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons, the lone blemish suffered in last season’s loss to St. Joseph of Montvale.
Sayreville lost its season opener for the fourth year in a row and opened 0-2 (or worse) in each of the last three campaigns.
The Stateliners also evened the series between the two perennial powers. Each side has won on the other’s home field. The Bombers' triumph carries more cache as it came in the opening round of the 2016 playoffs en route to the North 2, Group 4 title.
Key play
Sayreville had its best starting field position at the Phillipsburg 47 after getting a crucial stop on a fourth-and-2 near midfield early in the third quarter.
Colonello opened the drive with his best run of the night, a 13-yard keeper up the middle, but was shaken up on the play and did not return.
Three plays later, Wargo picked off a pass and delivered the game-winning touchdown with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter.
By the numbers
The Stateliners were able to move the ball on the ground all evening, gaining 201 yards on 21 first-half carries and finishing with 301 yards from 39 rushes.
The teams played a clean first half before a barrage of three turnovers in a four and a half minute span late in the third quarter. Sayreville committed three second-half turnovers and each cost it dearly.
Game ball
For all of Moore’s exploits, Wargo may have been the game’s most influential player.
He delivered the game-winning touchdown with his third-quarter pick-six, and also sent the tone for the contest much earlier, stuffing Wright for a two-yard loss on his first touch of the season.
Other than his touchdown sprint, Phillipsburg limited Wright, who ran for 1,400 yards and 25 touchdowns last fall, to 46 yards for his other 18 attempts.
They said it
“They broke off that one jet sweep and No. 2 (Wright) is an outstanding back, he’s one of the best in the state,” Phillipsburg coach Frank Duffy said. “I liked the way we responded after that. We had some adversity throughout that game and it really could have went the other way for us.”
“We have to give credit to Phillipsburg, they capitalized and we didn’t,” Sayreville coach Chris Beagan said. “Teams beat themselves and the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins the game. I thought our defense held tight all game long. I was proud of our defense the way they hung in there all game long.”
Up next
Both teams are on the road next Friday as Phillipsburg travels to Ridge, and Sayreville heads to New Brunswick.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Phillipsburg NJ football edges Sayreville to open season
