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FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL: North Hunterdon can’t overcome Phillipsburg, suffers first loss

Simeon Pincus
Courier News and Home News Tribune

PHILLIPSBURG – The North Hunterdon High School football team is enjoying its best season in decades, and though Friday night’s 20-7 setback to undefeated Phillipsburg puts the first loss of the season on the Lions’ record, it does little to dampen what’s been a magical run for the Mid-State 37 Raritan Division champs.

And while there’s certainly plenty to be learned from Friday’s setback, especially offensively where North Hunterdon struggled against a Stateliners defense that’s allowed under 9 points per game, there were still a ton of positives against the Mid-State 37’s top team, especially on defense.

“The defense did a great job,” said North Hunterdon coach Jared Mazzetta, whose club held Phillipsburg’s vaunted rushing attack to just 139 yards and the passing game to 106. “Our plan was to come in here and stop the run. They hit a few play-action passes, which we knew they would do. It’s their bread and butter. I’ve got to give them the credit. They’re well-coached, their kids battled and played hard, and our kids battled and played hard. They just made the plays in big situations and we did not. We had a couple of turnovers, they didn’t turn the ball over, and that’s it.”

“We were just able to put our athletes on their athletes outside and just pack the box and stop the run,” said Lions quarterback Matt Busher, who saw Phillipsburg star back Joseph Green leave the game injured on the first series of the night. “That was something we needed to do, and I definitely think had Joe Green stayed in this game, it would have gone the same way. Our defense played really well today.”

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The defensive highlight for North Hunterdon came on the first series of the game, as Phillipsburg moved the ball to the 4-yard line, using a 15-play, 63-yard drive that featured all running plays. But linebacker Erik Dehkes came up with a stop on 4th-and-2, stuffing Phillipsburg back Abdul Salahuddin to end the drive.

North’s normally potent offense, however, did not quite play up to its usual standard, as Busher was held to just 52 yards through the air and threw two interceptions, managing just 40 yards rushing as part of a Lions attack that generated just 99 yards from scrimmage. The senior quarterback did score his team’s lone touchdown, a four-yard second-quarter run that cut the deficit to 14-7 after a John Spies kick, but the success of the drive was due, largely, to a couple of ill-timed and costly Stateliners penalties. Phillipsburg was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on a failed North Hunterdon 3rd-and-4 attempt from the Liners’ 34-yard line that extended the drive, and a roughing-the-passer call on 2nd-and-goal from the 9-yard line that erased an interception.

“They threw something at me, defensively, that I was just having a tough time with,” said Busher, always the leader, putting the blame on his own shoulders. “I thought we had a great game plan, but I just really didn’t play my best football today. Our defense was spot on. We put up more than 20 points a game (on average), and I expect us to put up more than 20 points (every game). They confused me today, they did things that I just couldn’t catch up with, and I’m just not proud of it. I thought our offensive line did great today. I did not. I was seeing ghosts all night, I did not trust anything. I was fading off my back foot all game, I just wasn’t doing anything right in the pocket. There’s definitely a lot to learn from this.”

“We just couldn’t get in the flow. There was no rhythm to the offense tonight, but our defense played lights out and they kept us in the game,” said Mazzetta, whose team fell to 7-1. “We were just a few plays away. It is what it is. The kids battled the whole game, they didn’t let down, it was a four-quarter game, just like we said. But they made the plays when they needed to and we did not.”

Salahuddin, who relieved Green as the lead back, tallied 99 yards, scoring the first touchdown of the game on a two-yard run on the Stateliners’ second possession, before Nasir Ball scored on a  34-yard catch-and-run from Jack Sargaard with 5:08 remaining in the second half. After North cut the deficit to 14-7 on Busher’s run just before halftime, before Ball and Stagaard hooked up on a 10-yard scoring pass to cap the scoring with 5:37 left in the third quarter.

Despite the loss, North Hunterdon will still be seeded second behind Phillipsburg when the North 2 Group IV playoffs start in two weeks, with home games through the first two rounds. But first the Lions have a date with their chief rivals, headed to Voorhees next Friday night for the 42nd annual Milk Can Game, a series in which North has won five straight. And with Voorhees also enjoying a stellar season – they also improved to 7-1 with a 34-14 victory over Warren Hills on Friday night – it will be easy for the Lions to turn the page on the Phillipsburg game.

“We’re going to forget about it,” Busher said. “We’re still 7-1, it’s still the best record we’ve had in a long time, and regardless of if we won or lost (tonight), we’re still getting a home playoff game or two.”

“They wanted this game bad and so did the whole North community,” Mazzetta said. “But we’re looking forward to what’s coming up. We’ve got to lick our wounds a little bit from this one and move on. We’ve got Voorhees coming up and that’s our focus right now.”

Simeon Pincus can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SimeonPincusCN

NORTH HUNTERDON (7-1) 0-7-0-0 -- 7
PHILLIPSBURG (7-0) 0-14-7-0 -- 21
SCORING PLAYS:

P – Salahuddin 2 run (Oertel kick)
P – Ball 34 pass from Stagaard (Oertel kick)
NH – Busher 4 run (Spies kick)
P – Ball 10 pass from Stagaard (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING:
NH—Wain 6-11, Busher 8-40, J. McMahon 1-(-4); P—Salahuddin 31-89, Ball 1-0, Stagaard 2-6, Green 5-25, Walker-Sutton 4-11, Vitale 3-8.
PASSING: NH—Busher 12-21-0-2-52; P—Stagaard 6-10-2-0-106.
RECEIVING: NH—Honthy 1-1, Connover 2-12, J. McMahon 4-17, Adomako 2-11, Wain 3-11; P—Ball 3-49, Poremba 3-57.

North Hunterdon caoch Jared Mazzetta addresses his team following Friday night's loss at Phillipsburg