No Easton Area High School football team has won more games in a season than the 2025 Red Rovers.
| 11/27 - 10:30 AM Football | Final |
|---|
| Phillipsburg | 6 |
| Easton | 35 |
And this year’s group looked like the winningest squad in program history from the opening minute on Thursday morning.
Easton dispatched rival Phillipsburg 35-6 at Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium, registering its record-breaking 14th victory this fall.
“It’s awesome. It’s something that we talked about coming into this game,” senior quarterback Cole Ordway said of the wins record. “We knew we could do it as long as we went 1-0. That’s been our motto all year.”
“It’s something that they’re going to get to carry with them for the rest of their lives,” Easton head coach Matt Senneca said. “They can always say they’re the first ones to get 14 wins in a season. When you look back at the history of Easton football, it’s a heck of an accomplishment. I’m so proud of them.”
Easton (14-1), which surpassed the 13 wins of the 2004 and 2009 teams, won the coin toss on Thursday and took the ball. A 34-yard return by junior Jayden Foreman put the Red Rovers at Phillipsburg’s 42-yard line.
Three plays later, senior wideout Skyler Fowlin made a juggling catch in the end zone. The play, however, was called back for a holding penalty that pushed Easton into a third-and-16. Ordway scrambled for a 19-yard gain to move the chains.
After three short runs, the Rovers faced fourth-and-2 at Phillipsburg’s 21. Ordway got around the left end, and senior running back Chris Martinez provided a huge lead block, as the QB ran for the game’s opening score.
Martinez imagined a strong start during pregame warmups.
“I had my headphones in and I was seeing visions of what I was going to do in the game,” he said. “I had that nice block (inside) the 25-yard line for Cole. He got in, and that’s how we got it going.”
The Stateliners (10-3) went three-and-out on their opening possession. Senior Alexie Moreira booted a punt that was downed at the Easton 9.
Unfazed by the field position, Easton went 91 yards in three plays and 26 seconds. Ordway sprinted for a 40-yard gain on the first play of the series. Senior wideout Andrew Biddle then put the Rovers inside the 5 with a 47-yard reception (with about 41 yards after the catch).
Senior tailback Trevon Tyler capped the drive with a 3-yard score. Senior kicker Noah Borluca’s extra point made it 14-0 with 6:20 remaining in the first quarter.
“We just made plays,” Biddle said. “We’ve got playmakers all over the offense. We did what we did. We trusted in the coaches and what they were calling.”
Easton extended its lead with a special teams touchdown. With Phillipsburg punting from its end zone, senior linebacker Sean Kilpatrick burst through and blocked the kick. Lineman Anthony Diaz, another senior, jumped on the loose ball in the end zone.
“That’s Sean Kilpatrick seeing something and deciding he was going to take a chance and make a play – and he certainly did,” Senneca said. “That’s a senior coming through in a big moment.”
Phillipsburg’s next drive ended when junior Justin Cosover forced a fumble that was recovered by senior Kurtis Crossman. The Stateliners, however, got the ball back when senior Mike Bracco intercepted a pass in the end zone.
A personal foul penalty got the Stateliners out from under their goal post, but on first-and-10 from the 24, Easton coaxed another turnover. Seniors Skyler Fowlin and Algee Macon swarmed Phillipsburg sophomore quarterback Dom Bracco, jarring the ball loose for Rovers senior D-lineman Elijah Edwards to recover.
Martinez rushed for a 15-yard score on the next snap, and Easton pushed its advantage to 28-0 with 1:45 left before halftime.
Phillipsburg advanced to Easton’s 24 in the closing seconds of the second quarter. Ordway, who’s played very sparingly on defense, ended the threat by intercepting a heave into the end zone.
“It was definitely special,” Ordway said of his defensive highlight. “I got a little scared when the ball was in the air; I’m not going to lie. Once I caught it, I thought about returning it, but I felt a lot of guys around me. So, I just went down.”
Phillipsburg got a spark to start the second half when Dom Bracco hit his brother, Mike, in stride for an 81-yard touchdown. The Stateliners defense then forced a three-and-out. Phillipsburg, however, failed to register a first down on its next two offensive series.
Easton put the game to bed with a 44-yard drive that took 4 minutes and 57 seconds off the clock in the fourth quarter. Ordway ended the series with an 8-yard touchdown run, extending his school single-season rushing TD record to 36.
“Our mentality coming into this game was just to be more physical than them and come off the ball harder,” said Ordway, who was named the game’s offensive MVP. “We did that almost every drive, basically. I think it definitely showed.”
Ordway finished 9-for-10 for 124 yards. He rushed for 108 yards and two scores on 19 carries. Macon earned defensive MVP accolades after being involved in two sacks and forcing a pair of fumbles.
Diaz was recognized as the contest’s top lineman. He was tied for a team-high with nine tackles besides his special teams score. Martinez added 57 yards and a TD on 12 carries.
Senior running back Sam Dech paced the P’burg offense with 107 yards on 24 carries.
Entering Thursday, the Stateliners averaged nearly 300 rushing yards per contest. Easton surrendered just 135 yards on the ground.
“We played solid. We shut their run down; we knew that’s what they were going to try and do the whole game,” Biddle said. “We let up one touchdown, but stuff happens. They’re going to make plays, too. A 10-win team doesn’t go scoreless most of the time. I was really proud of our defense. We shut down what they mainly wanted to do.”
The Rovers defense played especially well considering Foreman, a defensive starter, was injured on the opening kickoff and didn’t return.
“Our kids have dealt with a lot of adversity before,” Senneca said. It’s a next-man-up mentality when we get into that situation. Jeffrey Thomas came in. He’s played before for us in certain situations when guys have been down. It’s not like it was anything new to him; it was just getting him comfortable being a sophomore in this game for the first time.”
Thursday’s milestone victory was a fitting end for the Easton seniors, who took their lumps with a 3-8 record in 2023. The Rovers constructed an 11-2 turnaround campaign that included a division title last year. Now, they’ve completed a one-of-a-kind season.
“It just comes down to their experience. They’ve been playing for three years now,” Senneca said. “There’s not a whole lot that they’re going to see on a football field that’s going to confuse them. I think they handled the adversity, the crowd and the emotions of the game really well … They put Easton football back on the map and they left their mark on it ... I’m happy as hell they took me on the ride with them.”
The Turkey Day win also completed an 11-0 regular season, Easton’s first unbeaten regular season since 2004.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group – not just the seniors, the team in general,” said Crossman, who broke his right hand Monday and played wearing a padded club. “We put our names in the history books, for sure, today. This is going to be one of my best memories ever.”
“It means a lot to me; it means a lot to my family and everybody else in the city,” Martinez added. “It’s just awesome to go out on top and, probably, be the best team in Easton history.”
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