By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
PISCATAWAY — The Winslow High football team got whipped by Mainland, 41-7, in the 2023 Group 4 semifinals. The Eagles were one win away from playing for a state championship, but instead headed back into their home locker room with their dreams crushed after Mainland’s Stephen Ordille rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns against them.
They let that hurt, that pain, that disappointment simmer the entire offseason, and when the 2024 season began against Montclair at the Battle at the Beach, Winslow set out on a mission to dominate the entire state and turn that pain into triumph.
Holy smokes was it mission accomplished at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium on Wednesday night!
Phillipsburg didn’t stand a chance.
Winslow blitzed the Stateliners with 14 points in the opening quarter and never looked back, cruising to a 35-0 victory to grab the Group 4 state championship that eluded the Eagles last year, and a perfect 14-0 season to boot. Only two teams — St. Augustine Prep and Millville — even came within 14 points of Winslow all season.
It was complete and utter domination from a team that looked like it had something to prove every week.
“This is amazing. I can’t even think about (what to say). It’s just a dream come true,” said senior linebacker Marcus Upton. “Our confidence comes from practice. Everyone works hard every day, coaches push us every day, teammates push each other every day. That’s our mindset — every Monday we’re focused on going 1-0, and it goes day by day. That’s just our mindset and goal and we know that every time we step onto the field, no one can mess with us.”
“This is a great, great feeling. We came up short last year to a really good Mainland team, and we were just saying how everybody was crying (after that game). We never wanted to feel that feeling again,” said junior defensive back Nyqir “Boomer” Helton. “We thought about that the entire offseason. We came to get some work in, and we just worked, worked and worked — all winter and all offseason.”
“Our mentality after that Mainland game was just a dog mentality. We knew we wanted it, we were in the weight room all offseason,” added senior lineman Malachi Brown. “We knew we were going to get here. Today was about execution, on offense and defense, and we got it done.”
Winslow was stymied on its first possession and was forced to punt, but after forcing a punt from Phillipsburg on the Stateliners’ first possession, the Eagles took command of the game. Sophomore quarterback Jalen Parker connected with University of Kentucky commit Cam Miller on a 26-yard touchdown in the left corner of the end zone, and later in the first quarter Helton returned an interception 67 yards to put Winslow up, 14-0.
“We have the best defense in the state, from the secondary to the defensive line. This is a great feeling. I had some great blocks on the outside, I can’t even take credit for that pick-6 myself. It’s a credit to the defense for blocking for me,” Helton said. “They gave a really, really great Winslow team two weeks to prepare for this. All we did all week was prepare. Coach Bill (Belton) gave us (Thanksgiving) off, but after that it was straight work, work, work.”
The second quarter featured more of the same, as Nakeem Powell capped off a drive with a 2-yard run and Miller caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Parker as the lead swelled to 28-0. KaRon Ali capped the scoring with a 28-yard scoring run down the right sideline in the third quarter, setting off the running clock.
Parker finished 17-of-22 for 238 yards and he connected with seven different receivers while Winslow’s defense held Phillipsburg — which came into the game with nearly 3,000 rushing yards as a team — to just 21 on the ground on 27 carries.
“We just had to make a statement because we had a little bit of a struggle in our last game (a 13-7 win over Millville in the state semifinals). We had two weeks of practice, and you can’t give us two weeks of practice — that’s too many days. This is a great team,” Upton said. “This is an awesome feeling. We can’t wait to go celebrate, get back to Winslow and chill and hang out with the whole team, and the school. The whole school has been rocking with us. We have to go back to the school and show them (the trophy). When I touched it, all I could think was, ‘I’m really here.’
“We’re 14-0. We’ve been dreaming about this my freshman year. It was a rough sophomore year then junior year we lost (in the state semifinals). It’s a blessing to be here. We’re going to go back to the Nest and enjoy this victory. I dreamed about this every night from June 20 until now. We’ve been working so hard for this, and it’s just a blessing,” Brown added. “I wouldn’t want any other brothers. We had a rough Week 1 start, but we finished it off strong. I wouldn’t want to play with any other guys, these are my guys. This is a memory I’m going to carry with me the rest of my life.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
