By MARK TRIBLE
South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer
On X @Mtrible
PISCATAWAY — After the Group 4 state semifinal, Winslow High football coach Bill Belton had a sense of calm, a type of peace about the one step left in the season.
He explained that due to his spirituality — something he attributes to his mother — he felt that whatever happened in the final had already been written.
Plenty of others who aren’t as faith-based felt it had been as well.
Wednesday night proved all the green-tinted prognostications correct. The Eagles pummeled Phillipsburg, 35-0, in the state championship and capped a perfect 14-0 season with the result.
Winslow held the 11-win Stateliners to 21 rush yards and a total of 78 for the game. The Eagles racked up seven sacks, snatched two interceptions and became the first team in five years to shut out Phillipsburg.
They were bigger, faster, stronger and whatever other advantageous adjectives you can find.
“Best defense in the state,” Winslow defensive back Nyqir “Boomer” Helton said. “And that’s just that.”
University of Kentucky commit Cam Miller opened the score when Jalen Parker found him for a 26-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
On the Stateliners’ next set of downs, Helton jumped a pass and booked it for a 67-yard score. Only the details remained on the decision. A dominant Winslow squad that came in heavily favored by most tacked on a NaKeem Powell rushing touchdown and another Cam Miller touchdown catch in the second frame to make it 28-0 by halftime.
“We’re not a cocky team but we give every team our best effort,” Helton, who nabbed another interception in the game, said. “It might look like we were relaxed, but we were just locked in so there’s not too much playing down.”
Miller had himself quite a day. The star signed on with Kentucky in the morning after he’d decommitted from Wisconsin on Tuesday. A four-year starter for Belton, the poster child for the now routinely successful program went out in style.
Relieved that the recruiting process had ended, Miller soaked up the postgame. The insightful, eloquent young man explained how he’d grown over his time in green.
“I had to grow and be a leader for these guys, these young guys coming in,” Miller said. “As I got more mature and I grew up, it became easier.
“Telling the guys to not only put their all in the field but their all in the books, too, because without the books you won’t be able to go anywhere. I’m making sure I stay on the guys and keep them right. We have a lot of talented kids, a lot — as you guys can see. I want to see everybody go somewhere. It’s not just about one person. That’s the Winslow way. We help people out. It’s a blessing to be a leader for them.”
Lineman Cayden Gray felt proud that his Eagles had proudly represented their locals on the big stage.
“It’s a big booster for our pride, to be honest with you,” Gray said. “I think South Jersey gets overlooked a lot by North and Central Jersey.
“I feel like we really put on for our state and proved we have real ballers out here.”
One of the best ballers in South Jersey lore, Belton reflected on the type his alma mater had just made.
“I’m proud of them, they did something that’s never been done before,” Belton said. “I’m excited to be on this side of history tonight.”
A wide, toothy grin that rarely finds the former Penn State star stretched across his face at midfield.
Belton gave his nod to the heavens.
“God is good.”
