PITMAN (N.J.) - The Pitman High School football team's intention was to play spoiler against divisional rival Pennsville.
The Panthers were successful in their effort as they spoiled their rival's playoff hopes with a 35-14 win on Friday night.
The Eagles struck first as Robbie McDade plowed into the end zone on a 10-yard run. Pitman answered back with a 12-play drive that spanned quarters. Quarterback Kyle Kubat located Porter Kostiuk in the end zone on fourth down to help tie the game at 7-7. Kubat followed up and connected with Stephen Devanney and Trey Tinges on a pair of touchdown passes to build a 21-7 lead at halftime.
The Panthers opened the second half with an interception by Kostiuk and capitalized as Chris Wyllie plunged across the goal line on a jet sweep from the one-yard line on the next drive.
Kubat linked up with Devanney again before Adriano Platt picked off McDade on the ensuing Pennsville drive to secure the win.
Pitman's Kyle Kubat finished 10-for-18 passing for 155 yards and four touchdowns as Pitman defeated Pennsville, 35-14, at Davis Field at Pitman Middle School in Pitman, New Jersey on Friday, October 20, 2023. Chris Baker/D2 Sports Network
Kubat finished 10-for-18 passing for 155 yards and four touchdowns. Tinges finished with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown reception. Devanney contributed on both sides of the football with three tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and a pair of touchdown catches on offense.
Pitman defensive coordinator Jim McCabe's unit ended the night with a trio of interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles with one recovered by Hudson Rue late in the first quarter.
Pitman held the 19th overall spot in the South Group 1 section of the United Power Rankings ahead of its win against the Eagles. That spot would be enough for the Panthers to hold a spot in the South/Central Group 1 Regional Invitational and possibly slip into the playoffs with the win over Pennsville who sat in 16th in South Group 1.
"Obviously anything can happen," Pitman coach Chris Thomas said. "We woke up this week and jumped from 27 to 19 and that opened the team's eyes a bit." These kids just needed the door to be open a little bit and when the chance to possibly slip in the backdoor of the playoff bracket came up, that probably gave them something more to play for tonight."
The idea of playing his final regular season game at home made Devanney emotional.
"It's only my second year of high school football," Devanney said. "But I grew up playing football with these guys so to get a win in our final regular season game under the lights at home is special."
The offensive line had its ups and downs through the 2023 season for Pitman, but tonight it made sure the quarterback behind them stayed upright and gave him a clean pocket.
"The offensive line gave me a lot of time to throw tonight," Kubat said. "It has been a rollercoaster season for the whole team but just about everyone did their job on both sides of the ball tonight. Again, credit to the offensive line from me personally giving me room to make the throws I needed to and also give our backs holes to run through."