The Winslow football team celebrates with the New Jersey Group 4 championship trophy after defeating Phillipsburg, 35-0, at SHI Stadium on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. Joshua Guirguis/D2 Sports Network
PISCATAWAY - The Winslow football team came into the 2024 season with a chip on its shoulder after Mainland rolled past the Eagles, 41-7, in the 2023 Group 4 state semifinal.
Fast forward 383 days, and Winslow rolled past Phillipsburg 35-0 in the Group 4 state final at SHI Stadium, home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football program.
The Eagles fired on all cylinders scoring on offense and defense, with a special teams score called back.
Jalen Parker connected with Kentucky commit Cam Miller to open the scoring and seemingly open Pandora's Box.
Nyqir Helton followed up with a pick-six and the floodgates officially opened. Helton then caught another first-half interception three drives later. The junior finished the season with 4 interceptions total.
In the first half, Winslow outgained Phillipsburg, 200 yards to 35.
The Eagles eased their seats back and hit cruise control for the second half. The biggest star in the latter half? The Winslow defense.
Winslow defensive coordinator Myles Nash's unit held Phillipsburg to 18 total yards in the final 24 minutes. It was also the first time Phillipsburg had been shut out for the first time in five years.
"The defense has been excellent all year," Winslow coach Bill Belton said. "They're the reason that we've won most of our games this year."
The morning of the Group 4 state title game, Cam Miller had a choice to make on National Signing Day. Miller had just de-committed from Wisconsin a few days prior. The standout wide receiver chose to take his talents to Lexington, Kentucky to play football for the University of Kentucky. Miller ended his senior season with 42 catches for 722 yards and 14 touchdowns; a downgrade in counting stat production, but an uptick in intangible and non-statistic production.
"I'm grateful for all of the coaches that recruited me," Miller said. "I don't have the words to describe exactly how I felt making the change in commitments. There's just a feeling inside of me that when I visited Kentucky, I knew it was the right place for me."
With the loss of Syracuse wide receiver Jaylan Hornsby to graduation, it opened up a spot for many young, talented receivers to get more run. One of those uber-talented underclassmen in Nyqir "Boomer" Helton. In a breakout season on both sides of the ball, Helton hauled in 47 catches for 852 yards and 13 scores on offense. On defense, the junior tallied 19 total tackles, four picks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
"I can't say I did any of this on my own," Helton said. "The guys around me did most of the work to set me up in certain spots. The defensive line rushing the passer to make him throw bad passes, the offensive line giving Jalen (Parker) enough time to throw, and everyone else in general just doing their jobs."
Leading the offense was sophomore quarterback, Jalen Parker. In his first full season as a starter, Parker finished the season passing wise 172-for-263 for 2,916 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Other key offensive contributors throughout the season include Roman Duckett who ran for 582 yards and 15 touchdowns, and NaKeem Powell who ran for 478 yards and seven scores while also racking up 470 receiving yards and another seven scores.
Boston College signee Marcus Upton had to sit the first three games due to transfer rules but made his impact felt immediately the moment he was eligible. The senior snagged 26 catches for 497 yards and six touchdowns on offense and picked off three passes and racked up 62 tackles and seven tackles for a loss at the defensive back position.
Robert Carstarphen, Ausar Heard, Benji Carter, and Jasiah Bullock spearheaded a stifling front seven for the Eagles. The quartet combined for 418 of the team's 925 total tackles. The group also tallied 25.5 sacks with seven of them coming in the Group 4 state final.
"This whole season was a team thing, no one person carried the team or did all of the work," Belton noted. "Everyone bought in and did their job and I'm proud of these kids. Everyone from the coaches to the players put in the work to get us here, we just came out today and finished the job."
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