BHPRSD Week 3 Football Forecast

The football teams for Timber Creek and Triton are looking to improve to 3-0 this weekend, while Highland looks to grab its first win of the season.

Below is a glance at some of the key players and situations to keep an eye on this weekend.

TIMBER CREEK AT MOORESTOWN, 7 p.m.

Timber Creek (2-0)

Last Week: Defeated Delsea, 41-7.

Last game against Moorestown: Lost, 41-34. A 10-10 game at the half turned into a shootout over the final two quarters, with Moorestown scoring a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to take the win.

Key Player: Receiver Dajuan Drennon. Timber Creek is a run-first team, but every squad needs a go-to receiver and Drennon fits the bill. He scored a touchdown for the Chargers last week.

Three keys to the game:

- Slowing the Quakers’ passing attack. Moorestown has carved up big yardage through the air over its first two games, averaging 247 yards a contest. Quarterback Andrew Lisa likes to spread the ball around, with three receivers over 100 yards already, so the defensive backfield will have to be stout.

- Contain running back Delaney Wallace. The passing game is not all that is working in Moorestown. Wallace has been a beast in the backfield, collecting 7.39 yards a carry and five touchdowns. Wallace only touches the ball 13 times a game, but he makes the most of his opportunities.

- Continue to win the line of scrimmage. Timber Creek owned the line on both sides of the ball against a talented Delsea team and will look to do the same tonight. The Chargers rushed for more than 350 yards last week, imposing their will on the Crusaders. If the players up front continue to do their job there is no reason to think this Timber Creek offensive machine will slow down.

Moorestown 2-0

Last Week: Defeated Seneca, 38-24.

Last game against Timber Creek: Won, 41-34. Lisa threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns and the Quakers rushed for 172 yards in a game where neither offense was slowed.

Key Player: Quarterback Andrew Lisa. The Chargers are well aware of what Lisa did to them last year, but will they be able to prevent an encore? Lisa has been dialed in this season, completing 70 percent of his passes and throwing four touchdowns.

Three keys to the game:

- Big plays from Brent Ogle. The senior linebacker has been a tackling machine through two games, recording 22 takedowns, 16 of them solo. Timber Creek has some shifty runners who can escape tackles and it will be Ogle’s job to make sure that doesn’t happen.

- Containing Khalil Pierce. The Timber Creek running back has been elusive as ever this year and broke off scoring runs of 46 and 47 yards last week. The Chargers like to get multiple backs involved in their offense, but it is Pierce who should garner the most attention from Moorestown.

- Conditioning. Moorestown likes to wear teams down with its up-tempo passing game, while Timber Creek likes to tire its opponents with a relentless running attack. They go about it different ways, but each style typically leads to a tired defense in the fourth quarter. The team whose defense has the most gas left at the end of the game will be at a great advantage.
 

KINGSWAY AT HIGHLAND, 7 p.m.

Kingsway (1-1)

Last game: Lost to Triton, 40-17.

Last game against Highland: Won, 32-6. The Kingsway defense was opportunistic, pouncing on three fumbles and recording an interception to break the game open.

Key Player: Running back Emilio Irving. He is an elusive back that showed off his ability to get out of a jam when he navigated around the Triton defense for a 57-yard touchdown run last week. The combination of power and shiftiness make him hard to bring down with just one defender.

Three keys to the game:

- Stopping the run. This has been an Achilles' heel for the Dragons to this point and was highlighted last week when Triton’s Josh Woods rushed for 314 yards and four touchdowns against them. Kingsway’s defense was embarrassed last week so look for them to come out looking to erase that bad memory.

- Putting together a complete game. Kingsway had a great second half against Delsea, scoring 13 of its 16 points in the win and followed it up with a good first half against Triton (trailed 20-17. However, the other two halves have resulted in just three points combined. If Kingsway wants to be a top team it will need to put together four quarters of football.

- Turn up the pressure. Highland has a young team that is still prone to making mistakes. An aggressive defensive scheme could result in the Dragons getting a couple of extra possessions by way of the turnover.

Highland (0-2)

Last game: Lost to Cumberland, 21-7.

Last game against Kingsway: Lost, 32-6. The Tartans had a productive day on the ground, collecting 206 rushing yards, but shot themselves in the foot by committing four turnovers.

Key Player: Marcellus Santana. The secondary Highland running back saw his workload increase as he got 10 touches and rushed for 64 yards, including the Tartans’ only touchdown, last week. Davante Parker will still see plenty of action as the lead back, but look for Santana to continue to get touches.

Three keys to the game:

- Continuing to pound the football. Highland played from behind quite a bit this season, which takes away from the team’s strength—its run game. Highland managed to rush for 224 yards against Cumberland last week, and ran for more than 200 yards against Kingsway last season. For the Tartans to stay in this game, they will need to continue to feed their strength and keep the ball on the ground.

- Getting more from the passing game. While the Tartans should lean on their running game, they also need more productivity out of the pass plays that are called. Quarterback Daniel Martin is just 5-of-17 with two interceptions and no touchdowns this season. If the passing game can’t get going, opposing defenses will gear up for the run thus making it more difficult for the Tartans' running backs to find holes.

- Finishing tackles. Highland has just two players who average more than five tackles a game, meaning tackles are coming from all areas. Kingsway has several good athletes that will put the Tartans’ tackling abilities to the test. The first Highland defender must be able to make the tackle or hold on long enough for help to arrive.

TRITON AT PENNSAUKEN, SATURDAY, noon

Triton (2-0)

Last game: Defeated Kingsway, 40-17.

Last game against Pennsauken: Lost, 34-14. Brian Keller had a day to forget, going 2-for-12 with an interception, while the Mustangs' defense allowed a pair of runners to rush for more than 130 yards each.

Key Player: Running back Josh Woods. Fresh off a 314-yard effort, how could it be anyone but Woods? Pennsauken knows Woods will be seeing plenty touches, but knowing and doing something about it are very different. Last year, Pennsauken did a great job containing Woods, holding him to 50 yards on 13 carries.

Three keys to the game:

- Winning the turnover battle. Through two games the Mustangs have forced seven turnovers, putting a potent offense right back on the field. It may not be as easy this week, as Indians quarterback Manny Cortez has yet to throw an interception in 49 attempts.

- Slow the Indians’ passing game. Cortez has been on fire to start the season, throwing for 462 yards and completing 69 percent of his passes. For the year, Pennsauken has run the ball 47 times and passed it 50, so slowing the passing game would put a serious cramp in the Indians’ offense.

- Valuing every possession. You can’t ask an offense to score a touchdown on every possession, but points are there for the taking this week. Although 2-0, Pennsauken has been vulnerable on defense, giving up 27.5 points per game. Pennsauken is likely to do its share of scoring so Triton will need to find production out of a large percentage of its drives to come out with the win.

Pennsauken (2-0)

Last game: Defeated Clearview, 48-27.

Last game against Triton: Won, 34-14. Marlon Finley rushed for two scores and Marcus Jones caught two touchdowns as Pennsauken built a 20-7 halftime lead it would not relinquish.

Key player: Running back Amar Williams: It would serve the Mustangs well to account for Williams on every play on both sides of the ball. Williams has eight carries for 114 yards and seven catches for 111 yards. He also has a 42-yard punt return, and he intercepted Keller twice last season.

Three keys to the game:

- Keeping the balance. Pennsauken has been a tough team to defend because it balances the run and pass so well. If the Indians can establish the run and pass early, it will make it very difficult for the Triton coaches to key on any one area, giving Pennsauken an edge.

- Contain Josh Woods. The Triton running back will not be stopped Saturday, but Pennsauken will be in great shape if it can contain him. With much of the Mustangs’ attack centered on Woods, slowing him down could put a major wrench in Triton’s plans.

- Seal the edge defensively. Triton ran over, through and around Kingsway last week and did much of its work outside of the tackles. The Pennsauken defensive ends and outside linebackers will need to seal the edge to keep Woods and his fellow backs from breaking off large chunks of yardage.