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Sports

Timber Creek Routs Delsea in Huge Divisional Game

The Chargers get 141 rushing yards from Khalil Pierce and more than 350 total for the game to give them their first win in three tries against the Crusaders.

Friday's West Jersey Football League Royal Division matchup between No. 3 Delsea and No. 9 was hyped up to be one of the biggest, most competitive games on the league schedule.

In the end, it wasn't even close.

Timber Creek (2-0) dominated the line of scrimmage on both ends of the ball, ran for more than 350 yards and held the opposing offense to zero points for the second straight week as they toppled the visiting Crusaders (0-2) 40-7.

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“Now it fells like we can't be beat by anyone,” said Dajuan Drennon, who had a receiving touchdown in the game. “So now we just have to keep playing hard and just keep playing with the same intensity we've playing with all year.”

Delsea, a team known for its inside running game, had problems all day running up the middle on the Chargers. Timber Creek saw a ton of plays being made on the line by Drennon, Greg Webb and Jamil Stephenson, as well as by linebackers like Quanzell Lambert and Taliq Chambers. Delsea ran for just 123 yards on 38 attempts in the game.

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“We kind of changed our front a little bit,” said Timber Creek head coach Rob Hinson. “Last year, against (Delsea) and against a few other teams, we had a front that wasn't as aggressive. We brought another guy closer to the line of scrimmage and got a couple other people behind him.”

Lambert had an extra incentive to perform on Friday night. The senior is still undecided on what college he will attend after graduation and Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano was in attendance to scout him.

Lambert made his presence known early in the game. On Delsea's second play from scrimmage, Lambert found the hole in the line and slammed Crusader running back Oobie Pittman to the ground with a hard hit. The hit was his first of many tackles in the game and summed up what was to come from the Charger defense.

On the other side of the ball, Timber Creek's run offense was dominant the entire night. Running back Khalil Pierce made a name for himself with two outstanding touchdown runs in the second half that blew the game wide open.

In the third quarter, with the Chargers up 19-7 and the ball on the Delsea 46, Pierce took the handoff and hit his hole around the right end. He then managed to break about four Delsea tacklers and put on a huge burst of speed at the 25, scampering home for a 46-yard touchdown.

His second touchdown, which came in the fourth quarter, was even more impressive. On the Delsea 47-yard-line, Pierce was chased around the left end by two Delsea lineman who got into the backfield. Appearing that he would only gain a couple yards at most, Pierce burst through three Delsea defenders and sprinted down the sidelines. Quarterback Calvin Lowe threw him a block down field to help him win a race to the end zone for 47-yard touchdown that increased Timber Creek's lead to 33-7.

“He's good at slipping away,” said Hinson about Pierce. “The good thing is that he doesn't have to do that every game. So, as long as we keep him fresh, then he has a chance to have big runs towards the end of the game.”

“(Offensive line coach Amin Muhammad), he's really about being a faster O-line, being quick on the ball and using everything you have,” said Webb, who threw a key block on Pierce's first touchdown run. “He tells us that you don't want to be characterized as those big slow guys, you want to be big fast guys.”

Pierce ended the day with 141 yards on nine carries. Junior Eric Church scored the Chargers' first touchdown on an 11-yard run in the first quarter. He had 27 yards on five carries. Lowe had a 35-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 17-yard touchdown pass to Drennon in the third quarter to help build a 19-7 Chargers' lead. Lowe also completed two of five passes for 26 yards and had 78 yards rushing.

The running game was the clear focus for Timber Creek.

“We just knew that we were going to run the ball the whole game,” said Drennon. “Coach found a way to just throw the ball up and we were able to attack it. We just wanted to run down their defense, make them tired and we knew they couldn't stop our run game.”

The Chargers will certainly see themselves move up the rankings on the Courier-Post Top 10 this upcoming week. They will have another top 10 team waiting for them next week, when they make their road debut against Moorestown next Friday. The Quakers were ranked No. 6 in the Courier-Post Top 10. Moorestown upset No. 4 Paul VI last weekend and could provide Timber Creek with their toughest challenge of the season.

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