Timber Creek High School Football Team Conquers Shawnee, Captures South Jersey Title

For the Timber Creek High School football team, the third time was the charm.

After falling to Shawnee in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV final two years in a row, Timber Creek claimed the crown with a 28-24 win over Shawnee at Rowan University on Sunday night, nj.com reports.

Devin Leary completed 15-of-21 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns, and scored another on the ground.

He put Timber Creek up early with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jason Butler in the first quarter. Harold Coleman put the Chargers up, 14-0, with a 7-yard touchdown run.

Leary punched one in from 1 yard out in the second quarter, and Timber Creek held a 21-3 halftime lead.

His second touchdown pass came in the third quarter, a 44-yarder to Cameron Chambers.

The defense then held off a Shawnee rally, as the Renegades had three second half touchdowns, including one on a blocked punt return that cut the score to 28-24.

With five minutes, 40 seconds left on the clock, Timber Creek’s offense relied on its running game, and was able to take a knee after a 22-yard pass from Leary to Noah Ellison, according to the report.

Timber Creek came in as the underdog not only because it had lost to Shawnee each of the previous two years, but the Renegades were the higher seed. Shawnee was seeded No. 2 and Timber Creek was the No. 4 seed.

But Timber Creek came into the game with momentum, having upset No. 1 seed Hammonton in the semifinals after Hammonton defeated Timber Creek, 24-17, in the final game before the cutoff date.

In between, Timber Creek opened the playoffs with a 10-3 win over No. 5 Mainland in the quarterfinals.

Shawnee had advanced to the final with a 28-14 win over No. 3 Bridgeton in the semifinals. Shawnee defeated No. 7 Winslow, 29-20, in the quarterfinals.

Timber Creek was 9-3, including a 65-14 win over Triton on Thanksgiving Day. It finished third in the West Jersey Football League’s National Division, behind Hammonton and Delsea.

The 35-31 loss to Delsea was the first of two consecutive losses for Timber Creek, which fell to Washington Township in triple overtime the following week.

The Chargers then reeled off three straight wins, including victories over Kingsway, Clearview and Moorestown before the loss to Hammonton in the season finale.