Timber Creek's Archie Headed to...
Timber Creek's Archie Headed to National Champion James Madison Ezrah Archie is going from one champion to another. The senior wide receiver from Timber Creek will be accepting a scholarship from James Madison.
Timber Creek is the two-time defending South Jersey Group 4 champion. James Madison went 14-1 this season and won the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA) national title.
Before the football season, Archie had made a verbal commitment to Penn, which also plays at the FCS level, but unlike James Madison, doesn't offer athletic scholarships as a member of the Ivy League.
During his senior season Archie compiled fantasy football-like statistics, although they were for real. Hooking up with record setting junior quarterback Devin Leary, Archie caught 74 passes for 1,285 yards and 20 touchdowns for the 12-0 Chargers.
Archie played his best in the biggest games as a senior. He had 12 receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns in Timber Creek's closest game of the season, a 28-21 triumph over Group 5 playoff team Cherokee.
That came in the second game of the season. Timber Creek trailed 21-7 in the second quarter before tying the game by halftime and then scoring the game winner on Archie's 12-yard scoring pass from Leary with 1 minute and 46 seconds left in the game.
During the next week in a 49-7 win over Clearview, Archie had four receptions for 101 yards and three touchdowns.
The second closest game for Timber Creek came in the South Jersey Group 4 championship when the Chargers beat previously unbeaten Lenape, 31-10.
In that game Archie had seven receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
So in the Chargers two biggest and closest games, Archie accounted for 19 receptions for 339 yards and five touchdowns, a good season's worth of receiving stats for many players.
At a power like Timber Creek, Archie had to wait his turn. As a sophomore he had eight receptions for 168 yards and a touchdown. As a junior he had 42 receptions for 627 yards and three touchdowns. (He also threw a 58-yard touchdown pass in his only attempt).
So even though the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Archie had a highly productive junior year, nobody could have accurately predicted the dominating statistics he put up as a senior.
What was most impressive is that he caught at least one touchdown pass in each game his senior year. That adds a special layer to a season that was one of the best all-time for a South Jersey wide receiver.
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Author: Marc Narducci
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