South Jersey Football Games of the Week

We are into sectional semifinal action for public school and the opening rounds for Non-Public teams. Here are some of the game of the week. Team seeding is in parenthesis.

Timber Creek opened with a 28-25 win over Delran. It was a game the Chargers led 28-10 before Delran came storming back. Senior running back James “Bam” Redd rushed for 181 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Keeanu Darji threw for 166 yards and went over the 2,000-yards mark for the season. Seneca, which has been to the sectional final four straight years, is led by senior quarterback Anthony Tirico, who rushed for two scores and passed for another in the Golden Eagles’ opening 35-0 win over Ewing. Both teams are playing well. Timber Creek has won eight in a row, while Seneca has won seven of its last eight.

Millville is a major threat after competing in South Jersey’s toughest conference, the WJFL American Division. The Thunderbolts opened with a 41-7 playoff win over Pennsauken. Senior quarterback Robert O’Connor completed 16-of-23 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown. He has thrown for more than 6,000 career yards. Brick Memorial has won seven in a row since suffering a 14-7 loss to Donovan Catholic. Last week Brick opened the playoffs with a 42-13 win over Absegami. For the season, senior QB Tyler Pierce has passed for 1,486 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 672 yards and seven scores.

Eastside has won eight in a row since an opening 37-28 loss to Philadelphia’s Simon Gratz. Last week the Tigers opened the playoffs with a 24-21 win over Ocean Township. Eastside QB Naeem Dale has passed for 963 yards and 11 TDs and rushed for 221 yards and one score. Haddonfield is the defending South Jersey Group 2 champion. The Bulldogs opened with a 27-25 playoff win over Johnson.  Leading 27-12 entering the fourth quarter, Haddonfield allowed two touchdowns, but stopped a potential game-tying two point conversion attempt.

Audubon scored a comeback 35-30 win over Clayton in last week’s playoff opener. Receiver Connor Chester had seven receptions for 71 yards and three touchdowns. Paulsboro won its fifth consecutive game with last week’s 34-0 playoff win over Point Pleasant Beach. Zayion Mears rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns while Paris Graves rushed for 114 yards and two scores. It was Paulsboro’s second consecutive shutout and third of the season.

This used to be one of the great Thanksgiving Day matchups. Now they play in the regular season. On Oct. 2, Salem scored a 40-7 win over Woodstown. That was part of the Rams’ current five-game win streak. Last week Salem earned a 40-0 first-round win over Penns Grove as Desmund Thomas passed for two touchdowns and ran for another two. Woodstown opened with a 14-10 win over Highland Park for its third consecutive victory.