Cinnaminson's defense is quickly earning a stingy reputation, keys 5-0 start

DELRAN – Immanuel Brown believes something is missing on the defensive unit of the Cinnaminson High School football team.

It’s certainly not talent or experience. These Pirates aren’t scallywags, they have plenty of both ingredients.

The production is there, too. The Buccos have yielded nine or fewer points in all five of their games, including Friday’s 22-9 victory over rival Delran.

So what could be absent?

“We don’t have a nickname yet, we need one,” said Brown, a  5-foot-10, 175-pound defensive end who leads the team with five sacks.

The Cannonball Crew? The Walk the Plank Club? The Swashbuckling Sack Patrol?

Whatever one wants to call them, the Cinnaminson defense, especially up front, is a big reason the team is off to a 5-0 start. Cinnaminson will try to make it 6-0 when it hosts Bordentown next week. Not too shabby for a team that two years ago went 2-8.

“Each game, we’re getting plenty of contributions from a lot of kids, we’re complementing each other really well, but it’s only five games,” Cinnaminson head coach Mario Patrizi said. “(Defensive coordinator) Bob Murray does a great job getting these kids prepared and ready to play. We knew we would have a really tough matchup up front and our kids came to play.”

The big Buccaneers on the defensive line - Brown, Donovan Wilkerson, Luke Smith, Cain Block, Victor Meira, and Jackson Mercado ‒ have helped keep opposing offenses at bay for most of the season. The team has held opponents to 24 points over the first five weeks of the season.

“Our defensive line is the key to this football team. Everyone knows it, everyone says it,” Brown said.

Cinnaminson’s defense delivered the play of the game against Delran, coming up with a stand inside its own 6, culminating with Jackson Machado’s sack on fourth down, on a pivotal possession in the third quarter.

“We needed to step up,” Machado said. “We just really stood our ground on that goal-line stop and got the job done.”

Delran (2-3) took the lead on an incredible fourth-down touchdown pass by Vinny Sacca in the closing seconds of the first half, giving the Bears a 9-7 lead at the intermission.

The Bears received the second-half kickoff and marched down the field to the Pirates 6. On third down from the 3, sophomore linebacker Jason Straub had a clutch tackle, setting the stage for Machado’s sack.

“That stand was huge,” Patrizi said. “If they score there, it could be a different story. They would have had all the momentum. It would have taken us out of our game plan, forced us to do some different things offensively.”

Cinnaminson’s defense is hoping to land a great moniker later in the season: “Champions.”

Game balls

Cinnaminson quarterback Brian Finerghty. The senior is a top-notch playmaker, whether he’s using his tough-as-nails running or making clutch throws.

Finerghty turned two throws into touchdowns, connecting with Masoud Gantt on a 42-yard scoring strike in the second quarter. His second TD pass when to Gavin Prendergast for a 64-yard score that gave Cinnaminson the lead for good.

Finerghty finished 7-of-9 passing for 138 yards. He has four TD passes and seven rushing touchdowns for the season.

Linebackers Prendergast and Michael Beers were constantly around the ball, finishing off tackles if ball carriers got to the second level.

Delran quarterback Vinny Sacca was busy. He rushed for a game-high 122 yards and threw for 81 more, including a touchdown pass to Liam Kennedy on a fourth-down throw in the final seconds of the first half.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cinnaminson remains unbeaten, knocks off rival Delran to move to 5-0