Small in size, Timber Creek's defense has provided a huge jolt during fast start
GLOUCESTER TWP. – There’s an electricity around the Timber Creek High School football team these days.
And it’s a sleek, speedy and physical defensive line that has given the Chargers a big bolt of energy.
What the defensive line lacks in size, the front line makes up for it with a unique blend of quickness and toughness.
“Fast and physical, that’s what my coach (defensive coordinator JT Thompson) tells us and that’s how we play,” junior defensive end Brahim Wynn said.
Chargers are flipping over this big win@TCreekSports @SJGridironGang @CoachB_Wright79 pic.twitter.com/lbkUWVpOWQ
— Tom McGurk (@McGurkSports) September 17, 2022
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Wynn displayed those traits when he delivered one of the key plays in Friday’s 28-15 victory over Rancocas Valley in a battle of unbeatens. Wynn chased down the RV quarterback, not only getting in position for his team-high fourth sack of the season, but jarring the ball loose before linebacker Amir Reason Dallas recovered.
Timber Creek’s defensive line has energized the Chargers, who are off to a 4-0 start for the first time in five seasons and are looking to erase the memory of two straight losing seasons to start head coach’s Brian Wright’s tenure in Gloucester Township.
“I’ll rock with my defensive line any day of the week against any offensive line, except maybe my own offensive line,” Wright said. “They’ve bought in what Coach Thompson has been teaching, and they feed off of it."
Timber Creek defense causes a turnover, looked like Wynn on the sack and Amir reason Dallas on the recovery@TCreekSports @CoachB_Wright79 @SJGridironGang pic.twitter.com/rYQ9UeMFjH
— Tom McGurk (@McGurkSports) September 16, 2022
Timber Creek’s defensive line has helped stuff opponents’ running attack, including three goal-line stands in the win over Willingboro last week.
“Willingboro tried (running on us), Camden Catholic tried it, St. Thomas (Aquinas) tried it, it’s not working," Wright said.
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And according to the head coach, the thing that really packs a jolt about the defense: “I think we’re just scratching the surface,” Wright said. “We probably have the smallest inside linebackers in South Jersey, but you can’t measure heart.”
Timber Creek was playing without its other starting defensive end Darien Cade, who was injured during practice last week. Wright believes he will be back next week.
With Cade out, junior Zyir Wadley-McPherson stepped in for his first varsity snaps, playing alongside the tackles – juniors Ashan Deaver (5-10, 255) and Mha’Ki Cunningham (6-2, 265). The Chargers defense has yielded just one touchdown in the first half of its first four games.
“Getting better every day,” Deaver said. “We’ve put in the work, those practices at 7 a.m. on the track, this is where that work shows up.”
Three things we’ve learned
∎ Timber Creek has certainly found its footing this season. After a pair of three-win seasons in each of Wright’s first two with the programs, the program appears re-energized.
“They battled for each other,” Wright said. “It hasn’t been easy the last couple of years, but I think we’re here because of the battles we went through the last couple of years.
“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had coaching in my 23 years.”
Wright will lead the Chargers to Cherry Hill West next week. The head coach led the Lions to a 38-41 mark in his eight years at the helm, including the program's only two playoff appearances (2013 and 2016).
∎ Teams might want to rethink kicking the ball to Zyheem Coleman-Frazier. The senior is a lighting bolt with the football in his hands. He returned a punt 65 yards for a scored, his second punt return for a score in four games.
∎ Rancocas Valley, which had scored 21 points in each of its first three games, struggled to find consistency moving the ball against Timber Creek. The Red Devils will have to regain that momentum quickly with Burlington Township and Hammonton up next. The team will need a win over Hammonton to get back in the divisional title race.
Game balls
Timber Creek: Coleman-Frazier scored a pair of touchdowns in the first half, raising his team-leading total to six.
Rancocas Valley: Brody Deiter. The sophomore made contributions on both side of the ball. He picked off a pass in the first half and hauled in a pass from his brother, Jase, for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
They said it
Timber Creek practices on a field in the back of the campus, or as Wright likes to describe it: "The eighth hole of (the now-closed) Freeway Golf Course."
Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor 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: Timber Creek's defensive line has come up big during 4-0 start