The Egg Harbor Township and Hammonton high school football teams will play for South Jersey titles this weekend. Hammonton (10-1) hosts Timber Creek (9-2) at 7 p.m. Friday for the Group III title. EHT (11-0) travels to Cherokee (10-1) for the Group IV championship 1 p.m. Saturday. Each day this week, The Press has taken a look at some of the key matchups from each game. Michael McGarry, Staff Writer
EHT's speed vs. Cherokee's power
Egg Harbor Township is one of the fastest teams in the state. Running back and wide receiver Tejay Johnson won the 100-meter dash at last spring's outdoor track and field Meet of Champions. But EHT has plenty of other speedsters. Quarterback Scott Miller, wide receiver Joe Magosin and running backs Stephan Thomas and Zach Agostino, right, are all capable of big plays. EHT's biggest advantage is that the Cherokee defense just can't focus on stopping one Eagle.
Hammonton's running game vs. Timber Creek's defense
Timber Creek has big-play potential with running back Nahjee Gibson and wide receiver Damiere Byrd. The best way for Hammonton to stop them? Keep the Timber Creek offense on the sideline. To do that, the Blue Devils will have to control the ball with their running game. Hammonton has done that all season behind quarterback Nick Crescenzo (796 rushing yards), right, halfbacks David Crescenzo and Jarred Sanchez, and fullback Josh Baez (700 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns).
