Tim Segich knew that in his senior season, the quarterback at Gloucester Catholic would be among the most productive passers in South Jersey.

He just thought it would be him.

The twist is that Segich is exactly what he hoped he would be as a 12th grader: a key part of the Rams' powerful passing game. He's just catching footballs instead of throwing them.

Nobody is happier about that than Gloucester Catholic quarterback Cody Brown, who now counts as his favorite receiver the same guy who used to be his fiercest competitor.

"Tim and I just connect," Brown said. "I don't know what it is. He's always getting open, and I always can get him the ball."

Gloucester Catholic is 4-1 entering tomorrow's Tri-County Royal Division game with Cumberland. In each of the team's first five games, Brown has thrown a touchdown pass to Segich.

Brown, a 6-0, 170-pound junior, is tied for fifth in South Jersey with nine touchdown passes. Segich, a 6-0, 190-pound senior, is tied for second in South Jersey with six touchdown receptions.

They are quite a combination. And in August, they were fighting for the same position.

"They were so even I couldn't separate them," Gloucester Catholic coach Tony Garczynski said. "I honestly didn't know what to do, but I knew I had to make a decision.

"I knew Tim could help us at wide receiver because he played a little bit there last year. Plus, he's our starting middle linebacker, and that's a lot on his shoulders. So I went with Cody."

One irony of this dynamic duo is that both guys are inexperienced at their positions. Segich was a quarterback for most of his life. He was the Rams' backup at the position last season, but saw some duty at wide receiver because of an injury to another player.

"He volunteered to play wide receiver one day in practice," Garczynski said. "He came out here and just wowed us. He was catching everything, making one-handed grabs."

The Rams have cranked out several good receivers in recent seasons, which Garczynski credits to the work of receivers coach Tom Flynn. But Segich is an unlikely big-play man.

He doesn't have blazing speed. He's new to the position. But he's got a knack for getting open, catching the football, and finding the end zone.

"You can run as fast as you want, if you don't catch the ball it doesn't matter," said Segich, who has 30 receptions this season for 373 yards. "I feel like if it's near me, I'm going to catch it."

Said Brown of Segich: "He catches everything."

Brown never even played football before his freshman year. He played quarterback for the ninth-grade team and split time at the position for the junior varsity last season.

"It clicked for me," Brown said. "My dad was quarterback, and he taught me a lot. I just picked it up."

Brown, a lefthander with a calm presence in the pocket, has completed 75 of 149 passes for 905 yards. In his first career start in the season opener, he hit Segich with a touchdown pass in the final two minutes to break a 14-14 tie in a 20-14 victory over Clearview. Brown has thrown two touchdown passes in each of the last four games.

"He's got a nice feel for what we're trying to do, and he throws a nice ball," Garczynski said.

The other irony of the Rams' productive passing combination is that they were competitors during the summer. They weren't enemies, by any stretch. But they were both battling for the same spot.

Garczynski said Segich handled the coach's decision with maturity and a team-first attitude. That's what has made this work for the Rams and their new quarterback/wide receiver combination.

"It was tough at first," Segich said of not playing quarterback as a senior. "But the next day I was out there at practice at receiver, and I was catching all these passes, and I was like, 'This isn't bad.' "

Contact staff writer Phil Anastasia at 856-779-3223 or panastasia@phillynews.com.