Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Timber Creek holds off Triton

Rob Hinson knew better. Some folks might have figured that Timber Creek, with its undefeated record and its fleet of future Division I college players, would make short work of Triton in the annual Thanksgiving Day football clash of school-district rivals.

(Michael S. Wirtz/Staff Photographer)
(Michael S. Wirtz/Staff Photographer)Read more

Rob Hinson knew better.

Some folks might have figured that Timber Creek, with its undefeated record and its fleet of future Division I college players, would make short work of Triton in the annual Thanksgiving Day football clash of school-district rivals.

Some folks might have looked at Timber Creek's 10-0 mark and Triton's 5-4 slate and worked the math around in their heads and arrived at a comfortable Chargers victory in the Turkey Bowl.

Hinson sure didn't look comfortable in the fourth quarter, when Triton put together a 20-play, 77-yard, 9-minute-plus drive and cut Timber Creek's lead to six points.

The coach was pacing along the sideline when Triton's defense held and the Mustangs took over at their own 38 with 2 minutes, 3 seconds to play.

Even later, in the parking lot, Hinson was more relieved than excited as his team prepared to pull out of Runnemede with a 26-20 victory and renewed respect for their Black Horse Pike school district cousins.

"Somebody was asking me, 'You going to play your guys a half?' " Hinson said. "I was like, 'Dude, it's Triton. They're going to play four quarters, and we're going to play four quarters.' "

This was a special game on multiple levels. For one thing, Timber Creek freshman Devin Leary passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns while his uncle, Triton offensive coordinator Brian Leary, stood on the other sideline.

For another, Timber Creek made just enough plays - with junior wide receiver Cameron Chambers snaring a pair of touchdown passes and senior cornerback Shawn Springs returning an interception for a score - to improve to 11-0.

But the best thing about this hard-hitting, emotional game on a cold, gray Thanksgiving morning was that it was high school football at its absolute best.

Think about it. What do we hope to see when we bundle up in layers and drive out to the stadium and stand along the fence or climb into the stands to watch these kids play this game?

We hope to see the underdog rise up and push the favorite to the limit.

We hope to see a team such as Triton dig as deep as possible, thanks to seniors such as Kevin Bucceroni and Jake McGlinchey and many others.

We hope to see a team such as Timber Creek respond to the challenge.

"Every single player left it all out on the field," said Bucceroni, who played splendidly in his first game in a Mustangs uniform.

Bucceroni was all over the field as a linebacker on defense. He ran 19 times for 61 yards as a fullback on offense. He threw a touchdown pass. He caught a two-point conversion pass.

"A classic Mustang," Hinson said of Bucceroni, in a classic compliment.

But Bucceroni was far from alone. McGlinchey, the Mustangs' quarterback, scored two touchdowns, passed for another, and threw a two-point conversion.

He also directed the drive that featured three fourth-down conversions - once running for a yard on fourth and 1 and once completing a 14-yard pass to junior Dom Staiano on fourth and 11 - that pulled Triton within 26-20 with 3:09 remaining in the game.

"I love coaching kids at Triton," Mustangs coach Pete Goetz said. "We have such tough kids. They might not be the fastest. They might not be the strongest. But they are ready to play."

By the end, every Triton regular was covered in mud.

So was every Timber Creek regular.

The Chargers were in a tough spot, as heavy on-paper favorites, as a team with one of the biggest games in the history of the program set for Dec. 7 against Shawnee in the South Jersey Group 4 final at Rowan.

But Timber Creek responded to Triton's grit with some resilience of its own. The Chargers defense, led by senior linebacker Neal Nelson, stood rock-solid on the last meaningful drive of the game.

Hinson was proud of both teams.

But he wasn't surprised.

"We're getting out of here," the coach said as two team buses warmed up for the ride back to Erial.

A monumental game looms ahead for the Chargers.

But they left town knowing there was an unforgettable game behind them, too.

Timber Creek 0 13 13 0 - 26

Triton 0 6 6 8 - 20

TC: Cameron Chambers 35 pass from Devin Leary (Tyler Coluccio kick)

T: Brandon Pagan 7 pass from Jake McGlinchey (kick failed)

TC: Chambers 3 pass from Leary (kick failed)

T: McGlinchey 14 pass from Kevin Bucceroni (kick failed)

TC: Shane Pease 1 run (Coluccio kick)

TC: Shawn Springs 53 interception return (kick failed)

T: McGlinchey 1 run (Bucceroni pass from McGlinchey)