Timber Creek defense stands tall against Kingsway
He prepared for the play in practice, he knew it was coming. And when he looked in the opposing quarterback's eyes, he expected what was about to happen.
He prepared for the play in practice, he knew it was coming.
And when he looked in the opposing quarterback's eyes, he expected what was about to happen.
But there was one difference.
"In practice, I dropped the ball," Tyreek Williams said with a laugh.
This time, he caught it.
Williams swatted a pass at the line of scrimmage and held onto the ball for a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown on the second play of the third quarter.
It was the highlight of a dominant defensive effort in Timber Creek's 14-0 shutout win at home over Kingsway on Friday night.
"It was a huge win for us," said Williams, whose team improved to 3-2 and broke a two-game losing streak. "It just came down to practice and preparing."
After a 40-minute lightning delay, both offenses struggled to find a rhythm throughout the game - even as the skies cleared early in the game.
The Timber Creek defensive front was particularly overpowering, completely neutralizing the vaunted Kingsway run game.
Penalties led to three first-half Kingsway drives starting deep in Timber Creek territory.
The first drive ended with running back Anthony Seas being stuffed on fourth and goal from the 4-yard line. The second ended on a blocked 39-yard field goal attempt. The third drive ended on a missed 32-yard field goal try.
"We knew we had to come out hard. We [the defense] wanted to put the team on our back and make plays," Williams said. "We want to get back to winning, so this game was big."
On the very next drive after Williams' pick-6, the Chargers' Yusef Hollingsworth intercepted a deep pass at his own 10-yard line. Hollingsworth also recorded a sack on the following series - setting the stage for a half in which the Chargers defense allowed just two first downs.
Timber Creek tacked on an insurance touchdown with 6:54 left in the game - a 15-yard pass from Devin Leary to Noah Ellison - marking one of the game's few offensive highlights.
Kingsway 0 0 0 0 - 0
Timber Creek 0 0 7 7 - 14
TC: Tyreek Williams 36 interception return (Tyler Coluccio kick)
TC: Noah Ellison 15 pass from Devin Leary (Coluccio kick)