They saved their best for last.
They capped a perfect season with a priceless performance.
Timber Creek played its best football of the long season at the end of the long weekend of championship competition at Rowan University.
The Chargers excelled on offense, defense, and special teams in an imposing 33-7 victory over Hammonton on Saturday in the South Jersey Group 3 title game.
"They did everything," Hammonton coach Pete Lancetta said. "They were just too much for us."
Senior Calvin Lowe was 8-for-12 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as Timber Creek completed a 12-0 season and captured the first sectional title in the history of the program.
Junior Bryce Shade scored on a 61-yard reception and an 8-yard run, and the top-seeded Chargers also came up with five takeaways on three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
"It's just a special group," said Timber Creek coach Rob Hinson, who wiped away tears while holding the championship trophy during the postgame celebration. "Hammonton really came out strong, and I'm just really proud at how our kids responded."
Second-seeded Hammonton (9-3) took a 7-0 lead on its first possession, driving 58 yards and scoring on a 9-yard run by junior fullback David Williams.
"We came out on fire," Lancetta said. "But then we made a few mistakes and they took the momentum and never looked back. They have some big-time players, and they rose to the occasion."
Senior linebacker Quanzell Lambert made the first big play for Timber Creek, recovering a fumble that led to Lowe's 5-yard touchdown pass to Dajaun Drennon to pull the Chargers within 7-6.
Lowe gave Timber Creek the lead for good with an 8-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Chargers added another score before intermission as sophomore Isaiah Austin recovered a fumbled punt and Lowe fired a 61-yard touchdown pass to Shade on the next play.
"I knew it was out front of me," Shade said of Lowe's perfect pass. "I put my head down and started running. I had to catch up to it."
Ahead by 20-7, Timber Creek turned loose its vaunted defense in the second half. Lambert, the highly recruited linebacker who missed the previous two games with an ankle injury, roamed from sideline to sideline and the Timber Creek secondary received interceptions from Khalil Pierce, Bill Burton, and Andrew Brown.
"Our guys have been playing like this all year, selling their bodies out," Hinson said.
Timber Creek also received a big game from junior defensive tackle Greg Webb.
"No. 22 [Lambert] and No. 58 [Webb] are big-time," Lancetta said. "We knew that. But they've got some others guys, too."
Shade scored on an 8-yard run in the third quarter, and senior Kevin Potter added a 2-yard touchdown run at the end of a fourth-quarter drive that featured a 75-yard pass from Lowe to Casey.
"He's the guy," Hinson said of Lowe. "We go as far as he takes us."
Timber Creek lost to Hammonton in the Group 3 title game in 2009, but the Chargers slumped a bit to 5-5 last season.
This team went wire-to-wire, capturing the West Jersey Royal Division crown and beating defending sectional champion Lacey Township and rival Woodrow Wilson in the first two rounds of the tournament.
But the Chargers probably played their best game on the biggest stage, scoring 33 unanswered points against one of South Jersey's most accomplished programs in the sectional final.
"I didn't think we'd be 12-0," Hinson said of his preseason expectations. "I thought we could play with people. But this group, they just responded all season long."
Hammonton 7 0 0 0 – 7
Timber Creek 0 20 6 7 – 33
H: David Williams 9 run (Alex Padovani kick)
TC: Dajaun Drennon 5 pass from Calvin Lowe (pass failed)
TC: Lowe 8 run (Kevin Casey kick)
TC: Bryce Shade 61 pass from Lowe (Casey kick)
TC: Shade 8 run (kick failed)
TC: Kevin Potter 2 run (Casey kick)
Contact staff writer Phil Anastasia at 856-779-3223, panastasia@phillynews.com, or @PhilAnastasia on Twitter. Read his blog, "Jersey Side Sports" at www.philly.com/jerseysidesports
