"Every game, we're going to have a target on our back," Timber Creek defensive end Dajaun Drennon said. "We know we're going to get every team's best shot."
That will start on opening night. Camden Catholic returns several veterans from last year's 10-1 team, including Temple-bound linebacker Jarred Alwan as well as linebackers Sean Collins and Will Jackson, wide receiver/defensive back Thomas Wescott, and linemen Jeff Miller and John Blake.
The Irish recently added a top weapon in junior running back/defensive back J.T. Blyden, a transfer from Avon Grove (Pa.). Blyden, who has a scholarship offer from Rutgers, ran for 1,100 yards as a sophomore.
"I see a championship for this team," Alwan said.
Moorestown suffered a setback when senior quarterback Drew Pederson was lost for the first few weeks of the season, if not longer, with a broken ankle. The Quakers have top linemen in Temple-bound Shane Rafter and Jake Dever and top playmakers in Anthony Bonett and Sidney Ruffin.
Seneca has a boatload of veterans, including two-way end Will Flake, lineman Garrett Funches, and two-way backs Joey Pawlowski and Alec Flexon. Paul VI will be led by Temple-bound wide receiver Zach Grant and linebacker Greg Pease, and Cherry Hill West will feature the explosive Williams as well as lineman Connor Moloney.
Timber Creek returns several veterans from last year's 12-0 team, which won the South Jersey Group 3 title. The Chargers will be without North Carolina-bound defensive tackle Greg Webb (knee rehabilitation) for a few weeks, but will feature Division I recruits in defensive ends Drennon (North Carolina) and Myles Nash (Rutgers), running back Zaire Williams (West Virginia), and defensive back Eric Church (Kent State).
Other veterans include senior defensive backs Bill Burton and Bryce Shade, senior running back Khalil Pierce, junior linebacker Justice Davila, junior lineman Lamont Bradford, and sophomore safety Kareem Ali.
"I think we can double up on 12-0," Church said. "We can do it again and make it 24-0."
Contact Phil Anastasia
at 856-779-3223, panastasia@phillynews.com, or on Twitter @PhilAnastasia. Read his blog, "Jersey Side Sports," at www.philly.com/jerseysidesports
