Four Touchdowns From Towns Send Eagles to Group 2 Final

Gerald Towns remembers the days early in training camp when he was bent over, sucking air, and wondering if he had what it takes to be a running back at the high school level. At the time, being a featured back was not even in his thought process.

“I thought I was going to be a blocking back,” said Towns. “In fact, I thought I was going to be on the line because I couldn’t run. I was not conditioned at all.”

Barnegat sure wishes that was still true today.

Towns ran over, around and past the Bengals to the tune of 195 yards and four touchdowns in the Eagles’ 49-10 win in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 semifinals Friday night.

, the No. 2 seed, will take on No. 1 Haddonfield for the South Jersey title in two weeks at Rowan University at a time to be determined.

Towns, who had scoring runs of 3, 11, 80 and 37 yards, said he was determined to overcome his slow start and make an impact for the Eagles.

“I kept working hard at practice because I wanted to perfect myself,” Towns said. “They kept pushing me.”

The “they” Towns was refereeing to are his elder teammates, who have been thrilled with Towns' growth and development.

“He’s a monster,” said senior receiver Tom Jakubowski, who caught a 60-yard touchdown pass. “He’s a freak of nature; he’s not human. He’s a sophomore who just turned 15 and weighs 230 pounds, and he can break any tackle. When he gets into the open field, he is gone.”

“(He’s improved) so much,” said senior Phil Fisher, who made plays all over the field. “He was usually down on himself in the beginning of the year because he was fumbling the football, and he just continued to work hard. That formed him into the player he is today.”

Towns put the Eagles on the board midway through the first quarter when he capped a 12-play, 64-yard drive with a 3-yard run.

Barnegat made its way all the way inside the Eagles’ 30 on its first offensive possession, but turned it over on downs. A few short plays later, Towns was visiting the end zone again and the Eagles held a 14-0 advantage.

The Bengals failed to move the ball on its ensuing possession, so the West Deptford offense once again went to work. Facing a third down, quarterback Jake Hannan dropped back and found Jakubowski open on a 12-yard out. Jakubowski received the pass, then spun off a defender, got a block and took it 60 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead with 10:08 left in the second quarter.

“Coach told Jake to run the ball, but he saw me open and hit me,” Jakubowski said. “I was expecting (the corner) to come make the hit, but he wasn’t there so I just rolled off of him. Nick Pulli had a great block to knock the guy off me.”

Barnegat got on the board on its next possession, thanks to a 40-yard field goal that just got over the bar by Pat Moran. The kick ended a stretch of 24 quarters that West Deptford had not been scored on.

The points may have bothered Towns, as on the very next offensive play he went 80-yards for his third score of the half.

“He continues to improve each and every week,” said West Deptford head coach Clyde Folsom. “His ability to run in space was something he was inexperienced at, and something he is improving at. He is becoming a complete running back, and not just a big kid running down the middle of the field. We couldn’t be more proud of his development, and hopefully he continues to improve.”

Fisher added a 39-yard touchdown run before the half, and Towns and Josh Cornelius each had a rushing score in the third quarter to seal a date with Haddonfield. The players have said they wanted to face Haddonfield for weeks, after losing to them in the regular season, but always kept their focus on the game at hand, something that impressed Folsom.

“Our focus wasn’t to get there, it was to win this game tonight against a very good and well-coached Barnegat team,” Folsom said. “I saw them on film and they were dominant and did a great job in the Shore League, so we really needed to make a statement. We really needed to win this game tonight.”

Now all that stands in the way of West Deptford and a Group 2 championship is Haddonfield.

“It’s awesome,” said Fisher. “It’s my senior year, and I couldn’t ask for anything else than to get them 'Dawgs again.”

“To have the opportunity to play Haddonfield again at Rowan is a dream come true, and we will make the most of it,” Folsom said. “But we are going to enjoy this one first.”