WINSLOW – Cam Miller has helped put the “Wow” factor into the Winslow Township High School football team.
However, the Wisconsin-bound senior says it’s the Eagles quarterback Jalen Parker who really pumps the electricity into the squad.
“He shocks us every week, doing crazy things, extending plays and getting us the ball,” Miller said. “The dude just gets better and better every week.”
The QB continued his sensational sophomore season, completing 13 of 15 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns as Winslow captured its second straight sectional title with a 32-8 victory over Shawnee in the South Jersey Group 4 final on Saturday.
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Winslow (12-0), which has won three sectional crowns in the last four seasons, will host Millville (9-2) in next week’s state semifinal game. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
After missing last year’s playoffs with an elbow injury, Parker has performed at a peak level during his postseason debut this fall. In three games, he has thrown for over 600 yards with 12 touchdown passes and just one pick.
Against Shawnee, Parker completed his first 10 passes in a row, including touchdown throws to Miller and Marcus Upton that turned an eight-point deficit into a 12-8 lead in the second quarter.
“I felt like I had to come out hot for the team and dominate,” Parker said.
As a freshman, Parker fired 21 touchdown passes (and only three picks) in seven games before he suffered a season-ending injury against Cedar Creek on Oct. 20.
He’s been even better this season with over 2,500 passing yards and 40 touchdowns, which includes nine consecutive games multi-TD throws.
“My confidence and just taking over,” Parker answered when asked what he’s improved the most from last season.
And the secret to those perfect spirals?
“My dad taught me (how to throw a football) when I was 4 because he wanted me to be what he couldn’t be,” Parker said.
Parker’s work has produced plenty of eye-popping numbers. According to local football historian Chuck Langerman, Parker is just the second sophomore in state history to throw for 40 touchdowns in a season and his 61 career TD passes is already tied for 13th on South Jersey’s all-time list.
On Saturday, one of Parker’s best throws was to Miller for a 24-yard TD strike in the first quarter, threading the football between two defenders for the score. Another clutch throw came off a roll out to his left and he hit TJ Maddox for a big gain to set up Winslow’s third TD.
“We watched them a bunch, we watched all the film on them and their vertical passing game is just, wow, and the QB’s numbers are just obscene,” said Shawnee head coach Tim Gushue, who completed his 42nd season at the helm.
“They can really move the ball. We counted in about five games, they had only 11 true third-down plays.”
Against Shawnee, Winslow faced a third-down situation three times and converted one of those plays.
Rematch is set
Many observers thought the first meeting between Winslow and Millville earlier this year would be the biggest showdown of the regular season in South Jersey football.
Winslow turned that contest into a complete rout, earning a 35-7 victory on the Thunderbolts’ turf.
Now, there will be plenty more at stake with the winner earning a trip to Rutgers University to play in the state final.
“It’s going to be a good one for sure,” Miller said.
“We’re definitely enjoying the moment (of winning a sectional title), but we have to get back to work and be ready. We’ll have eight hours to celebrate this, then it’s back to work.”
Shawnee’s strong start
Shawnee’s season didn’t finish the way it wanted, but the Renegades can boast they had the biggest lead over Winslow all season.
The Renegades (8-4) recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff and needed eight plays to punch the football into the end zone. Freshman quarterback Cole Anderson scored a 6-yard touchdown and ran in the two-point conversion for the 8-0 lead.
Winslow had only faced two deficits the entire season before Saturday, both 7-0 margins to Mainland and St. Augustine.
One tough freshman
When Shawnee starting quarterback Lucas Solomen suffered a season-ending injury on Sept. 13, Anderson was thrown into the QB position.
The freshman responded with an incredible performance, which including 210 rushing yards and three touchdown runs in his first start against Rancocas Valley on Sept. 21.
Anderson finished the season with 913 rushing yards, seven shy of the South Jersey record for freshman quarterback set by Paulsboro’s Kevin Harvey in 1992, according to local football historian Chuck Langerman.
Anderson had 70 rushing yards in his season finale.
Game notes
Winslow’s KaRon Ali rushed 16 times for a season-high 125 yards. Roman Duckett and Nakeem Powell each had a touchdown run for the Eagles.
Winslow’s defense held Shawnee to 105 yards, 46 of which came on the opening drive.
Tom Nickles produced Shawnee’s other takeaway, an interception in the second half.
The Eagles have produced 511 total points this season, which ranks 10th on the all-time South Jersey list. Penns Grove owns the record with 621 in 2012.
Miller had two touchdown catches, raising his career TD reception total to 40, which ranks third on the South Jersey’s all-time list, according to Langerman.
Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 35 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him by email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Jalen Parker fires three more TD passes, Winslow rolls to win over Shawnee
