High School Football: Township's Second Half Turnaround Stuns Cherokee Friday, November 19, 2004 By Jerome Michaels SJSports Special Correspondent How does one really evaluate whether a team has been upset by another? Sure the seeding help by labeling a team’s success before the playoffs begin, but what about that team doing the upsetting. In a semifinals game at Cherokee High School, the second seeded Chiefs were looking to keep the South Jersey Group 4 bracket the way the seeding were indicated. On this night, the sixth seeded Minutemen from Washington Township was the top team moving into the finals against Shawnee with their 14-12 victory. Township used two second half scores to take the lead for good. It’s always a tough game when a team has to travel to the opposing team’s field and tougher when it’s at Cherokee. The Chiefs had full control of the first half moving the ball at will but unable to show any results on the scoreboard. When Cherokee finally scored the game’s first touchdown in the second quarter on Drew Hill’s 2 yard run, Township was trialing 6-0 and could have been more if it hadn’t been a key turnover near the end of the half. Neither team panic with only six points scored so far. Sticking with their game plan, the Minutemen finally was reward late in the third quarter when Kyle Terry hooked up with Nick Baccare for a 29 yard touchdown reception. With the extra point, Township now led 7-6 and they were not done. With the running game able to pick up positive yardage thanks to the offensive line, the fourth quarter began with the Minutemen marching down the field and scoring on Jesse Cooper’s 3 yard touchdown run. Leading 14-6, the Chiefs would score with 1:41 remaining in the game on Jason Liberti’s short run. The two point conversion failed to tie this game allowing the Minutemen to hold on to their two point victory. Photos by Mark Fletcher