By MARK TRIBLE

South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer

On X @Mtrible

DELRAN — After all the weird and wacky events that transpired up to the point of the 6-minute, 52-second mark here on Friday night, it all came down to 4th-and-2.

Out of a Burlington Township timeout, the Falcons — up 14-10 — lined up and knew who would get the ball. So did every Delran player. In fact, every person in Joseph Chinnici Stadium had an inkling.

So, when Aiden Binns took the handoff, it stood as no surprise that he got hit two yards in the backfield. Unfortunately for the Bears, it takes more than that to tackle him.

Binns finagled his way past first contact and gained five yards. Four plays later, Burlington Township found the end zone and put its final stamp on a 22-10 triumph. The Falcons, ranked No. 6 in the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show Best 11, remained unbeaten at 5-0 and handed Delran its first loss.

“I’m always betting on 21,” coach Steve Everette said. “If my offensive coordinator lets me call a play at that point in time, I’m going with 21.

“And if he doesn’t get it, then I’ve got to fight him. But seriously, our guys up front did well and I’m always going to trust in that guy right there in short yardage situations because he’s tough and shifty and he wants it more than just about anybody. It really is not that much of a risk when I go to him.”

Binns finished with 25 carries for 120 yards, with six of his runs losses of three or more yards. He’d pop a nice carry, then the Bears’ run blitzes would push him back. It took gumption to continue to tote. He had plenty of it.

“On the sideline, my coaches told me, ‘You know how to shut down a game, so shut it down for us,’” Binns said.

“… They know when they need to come to me in the end. Teams are game-planning for me. It’s going to be hard to snap and go crazy, but when they need to me to put away the game, I put away the game … No matter who was getting me in the backfield, who was on me, I knew I was getting that first down.”

Binns entered Friday’s unbeaten showdown with 58 carries for 790 yards and 11 touchdowns. His per-carry average stood higher than 13 yards. That clip decreased in the rugged affair, but he remained poised throughout.

He also faced stacked boxes due to the loss of his starting quarterback last week. Bryce Carter hurt his arm and missed the game, replaced by freshman Eddie McNair.

McNair found Julian Latimore for a 70-yard score on the game’s first snap. The results after that were a mixed bag, but his late touchdown pass to Gerald Sackie proved clutch.

Between the youngster’s tosses to the end zone, the action went back and forth. On Delran’s first drive, a fake punt and halfback pass set up 1st-and-Goal. The Falcons’ defense held the Bears to three.

The score remained 6-3 at halftime. On the second possession in the second half, Delran defender Giovanni Marshall-Edwards snagged a pick across the middle and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.

Things only seemed to get worse for Township. Pinned on its own 16-yard line, the black-and-gold lost yards on first down, gained nothing on second and threw incomplete on third. Jack Jordan, the Bears’ do-it-all star, partially blocked the punt.

Then, an errant snap changed everything. Kyheem Freeman finally corralled the loose ball and ran it in 40 yards for six.

“I just did what I do best and just played some football and scored,” Freeman, who hadn’t found the end zone since his freshman year on offense, he said. “It felt amazing.

“We do so many pursuit drills in practice, it was just amazing for me to finally see the ball.”

Freeman and his mates allowed next to nothing in the second half.

“We are a tough-minded football team and our defense is so nasty,” Everette said. “I’m going to take that defense over anybody.

“Our defense and our toughness are what allows us to stay in games like this.”

On the flip side, coach Colin Hewko tipped his hat to the Falcons.

“It’s a really, really talented team that has studs all over the place,” Hewko said. “They can get left and right and up and down the field.

“In a game like that, you can’t make little mistakes. We made a couple big mistakes. That ended up being the difference in the game.”

After his postgame breakdown, Everette made sure the team knew what Saturday had to offer.

Lift. Run. Film. See you at 9:30 a.m.

With dedication like that and the toughness shown here on Friday night, Burlington Township has the ingredients for a long run into the colder weather. And with Binns in the backfield, they have someone who can get the tough yards even foes think they’re ready to stop.

Mark Trible is the host of the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show. You can check it out every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at facebook.com/sjglorydays. The show features highlights, analysis, rankings and more from high school football games throughout South Jersey.