A jersey number, a milestone and a tragedy link players in Shawnee victory

MEDFORD – They both wear number 44, and you wouldn't expect it of either.

Senior quarterback Matt Welsey wears it even though he's a quarterback, because Shawnee High School has made a tradition of awarding that particular jersey number to its established leader.

Burlington Township senior Martice Chestnut-Tillman wears it even though he's a defensive end, because he also sees spot duty at fullback, as he did Friday night, when the two found themselves on the same field in some very different circumstances as their teams renewed a West Jersey Football League rivalry that had been dormant for 50 years.

For Welsey, the game would almost inevitably mark a milestone. He went into it needing just 3 passing yards to overtake Michael Welsh and become Shawnee's all-time leader. It took just one play for him to achieve this. He found Liam Sherb on a hitch on the left side. Burlington Township's Treyvon Reid shoved Sherb out of bounds 8 yards up field, and now Welsey could turn his full attention to the business of beating Burlington Township – which the Renegades did, 42-21.

“I really didn't think it was going to happen until the second or third play,” Welsey said. “Because right at the start, it was a run play, but I saw this was wide open. Before the game, I was thinking about it and I just wanted to get it over with, so I could stop thinking about it and just focus on getting the win.”

Welsey was completely dialed in on that. He went on to complete 11 of 13 passes for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both in the first half. He also ran for a pair of scores.

Friday's numbers brought his career yardage total to 4,298.

“I just think of all the hard work,” Welsey said. “It's not just me; it's the o-line, the wide receivers, the defense too. The defense played amazing, holding them to 21 points. It's really all of us. It's a team win, and honestly, it's a team record. I can't do it without them, catching the ball and getting the yards for me.”

Before they can catch it, though, you've still got to deliver it.

“He understands exactly where to go with the ball,” Shawnee coach Tim Gushue said. “He sees the defense. We do a lot of RPOs (run-pass options) in our offense and he's pretty darn good. Matt's the second four-year quarterback in school history, the other one being Michael Welsh. And by the time they get to be seniors, they know the offense as well as the coaches do.

“We're pretty proud of what he's doing, and I'm trying to enjoy it. I tried to enjoy it when Michael was a senior, and now Matt's a senior, and this is game three already. Wow.”

For Chestnut-Tillman, the game was a welcome distraction. Friday began like any other day for him, and it was like that until he went to wake his mother to tell her he was leaving for school.

He found her unresponsive in her bed.

Marcine Chestnut had died during the night. She was just 45 years old.

“When I got the phone call this morning, my heart just dropped,” Burlington Township coach Tom Maderia said. “I don't think I could have played. But for him to show up and play – he jumped offside on one play and I just thought, I'm not going to yell at him. I'm just not.”

It was just one moment among many, though, and most were good – particularly the one late in the first quarter, when a meeting of 44s took place.

Chestnut-Tillman barrelled in from the edge on the right side and ran through the running back who'd stayed there to pass block. He got a handful of Welsey's jersey and took him to the turf for an 11-yard loss.

“He and Ian Mapp are our two best defensive linemen,” Maderia said. “And he showed up and both of them played well.”

But Welsey scrambled to his right on the very next play and found Avery Cohen wide open for a 32-yard touchdown.

It was the 36th touchdown pass of Welsey's career. He's 10 behind Welsh on that list.

“He just runs the show,” Gushue said. “We call the stuff, but he has options on every play. He's intelligent. He's a playmaker. He's going to be a great college player – no doubt.”

Both 44s found the end zone in the third quarter.

Shawnee got a short field after a Falcons' fake punt and Welsey got loose on a keeper for a 9-yard touchdown. He'd scored earlier from 7 yards out.

“It's a simple read,” he said. “I'm just kind of taking what they give me, and when they bite down, I'm just going to take it and run.”

Burlington Township opened the second half with a five-play, 68-yard drive and got into the red zone on a 27-yard pass from Gage Miller to Anthony Johnson. Chestnut-Tillman lined up at fullback on the next play and powered through the middle of the line for 8 yards to finish the drive.

He crossed himself in the end zone and pointed to the heavens before his teammates came to congratulate him.

You couldn't see that and feel nothing.

“I know they had a real heartbreaking loss,” Gushue said. “I talked to the young man after the game. A young kid shouldn't have to deal with that. Our prayers are with him.”

John A. Lewis is a sports writer for the Burlington County Times, Courier Post and The Daily Journal. E-mail him at jlewis@thebct.com or follow on Twitter @JohnLewis19. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.