Lakewood Looks to Make it Two Straight Over Toms River South in Thanksgiving Showdown

With last Saturday’s sectional semifinal game under its belt, the Lakewood football team looks toward the 97thedition of its annual Thanksgiving morning tilt with Toms River South at 11 am in Lakewood.

After a slow start to its season, Lakewood (5-5) saw its four-game win streak snapped last Saturday in a 46-25 loss to second-seeded Woodrow Wilson in the sectional semifinals of the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group III playoffs in Camden.

Woodrow Wilson advances to the sectional final on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Rowan University against fourth-seeded Delsea, who stunned top-seeded Timber Creek, No. 4 in the current NJ.com Top 20 rankings, in a wild 41-30 victory last Friday.

The Piners had scored 22 or more points and held their opponents to 14 points or under during its recent four-game win streak and hopes to revive that success to the Shore’s oldest, continuous rivalry.

Last season, Lakewood defeated Toms River South, 28-24, to snap a three-game losing streak to its holiday rival. Dating back to 2003, the Piners are just 3-11 against the Indians with a 7-0 road win in 2012 and a 28-22 road triumph in 2010.

Senior quarterback Zyheir Jones leads the Piners offense with close to 1,000 yards of combined offense on the ground and in the air with 15 TDs.

TRS leads the all-time series, 55-38-4.

Entering its final game of the year, Toms River South (2-7) has lost two straight and six of its last seven games.

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