A natural at the controls

Tim Breaker has the skill to play any position.

He has the personality to play quarterback.

"I like to be the guy who motivates the team," said Breaker, who will lead undefeated Glassboro into today's South Jersey Group 1 championship game against Penns Grove. "I'm the kind of person who wants to be a leader."

Breaker was a quarterback in youth football in Glassboro and played the position as a freshman at Schalick after his family moved to Pittsgrove. He played wide receiver as a sophomore at Schalick and as a junior at Glassboro, as his older brother Justin played quarterback in both of those seasons.

This summer, Glassboro coach Herb Neilio moved Tim Breaker back to the position where the Bulldogs could take full advantage of his athletic ability and his leadership skills.

"We have lots of good athletes - he's both," Neilio said of Breaker. "He's the guy that's always going to talk to motivate the team. He'll step up and say what he feels needs to be said to get the team going in the right direction."

Breaker has done more than talk. He has completed 64 of 102 passes (63 percent) for 1,171 yards and 16 touchdowns with just one interception. Breaker also has scored seven touchdowns - five on rushes, one on a punt return, and one on a fumble return.

In what likely was Glassboro's biggest victory of the season to date, Breaker made three big plays Nov. 22 against Paulsboro. He returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown and also threw touchdown passes of 61 and 62 yards as the Bulldogs beat the Red Raiders, 21-13.

"That's the kind of player he is," Neilio said. "He will step up in big times and try to make a big play for us."

Breaker said he had some adjustments to make when he returned to the quarterback position for the first time since the 2005 season.

"It was hard at first but it was fun," Breaker said. "I had to get used to it again. I played a lot of quarterback when I was younger. I got back to it."

Breaker said the best part of the position is the responsibility.

"When the chips are down, people will look to you to make a play," Breaker said. "I like that."

If Breaker leads Glassboro to another victory today, the Bulldogs will join Paulsboro, West Deptford and Florence as the only teams in the seven-county South Jersey region to post back-to-back 12-0 seasons.

But while Breaker was a key member of last year's undefeated sectional champions, he has played an even more important role this season. After all, he's the quarterback.

"We knew this team was capable of something special," Breaker said. "But we had to take it one game at a time and let our talent come through. Now we have a chance to finish it off the way we thought we could."