Haddonfield Sports Week

Things continue to go well for Haddonfield Memorial High School
athletics as every team in action this winter came away with a winning week. The basketball teams rolled through a pair of Colonial Conference teams while the wrestling team won a nail-bitter and the swimming teams got the better of Cherokee.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Faced with having to come off of a loss for the first time all season, the Bulldawgs showed that one bad game was not going to derail their outstanding season, dominating a pair of Colonial Conference opponents last week.

One game after falling to Delsea, Haddonfield took its aggression out of Overbrook in a 61-42 victory. The Bulldawgs jumped out to a 19-8 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Billy Griffin and Chris Biddle each had the hot hand, scoring 16 and 15, respectively.

Haddonfield made it two for two on the week with a landslide win over Gateway. The Bulldawgs defense clamped down on the Gators, limiting them to just eight points in the first half. Haddonfield got 19 points from Biddle and 14 each from Nick Depersia and Griffin in a 75-22 win.

At 8-1, Haddonfield remains a favorite to win the Liberty Division. It will be on the road for three games this week against Collingswood (Tuesday), Sterling (Thursday) and Pennsauken (Saturday).

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

It was a solid week for the girls’ hoops team which posted a 2-1 record, with the lone loss coming in a non-conference contest against Timber Creek. Much like the boys’ team, the girls had no problem against Overbrook and Gateway. The Haddonfield defense was in lockdown mode against Overbrook, limiting it to just two first-quarter points in a 53-21 victory. The shots were falling for Hayley Raymond who made nine baskets for 22 points. Maddie Betley chipped in with 15 points.

Starting strong was again the theme against the Gators as the Bulldawgs also limited Gateway to two first-quarter points in a 42-20 victory. Raymond led the team in scoring again, this time with 14 points, while freshman Taylor Sehdev added 12.

Haddonfield has three home games this week as part of a six-game home stand. The Bulldawgs host Collingswood (Tuesday), Sterling (Thursday) and Northern Burlington (Saturday).

WRESTLING

Coaches spend practice after practice drilling the importance of scoring first in the heads of their wrestlers. Securing the first points of the match often gives a wrestler a great advantage and can set the tempo for the rest of the bout.

As the Bulldawgs found out Wednesday, it can also make all the difference in a win and a loss.

Haddonfield and West Deptford were locked in a 36-36 tie when all 14 bouts had been completed and a tiebreaker criteria was used to determine the match. After the first seven tiebreakers netted no winner, the eighth was put into effect and Haddonfield was awarded the win because they scored first in more matches than West Deptford.

Head coach Bill Heverly said a difficult non-conference schedule has made his team battle-tested, which helped provide a much-needed win against the Eagles.

“I put them in a meat grinder the first couple of matches wrestling the toughest teams in the state,” Heverly said. “Even though we got blown out in some matches I feel like, them being a young team, they showed a lot of toughness. They are still not wrestling their best, but they are gutting it out. (Wednesday night) just goes to show that they kept fighting. We were down in some matches and came back and got pins.”

Haddonfield carried that momentum down south where it competed in the Virginia Duals. The Bulldawgs once again faced some of the top teams on the East Coast, ending the trip with a 60-15 victory over Millbrook.

SWIMMING

The boys’ swim team faced a tough test in the water and passed it with flying colors on Wednesday when they took down Cherokee, 92-78. Haddonfield followed that victory up with one against Sterling on Saturday. The Bulldawgs cruised to a 107-63 win to improve to 5-0.

Haddonfield will jump back into the pool on Thursday when it faces rival Haddon Heights.

The girls' team also proved too much for Cherokee, improving to 4-1 with a 90-80 victory.