Bulldawgs Roll Over Haddon Township

By the time Frank DeLano got an extended look at his offense, it was the beginning of the second half and the Haddonfield Bulldawgs already held a commanding lead over the Haddon Township Hawks. Credit a suffocating defensive effort and explosive special teams play for that.

In the first quarter, Haddonfield’s offense ran only six plays, but still rolled to a 19-0 first quarter lead—thanks to two punt returns that went for touchdowns, a safety and a field goal.

That set the tone for the game. The Hawks could do nothing on offense and the Bulldawgs capitalized on their opportunities to steamroll their Colonial Conference opponent, 42-0.

“We only ran 11 plays in the first half,” DeLano said. “We used defense and special teams to our advantage tonight. You want a team to be proficient in all areas. The sign of a good team is when you have the edge in special teams. Tonight, they were huge.”

Haddon Township received the opening kickoff but couldn’t move the football and was forced to punt. Matt Bhaya grabbed the ball at the Haddon Township 46, cut from right to left and patiently waited for his blocking to set up. As soon as he spotted the hole, he was gone. Touchdown Haddonfield and a 7-0 lead.

On their next possession, the Hawks punted and Haddonfield’s Chris Dengler returned the ball to the Haddon Township 25-yard line. Six plays later Bhaya kicked the first of two 38-yard field goals.

On their third possession of the first quarter, a couple of penalties and a Carson Stack sack had the Hawks facing 4th and 21 from their own 9-yard line. This time, the center snapped the ball over the punter’s head for a safety. On the ensuing free kick, Dengler caught the ball on his own 26-yard line and raced up the middle through the Hawks coverage and into the end zone.

“Coaches tell us that special teams are 32 percent of the game,” Dengler said. “They are just as important as offense and defense. We had a center return going and the blocking was there. We are trying to break one every week. This week we got two.”

In the beginning of the second quarter, Bhaya kicked his second 38-yard field goal to make it 22-0. Then Dengler ran for two more touchdowns, one a 27-yard run and the other, a 76-yard run, out-sprinting the Hawks' Gary Charlesworth into the end zone and a 35-0 halftime lead.

“I’m pretty confident that when I get into the open field that I can get the job done,” Dengler said. “We executed those plays well tonight. I think we have the best line in the conference.”

Meanwhile, the defense held the Hawks to just 9 yards of total offense in the first half. The line, which had a decided weight advantage at every position, jammed everything up inside, allowing the linebackers and defensive backs to fly to the ball.

“We wanted to get a stop early and then take advantage of it,” said senior defensive linemen Jim Cashman. “Tonight ... defense set the tone for the rest of the game."

Haddon Twp.          0   0   0   0  -    0

Haddonfield           19 16  7   0   -   42

H-Matt Bhaya 46 punt return (Bhaya kick)

H-Bhaya 38 FG

H-Safety

H-Chris Dengler 74 punt return (Bhaya kick)

H-Bhaya 38 FG

H-Dengler 27 run  (Bhaya kick)

H-Dengler 76 run (kick failed)

H-Robert Perkins 11 run (Bhaya kick)