Haddonfield Dominates Collingswood on Opening Night

The Haddonfield football team couldn’t wait to take the field for its opening game of the season and, when it finally got the opportunity, it didn’t take long for the Bulldawgs to take control of it.

Senior linebacker Matt Bhaya sacked Collingswood quarterback Henry Paul in the end zone for a safety just 97 seconds into the game and the inspired Bulldawgs scored 30 points in the first quarter. They went on to demolish visiting Collingswood, 44-0, in a Colonial Conference game before a full house on a cool, late summer night.

“The kids were excited to play the game,” Haddonfield coach Frank DeLano said.”You could tell in the locker room they couldn’t wait to get out there. They kept saying how this the longest week in school, waiting to play tonight. They were ready.”

Following the opening kickoff, the Bulldawgs had the Panthers pinned deep in their own territory. On third down and 17 from the Collingswood 8-yard line, Paul dropped back to pass and the relentless Haddonfield rush pushed him back into his own end zone where Bhaya tackled him.

“I think that play set the tone for the rest of the game,” Bhaya said. “We saw them run that play on film. I read my keys and just did as I was coached. We have a lot of experience coming back. We feel we can match up with anybody.”

What the sack did was kick start the offense. Following the ensuing free kick, Haddonfield got the ball on the Collingswood 39-yard line. After a false start penalty pushed the Bulldawgs back to the 44, senior tailback Chris Dengler ran twice. On the first play he picked up seven yards. On the second he went through the middle and cut left for a 37-yard touchdown run.

“We haven’t played in a while and everybody was fired up,” Dengler said. “We wanted to get out and play. The game plan was to stop them and let the defense set the tone. And our line is awesome. We just ran a basic play, but we run it over and over in practice every day.”

Quarterback Dan Ciemniecki scored on a 10-yard run to make it 16-0 with 6:34 remaining in the first quarter, and just over two minutes later, Michael Walker scored on a 5-yard run for a 23-0 lead.

Dengler, who gained 136 yards on seven carries, scored his second touchdown of the quarter on an 11-yard run to put Haddonfield up 30-0.

“We call him wiggles,” DeLano said of Dengler. “He was almost a 1,000-yard rusher last year. He finished with 966 yards. He worked this summer on his speed. Tonight he got outside and used it.

"You know momentum is such a big thing in sports. We had it. We have a bunch of guys who have played at a high level. And they have confidence in themselves.”

Dengler scored his third touchdown on a 53-yard run early in the second quarter to make it 37-0. In the third quarter Greg Whitener’s 1-yard run made it 44-0.

After that it was just a matter of running out the clock and start focusing on next week when the Bulldawgs host Haddon Township.

Collingswood    0    0    0    0 -   0

Haddonfield    30   7    7    0 -  44

H-Paul tackled in the end zone.

H-Dengler 37 run IBhaya kick)

H-Ciemniecki 10 run (Bhaya kick)

H-Walker 1 run (Bhaya kick)

H-Dengler 11 run (Bhaya kick)

H-Dengler 53 run.(Bhaya kick).

H-Whitener 1 run (Bhaya Kick)