Folsom’s Message Goes To Heart of Eagles Football

With his team having just suffered defeat in the season’s biggest game, football coach Clyde Folsom brought his players together and delivered a simple, yet pointed message.

“We are a better team right now than we were three hours ago,” Folsom told his team following a 31-21 loss to Haddonfield on Sept. 30. “We are going to be a better team because of this, from this point forward.”

Bringing up team morale is big part of a football coach’s job. When players are down at their lowest, it's the coach’s job to stand them back up. Not all words of encouragement translate into success and certain phrases like “one game at a time” can fall on deaf ears as tired "coach speak.”

But these words were different. They were meaningful. The players really did believe they were a better team for the difficulties they had endured.

“I remember after the loss to Haddonfield, our pride was still one,” said nose guard Scott Dennis after the team's win over Haddon Township. “No one could separate us.”

“We definitely took it to heart strong,” added senior lineman Jamil Pollard. “We thought about it, we all looked in the mirror. I know we all thought about that moment, and after the loss, we woke up. We are not the team from before, we are another team and we needed a strong defense. That’s what we have been doing, as you can tell.”

The Eagles decided collectively that if they were going to get back in position to be a Group 2 favorite, they would have to tighten things up defensively. West Deptford had been solid through three games, giving up an average of 11 per contest, but have taken it to another level. Since the loss to Haddonfield, West Deptford has surrendered a total of six points in five games–and those points came on a first quarter touchdown in the first game after playing the Bulldawgs.”

“After letting up some points early on in the season, we really wanted to focus on shutting down teams and showing everyone that defense wins championships,” said quarterback/defensive back Jake Hannan.

The quest for a championship begins Friday when the No. 2 Eagles host No. 7 Pemberton at 7 p.m. The Hornets started the year 2-0, but have gone just 2-4 since.

A win on Friday would put West Deptford into the semifinals, where No. 3 Barnegat or No. 6 Pont Pleasant Boro would be waiting. A win in that game could set up a prime-time showdown with Haddonfield, making it two-straight seasons the rivals clashed for a Group 2 title. The Bulldawgs won the championship last year, despite losing to the Eagles in the regular season.

“It’s like last year, when Haddonfield lost to us, they had a revenge game with us in the playoffs,” Dennis said. “This year it’s reversed. They beat us and our mission is to go back at them now. We are not just looking at them though. We are taking it one opponent at a time.”

If the Eagles do have success over the next few weeks and find themselves back in the Group 2 title game, they can look back to the moments after the loss to Haddonfield as a major reason why. Rather than sulk, the Eagles took to Folsom’s message and made themselves better for it.

“With a loss, like coach said, you really learn a lot of things,“ said Hannan. “We learned that when we play our best and play together, nobody in South Jersey can stop us.”

Added sophomore running back Gerald Towns: “As a team we feel great, comfortable and are playing as one.”