Eagles Defense Adds to Shutout Streak in 46-0 Win

On Oct. 7, Haddon Heights High School running back Brandon Joyner got past the West Deptford defense and into the end zone for a touchdown.

Since that score, 22 days have come and gone, the weather has dropped about 20 degrees, and Christmas commercials have begun making their way onto television screens.

And since that touchdown, the Eagles have played 15 quarters of football and allowed exactly zero points.

recorded its third-straight shutout Friday night, silencing Collingswood, 46-0, in Colonial Conference action. The win improved the Eagles to 6-1 and keeps them in second place in the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 power rankings.

While the offense continued to put up big numbers, it was the defense that once again stole the show.

“We love it,” said senior lineman Jamil Pollard. “We take pride in our defense every week. Coach (Clyde) Folsom just rewarded us with pizzas and wings on Wednesday for getting another shutout. We love our defense and we pride ourselves on it.”

The pizza and wings certainly didn’t slow down Pollard as he recorded a sack and was in on a second one. The Eagles recorded four sacks on the night, recovered a fumble, and held Collingswood to 88 yards of total offense.

“It’s just great defense,” said senior safety and receiver Tom Jakubowski. “Everyone is working together. Everyone is around the football and gang-tackling together. It’s just awesome.”

Folsom said he preached to his team in the preseason that the defense needed to be its backbone.

“In the beginning of the year, with the inexperience we had on offense at the skill positions, we really felt that if we were going to make a run into December we would need to continue to improve defensively,” said Folsom. “Our secondary we feel is very smart. These kids think well, communicate well and make adjustments well.”

The Eagles offense was not it sharpest in the first half, but still had more than enough to topple the Panthers. After Scott Dennis recovered a fumble on Collingswood’s first offensive play of the game, Gerald Towns got to work, rushing for a 10-yard touchdown 59 seconds into the game.

After the Collingswood offense was stifled on two more drives, the Eagles opened the lead to 14-0 on a 3-yard touchdown run by Hannan with 2:38 left in the half. Hannan finished with 58 yards on six carries.

The game stayed at that scored until the final minutes of the half, when Hannan dropped back and delivered a perfectly placed pass into the waiting arms of Jakubowski, who took it 74-yards for the touchdown. The one-play drive gave the Eagles a 20-0 lead with just 1:13 left in the half.

“Me and Jake Hannan have great chemistry,” said Jakubowski. “He has been throwing to me since fifth grade. The (corner) was like 8 yards off of me so I just broke it open, saw the ball last second, took it to the house and scored.”

“Tommy ran a nice route, got behind the coverage and Jake laid it in there,” said Folsom. “He threw the perfect ball.”

Big plays became the theme of the second half. The Eagles made it a laugher with 68-yard touchdown by Connor Smith on the first play of the second half and a 59-yard touchdown run by Gerald Towns on the next possession. Josh Cornelius and Nate Wadding added short touchdown runs to close the scoring.

West Deptford will be back in action next week when it takes on an Overbrook team that has been decimated by 24 player suspensions. Whoever takes the field for Overbrook next week, it would be foolish to like their chances. The West Deptford defense will be eyeing a fourth-straight shutout on its way to the postseason.

The Eagles are hoping they can take their streak all the way to the South Jersey finals, where a familiar opponent currently sitting first in the power rankings may be waiting.

“The defense is hungry,” said Pollard. “We’ve got one thing on our mind, and that’s Haddonfield. We are working our way up, getting better and better every week.

"We want Haddonfield.”