Hannan's Passes, Towns' Running Fuel WDHS Landslide

With a day's worth of rain having already poured down on the field, the conditions for Friday night’s Colonial Conference football showdown between and Audubon were set up for a sloppy game that featured run after run.

So it figures that the Eagles chose this night to display their passing game.

Quarterback Jake Hannan connected with Tom Jakubowski on an 23-yard touchdown pass on the Eagles’ first offensive play and West Deptford never looked back, winning 49-0 to improve to 2-0.

Hannan and Jakubowski hooked up again on the next West Deptford possession, connecting on a 18-yard pass that capped a three-play drive and gave West Deptford a 14-0 lead.

“They were missing one of their corners from a head injury, from what we were told, so right away we knew we wanted to go to the air,” said Hannan. “With conditions like that, no one is thinking pass. They are thinking run, run, run, but (Jakubowski) got a nice release and the throw was there.”

“We wanted to start fast; we felt that was important with the conditions,” said West Deptford head coach Clyde Folsom. “As the night went on, we were supposed to get heavier and heavier rain, and we really wanted to avoid getting in a dog fight. We wanted to get up fast and then settle in on what we really like to do, and that’s to run the football.”

Hannan is now 4-for-4 on the season with three touchdowns—all to Jakubowski.

“I just wanted to get more confidence up with the team as a whole,” Hannan said. “We wanted to build the blocking with the O-line and the chemistry between me and Tom. We have been successful over the past two years, and we just want to keep it going.”

After the two quick scores through the air, the Eagles’ running attack took over, notably Gerald Towns. The powerful sophomore fullback could not be brought down, collecting 142 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just five carries. Towns did all of his work in the first half, scoring on runs from 32, 70 and 28 yards out.

“My line’s great,” said Towns. “I love running behind them. We practice hard every week, so all of my touchdowns I thank them.”

Once Towns got up to full speed, it didn’t look as though the Green Wave defenders seemed too excited to try to bring him down. Hannan couldn’t blame them.

“He’s a threat,” said Hannan. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to get in front of him.”

Arrin Bundy also scored a touchdown on the ground, as the Eagles built a 42-0 lead at the half. The offense made quick work of all its scoring drives, reaching the end zone on its first play on three occasions.

Not to be overlooked was the West Deptford defense, which held the Green Wave under 100 yards of total offense and allowed just two plays of more than 10 yards.

Folsom cleared the bench in the second half, to both get his younger players experience and keep his starters healthy for next week’s crucial showdown with Haddonfield.

The game is expected to go a long way in determining the Liberty Division champion. Just as important, it is a revenge game for the Eagles, who were 11-0 last season before falling to Haddonfield in the Group II South Jersey finals.

It’s the game the players have been waiting all offseason for.

“We’re really excited for them and we can’t wait,” said Towns.

Folsom knows his team has yet to be tested, winning its first two games by a combined score of 105-12, but is confident his players will be up for the challenge.

“We haven’t played four quarters yet, but we are going to play a team that hasn’t played four quarters, either,” Folsom said. “Haddonfield played a half a week ago, and would venture to guess they won tonight and didn’t have to play into the fourth quarter, so it is an even game from that standpoint.

"We have them at home, it’s a big game and we’re excited for it.”