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By Lauree Padgett / Exclusive to Haddonfield[dot]Today

The Dawgs were sporting a 7–0 (3–0 Colonial Conference) record as the season entered the new year. What would the first three games of 2024 hold?

Haddonfield at Paulsboro: January 3, 2024

The first game of the week had the Dawgs and their fans heading down 295 South, destination Paulsboro. No matter where the Red Raiders stand in the Patriot division of the Colonial Conference from year to year, it is never easy to beat them on their home turf. The Red Raiders went into this matchup with a 3–3 record. In the conference, they had beat Haddon Township and Woodbury and lost to Sterling, who the Dawgs would take on Friday.

While Sam Narducci took part in the pregame warmups, which was a promising sign, the senior guard, who sustained an ankle injury in the Dawgs’ 12/27 victory against Egg Harbor Township, did not see any action for a second straight game. In his absence, senior guard Matt Morris once again joined senior guard Daire Roddy and senior forwards Patrick Ryan, Zach Langan, and Nate Rohlfing on the court for the start of the first quarter.

Although the Dawgs got first possession off the jump ball, they did not score on a drive that seemed to have been thwarted by a foul. “Three refs and they all missed it!” a Dawg fan near me was heard to lament as the teams went back down the court, where Paulsboro got the game’s first 2-pointer. Rohlfing answered with 2 in the paint to tie it at 2 with 6:44 on the clock. After a defensive rebound by Ryan, Rohlfing added 2 more from the foul line to make it 4–2, Haddonfield about 70 seconds later. The Dawgs would hold and grow that lead for the next 29 minutes.

Rohlfing led the charge, adding two more buckets and 3 more from the line in the quarter. Morris added a 3 and senior guard Phil McFillin, in off the bench, added a 2 from the field. After the Dawgs went up 12–4 off the Morris trey, Paulsboro didn’t back down, though. The Red Raiders would score 6 of the last 8 points of the quarter and were only down by 4, 14–10, as the second quarter started.

Rohlfing continued to pound the paint in the next 8 minutes. He put up four more 2’s and added 5 from foul line, showing a toughness at both ends of the court, pulling down offensive and defensive boards. This time, Langan hit a 3 and Ryan scored a pair of 2’s. While increasing their tally by 18, the Dawgs held the Red Raiders to 7 points and headed to the locker room up by 15, 32–17. (In case you were wondering, the hot Rohlfing on his own was outscoring Paulsboro by 3, 20–17.)

Paulsboro came out determined to keep the Dawgs from getting easy baskets and began using one of Haddonfield Coach Paul Wiedeman’s favorite tactics: pressing. That worked, as the Dawgs could not set up plays either in the paint or on the perimeter the way they had in the first half. As a result, the Dawgs only made three baskets, another 3 from Morris, another 2 from Ryan, and a 2 from senior guard Phil McFillin. The Red Raiders had even less offensive output, only mustering 2 from the foul line late in the quarter, so the Dawgs were now up by 20, 39–19, with one quarter remaining.

This last quarter did not get any better offensively for the Dawgs, who only made one basket, by Ryan from the field and got 2, one each from McFillin and senior guard Mike Douglas, from the foul line. The Red Raiders got 6 points, 4 from the line and one from the field. When the rather slow second half came to an end, the Dawgs had won by 18, 43–25, even though they only got 11 points, off a trey, three 2’s, and 2 foul shots, in those second two quarters. That win pushed them to 8–0 overall and 4–0 in the conference.

Quarter scores:

1st: Haddonfield 14, Paulsboro 10

2nd: Haddonfield 18, Paulsboro 7

Halftime score: Haddonfield 32, Paulsboro 17

3rd: Haddonfield 5 Paulsboro 2

4th: Haddonfield 4, Paulsboro 6

Final score: Haddonfield 43, Paulsboro 25

Player scores:

Nate Rohlfing: 20

Patrick Ryan: 8

Matt Morris: 6

Phil McFillin: 5

Zach Langan: 3

Mike Douglas: 1

Sterling at Haddonfield: 1/5/24

It was odd going to a basketball game on a Friday night, but it did make the end of the week even better. I have been trying to get to the Haddons Pavilion (a new name for the Reynolds Building) in time to watch the JV games, although I don’t do stats. As I was watching the JV squad having their way with their Silver Knights counterparts and working my way through my dinner, which consisted of two soft pretzels and a hot dog (and although my dog was quite hot, I miss Chick-fil-A!), another fan in the stands, a former Lady Dawg who was paying closer attention than I was, joined me on my row to point out that the Sterling JV squad had two sets of players with the same number. That, another fan deduced, may have been why the refs were calling more fouls on the Dawgs: They weren’t sure who some of those Sterling players were!

The varsity Sterling Knights took to the court with a 4–2 overall record and a 3–1 conference record. Sterling has been one of the Dawgs’ toughest opponents in recent years, and both teams have stuck it to the other on their home courts. For that reason, it was very good to hear Sam Narducci’s name called as part of the Dawgs’ staring five, although Matt Morris did a standup job in Narducci’s absence from the lineup.

When the Silver Knights capitalized on a Dawgs’ first possession turnover and nailed a 3, the Dawg fans may have been wondering if this was going to be another down-to-the-wire contest, especially when Zach Langan’s 2 was immediately answered by a 2 from Sterling. With 6:29 on the clock, the Dawgs were down by 3, 2–5. The Dawgs lost the ball out of bounds on their next possession, but Patrick Ryan, who plays as hard as anyone when he’s out on the court, picked off the ball, which set up a 3 from Narducci to tie the game at 5 all with about 5:30 on the clock. Sterling responded with a 3, but as if to prove that he wasn’t going to need a game, or even a half, to get back in sync on the floor, Narducci got his second trey in less than a 30-second span to even it up at 8 all with 5:12 left in the quarter.

A travel call on Sterling gave the Dawgs the chance to take the lead, which they did , 10–8, thanks to a nice feed from Daire Roddy to Nate Rohlfing. Langan used his long arms to tap a ball off a missed Sterling shot to his teammates, but the Dawgs lost the ball on a bad pass. Rohlfing secured the defensive board under the Sterling basket and the Dawg contingency went a little nuts when Narducci swooshed in his third trey of the quarter, which put Haddonfield up 13–8 with 3 and change left in the first.

After Sterling did not score again, Rohlfing pulled down an offensive board under the Dawg basket and went up and in, making it 15–8, Haddonfield. With 2:45 on the clock, Sterling called at timeout. Neither team scored, although there was a mad scramble for a loose ball that surprisingly did not result in a foul called on either team.

Sterling hit a 3 with 1:35 on the clock, to get the Silver Knights back to within 4, 15–11, but Ryan made nice move under the basket to put the Dawgs up by 6, 17–11. Sterling hit another 3, with 52 seconds to go, but after a pretty set-up by Roddy, Narducci got his own 3, on a 2 and a foul shot with 23.4 on the clock. Morris, just in the game, scored off a steal, and the quarter ended with the Dawgs up by their biggest margin, 22–14.

Quarter 2 began with a 3 by Sterling, a jumper from Narducci that got a good roll, and another 3 by the Silver Knights at the 6:50 mark that pulled them to within 4, 24–20. Thanks to two quick baskets by Morris, the Dawgs were back up by 8, 28–20, with 5:01 to go in the half. A pair of foul shots by Morris gave the Dawgs a double-digit, 30–20, advantage with just less than 4 minutes in the quarter. An offensive board by the Silver Knights gave them a second-chance shot that went into the net.

The Dawgs got a bunch of chances on offensive boards their next possession but eventually lost the ball out of bounds. However, the hustling Ryan stole the ball and goaltending was called on the Silver Knights when his ball was touched on the rim. That made it 32–22 with less than 2 minutes remaining in the half. Sterling scored with :57 on the clock, then after the Dawgs did not, hit a 3, cutting their deficit to 7, 34–27, but just ahead of the buzzer, Roddy dished the ball the Narducci, who sent the ball up and in. At the half, the Dawgs were up by 9, 36–27.

Haddonfield inbounded the ball to start the second half but after some nice passing to set up a play under the basket, the shot didn’t fall. Sterling’s first shot of the half did, getting them to within 7 again, 36–29, with 35 seconds gone in the third. The Dawgs did not score until the 4:27 mark on a drive by Narducci that put the Dawgs ahead by 9, 38­–29. A few trips up and down the court later, Ryan blocked a shot and the ball went out of bounds off the Silver Knights.

Morris followed with a 3 to give the Dawgs a 41–29 lead with 4:02 on the clock. The Dawgs were called for a foul, but Rohlfing grabbed the defensive rebound only to have the Dawgs lose it out of bounds. Narducci got the defensive board this time and passed it to Morris, who drove cross-court for 2, making it 43–29, Dawgs, with 3:01 on the clock. A pickoff by Haddonfield resulted in Roddy knocking down a 3, and now Haddonfield was up by 17, 46–29, which got the Dawgs fans really whooping in the stands. Morris would add another bucket before Sterling ended its scoring drought and Haddonfield’s 10-point run by making 1–2 at the line. With 1:01 left in the quarter, the Dawgs were up by 18, 48–30, which is how the quarter ended.

The Dawgs just kept rolling along in the fourth quarter. After outscoring the Silver Knights by 9 in the third, 12–3, they did it 1 point better in the last 8 minutes, putting up 19 to Sterling’s 9. When the final horn had sounded, the Dawgs had taken care of business and then some, upending the Silver Knights 67–39. Matt Morris and Sam Narducci led the “slay,” each contributing 20 points to the Dawgs’ total.

Quarter scores:

1st: Haddonfield 22, Sterling 14

2nd: Haddonfield 14, Sterling 13

Halftime score: Haddonfield 36, Sterling 27

3rd: Haddonfield 12, Sterling 3

4th: Haddonfield 19, Sterling 9

Final score: Haddonfield 67–39

Player scores:

Matt Morris: 20

Sam Narducci: 20

Nate Rohlfing: 7

Phil McFillin: 5

Zach Langan: 4

Patrick Ryan: 4

Daire Roddy: 3

Mike Douglas: 3

Ryan Guveiyian: 1

Haddonfield at Moorestown: 1/6/24

At the end of the Sterling game, I asked one player’s father, “Are we good yet?” His reply was, “Wait until the Moorestown game.”

Unfortunately for me, I did not get to the 10:30 a.m. game that took place on the Quakers’ home court the next morning. I was hoping that I could stream it, but even after the game was over, my only option to view the game was to subscribe for a year to the NFHS Network for $79. Considering that would have put me $79 over my Haddonfield Today budget, I had to rely on a few texts from my travel buddy (aka TB) in the fourth quarter and then a recap by the longtime and always great South Jersey basketball writer Kevin Minnick on NJ.com to find out the specifics.

The Dawgs went into Saturday’s game boasting (well, at least the fans were boasting about it; I doubt the coaching staff lets the players come close to boasting) a 9–0 record, with wins over Paulsboro and Sterling having upped their Colonial Conference record to 5–0. The Quakers, who are in the Patriot division of the Olympic Conference and last year’s defending Group 3 South Jersey champs, were sitting at 5–2 overall coming into the game.

Unlike most of the previous nine matchups, this would not be a blowout or anything close to it for Haddonfield. After the first quarter, they were down by 1, 12–13. In the second, they gained a point on the Quakers, so at the half, the game was tied at 21.

In the third, the Quakers got the edge back and were leading by 3, 33–30, going into the fourth. Although I had texted my TB for an update earlier, I did not get a text back until there was 4:33 left in the game and the Dawgs were up by the slimmest of margins, 36–35. In what seemed much longer than 14 minutes, I got another text: “43–38 we win.” Phew!

I had to wait a while longer to read Minnick’s article. (At least there were some good “shots” of the game with the write-up.) Here’s my very short recap: There were seven ties and 10 lead changes. After trailing by 4, the Dawgs went on a 6–0 run, capped by Nate Rohlfing’s basket that put Haddonfield up for good, 41–39. Daire Roddy clinched it at the line off a loose-ball foul, sinking 2 shots with 6 seconds left, giving the Dawgs their closest win margin, 43–39, of their now 10-game winning streak.

I think we can now safely say that yes, the Dawgs are good this year.

Quarter scores:

1st: Haddonfield 12, Moorestown 13

2nd: Haddonfield 9, Moorestown 8

Halftime score: Haddonfield 21, Moorestown 21

3rd: Haddonfield 9, Moorestown 12

4th: Haddonfield 13, Moorestown 6

Final score: Haddonfield 43, Moorestown 39

Team stats:

Nat Rohlfing led the Dawgs with 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Matt Morris added 8 and Sam Narducci finished with 7. The Dawgs had seven steals, three by Patrick Ryan.

The week ahead

The Dawgs have another week of Monday (1/8), Wednesday (1/10) and, Friday (1/12) games. The Monday and Wednesday games are home at 7 p.m. versus Lindenwold and Williamstown. The Wednesday game is away at 5:30 versus Gloucester City. The good news is that if this is too early for you to get to in person, Gloucester City is part of the Hudl network, so you can either watch the contest live or stream it later.

By Lauree Padgett / Exclusive to Haddonfield[dot]Today

Begin 2023–24 season 7–0

The Haddonfield Memorial High School boys varsity basketball season started at home with a Colonial Conference Liberty division game. It marked the beginning of Paul Wiedeman’s 25th season (!!!) as head coach of the Dawgs. In the previous 24 seasons, Wiedeman-led teams have won five state championships and countless Colonial Conference titles. Had it not been for a few recent COVID-shortened seasons, Wiedeman would no double be on the cusp of his 600th victory with Haddonfield, but as the year began, his record stood at 557 wins to 136 losses. (And no, that’s not a typo; Wiedeman has an amazing 80% winning record.)

While the man pacing the sidelines will not be new this season for the Dawgs, high school basketball has had some rule changes across the board, so to speak, for all teams across the country. The rules were outlined at the end of May in a press release posted on the National Federation of State High School Associations’ website. The main changes center on free throws and how fouls are administered. No more will the one-and-one scenario, in which a player steps to the foul line, usually at the end of a half, be in effect. Instead of having to make his first shot in order to get a second shot, once the opposing team has committed five fouls in a quarter, the player will automatically be awarded two shots. Previously, the bonus was reached when one team had committed seven fouls in a half. Players will also be given two shots on all “common” fouls, according to the press release. A primary reason cited for the change was the chance to cut down injuries coming off rebounds and overall “rough play” that arose from one-and-one situations. While I’m all for reducing the chances for injuries on the court, I also will miss the excitement—the stress—of having a player step up to the line in a nail-bitingly close game to see if he could hit one and then another foul shot.

I asked Coach Wiedeman how he thought this rule change would impact games. “It will change strategy for sure. You might want to emphasize getting to the rim and drawing fouls sooner. Jump-shooting teams might need to change their style,” he opined. So far, in the Dawgs’ seven games, the updated rules have seemingly not affected game outcomes, but time will tell.

Haddon Heights at Haddonfield: 12/14/23

OK, back to that first game, which was against the Garnets of Haddon Heights. To highlight all of the December games I saw (six of the seven) without turning this first article into a tome, I’m going to recap each game without, in most cases, minute-by-minute descriptions. That being said, the Heights game and the one that followed versus Camden Catholic were the two closest contests of the month.

The Dawgs looked a bit discombobulated the first 16 minutes of this game, and part of that was due to the play of the Garnets. After senior forward Patrick Ryan scored the Dawgs’ first point of the game from the foul line, fellow senior forward Sam Narducci scored 2 off a steal. Heights would get the next 7, the last bucket off a Dawgs’ turnover, and were up 7–3 with just 3 minutes gone in the quarter. Thanks to a pair of 3’s from Narducci, the Dawgs went up 9–7, but a trey by the Garnets put them back in front 10–9. Another basket off a steal made it 12–9, Heights, with about 2 minutes left in the quarter. Senior forward Nate Rohlfing’s two foul shots got the Dawgs to within 1, 11–12, but the Garnets answered with a basket, and were up by 3, 14–13, as the first quarter ended.

The second quarter started off promisingly as senior guard Phil McFillin, just into the game, stole the ball, passed it to Narducci, who went up and in for 2, getting the Dawgs to within 1, 13–14. A few plays up and down the court later, Rohlfing made two more foul shots to give the Dawgs the lead 15–14 at the 6-minute mark. That lead was brief, as Heights hit a 3 to go back in front 17–15. Neither team scored for about 90 seconds until senior guard Matt Morris poached the ball and also set up Narducci, who drove in to tie the game at 17 with 4:30 left in the half. Foul shots by McFillin were followed by a field goal by the Garnets to keep the game knotted at 19. A trey by Morris made it 22–19 Dawgs, but Heights scored the last two field goals of the half and were up by 1, 23–22, as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

In the second half, the Dawgs began handling the ball better, which helped them at both ends of the court. Rohlfing scored the first 3 points of the third on a basket and then a few plays later a foul shot, but the Garnets’ basket tied the game at 25 all with 6 and change left in the quarter. Neither team was able to score from the field the next few possessions, instead adding a foul shot to their tallies and keeping the game knotted at 26 with 4:33 on the clock. It wasn’t until the 3-minute mark that the tie was broken on a 3 by Morris, making it 29–26, Haddonfield. Morris followed his trey with a 2, and Narducci’s 2 off a steal gave the Dawgs’ their biggest edge, at 33–26, with just under 2 minutes left in the third. However, the Garnets made 4 foul shots to finish off the quarter, so that 7-point lead had dwindled down to 3, 33–30, as the fourth quarter began.

In the fourth, helped by some timely 3’s, Haddon Heights would not let Haddonfield pull away. Just when the Dawgs had gone up 43–34 after two fouls by senior guard Daire Roddy, with 4:03 showing on the clock, and the Dawgs’ teenage contingency started the ever-popular “Start the buses” chant, the Garnets answered with a 3. After a 2 from Rohlfing off a feed by senior forward Zach Langan, Heights swooshed in another 3, and just that fast, it was a 5-point, two possession, 45–40 game, with 39.1 seconds left. After a 2 from Langan, Heights hit another 3 (all their threes were stunning a former Haddonfield coach in the stands, and not in a good way), and with 15.9 left, it was 47–43. Two foul shots from Roddy made it 49–43, and even though Narducci’s pickoff and basket sealed the deal, the Garnets got one last 3 in ahead of the buzzer, making the final score 51–46, Haddonfield.

Sam Narducci put in 20 for the Dawgs, and Nate Rohlfing added 11. All seven players who got int the game scored.

Camden Catholic vs. Haddonfield at Cherokee Regional High School: 12/16/23

This game was one of 13 hosted at Cherokee as part of the Jimmy V Showcase, named in honor of the great North Carolina State University men’s basketball coach and then ESPN broadcaster, Jim Valvano, who, in his final days of battling metastatic adenocarcinoma, established the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. (If you have never seen his funny yet heart-wrenching, inspirational speech when accepting the ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 1993, in which he tells us all, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up,” it’s more than worth a watch. It still gives me goosebumps.)  The V Foundation is one that Cherokee boys basketball head coach Eric Cassidy strongly supports in memory of his mother, who died in 2011 from breast cancer at the age of 48. Cassidy promised his mother he would do everything in his power to raise money for cancer research, and for the past 11 years, the tournament that Cherokee hosts has enabled Cassidy to do just that.

The Haddonfield–Camden Catholic game, the final one of the day, was considered the marquee matchup of the event, as preseason, both teams were ranked in the top 10, Haddonfield at #7 and Camden Catholic at #9. As longtime Haddonfield fans will know, these two teams also have a connection due to the coaching staff of the Fighting Irish, specifically head coach Matt Crawford, the son of Jim Crawford, who switched places on the bench with Matt in 2013. Although Jim (aka Skyman Crawford to 1970s’ LaSalle fans) did not play for Haddonfield, his younger brothers Mike and Dennis suited up for Haddonfield. Dennis in fact played for Dave Wiedeman, father of our current coach, and is a member of the HMHS Athletic Hall of Fame.

Although the Dawgs never trailed at the end of any of the quarters, the game in some ways was similar to the Heights’ contest. In the first quarter, the score seesawed back and forth. The Irish hit a 3 to start the game, and Sam Narducci answered. The Irish went up by 1 off the foul line, and Patrick Ryan’s foul shot tied it at 4. After a Narducci steal and basket, Camden Catholic hit another 3 to reclaim a 1-point, 7–6 ,lead with just under 5 minutes left in the first. Narducci, who would put 12 of the Dawgs’ 16 quarter points on the board, scored 4 from the line and hit another 3 before the Irish would score again with 2 and change to go, making it 13–9. Daire Roddy closed out the scoring for the first 8 minutes, giving the Dawgs a 7-point, 16–9, advantage going into the second quarter.

The next 8 minutes, the Dawgs’ points all came from the field, off a pair of 3’s from Zach Langan, another trey from Narducci, and 2’s from Narducci and Phil McFillin. At the half, the Dawgs had increased their lead to 9, up 29–20.

However, just like the Garnets wouldn’t go away, neither would, as their name implies, the Fighting Irish. By holding the Dawgs’ to 6 points, on a pair of field goals from Ryan and one from Langan, and adding 9 to their total, Camden Catholic had closed the gap to 6 points, 35–29, going into the last quarter.

Neither team scored the first few trips up and down the court until Ryan went up and in for 2 and got fouled. His foul shot put the Dawgs up again by 9, 38–29, with 6:35 remaining in the game. The Irish were not offput, as they scored 6 straight points, with a pair of field goals and a pair of foul shots, so with 3:30 on the clock, they were within 3, 38–35. Ryan hit 1–2 from the line and after nice defense by Nate Rohlfing, Matt Morris grabbed the defensive board and scored, giving the Dawgs a 41–35 edge with 2:20 to go.

After Camden Catholic made 1–2 from the line, Morris stepped to the line and hit both, upping the lead to 7, 43–36. The Irish got 1 point back on the foul line and after what looked like a horrible foul on Morris—he was standing still and a Camden Catholic player went into him—the Irish got the ball back and scored, cutting the lead to 4, 43–39 with 39.4 left. The last 5 points scored by the Dawgs came from the foul line: Narducci and Morris hit 2 and Roddy hit 1. Although the Irish got one more basket on a 3, the Dawgs, thanks to their 9 made foul shots in the quarter, hung on to win 48–42.

Sam Narducci led the Dawgs with 19 and was the only player for Haddonfield in double digits. Eighteen of Haddonfield’s 49 points came from 3’s, and all six treys came in the first half. Fourteen more were made at the foul line.

West Deptford at Haddonfield: 12/21/23

While I was enjoying the lights and Christmas magic at Longwood Gardens for a slightly belated birthday celebration on 12/19, the Dawgs were lights out at Haddon Township, where they defeated their Liberty Division rival Hawks 67–19, and all the Dawgs’ JV players got into the game. Although the Hawks certainly got pounded, the Haddon Township players might have taken some comfort when their 48-point loss ended up not being the worst conference defeat an opponent would face at the hands of Haddonfield that week. Two days later, another Liberty division member, the West Deptford Eagles, were “bald” over by the Dawgs by 59 points.

Here are the “de-tails”: In the first 8 minutes, the Dawgs outscored the Eagles by 12. Sam Narducci got 8 on a pair of treys and a field goal; Nate Rohlfing went up and in the paint three times; Patrick Ryan hit four foul shots; and Zach Langan added a bucket off an offensive board.

The second quarter got a bit uglier for the Eagles. The Dawgs poured 26 points into the basket while holding West Deptford to 8. Rohlfing continued to pound the paint, adding four more baskets. Matt Morris and Phil McFillin each contributed 9 points, and Narducci’s basket accounted for the final 2 points. Going into the half, the Dawgs were up by 31, 46–15.    

In the third quarter, the Eagles managed to put 10 on the board and the Dawgs “only” got 23 points. Narducci dominated with a pair of treys, two field goals, and a foul shot. Rohlfing could not be stopped in the paint, scoring three more times. Ryan, Roddy, and Langan each made a bucket.

In the fourth, the nonstarters came in to keep up the offensive attack, adding on 26 points. McFillin got three more baskets, and senior guard Mike Feinstein added 5 on a 3-pointer and a 2-pointer. Sophomore guard Mike Douglas hit a 3 and a pair of foul shots; sophomore forward Chris Beane made some pretty moves under the rim to add 6 points; and sophomore forward Jack McKeever hit a 2. I will fully admit that I got the most excited in the fourth quarter when freshman forward Ryan Guveiyian got his first varsity basket as a Dawg, as I have known Ryan since he was a baby, just like I have his older bro and former basketball player Matthew, and current senior Andrew, who just finished up an outstanding season on the soccer field.

When the final horn sounded, the Dawgs had soundly defeated the Eagles 95–36. Sam Narducci led the way with 21 points, Nate Rohlfing knocked in 20, and Phil McFillin added 15. The seven nonstarters who scored contributed 42 of those 95 points. In total, 12 Dawgs at least one basket.

Atlantic City Institute of Technology at Haddonfield: 12/22/23

Teams with bird mascots have not fared too well against the Dawgs so far this season, as the  Red Hawks of ACIT will attest. While the Red Hawks got the first 2 of the game, the 6:18 mark of the first quarter was the one and only time they would have the lead. Sam Narducci answered with a 3, and after a pickoff by Zach Langan, Nate Rohlfing followed with a 2. After another turnover by the Red Hawks, Narducci hit another 3 to make it 8­–2 Dawgs with 5:10 on the clock.

ACIT got its own 3, to get back to within 3, 8–5, but Rohlfing hit a jumper after a nice boxout and defensive rebound, and Daire Roddy’s steal and pass to Narducci pushed the lead back to 7, 12–5. Patrick Ryan got in on the scoring to make it 14–5 before the Red Hawks got another basket. Rohlfing went up and in for 2, and the Red Hawks’ 3 made it 16–10 with 1:59 to go in the quarter. That would be ACIT’s last basket of the quarter, but the Dawgs would put up 7 more points on a foul shot by Narducci, an offensive board and basket by Rohlfing, and another Roddy-to-Narducci play. As the quarter ended, the Dawgs were up by 13, 23–10.

The situation did not improve for the Red Hawks in the next 8 minutes. They managed to put 7 on the board to the Dawgs’ 18. Matt Morris, Phil McFillin, and Mike Douglas came into the game and accounted for 9 of those 18 points. Rohlfing and Narducci each made another field goal, and Langan got a 2 and 3. At the half, the Red Hawks were in the red by 24, down 41–17.

In the third quarter Narducci alone outshot the Red Hawks, going on a tear, knocking down five treys along with two 2’s. Langan added another 3, and Rohlfing got two more baskets in the paint. With a foul shot by Ryan, the Dawgs had poured in 27 points to ACIT’s 8 and were cruising going into the fourth, ahead by several touchdowns, 68–25.

The nonstarters came in for the last 8 minutes and once again, there was no offensive letup. Morris took over for Narducci, making a pair of 3’s, four foul shots, and a 2. McFillin got three baskets and a foul shot, and Douglas got another 2. Mike Feinstein and Chase Stadler each had a 2 and Ryan Guveiyian dropped in a 3. When the buzzer sounded, the Dawgs had won their fifth straight game, , winning by 58, 96–38.

Sam Narducci, who knocked down seven 3’s, finished with an impressive 32 points. Nate Rohlfing’s hard work in the paint got him 16 points. And coming off the bench for good minutes were Matt Morris, who knocked in 15, and Phil McFillin, who added in 11. This time, the nonstarters contributed 37 of the Dawgs’ total points, and 10 players scored at least one basket.

Haddons Invitational—Pemberton Township High School at Haddonfield: 12/27/23

Maybe any team with winged mascots, not just birds, will have a tough time against the Dawgs this year, as the Pemberton Township Hornets would feel the sting of Haddonfield’s offense next. At the onset, though, compared to the previous games, the Dawgs were not putting a lot of balls in the net. Instead, to the aggravation of the fans near me, including the coach and two members of the 1973 state championship basketball team, the Dawgs were turning the ball over more than turning on the offense. This was enabling the Hornets to stay close the first 8 minutes of the game. Even so, Nate Rohlfing’s three buckets under the basket and 2’s from Patrick Ryan and Sam Narducci had the Dawgs out in front by 2, 10–8, as the first quarter ended.

And then it was like a switch was flipped. While turnovers were still more than desired, the offense, spurred by the entry of Matt Morris and Phil McFillin onto the court, came on strong. Morris, often fed by McFillin, made five baskets. Mike Douglas was also a shot in the arm offensively and defensively, as he caused trouble for the Hornets at their end of the court and added a 2 and 3 into the quarter’s tally. McFillin and Narducci also nailed 3’s, and Rohlfing got another field goal in the paint. When the teams headed into the locker room at the half, the Dawgs’ 2-point lead had stretched into a 21-point lead, as the team held the Hornets to 4 points in the second quarter.

In the third, the Dawgs’ scoring barrage slowed a bit, as five players tallied 13 points, including treys from Narducci and Zack Langan. The biggest moment of the third came with 30.4 seconds remaining. That’s when Narducci went down hard after what I think was a pickoff attempt. He remained on the floor for a few minutes, and when he was able to rise, he had to be assisted over to the trainer’s table by two teammates, where he remained for the rest of the game. At last report from one of my inside sources, he had been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and was sporting a boot. It is unlikely at this writing that Narducci will be back in the lineup before the upcoming weekend matchup versus Moorestown.

Because the Dawgs held the Hornets to 6 third-quarter points, they were still up by 28, 46–18, going into the final 8 minutes. The fourth was McFillin’s quarter, as he scored a pair of 2’s and made three foul shots for 7 of the Dawgs’ 18 points. The Hornets finally got buzzing offensively, putting 17 on the board, but it was a case of too little too late. When the clock hit 0:00, the Dawgs had won their sixth straight by a score of 64–35. Matt Morris led all Dawg scorers with 12. Phil McFillin had 11, and Sam Narducci and Nate Rohlfing each added 10.

Haddons Invitational—Egg Harbor Township at Haddonfield: 12/29/23

This was the first game I had to stream this season. And it took some effort because I was unaware that the HMHS athletic department had switched streaming services. While archived games from past seasons can still be accessed on the Dawgs’ YouTube channel, to watch this season’s home games live or after the fact requires the use of the Hudl app. Via your computer or smartphone, you can go directly to the Dawgs’ channel: https://fan.hudl.com/usa/nj/haddonfield/organization/17513/haddonfield-high-school/team/174962/Haddonfield-Boys–Varsity-Basketball/video. From your smart TV, it’s a bit more complicated (at least I haven’t found a shortcut yet): After you add the channel, you have to move to the top line toolbar, where you can choose high school. Then you have to scroll (left to right) to select a state. Once you have clicked on New Jersey, you can look for current (or upcoming within the next day) games by school or go to the second row, labeled Recent, and search for Haddonfield boys or girls. (I just noticed that the game versus Pemberton Township on Friday is mislabeled as being versus Clearview, but if you click on the arrow, it is the Hornets’ game.)

OK, now that those important instructions have been shared, remember what I said about teams with winged mascots?? This second game for the Dawgs in the Haddons Invitational (which consisted of two days of games, not just featuring the Haddonfield girls and boys varsity but teams from the area) was against the Eagles of Egg Harbor Township. The winged mascot “curse” did not come into play early on, as the Eagles got off to a 4–0 start before Phil McFillin, who made an earlier than usual entrance into the game, got the Dawgs on the board at the 3:23 mark. The Eagles landed another basket to go back up by 4, 6–2, before Patrick Ryan grabbed an offensive rebound and went up and in. McFillin would tie it at 6 with 1:46 left in the quarter, and then a few plays later, put the Dawgs up by 2, 8–6, from the foul line. The Eagles got the last shot off, a 3, and the quarter ended with Egg Harbor on top by 1, 9–8.

In the second, Matt Morris, who started in place of Sam Narducci, notched a 3 to give the Dawgs a 2-point, 11–9, lead with less than 30 seconds gone. After a 2 by Egg Harbor tied it with 7:01 on the clock, Mike Douglas nailed a 3 to make it 14–11, Dawgs, in Haddonfield’s next possession. McFillin stretched that advantage to 6 with a 3, but the Eagles responded with their own trey, making it 17–14, Dawgs, with 5:41 to go until the half.

About 30 seconds ticked off the clock before Nate Rohlfing went 1–2 from the line to make it 18–14, Haddonfield. Neither team could get a ball in the net for the next 2 minutes. Ryan broke the mini-scoring drought with a basket, but seconds later, the Eagles got a 2, getting back to within 4, 20–16, with 3:10 showing on the scoreboard. Douglas swooshed in his second 3 of the quarter to give the Dawgs their largest lead of the game, 23–16, with 2:39 left in the half. That would be the last basket of the quarter for Haddonfield, but Egg Harbor got 2 from the floor and 1 from the foul line to close the deficit to 4, 20–16, as the half came to a close.

That 4-point gap was reduced to 2 when Egg Harbor got the first basket of the third quarter at the 7:13 mark. Ryan was fouled after rebounding his own missed shot and made 1–2 from the line. Aftre traveling was called on Egg Harbor, Rohlfing scored on a feed from Ryan, and the Dawgs had edged their lead up to 5, 26–21, with 5:50 left in the quarter. After securing a defensive board, Ryan scored off a pass from Rohlfing to re-establish the Dawgs’ 7-point, putting them up 28–21.

The Eagles got 2 back from the foul line and 2 back from the floor and were back to within 3, 28–25, with just under 5 minutes left in the quarter. Another Rohlfing-to-Ryan play made it 30–23, Haddonfield, with 4 minutes and change left. The Eagles scored, then Morris scored, keeping it a 5-point, 32–27 Dawgs’ edge with 2:34 on the clock. A defensive board by Rohlfing led to another 2 by Morris, pushing the Dawgs back to a 7-point, 34–27, lead with 2:03 to go. A 3 by the Eagles followed McFillin’s 1–2 from the line would be the last point of the quarter, so going into the last 8 minutes of the game, the Dawgs had a lead, but not necessarily a comfortable one, at 35–30.

Although the Eagles would not go quietly, putting 13 more points on the board in the fourth, Morris and McFillin kept the Dawgs out in front. Morris knocked down a 3 and scored two other baskets. McFillin hit a 3 and a 2. Douglas added 3 on a bucket and a foul shot, and Langan also had 2. When the game was over, the Dawgs remained undefeated in the first month of the season, defeating the Egg Harbor Eagles by 11, 54–43. Phil McFillin finished with 15, Matt Morris was right behind him with 14, and Patrick Ryan added 11.

Looking Ahead

The boys start off the New Year with a 7 p.m. Wednesday away game at Paulsboro on 1/3, then host the Sterling at home on Friday, 1/5, at home. Saturday, they play Moorestown at 10:30 at Moorestown. (The original schedule said the game was versus Moorestown but at Holy Spirit, but that has been adjusted to indicate the game is at Moorestown High School.) Let’s hope the Dawgs keep up their winning ways against teams with and without winged mascots!

James E. Smith

Jim Smith is a 1980 graduate of HMHS. He distinguished himself in high school as both a student and an athlete. By the time of his graduation, Jim had established nearly every distance record at HMHS in track and cross country. Among his most memorable achievements was Jim’s Meet of Champions victory in 1979, which has been called one of the greatest races in New Jersey cross-country history.

Jim’s high school achievements were the foreshadowing of an exceptional university experience at Stanford and the career achievements that were to follow. He earned his Bachelor of Science with distinction and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering and a PhD in engineering-economic systems at Stanford University. He was inducted into the Tau Beta Pi and Phi Betta Kappa honor societies. During his undergraduate days, he was a scholarship athlete earning varsity letters ever year in cross-country and track and field. Jim was captain of the 1982 and 1983 cross-country teams and the 1984 track team. In 1984, he competed in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. Along the way Jim set the Stanford school record in the 1500 meter run and was named to the South Jersey Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Today, James E. Smith is the Jack Byrne Distinguished Professor in Decision Science, a position that falls within Dartmouth College’s Jack Byrne Academic Cluster in Mathematics and Decision Science. The Jack Byrne cluster focuses on developing and applying mathematical thinking to societal challenges in fields such as health care, transportation, and manufacturing.

Before moving to Dartmouth, Jim was the J.B. Fuqua Distinguished Professor in Decision Science at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University from 2009 to 2018. He served on Duke’s faculty from 1990-2018. During those nearly thirty years he has taught courses in probability and statistics, decision models, and decision analysis. He has been recognized repeatedly for his excellence as a teacher. Jim received the outstanding faculty award from Duke’s MBA classes in 1993 and 2000 and was a finalist for the award in 1992, 1995 and 1998. He was also twice cited for teaching awards for core courses in 2010 and 2014. He has been honored by Duke with the Bank of America Faculty Award in 2004. This award is Fuqua School’s highest faculty honor and is given for outstanding contributions to the school in terms of teaching, research, leadership, and service.

Professor Brian Tomlin, Jim’s colleague at Dartmouth observed, “I was ecstatic when we convinced Jim to leave Duke and join Dartmouth. I already knew Jim was an exceptional researcher. We also got an exceptional teacher. An MBA student at Dartmouth was asked by a reporter what her favorite course was. Her response: “Analytics with Professor Jim Smith. Analytics is a notoriously challenging first-year course, but Jim did an incredible job breaking down concepts and encouraging each of us to keep trying and keep supporting each other in our learning journeys.”

Professor Smith’s research interests center on decision analysis. He has published some thirty-nine papers in juried journals. In 2008, he received the Frank P. Ramsey Medal for distinguished contributions to the decision analysis field. He was named a William and Sue Gross Distinguished Research Scholar. On four occasions he has been recognized by INFORMS for the best publication on Decision Analysis (1995, 1997, 2000, 2013).

Jim has provided extensive external service to his profession. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Management Science, Operations Research, and Decision Analysis. He is active with INFORMS’ Decision Analysis Society and served as its president from 2008-10. He has served on numerous advisory panels, research councils and committees especially related to energy and energy efficiency. Similarly, Jim has served on over thirty university task forces, committees and panels at Duke and Dartmouth.

Professor David Brown who was recruited to Duke University by Jim and counts him as a mentor shared this thought, ”An Einstein quote that reminds me of Jim is, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”. Jim’s career revolves around thinking deeply and clearly about highly complex problems, and he is exceptional at it. Learning to distill the complex into the simple is invaluable for educators and thought leaders. Jim’s mentorship has taught me that and so much more. He is a person of great accomplishment and integrity, who is remarkably down to earth. He is widely respected as a scholar, mentor, teacher and friend.”

Jim lives in Norwich Vermont with his wife Lori Carswell. Lori currently works at Vermont Adult Learning, helping people earn their high school diplomas or GED.

Jim and Lori have two daughters: Alison, 30, is a second-year medical resident in internal medicine at Duke University. Casey, 28, is a lawyer with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project and lives in Brooklyn.

Nancy Kirby

Nancy Kirby, a 1956 HMHS alumna touches our past in some unique ways. Born in Haddonfield, she attended an integrated kindergarten, and moved on to the still-segregated two-room Lincoln Avenue School. She attributes her excellence as a student to her tutelage under a revered Haddonfield educator, Mrs. Theresa Marvel Dansbury.

At HMHS, she surprised her high school guidance counselors by applying and being accepted with a full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania. Her mother had other plans for Nancy, and she attended Bennett, an historically black women’s college, in Greensboro, NC. It was here that she took her first powerful steps as a civil rights advocate.

Nancy was a member of the NAACP chapter that was active at Bennett. When a group of four male students from North Carolina A and T were denied service at a local Woolworth’s lunch counter, the women from Bennett’s NAACP chapter organized the sit-in that followed. Despite her mother and grandmother’s directive to stay out of it, warning that, “We already have tickets to graduation”, Nancy followed her conscience, participated in the sit-in and was arrested for disorderly conduct, trespassing, and disturbing the peace.

She graduated from Bennett College in 1960 with a dual major in psychology and sociology. Nancy took her first position with the New Jersey Bureau of Child Services supporting families in crisis. Her work with parents helped many families avoid having children placed in the foster care system.

While working in that role, Nancy earned her Master in Social Science from the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research in 1965. She moved on to Temple Hospital where she served five years as a social worker supporting maternal and infant care and was later promoted to Head Social Worker for Outpatient Services at Temple. Nancy was offered an opportunity in women’s reproductive health and moved on to serve as the Director of Social Services at Planned Parenthood Philadelphia for three years.

In the early 1970’s, Nancy began working at the college and university level. She accepted a faculty appointment in the Department of Sociology at Beaver College, now Arcadia University. She was the first African-American to be offered tenure at Beaver. In 1979, Bryn Mawr College beckoned and she spent the next thirty-one years at the college, teaching, supervising students in field placements, and as Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at Bryn Mawr’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research until her retirement in 2010.

One example of Nancy’s advocacy for students was offered by Philadelphia’s Poet Laureate, Trapeta Mayson who delivered the commencement address for Bryn Mawr’s 2021 graduate degree recipients. In her speech, Ms. Mayson spoke of the grace and kindness she and her sister received as social work graduate students in the mid ’90s, and especially the grace offered by then-admissions director Nancy Kirby, who “looked at me and my sister and … didn’t see us as needy Black girls from a poor neighborhood with an ill mother,” but as “two smart young women who would add value to this College.”

Nancy Kirby has been taking care of people from womb to tomb her entire adult life. In addition to her fifty-year career in social work, she has engaged in extensive community service which reflects an ongoing involvement with advocacy and commitment to social justice issues. She has been a board member for several not-for-profit organizations including Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Spectrum Health Services Inc. She has been a trustee for Inglis House that enables people with disabilities and their caregivers to live life to the fullest. Similarly, she served the UUHouse Outreach Program that works on behalf of adults over 60 to achieve independence and dignity living at home. As a trustee with the Valentine Foundation, she and her fellow trustees identified and nurtured organizations that empowered young women and girls. Her commitment to these organizations has been longstanding including her nearly 29-year commitment to the Douty Foundation, where as a trustee she supports “an organization that fosters equitable opportunities for children and youth.”

Nancy resides in Haverford, PA and continues to serve as a docent for her church, Mother Bethel AME at 6 th and Lombard in Philadelphia which sits on the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans in the United States.

Dyann Waugh

Dr. Dyann Waugh is a 1964 graduate of Haddonfield Memorial High School. Her father, Dr. Bascom Waugh, was the first African-American doctor to join the medical staff at Cooper in 1950. A World War II Veteran, Dr. Waugh was a flight surgeon for the 332nd Fighter Group, the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. He practiced medicine in Camden for over forty years and his family settled in Haddonfield in 1952.

At HMHS Dyann flourished in her study of Latin, French, Biology and English. She acknowledged that Physics and Chemistry were the bane of her high school career, so much so that she “kinda gave up on that dream” of becoming a physician.

At American University, Dr. Waugh earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and was admitted to a Ph.D. program in that field. Deferring her decision for graduate school, Dyann and her husband joined the Peace Corps in 1969. She was sent to a small rural village in Kenya, some fifty miles from the nearest city. She taught English for two years at a “harambe” school built by the villagers, supervised local census takers for the 1969 Kenya Census and administered immunizations in the smallpox eradication project. Dyann shared that, “This was a very formative experience for me, I had the opportunity to work in a different culture…and it gave me time to think about what I wanted to do when I got back.”

Her return led her to graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park where she completed a Master of Science in Nutrition in 1973. She began consulting with physicians and crafting dietary improvement plans for young professionals. Although the work was gratifying, she sensed that she would be taken more seriously if she had a medical degree. Returning to school, Dr. Waugh earned her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1977 from Howard University. Six years later she would add to her impressive credentials with a second Master of Science in Occupational Health from Johns Hopkins.

Occupational and environmental medicine focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of occupation and environment related illnesses. Dr. Waugh’s early career in occupational medicine involved work with local hospitals in Baltimore and with OSHA before moving to the United States Postal Service in 1987. Her career at USPS spanned some thirty-two years with Dyann assuming increasing responsibility moving from Medical Officer, Associate Area Medical Director, Senior Medical Director and Associate Medical Director responsible for several states including Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.

Her expertise in occupational and environmental medicine has led her to shoulder responsibilities associated with some major challenges that the nation has faced including terrorist threats, biohazard detection, and NARCAN distribution. In 2001, Dr. Waugh was recognized with the Vice President’s Award which recognizes “superior contributions or individual achievement deserving of system wide recognition” for her work related to the anthrax attack and the subsequent shut down, clean-up and reopening of the DC post office. Her colleague, Dr. Devesh Karjanpane, characterized this as a monumental undertaking. He wrote, “Dr. Waugh has the skills of a master stateswoman. She brought greatly differing parties to a collaborative agreement without compromising sound medical principles. Dr. Waugh’s compassion extended impartially, and winning the game was just not the primary objective. Doing right was.”

After her retirement from the USPS, Dr. Waugh continued to practice medicine including time as an Occupational Medicine Consultant for USPS during the pandemic.

Dyann remains very active in her community of Hyattsville, MD. She is a member of the Health Ministry and Gospel Choir at First United Methodist Church; performs with Rafiki na Dada, an a capella women’s group that sings songs of the African diaspora, serves as a board member for ECO City Farms and participates in the Bridging Cultural Gaps Book Club of Hyattsville. Dyann also serves her community as a member of the Hyattsville Health, Wellness and Recreation Committee, where she has organized presentations on the health effects of climate change, plant-based eating, indoor air pollution, and mental health first aid training for residents.

Through her long and distinguished career Dr. Waugh has made the time to be a nurturing mother to her now grown children and the life companion to her husband, the Honorable Mayor Robert Croslin, of Hyattsville, MD.

Jack O’Malley

Jack O’Malley ’81 was a multi-sport athlete at HMHS who earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson University in 1985. His career path took him into the business world where he has carved out a highly successful career in sales.

From 1985-1995, Jack rose to Sales Manager at Lever Brothers and was recognized as District Salesman of the Year, Unit Manager of the Year, and Acme Markets Vendor of the Year. Over the next several years, Jack was employed by a Colgate Palmolive subsidiary where he was an award-winning Business Development Manager and later Regional Sales Director.

Declining an opportunity to move with the company to Texas, he remained local working for Bayer in Sales Management. He earned several more awards for his work including the President’s Star Award as the top field sales manager in the US.

Jack is also co-owner of John F. O’Malley LLC, a fourth-generation transportation company that moves the luggage and equipment of the Phillies and visiting teams between the airport and stadium.

While all the above makes for a very successful busines career, there are few lifelong residents of Haddonfield, who have contributed as much service or volunteered as selflessly as Jack O’Malley. Since 1992, he has coached numerous youth sports teams, including those of his children, but also many teams on which his own children didn’t play, including Little League, Pigtail Softball, Youth Basketball, Youth Soccer, Youth Football and Haddonfield girls’ travel basketball teams.

While coaching, Jack has also been an active member of several athletics-based boards in town, including the HMHS Athletic Hall of Fame Committee (committee member since 2006 and President since 2011); Haddonfield Youth Soccer Board Vice President (1998 – 2013); Haddonfield Youth Basketball Association, HYBA (2001-present), Founding Member and was Vice President; Haddonfield Recreation Council (2000 – present) and finally board member for Haddonfield Youth Football and Cheerleading (2012 – 2014).

In addition to volunteering for sports-related organizations, Jack has served on numerous committees and boards including the BOE formed Community Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC) of which he was a member from 2008-2010 and helped create our Drexel Partnership and reinstitute Tuition Student Programs; the Turf Field Committee from 2010–2013, where he helped raise more than $600,000 for two turf fields at HMHS; the “One Haddonfield” committee in support of the Bancroft Referendum that was defeated by a narrow margin (2013), of which he was a founder and Chairman; The Haddonfield Civic Association (2014 – present); The Boxwood Hall Committee (2016-2017, a group of dedicated local citizens looking to create an Performing Arts Center at the current vacant property). Most recently Jack has served as a Board Member for The Haddonfield Foundation (2018 – Present), including assuming the role of President in 2020. Jack’s dedication and countless hours of service to civic causes was recognized by the Haddonfield Civic Association in 2014 who presented him with the Alfred E. Driscoll Community Service Award.

Jack also serves as a Deacon at The First Presbyterian Church of Haddonfield. In his work with the church, Jack has organized, chaperoned and helped fund the First Presbyterian Youth Mission trips annually since 2015. In 2023, Jack led the youth mission volunteers to rural central Appalachia where they spent a week repairing homes for low-income families. Lisa Wolschina, local businesswoman and past lifetime achievement award winner said, “Jack O’Malley has a special gift of finding some common ground/thread with anybody so all people can feel comfortable around him. I spent a week with him this past summer on a mission trip to Tennessee.  Thanks to Jack, I learned about ripping up floors, I cried for people in very difficult situations, and I laughed every day. This world needs more Jack O’Malley’s.“

Outside of local community service, Jack is also an ardent supporter of Autism Speaks, helping team “Rally for O’Malley” raise over $300,000 for autism research since 1999. He is also a long- time member at Tavistock Country Club and serves on both the Entertainment and Golf Committees.

Jack and his wife Ginger have 3 children: Paige, 30 (Philadelphia), Johnny, 29 (Haddonfield), and Patrick, 26 (Chicago). Fortunately for us, he continues to reside in Haddonfield.

Ari Palitz

Ari Palitz spent the first eleven years of his life growing up as a city kid. He lived on 86 th Street in Manhattan surrounded by four movie theaters that would leave a lasting impression on him. Growing up on Star Wars and Superman, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.

Ari came to Haddonfield and spent six years of his middle and high school education in the Haddonfield Public Schools. He went on to the University of Pittsburgh graduating in 1996 with a major in film and communications.

With a group of his Pitt friends, he moved to New York intent on making his mark in the film industry. He attended the Robert Di Niro School of Film while trying to break into the business. Ari acknowledged that the biggest challenge was “getting in the loop”, meeting and connecting with other working film and production professionals, finding consistent work and learning on the job. “We were all willing to be the guy who just gets coffee, if that got our foot in the door”.

Much of his early work was as a production assistant and then later a producer and director of music videos and commercials. He also began to produce and direct short films such as “Another Day in the Life” for MTV, and Temple Street Blues.

In 2000, Ari moved to Hollywood. As an independent filmmaker, Ari produced a low-budget action thriller called Pit Fighter. Universal Studios liked his work and offered him a contract. He produced his first of thirteen feature films in 2002 at Universal Studios where he also directed Unbeatable Harold in 2005. Soon after Palitz teamed up with director, Zak Penn for the mockumentary, The Grand, starring Woody Harrelson.

In 2010, Ari returning to his music video roots, produced the live action elements for Arcade Fire’s “The Wilderness Downtown,” directed by Chris Milk.  This interactive video went on to win the Gran Prix at the 2011 Cannes advertising awards in the Cyber category as well as the FWA (favorite website of the year) Award.  It became a turning point for Ari, who turned his full creative energy to working with new technologies like virtual reality.

Some of his most powerful pieces of film have come from his work as a producer in Branded Documentary that encompass both strong story and high production value, including the Toyota film series that documented the journey of NASA’s Shuttle Endeavor through the streets of LA, which won four Golden Lion awards, Shaun White’s documentary “Road to Sochi” for NBC, Producer of Hank: Five Years From The Brink.

Ari made a significant mark in the world of Virtual Reality story-telling, working as a producer with Here Be Dragons, Clouds over Sidra, Waves of Grace, “The Possible” series, U2’s “Song for Someone”, New York Times “Take Flight”, and 30 episodes of TRVLR for Discovery VR and Google.

Ari is also the co-director of the virtual reality documentaries, “My Mother’s Wing”, “Ground Beneath Her”, “Listening to the Universe” and, “The Last Goodbye” which premiered at the Tribeca and Venice Film Festivals in 2017 and in 2018. The Last Goodbye’s concept was both simple and ambitious: to have a concentration camp survivor, Pinchas Gutter, guide the viewer in a tour of Madjanek Concentration Camp in Poland where Pinchas was interned over seven decades ago. This film won the Lumiere Award for Best VR Documentary Jury Prize, 2 Webbys and the AICP Next Award for Virtual Reality.

In February, 2020, the Time Warner film, The March had its debut at the DuSable Museum of African American History. Ari served as lead producer for this immersive virtual-reality project and museum exhibition, which offers audiences an unprecedented opportunity to experience the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In partnership with the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which granted development rights to TIME for the project, The March marks the first-ever virtual depiction of Dr. King.

Over the past two years Ari has served StoryFiles as its Chief Creative Officer. StoryFiles is the inventor of conversational video and has recently created interactive projects with Mother Fletcher and Mother Randle, the oldest surviving witnesses of the Tulsa Massacre, as well as with Andrew Young and Star Trek’s William Shatner.

Continuing to experiment with virtual reality, conversational video and AI, Ari directed “Lovebirds of the Twin Towers” (2021) and Tell Me Inge (2023) (an interactive conversation with a holocaust survivor).

He currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Narrator Studio. With his wife and two daughters, he currently resides in Tulsa, OK where he continues to do ground-breaking work.

By Lauree Padgett / Exclusive to Haddonfield[dot]Today

It was another four-game week for the Haddonfield boys basketball team. And you know what that meant: another four wins! The Dawgs beat three Conference opponents and a local team that’s been a fly in their ointment for a while to extend their winning streak to 15 and give them an overall record of 21–3 as they head into the final week of conference play.

Alas, I did not see the big game Saturday, 2/4, when the Dawgs went up against the Moorestown Quakers in the Holy Cross Academy Showcase. (I was attending my grand-nieces’ first birthday party, which was a pretty big deal too.) But I will share some details gleaned from an article by Kevin Minnick for NJ.com and some comments from those who were able to attend. But first, here’s a look at how this past week unfolded …

Game 1: Haddonfield at Haddon Township, 1/31/23

In the second meeting of these two Liberty division contenders, the Hawks tied the game on two foul shots at the 4:20 mark after Teddy Bond had gotten two from the line for the Dawgs a few plays earlier. After a jumper by Daire Roddy made it 4–2, Haddonfield, Haddon Township answered with a field goal of its own to again bring the match even at 4 with 3:15 left in the quarter. That would be the last tie of the game. Patrick Ryan’s determination gave him three chances to score, and the third time was the charm, putting the Dawgs up 6–4 with 2:49 on the clock. Sam Narducci hit two straight 3’s to push the Dawgs’ lead up to 12–4 with 1:11 to go. The Hawks broke their mini drought with a basket ahead of the buzzer, making it 12–6 in favor of the visitors going into the second quarter.

Foul shots by Nate Rohlfing (2) and Roddy (1) and another field goal by Ryan upped the Dawgs’ lead to 16­–6 in the first 90 seconds of the next 8 minutes of play. The Hawks got a bucket before Narducci hit another trey and Rohlfing got 2 at one time on a nice feed from Bond, and with about 4 minutes left in the quarter, Haddonfield was up by 16, 24­–8. The Hawks got back-to-back baskets, a 3 and a 2, but the Dawgs were still up by double digits, 24-13 with 2:50 until the half. A pretty overhand drive by Matt Morris was followed by another 3 by Haddon Township, and with the score Haddonfield 26, Haddon Township, 16, a timeout was called with 2:20 on the clock.

A bit of messy play followed on both sides. The Dawgs lost the ball on a bad pass. Under the Hawk basket, the Dawgs blocked two shots, sending the ball out of bounds both times. A pickoff by Roddy led to a foul called against Haddon Township that sent Narducci to the line. He hit 1–2. After the Hawks lost the ball out of bounds, Narducci went into the paint for 2 off a pass from Bond. The Hawks, who had some nice looks from behind the arc, hit a 3 for the final basket of the half. Heading into the locker room, the Dawgs were ahead by 10, 29–19.

The Dawgs’ offense really kicked in during the third quarter. While the defense held the Hawks to 8 points, the Dawgs put 25 on the board. Ryan, Narducci, Roddy, and Rohlfing had two buckets each, with Narducci’s coming off a foul shot and a 3. Morris hit a 3 as well, and Zack Langan put up 6 points on a pair of field goals and a pair of foul shots. When the period ended, the Dawgs were up by 27, 54–27.

Even with the starters and regular subs out for a good part of the fourth quarter, the Dawgs still added 20 points to their score and held the Hawks to 7 points. Bond hit 2 treys, sophomore Lear Fuller made a bucket and a foul shot, and freshman Chris Beane (I believe in past articles I misidentified his year) added 5 with two field goals and a foul shot. Joe Tedeschi sank a pair of foul shots, and Morris and Rohlfing each had one more field goal. When the horn sounded, the Dawgs had beat up the Hawks by 40, 74–34. Narducci led the Dawgs with 14, and Ryan and Rohlfing both had 10.

Quarter Scores:

Player Scores:

Game 2: West Deptford at Haddonfield, 2/2/23

This was Senior Night. Several of the “cheer squad” (formerly known as the cheerleaders) members are seniors and were recognized with their parents or guardians, but only one current Dawg will be moving on come June: Teddy Bond. Especially after his 10-trey performance the week before, I thought Teddy was deserving of some extra ink, so make sure you find the sidebar, “Ties That Bond” for the responses he gave me about what it’s been like being the sole senior on the team this year and what has made the Dawgs so tough against the competition.

Appropriately, Bond knocked down three 3’s in the first 8 minutes of the game. Narducci added a trey and a 2, Ryan had a trio of 2’s and Langan had a bucket as well. This was why the Dawgs were up by 8, 22–14, after 1. In the second quarter, the Dawgs put up another 22 on the board, but their defense held the Eagles to 7 points. The first 2 came off their initial possession of the game, which cut the Dawgs’ lead to 6, 22-16. However, the Dawgs then went on a 15–0 run that went like this:

Morris hit a 3. West Deptford didn’t score. Narducci hit a 3. West Deptford, deterred by nice “D” by Rohlfing, did not score. Ryan drove into the paint and scored off a feed by Roddy. Before West Deptford had a chance to not score again, Narducci picked off the ball, and after some solid Dawg passing, he hit a jumper. Narducci got the defensive board after West Deptford did not score, the Eagles were charged with their second foul of the half, and Rohlfing had a pretty drop-in.  He then blocked a shot at the other end, which is why West Deptford did not score on that possession. And as he did to start the run, Morris hit a 3. At the 3:36 mark, the Dawgs were up by 21, 37–16.

The Eagles finally did score on an offensive rebound off another Rohlfing blocked shot, and after Haddonfield finally did not score, the Eagles did again. With 2:31 remaining in the half, however, the Dawgs were still in command, 38–20. A few plays later, a real scramble on the floor ensued that ended with Morris on the bottom of the heap with the ball. Bond was on the other end of the line to inbound the ball. He made a cross-court pass to Rohlfing, who made an uncontested basket, making it 40–20 with about 2 minutes left. Rohlfing would score the last 2 baskets of the half, with a 1–2 from the foul line by the Eagles sandwiched in between. When the teams walked off the court, the Dawgs were up by more than twice the Eagles’ score, 44–21.

In the third quarter, the Eagles outscored the Dawgs by 2, 14–12, but even so, going into the final 8 minutes of play, the Dawgs were still on top by 21, 56–35. That 2-point differential flipped back to the Dawgs in quarter 4, as they scored 13 points to the Eagles’ 11. When it was all said and done, the Dawgs had won their 13th straight game (which is not so coincidentally Teddy Bond’s number) by 25, 69–44. Ryan and Rohlfing (doesn’t that sound like a great name for a law firm?) each had 13. Number 13 himself, however, finished with 14.

Quarter Scores:

Player Scores:

SIDEBAR:

Ties That Bond

My first recollections of Teddy Bond are from seeing him at games with his parents Rich and Susie watching his oldest brother Richie (2016) play for the Dawgs. One of Richie’s biggest games was against Haddon Heights his senior year. The Garnets had been ahead the whole game, which was at Haddonfield, but Richie hit a basket with 6 seconds left to put the Dawgs on top by 1, 71–70, and secured a come-from-behind victory. Brother Will, who graduated 2 years later in 2018, was on the first of the Dawgs’ 2018 and 2019 back-to-back state championship teams. Will broke his wrist early in the season, but came back to contribute important minutes in the Dawgs’ run to the Group 2 state title.

So when I asked Teddy if seeing his brothers on the court contributed to him having his own basketball career for the Dawgs, I wasn’t surprised by his response. “Growing up watching Richie and Will definitely influenced me to play basketball. Going to all their games growing up and watching how much fun they had always seemed like a good deal to me. I knew Coach Wiedeman and the system coming into it so it was perfect.”

I also wanted to know what it’s been like for Teddy being the only senior on a team that is made up primarily of juniors (11) along with a sophomore and two freshmen. He told me, “It’s definitely been weird being the only senior, but it works out though.” Because the juniors had been playing so long together, he knew it wasn’t going to be an issue coming into the season.

I’ve been noticing a lot lately that when the team comes back out onto the court after a timeout, especially when it’s later in the game, Teddy is talking to his teammates. I asked if that has been self-directed or if the coaches have been encouraging him. It sounds like it’s been a little bit of both: “After timeouts, I usually try to get the guys together to talk about what I see or how we can attack the other team better. I try to make sure they all have level heads and are calm coming back onto the court because I know for a lot of them, it’s their first year playing on the varsity level. It’s a small thing I try to do to keep everyone together.” He added that coaches Paul Wiedeman and Anthony Parenti are always pushing him to be the best leader he can be. “I credit the small things like that to them.”

Next, I was curious as to what he thinks helped turn the team around after the two losses early in January to Sterling and Hammonton. He said he’s not sure if there’s just one thing that’s contributing to the year the Dawgs are having. “Our team is just a brotherhood. No one plays for themselves; we all play for each other. From playing together in the summer to now, our bonds have really grown, and now we are just having fun with it. It’s a true family with our team and we all trust one another to have our backs in war. I have never been a part of something like this before and it’s truly special.”

Speaking of fun, how fun is it, I wanted to know, playing pressure defense, especially going up against teams like Mainland, who clearly didn’t know what hit them? Teddy confirmed that they are having really good time defensively. “We are running around creating havoc for the other team and winning games because of it. Our tight-knit defense is credited toward Coach [Brian] Stafford and it’s awesome. It took a little bit to get used to early in the season, but once we figured it out, everything has just come easy.” I found out that Teddy and Daire Roddy have come up with a catchy name for their defense: “Havoc at Haddonfield.” This, he explains, is because the players know the other team won’t know what to run against them. “We take away the three balls, the drive, the post up, really everything.”

Of course I wanted to find out what was going through Teddy’s mind during the Camden Tech game, which was the first game in the Camden County Tournament, when he was on fire with the 3’s and tied Andrew Gostovich for 10 in one game. “Monday’s game [1/23] was for sure one I will remember forever.” He admits that he was nervous toward the end when he started to get close, but credits his teammates with helping him to tie it. “It was a surreal feeling being able to do something special with that group of guys. If it wasn’t for my teammates, coaches, parents, and everyone involved, I don’t think I would have been able to do it. It’s not my record, it’s our record.”

Whenever it happens (and let’s hope for later rather than sooner) and Teddy walks off the court for the last time as a Dawg, it will be an end of a Bond era at Haddonfield. I know I’m speaking for all Dawgs fans when I wish Teddy the best as he goes onto the University of Mississippi (aka Ole Miss) to study economics. Maybe during his winter breaks, he’ll come back and sit in the stands again to cheer on the Dawgs like he did when he was little. (Sniff.)

END SIDEBAR

Game 3: Haddonfield vs. Moorestown at Holy Cross Academy Prep Showcase, 2/4/23

This is the game I missed due to my little nieces’ first birthday party. I did not know that going into the game on Saturday, the Quakers were ranked 20th in the state, with a record of 15–4. That doesn’t sound that impressive, but according to my astute travel buddy, this was based more on the toughness of their schedule than the number of wins versus losses. I also had forgotten (blocked out, more than likely) the tough Tournament of Champions game in 2019 that Haddonfield lost by 1 point, 59–60, to the Quakers, as well as another close but no-win game against Moorestown in a previous Holy Cross Prep Showcase …

My travel buddy kept me posted during the game. The first few texts did not sound too encouraging. “12–7 them  [end of] 1st.” Then, “Whoops. 20-12 them start of 3rd.” However, the next communique was much more promising: “25–22 us [end of] 3rd.” It was nerve-wracking waiting for news, so I finally texted, “Update?” “35–31 us 12 seconds [to go] our ball” came the reply. And then came the best text: “37–31 we win.” “Whoop!” I responded.

It wasn’t until another friend texted and told me this was a “huge win,” especially because of Moorestown’s ranking, that I realized the Dawgs really had pulled off an upset and had not just had an impressive, come-from-behind victory.

I was hoping this game would be available as a stream on (or off) YouTube but that wasn’t the case. While as a non-subscriber I couldn’t access it the day of the game, I was able to read the full article by NJ.com’s Kevin Minnick the next day, titled “Haddonfield Turns Up the Heat, Upends No. 20 Moorestown in Holy Cross Prep Showcase.”

One of his first sentences captures what I think a lot of Dawg fans have been saying the last several weeks: “Allowing just 36 points per game, it’s the defensive intensity that has fueled the offense and allowed Haddonfield to enjoy significant success this winter.” That’s how, in the second half, the Dawgs were able to turn an 8-point deficit at the start of the third into a 3-point edge at the end of it. My travel buddy told me at Sunday’s game how the Dawgs just came out in the second half and kicked up the defense, which is how they held the Quakers to 2 third quarter points. I found out from Minnick’s article that the Dawgs not only shut down the Quakers offensively, it enabled them to go on a 10–0 run to start the quarter, thanks in part to two straight 3’s by Teddy Bond and Zach Langan

The fourth quarter must have been intense, as Moorestown tried to mount a comeback but came up short. The Dawgs outscored them by 3, giving them a 6-point, 37–31, victory. Minnick noted that only Patrick Ryan reached double digits for either team, with 10 for Haddonfield. But all those other points sure mattered. And it meant Haddonfield was now riding a 14-game winning streak.

Game 4: Gloucester City at Haddonfield, Camden County Tournament, Round 2, 2/5/23

The game against Moorestown was over a little after 5 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday at 10 a.m., the boys were back on their (home) court, going up against a Colonial Patriot opponent, the Gloucester City Lions, whom the Dawgs had beaten on 1/11, also at home, rather handily, 62–36. Two key questions would be addressed in this game: Would the Dawgs be still savoring their upset of the Quakers? And would they have the stamina to play another game 15 hours after the previous one ended?

The first question was answered pretty quickly. The boys did not seem to be focused on anything but the game at hand, which was good to see. As for fatigue, that the game started on a steal and a 2-point basket by the Lions was an indication that it was going to be a factor. Just how much of one remained to be seen.

Patrick Ryan tied the game at 2 on a pair of foul shots, and after pulling down an offensive board a possession later, he set up a basket by Daire Roddy, which put the Dawgs up 4–2 with 6:08 on the clock. After a combined steal by Sam Narducci and Roddy, Teddy Bond got his own offensive rebound and scored, making it 6–2, Haddonfield about 25 seconds later.

The Lions got a point back from the foul line, and after the Dawgs turned over the ball on a 3-second call, the Lions shot off an air ball. The Dawgs missed their next shot and did not make a good effort for an offensive rebound. At the other end, Gloucester City did get a second-chance shot, which dropped, bringing them to within 1, 6–5, with 3:45 left in the quarter.

The Dawgs missed both shots from the foul line, but the Lions lost the ball out of bounds. Zach Langan, who has been quietly hitting big shots when the Dawgs need one, nailed a 3, and at the other end, Bond clamped down on the rebound. Narducci missed a shot but fought hard to get the board and was rewarded with a basket. That put the Dawgs up by 6, 11–5, at the 2:30 mark and Gloucester City called a timeout.

They followed their timeout with a basket, but Ryan answered with one under the Dawg basket, keeping it a 6-point, 13–7, Haddonfield advantage with 1:53 left. The Dawgs missed two shots, Langan stole the ball, but the Dawgs missed another shot, which was a sign of “tired legs syndrome.” The Lions were going for the last shot of the quarter, but Langan stole the ball again, but without time for anything but a heave toward the other end of the court, so the quarter ended with the Dawgs still up 13–7.

The second quarter started with Gloucester City inbounding and failing to score. Nate Rohlfing, just in the game, got his first basket off an offensive rebound and pass from Roddy, making it 15–7, Dawgs with about 30 seconds gone in the quarter. Bond got a blocked shot, Matt Morris, also making his first appearance in the game, pulled down a board, but the Dawgs were called for an offensive foul. Bond got a rebound and Morris, in traffic under the basket, hesitated before going up and in, throwing off his defenders and resulting in 2 points for Haddonfield. This gave the Dawgs their first double-digit lead, 17–7. With 5:56 on the clock, Gloucester City took a timeout. Again the timeout did not lead to a basket. Morris got another board, and Langan was fouled driving to the basket. He stepped to the line and with his high-arching shots, found nothing but net, making it 19–7, Dawgs.

The Lions’ first basket of the second was a 3, but it was quickly followed by a Roddy-to-Rohlfing play that gave Rohlfing his second field goal of the quarter. Roddy then got a steal and Bond made a nifty bounce pass to Langan, who got 2 this time from the floor. With 3:47 remaining in the half, the Dawgs might have been a bit tired, but were still ahead by 13, 23–10. The Lions got another basket, and then so did Rohlfing, keeping a 13-point game, 25–12, with 2:32 on the clock.

The Lions then started closing in a bit on the Dawgs. After a field goal, and a missed Haddonfield shot, a foul sent the Lions to the line, where both shots were good. The Dawgs missed another shot while the Lions made another one. With 1:16 left in the game, the Lions were back to within 6, 25–19. Neither team scored their next possession. Bond secured the defensive board for Haddonfield and got an assist on the 2-pointer from Morris with about 29 seconds left in the half. The Lions were waiting for a final shot, but it did not go in so when the buzzer sounded, the Dawgs had an 8-point, 27–19 halftime edge.

I don’t think anyone in the stands (and there weren’t as many, understandably, on a Sunday morning than there usually are for an evening game) was too worried, even though it was fairly clear that the boys weren’t playing at full tilt this game. But when the third quarter started and the Lions were keeping pace with the Dawgs, it didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that the Dawgs might be in for another fight.

With 6:49 on the clock and the Dawgs still unable to get beyond a 6-point lead, up 29–23, Langan hit another one of his 3’s. Gloucester City said, “Hey, nice shot. Look at our 3,” and it remained a 6-point, 32–26, game. The next trip down the court, Langan handed the ball off to Bond, who hit a 3, pushing the Dawgs’ lead to 9, 35–26, with 5:30 to go in the third. Neither team scored for a few possessions, then the Lions got a field goal with 4:04 on the clock, cutting the Dawg lead back to 7, 35–28. Narducci stole the ball, but his shot did not drop. Bond recovered the ball and put it up and in, giving the Dawgs a 9-point advantage again. That didn’t last long, as the Lions hit a 3, and the lead slipped back down to 6, 37–31, with 3 and change left in the quarter.

The Dawgs, in the person of Ryan, got the next 6 points of the game. The first came off a feed from Roddy in which Ryan made a nice pivot to put the ball in the net. The next 2 points came off foul shots, and put the Dawgs up by 10, 41–31, with 2:01 to go. After Langan was called for a foul on what looked like an all-ball move, there were several boos from the crowd (we might have been small, but we were loud). The Lions called a timeout and after inbounding, the teams played hot potato with the ball. Haddonfield wound up with it, and Ryan scored once more on a pass from Roddy, making it a 12-point, 43–31, Dawg advantage.

The Lions lost the ball out of bounds, and Langan forced a foul going in for a basket. He made 1–2 from the line. Bond got the offensive board, Gloucester picked it off, but Bond blocked the shot at the other end of the court, and it went out of bounds off the Lions with about 26 seconds left. Langan set Ryan up this time, and he was fouled while in the act of scoring. His foul shot swoosh in, and with 4.8 seconds on the clock, the Dawgs had shaken off their tired legs syndrome and were up by 16, 47–31.

After putting 20 points on the board in the third and holding Gloucester City to 12, the Dawgs got 19 more points in the last 8 minutes, holding the Lions again to a dozen. Out of those 19, Rohlfing got 9, and Jack Walters and Mike Feinstein each hit a 3. Morris got one more field goal and Narducci made 2 from the foul line. The final score was Haddonfield 66, Gloucester City 43. That the Dawgs were able to pull away in the second half and win by 23 was a statement in and of itself about the determination of its players, even when they are not playing at 100% strength.

Ryan and Rohlfing each scored 15 points. Langan followed with 11. This win advances the Dawgs to the next round of the Camden County tournament, which is scheduled to be played at Sterling on Saturday, 2/11, at 4 p.m. As of Sunday night, the Dawgs’ online schedule was not indicating who the Dawgs will be going up against.

Quarter Scores:

Player Scores:

The Dawgs go into the final week of the regular season 21–3 overall and 12–1 in Colonial Conference play; within the Liberty division, they are 6–1 and tied with Sterling, who suffered a 46–55 defeat at the hands of Haddon Heights (yay Garnets!) on 1/31. Haddonfield plays away (game time 7 p.m.) on Tuesday versus the Red Raiders of Paulsboro, who are in the Patriot division. On Thursday, Sterling, who gave Haddonfield its only Liberty loss, comes to town. If Sterling can handle Haddon Township on Tuesday, this second meeting Thursday between the Dawgs and the Silver Knights will determine who wins the Liberty crown. So, Dawgs fans, come to the gym on Thursday (game time 7 p.m., but come early!), wear red and black, and cheer hard. I know our Dawgs will play hard!

During its annual meeting on Saturday, November 26, the  Haddonfield Alumni Society will present four former students and two teachers with Lifetime Achievement Awards. 

The recipients are:

Biographies of the recipients follow:

Joanne Connor ‘88 graduated from Saint Joseph’s University majoring in Spanish and studying abroad at La Universidad Iberoamericano. She earned her M.A. and her Ph. D. in Education from Rowan University.

Joanne began her professional career as a k-12 educator at the Y.A.L.E. School serving as a teacher and school principal. In 2010, she became the Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Education at Rowan where she assumed myriad responsibilities including budget management, recruitment, advising, program evaluation, staffing and curriculum review and development.   

Over the next year Joanne served as the Assistant Dean of the College of Education overseeing the Office of Field Experience, a critical role in which she ensured the placement of hundreds of pre-service teachers in school districts so they could gain professional expertise before graduation. 

In 2012, Joanne was appointed Executive Assistant to the President. She managed the day-to-day functions of the Office of the President, Board of Trustees relations, oversaw Board of Trustees meetings, served on search committees for key University hires, and worked across divisions to solve urgent matters involving students, parents, community and other external constituents. 

In 2015, she was named the President’s Chief of Staff and Board of Trustees Liasion.  Her new responsibilities included serving as a confidential advisor to the President, representing the President at meetings and other functions, overseeing Presidential projects and committees, working closely with legislators, business partners and other external constituents, managing personnel matters of the President’s direct reports, and overseeing Human Resources, Audit and Compliance, Government Affairs, Public Safety and University Events.

In addition to the extensive responsibilities cited above, Dr. Connor has provided extraordinary service to the University.  She taught four different courses at the Master and Doctoral levels and also served on more than 22 different university committees.  She has been an Emissary to Select Greater Philadelphia, a Steering Committee member of that organization, and the Chair and Institutional Representative to Rowan University’s ACE Women’s Network

Among her awards and recognition are the following:  SJ Biz’s Women to Watch (2018), Gloucester County Woman of Achievement (2018), Keynote Speaker at NAWBO Annual Meeting (2018), Judge Miss America Competition Scholarship Awards (2018, 2021), Gloucester County Boy Scouts Council Woman of Achievement Award (2021).

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Joel Cooperman ‘71 attended Fairleigh Dickinson University earning his BS in accounting.  He joined the Certified Public Accounting Firm, Richard A. Eisner, in 1975.   In 1979, Joel and his colleague, Niles Citrin, decided to strike out on their own.  He and his partner worked out of an apartment in New York City before getting an office.  While economically this was less than the best time to be setting out on his own, Joel’s upbeat attitude, mindset and vision would take the organization far beyond his wildest dreams.

Niles Citrin, Joel’s partner for 43 years, shared these insights.  “Joel is a natural born leader with an excellent sense of business, and a head for negotiating deals.  In our early years, Joel’s ability to connect with people and gain their trust was invaluable. To branch out on our own we obviously needed clients.  Joel was working with some high-profile rock and roll bands at our prior firm.  Those bands had come to rely on Joel’s expertise and decided to give us a chance.”

The rock bands, “The Who” and “Yes” helped the fledging firm get off the ground.

Today, Citrin Cooperman has over 1500 partners and staff, in some 16 offices in the USA and 1 in India. They are the 20^th largest CPA firm in the USA out of approximately 45,000. Their 2021 revenue exceeded $350 million.    Joel has been a leader and industry icon in the accounting profession for over 4 decades. So impressive have his accomplishments in the 45,000 CPA firm accounting industry been that Citrin Cooperman remains the fastest growing, first-generation firm in the entire country!

Allen Kotlin, Joel’s colleague for over twenty years writes, “Among the most admired leaders in our profession by his peers, Joel “sets the bar” when it comes to innovation, thought leadership, exceptional client service, growing talent into partners and future leaders, and support for the communities he serves. As amazing as that might sound, even more impressive are his personal traits and values. I have never met a leader who is referred to by many of his partners as “dad” – he cares about every person in his firm whether they work there or are 

a family member of someone at the firm. The stories about him are legendary in terms of his love and passion for his people and their families.”

Joel is devoted to his family.  He is married to Christine and together they have three children, David, Jeff and Marisa and four grandchildren, Wyatt, Chase, Archer and Olivia.

* * * * *

Megan Mascena Gaspar ‘85 attended Emerson College earning a BS degree in television production in 1989.  After college, Megan headed to LA intent on working in television or film. She found her niche working in post-production on the popular series, JAG. Megan lauded the experience at JAG, “It was like doing a mini movie every week – these episodes were big for the time. We were one of the first shows to shoot in high definition and use extensive stock footage. There were a lot of visual effects and stunts. JAG was one of the last shows to use a full orchestra for its score. It was an amazing and supportive learning ground.”

Megan spent thirteen years serving in various production roles with JAG. She began as an Assistant Production Coordinator in 1995 and moved through the ranks of Post-Production Coordinator, Associate Producer and Co-Producer. Her work entailed all elements from pre- through post-production: Breaking down scripts, budgeting, scheduling, hiring, supervising, editorial, sound work, picture work, visual effects, final color and the final mix

After her success with JAG, Megan moved on to produce twenty-four more pilots and series including “New Girl”, Speechless, Single Parents, Bless this Mess, and The Wonder Years. She also produced the independent film, 2 Minutes Later and the short film, Will You. This past year, she was one of the producers of the highly acclaimed series, The Dropout, which was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Television Critics Award as the Outstanding Drama Limited Series. 

Megan has left her mark on the television and film community in other ways as well. She is deeply involved with the Producers Guild of America having served six years on the AP Council Board of Delegates including three years as Chairperson. She has also served six years on the National Board of Directors of the Producer’s Guild and two more years as Chair of the Education Committee. In 2022, she was presented with the prestigious Charles FitzSimmon Award, which recognizes her outstanding work and commitment to the guild. 

Megan and her family love spending time together, whether on their front porch greeting neighbors or on their back deck enjoying the outdoors. Disappointingly, due to recent tree growth, they’ve lost their birds-eye view of the famous Hollywood sign. Suffice it to say they make do enjoying guacamole and margaritas made with avocados, lemons and limes picked from the trees in their yard. 

* * * * *

Sharon Hilgen Willis ’84 earned her undergraduate degree at Gettysburg College and her Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  She returned home to be a post-doctoral scientist with Dr. Roselyn Eisenberg. Dr. Eisenberg was a microbiologist who served on the faculty at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine.   Working in Dr. Eisenberg’s lab, Sharon furthered the understanding of the herpes complex virus by discovering the virus’s cellular receptor structure. 

With Dr. Benjamin Doranz, Ph. D., MBA, Sharon co-founded Integral Molecular, a research-driven biotechnology company. Starting in 2001, they grew from a two-person team, renting a chemistry bench, to a company with over 110 employees. Integral Molecular is considered “the industry leader in membrane protein solutions,” contributing to the advancement of viral science, including screening, immunizations, and antibody production. Integral Molecular played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing foundational standardized products to viral testing and drug development companies.

Integral Molecular has Sharon’s DNA built into its foundation. From working to raise some of the initial funds to start the company, helping to build a lab from scratch, developing new products and processes, leading the sales and marketing teams, and providing leadership and direction to the entire company, Sharon has done it all. 

Sharon’s role has shifted from lead scientist to her current role as VP of Sales and Customer Relations, where she functions “as a science ambassador and mentor.” She is committed to helping train the next generation of scientists: as an adjunct professor at Drexel University, and by organizing company participation in student and community outreach engagements, including the Wistar Biomedical Technical Training Program, the West Philadelphia Workforce Development Initiative, and FirstHand STEM learning initiatives.  Her commitment to workforce development in Philadelphia is enabling individuals from underserved communities to find a path to working in biotech.

Sharon resides in Strafford, Pennsylvania with her husband, Dave and their dog, Belle.  Their two adult children, Claudia and Natalie, both live and work in Philadelphia. Sharon enjoys time with family and friends, traveling, and reading Danielle Steele books on vacations, which, as we all know, “Everyone in America reads!”  

* * * * *

Mary Hall is a 1996, magna cum laude graduate of Immaculata University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and certification in early childhood and elementary education.  She received a Masters in Education from Wilmington University in 2015.

Mary began her educational career in 1996 at Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia where she taught second and third grades.  In 2000, she came to Tatem School.  Over her 22 years at Tatem, Mary was like a most valuable player. She took on every assignment and taught every elementary grade except kindergarten. Mary taught summer school for seven years, supervised Safety Patrol and led the district-wide summer enrichment program. 

Ms. Karen Schulz, retired Principal at Tatem school noted that, “When Mary arrived in the district, she quickly became known as a teacher leader, someone to look to for progressive practices. She piloted new programs, worked on curriculum committees and proved herself as an innovative and hard-working professional.”  Mary’s leadership of professional development activities at the school, district and state level have been exceptional including co-leading and developing an inquiry- based group on differentiated instruction, leading staff development on discovery education, student-led conferences, gifted and talented education, co-teaching, math centers, presenting various NJEA workshops and mentoring and supervising student teachers from four different universities. 

Mary’s service to the school and district has included work on multiple committees including district writing, district math, Supervisor and team leader of the science audit committee, principal advisory, technology advisory, report card, principal selection and teacher interview committees.  Dr. Colleen Murray, former Director of Curriculum commented on her service in these teacher-leadership roles, “She understands the complex nature of teaching and learning, takes responsibility for shared goal-setting and implementation and has a confident assertiveness that commands respect from everyone…her sheer drive and organizational mindset make her a true asset to the district.”

Very deservingly, Mary has been recognized in the recent past with the Sallie Mae Teacher of the Year nomination and was nominated for the Governor’s Teacher of the Year award in 2021-22.   

Mary resides in Chesterfield, NJ with her husband Kris and her children, Ethan and Audrey who are students at Northern Burlington High School.  When her schedule allows, Mary loves to read, travel and especially spend time at the beach with her family.  

* * * * *

Debra Licorish was a 1997, Summa Cum Laude graduate of Rowan University majoring in psychology and elementary education.  That fall she began teaching at Tatem Elementary where for 14 years she created a rich learning environment for fifth graders and served as the After School Mathematics ISP teacher and the Extended School Year Teacher. 

Debra, a highly talented teacher, understood that the best way to be great was to keep improving at your craft every day.   She was always willing to take on new challenges and work at growing professionally.  Only two years into the profession, she served as a mentor to a new teacher.  For four years she served as the district chairperson for the Elementary Math Curriculum project.  She was responsible for leading the selection, pilot study, and implementation of a new math curriculum across all three elementary schools.  Deb also served Tatem and the district as a science curriculum pilot teacher, a pilot teacher for Student Led Conferencing and as a cooperating teacher for student teachers.  She served on several interview committees for new faculty and administrators and on the HEA negotiating team. 

In addition to availing herself of these professional growth opportunities, she served the Tatem community as the Fifth Grade Garden Club Facilitator, co-director of the school play and the Family Arts and Creativity Project Developer.   

In 2011, Debra moved to the middle school to serve as the Technology teacher. She wrote and implemented an Advanced Technology class for HMS students.  She moderated the student Tech Club, introduced 3D printing to HMS, served on the district technology committee, mentored a beginning teacher, and led professional development in classroom technology skills for her district colleagues. 

She has been recognized for her excellence in the past.  She was nominated for a Disney Teacher Award in 2005 and received the BSD Education Care Award in 2021.  Debra was recognized for her resilience by the CARE awards who “describe candidates in the category as always willing to start again and learn from challenges…they show a hunger to continue to improve.” 

Deb recently retired and now resides in West Virginia fulfilling a lifelong dream “ to grow and be a farmer”.  She is spending her days learning how to operate a tractor, tending her gardens and enjoying the beauty of her West Virginia homestead.