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Review of Boys Basketball, 2019-20 (3)

Dawgs Hit the Heights

By Lauree Padgett for Haddonfield Today

The Dawgs pose for a group photo to celebrate their come-from-behind win over Sterling on February 20, which gave them sole possession of the Liberty division of the Colonial Conference crown. The team has either won the Colonial Conference outright or shared it for the past nine seasons! Photo: John Fell.

Part 3 of 5: What’s in a Name – And a Gene Pool?

I have known Matthew Guveiyian his whole life, although I confess, I did not really learn how to properly say his last name (“Gu-VAY-an”) until this year (and his little sister Sara had to coach me through it). I actually met him for the first time when he was still a newborn in the hospital. That’s because his nana, Debbie, is one of my closest friends. I have known his mom, Leigh Anne, since she was in single digits. I met his dad, Mike, when he and Leigh were dating in high school. (And yes, I was at their wedding.) But, it is actually with Gary Vermaat, Matthew’s pop pop, who is husband to Debbie and dad to Leigh, where this multi-generational hoops story starts. Gary, you see, played basketball for Haddonfield in the early, pre-Dave Wiedeman coaching days, 1970s. I saw him on the court when I would go root on my sister Carol’s then boyfriend Wayne Grear, although Gary graduated a year after Wayne, in 1971.

Jump ahead to 1983, when, newly graduated, I returned from James Madison University (hey, hey, what do you know, Aiden Bell!) back to my hometown. Without a “real” job, I started getting pocket money babysitting and doing child care for events at Haddonfield United Methodist Church. Sweet little Jamie Vermaat, second daughter of Gary and his wife, Debbie, a Georgia import, was one of the young ones I watched during a young mother’s Bible study. That’s how I got to know Debbie.

By the time the last two Vermaat siblings, Jessica and Kelli, were in high school, Debbie and I were BFFs. So, of course, when Jessie and Kelli started playing basketball, I watched them, just like I’d watched their dad more than 30 years earlier. In 2005, the Lady Dawgs, with junior Jessie and sophomore Kelli, won the Group 2 girls state basketball title, the same year the boys won their second of three straight state titles. In 2006, to show support for the girls and the boys, I went to all the home games, so I could see both teams play an equal amount of times. (Being the true friend she is, once in a while Debbie would say, “The girls game isn’t going to be much of a match, so why don’t you go watch the boys game?”)

In 2010, the Guveiyian clan, which now included Matthew, Andrew, Ryan, and baby Sara, moved to California for Mike’s job. But in the summer of 2018, the family moved back, again for Mike’s job. Since I knew Matthew and Ryan were very involved in hoops (now so is Andrew, and Sara may end up outdoing them all, if you have seen her during the half-court shootouts), I started getting excited thinking of Matthew, who was starting his freshman year in 2018-19, playing for the Dawgs. I managed to get to one freshman game, and when his coach Dave Epstein, saw me, I think he inwardly cringed a little bit, thinking, “Oh no, she’s starting to come to freshman games now.”

This season, when Matthew, who started off his sophomore year on the JV squad, got called up to varsity, I got to see his first game versus Collingswood on February 6. Two days later at Paul VI, I admittedly went a little crazy (hence the blurry image) when he came in off the bench in the 4th to swoosh in a 3 – and nearly made another one before the game ended. At my age (I’ll turn 59 not long after the 2020-21 season starts), I’m not sure if I’ll make it to see one of Matthew’s kids play hoops, maybe even for Haddonfield, but I’m going to give it my best “shot”! For now, I’ll settle for cheering on my third generation of Vermaats in the persons of Matthew and his siblings.

The History of My Dawg Obsession: It’s All Kevin Eastman’s Fault

Did you ever wonder how I became the one of the Dawgs’ biggest fans as well as the unofficial historian from the mid-70s through to the current season without ever having played basketball or having a child who played? Well, it all started with one player, my (now) brother-in-law, Wayne Grear (class of 1970). But during Wayne’s senior year, I had just turned 8, which made me a bit too young to stay interested in all four quarters of any given game.

Two years later, Dave Wiedeman took over as Haddonfield’s head coach, and that season, junior Kevin (aka “Jake”) Eastman began to really shine. That coach and that player were about to change the course of basketball at Haddonfield and South Jersey and to initiate my devotion, some might call it my obsession, to the team and the game. Jake’s senior year, Haddonfield’s season ended in stunning fashion, with he and his teammates, who included Kirby Wood, Chris Whitten, Tom Hare, and Tom Betley, upsetting the highly favored Orange team 76-67 to capture the school’s first-ever state boys basketball title. Sixteen years later, in 1989, Haddonfield went for and captured its second state title, “nuking” Newark Tech in the very crowded Rider University gymnasium, still coached by Dave Wiedeman and featuring Paul Wiedeman, Doug Stewart, Matt Maloney (who would make it to the NBA!), Lionel Coleman, and Charlie Weiler. I was sure Kevin would show up to cheer them on. He did, and I made sure to say hello, stepping, I’m sure, on many toes, as I pushed my way over to him.

On February 9, 2020, 47 (what!?) years after he left an indelible mark on the basketball court at Haddonfield, Kevin was very belatedly inducted into the Al Carino South Jersey Boys Basketball Club Hall of Fame. Aside from leading Haddonfield to that first state championship and becoming the second player in the school’s history to surpass 1,000 points, Kevin went on to play hoops at the University of Richmond (where a scholarship was named in his honor). From there, he would go on to coach at the collegiate level at schools such as Washington State, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, Colorado State, and Virginia Commonwealth. He also served as a college AD; ran a highly successful youth basketball camp for many years; was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, including 2008, when they won their most recent NBA championship, and the Los Angeles Clippers, where he also worked in the front office as an executive; served as an executive for Nike; is a highly sought-after public speaker; and has authored Why the Best Are the Best, a book you may recall was presented at last year’s boys banquet to each of senior player. Sorry not sorry if I’m gushing.

Here is some of what I shared on Facebook about the evening:

I credit Kevin and Co. for my nearly lifelong love of basketball, particularly at the high school level. I should point out, even if it goes without saying, that I don’t root for just any high school team, but ever and only the Haddonfield Bulldogs (Dawgs). Some of my happiest memories, going all the way back to that March [1973] state championship game at Princeton, have to do with watching the Dawgs play. I have met so many great families while cheering on their sons, grandsons, and nephews. … And it all goes back to one of my first heroes, Kevin Eastman, who, four decades later, is still one of my heroes and favorite people.

So it was a privilege to sit with Kevin’s wife, Wendy; brother John and sister-in-law Gretchen; Dave and Paul Wiedeman; and talk basketball with Tom, Kirby, and another favorite player, Dennis Crawford, tonight. Kevin is a gifted public speaker, and knows how to keep your attention. He said, “Dave Wiedeman told me something a little earlier tonight, and I want to tell him he is wrong.” He paused so we could all wonder, “What on earth is Kevin going to publicly correct his former coach about?” And then he continued. “Dave told me I was the one who started to turn Haddonfield into one of South Jerseys’ great basketball programs. But it wasn’t me, Dave, it was you.” I would say they deserve equal credit. Kevin raised the bar for what being a tremendous player on the court and even better person off the court looks like. Dave set the example of what it means to be a tremendous coach not just based on win-loss records, but more importantly based on how his players represented their team and their school and the kind of people they have become. And now Paul Wiedeman is carrying on that winning tradition and mentoring of young men that his father began.

Haddonfield vs. Haddon Heights, the Rematch: February 11 at Haddonfield

On February 11, it was time for the second Dawgs-Garnets game, this one taking place on the Dawgs’ home turf. After the 2-point defeat to Moorestown, the Dawgs had won three in a row, were sporting an 18–2 overall record, and were still registering a 0 in the Colonial Conference standings’ loss column. Everyone in the stands rooting for the Dawgs were hoping that would still be the case after this game … But, alas, it was not.

I actually had a bad feeling about the game’s outcome as I saw the members of the Garnets’ varsity squad entering the gymnasium while the JV match was still in progress. It was apparent to anyone who saw them come in that these young men were on a mission to avenge their last-seconds’ loss at Heights in January. Still, for a while, it looked like the Dawgs weren’t going to let that happen.

The Dawgs were up by 2, 11-9, after the first quarter, thanks to baskets by Connor Fell, Justin Kasko, and Andrew Gostovich, who also hit a 3. It was not a good sign, however, when the Dawgs only mustered 5 points in the second quarter. However, since that’s all the Garnets put up as well, going into the half, the Dawgs were still holding onto that one-basket, 16-14, lead.

Heights’ offense was starting to heat up, though. In the third, they outscored the Dawgs 12-7 to take a 26-23 edge into the last 8 minutes. However, a last-minute comeback was not in the cards this time, as the Garnets built that lead up and claimed a 37-30 victory, getting the Dawgs back for that tough home-court loss a month earlier.

So, now the Dawgs were 18-3 overall and 12-1 in the conference t. Would Haddonfield — not to mention their coaches — let that loss define their season or impact the five regular season games, including three against conference opponents, that remained? The next two and a half weeks would show us what this team was really made of.

The Homestretch

Two nights later, on February 13, the Audubon Green Wave came to town. In early January, the Dawgs had crushed the Wave, scoring twice as many points as Audubon. But after the game against Heights, when the Garnet players had definitely outplayed the Dawgs, how would Paul Wiedeman’s team respond? Here are excerpts of my post-game FB summary:

The game started out well, and the Dawgs jumped out to an 8-2 lead before the Wave started knocking down some 3’s. Their third trey in a row actually put them in front 13-12 with about 2:15 left in the quarter. However, Tommy Mooney answered with a 3 at the other end and put the Dawgs back on top 15-13. A 3 by Andrew Gostovich make it 18-13, another 3 by Gos made it 21-13, and then Connor Fell, who is always hustling, grabbed a rebound off a missed Audubon shot and went to heave it—and got fouled. So literally with no time on the clock, he went to the free throw line by himself and made 1 foul shot, a second foul shot, and a third foul shot, giving the Dawgs an 11-point, 24-13, lead after 8 minutes.

Audubon wasn’t about to give up, though ,and kept scoring in, uh, waves, in the 2nd. The Dawgs never gave up the lead, but Ben Cerrato had to leave the game for a bit after going down hard and coming up limping. And the Dawgs were already short one starter, as Justin Kasko was home with the stomach flu. Still, Alex Kadar and Steve McClane put in some extra minutes and kept the Dawgs going. Although Audubon outscored Haddonfield 18-13 in the 2nd half, the Dawgs were still up, but only by 7, 37-31, when the teams headed to their locker rooms at the half.

Cerrato, who happily came back in the game at the end of the 2nd quarter, got the first bucket of the second half. After Audubon got a 2 at the other end, Kadar and Mooney hit back-to-back 3’s to push the lead back to double-digits, 45-33. Audubon got two 3’s as well, but Gos scored the last two baskets of the third, going up and in for 2 and then hitting one of his trademark 3’s. With 8 minutes to go, the Dawgs were up 50-39.

The Dawgs would get 7 of their 15 4th quarter points from the foul line. While Audubon never stopped playing hard, every time they got the deficit under 10, Haddonfield would answer. The closest the Wave would get would be 56-48 with 3:41 left in the game. When the horn sounded, after Coach Wiedeman had cleared the bench, the Dawgs had earned a scrappy, 65-49 W.

Next up was the Dawgs’ second game against West Deptford. In game 1, Haddonfield had needed OT to eke out a 41-39 win. As with Audubon, the Dawgs started out in front, up 15-10 after the first quarter. However, the Dawgs could only muster two baskets, both by Ben Cerrato, in the second, which meant the teams headed into the locker rooms at the half with the Dawgs down a point, 19–20. The Eagles would come out flapping, putting 5 points on the board before the Dawgs got one at the foul line thanks to Justin Kasko. Foul shots by Andrew Gostovich made it 22-25, West Deptford, but the Eagles made 2 foul shots of their own to go back up by 5, 22-27. An off-balance shot by Cerrato made it 24-27, but the Eagles got the next 5 points to push the lead up to 8, 32-24, with 47 second left in the quarter. Tommy Mooney’s 3 got the Dawgs back to within 5 again, 27-32, going into the final 8 minutes. And those 8 minutes started with the Eagles inbounding. Here is a close look at how those minutes ticked down, as I recapped them on FB:

While the Eagles did not score, the Dawgs got charged with an offensive foul to immediately give the ball back to WD. Luckily, Steve McClane stole it right back and went up an in for 2, cutting the lead to 3, 32-29. However, the next 3 points went on the board for the Eagles off a field goal and then 1-2 from the foul line. But second verse, same as the first: McClane stole the ball and went in for a layup, pulling the Dawgs to within 4, 35-31.

The Eagles got those points back on two foul shots, but then on back-to-back possessions, first Ben Cerrato and then Tommy Mooney converted both foul shots, and with 4:56 on the clock, the Dawgs were within 2, 37-35. A basket by WD got their lead back to 4, 39-35, but a drive by Mooney chipped that edge back to 2. There was a scramble on the floor for the ball, McClane grabbed it, and Haddonfield called timeout. However, the Dawgs lost the ball — I’m not even sure what happened. I just heard a lot of Wiedemans complaining about the call. But, WD then lost the ball under their basket right after they in-bounded it.

With 3:54 left to go, it was time for one of our big guns to step up and hit a 3 from the corner. And that’s exactly what Cerrato did, putting the Dawgs on top for the first time since the end of the second quarter, 40-39. The Eagles, who were getting rattled, lost the ball on good “D” by the Dawgs, but in their haste to get to the basket, they lost the ball as well. And then as is often the case, the player who turned the ball over tries to overcompensate and commits a foul. With 3:09 on the clock, WD stepped to the foul line with a chance to reclaim the lead. And as Dawg fans breathed a collective sigh of relief, neither shot dropped in.

At the other end, WD was called for a foul, sending Cerrato to the line for a 1+1 opportunity. He cleanly sank both shots, giving the Dawgs a 3-point lead, that WD promptly reduced to 1 on a field goal, and with 2:49 remaining, it was a 1-point, 42-41, game. This was not the time for a bad, cross-court pass, but that’s what happened when the Dawgs got the ball. However, WD very kindly returned the favor at their end, and with 2:35 to go, McClane launched a 3 from the corner, and the Dawgs were on top 45-41.

A foul that Connor Fell and the rest of the Dawgs did not agree with sent WD to the line. Although they had the double-bonus, only 1 of 2 shots dropped in, and with 1:44 remaining, it was 45-42, Dawgs. Mooney, who is getting adept at drawing fouls, did just that and headed to the line for a 1+1 with 1:29 to go. His first shot went in, but his second did not. Still, it put the Dawgs’ lead back to 4, 46-42.

After the Eagles did not score, neither did the Dawgs, and WD got the ball back. There was a near-steal and then the ball looked more like a superball, bouncing all over the court until the Dawgs got ahold of it and called timeout. Haddonfield would score the final 4 points of the game thanks to stellar foul shooting by Mooney, and when the buzzer sounded, the Dawgs had found a way to turn it up a few notches and seize the victory away from the Eagles. The final score was 50-42.

Thanks in part to going 7-8 on the line in the 4th, Tommy Mooney finished with 15 points. Ben Cerrato also put 15 points on the board.

This gave the Dawgs their 20th win of the season. If they can get another road win Thursday at Sterling (5:30 game), they will win the Colonial Conference outright.

Thursday, February 20, fans piled into the gym at Sterling. The Silver Knights, you may recall, were supposed to be in the run for the Liberty Colonial title. Now, it was down to two teams: the one playing Sterling this night and Haddon Heights. Heights had already lost two games in the Liberty division: one to Haddonfield and one to West Deptford. If Haddonfield beat Sterling, the Dawgs would win the Liberty crown outright. If we suffered our second defeat in the division, we would have to share the title with Heights.

As I noted at the outset of my Facebook game wrap-up, it was another slow start for the Dawgs, who didn’t seem to be too energized about what they were playing for. They trailed by 5, 8-13, after the first quarter, and 8 minutes later, were down by 6, 19-25. A win that seemed likely at the outset was not looking as certain as the Dawgs headed to the locker room at the half.

Let’s pick up the action as the second half begins with a bit of my FP post:

Kasko started the third off all fired up. He went in on a backdoor cut for 2, then blocked the ball at the other end. When Sterling in-bounded it, he knocked it back out of bounds off the Knights. That led to a 2-pointer from Cerrato with an assist from Kasko. And with not even a minute gone, the Dawgs were within 1, 25-24.

Sterling got 2 back at the foul line, but after a steal by Gos, Steve McClane grabbed an offensive board and went up and in, making it a 2-point game, advantage Sterling, again, 27-25. Sterling got the next two baskets to go back up by 6, 31-25 with 3:35 to go in the third.

A few plays later, Cerrato showed how hard he hustles and how tough he is, as he dived for the ball, saved it from going out of bounds, and then crashed into the Dawgs’ sideline chairs. Connor Fell, another tough-as-nails Dawg, pulled down an offensive board, fed it to Cerrato, who laid the ball into the net.

Nobody scored for a few plays, then Gos stole the ball and didn’t give up when his layup did not fall in, driving back in the lane and making sure the ball dropped this time. His field goal at the 56-second mark made it 31-29, Sterling. Fell and Gostovich procured another steal, but the ball went out of bounds at our end with 34.4 on the clock. Sterling did not wait until the clock ran down to make a shot, and even better, it did not go into the net. The Dawgs brought the ball down and were causing anxious adult fans to start counting down, afraid the team wasn’t going to get a shot off. They needn’t have worried. With 3.0 on the clock, Cerrato danced into the lane, got the bucket and the foul. His foul shot put the Dawgs up 32-31, and that’s how the third ended.

But it wasn’t time to start celebrating yet:

If Dawg fans were hoping for a stress-free 4th quarter, they were out of luck. The lead kept changing. Sterling got the first 3 points on a foul shot and a field goal to take the lead back, but Gos hit a 3 to give the Dawgs the edge, 35-34, at with 6:33 left in the game. …

To skip to the good stuff I’m going off the FB post, and picking up the action a few plays later, as Cerrato stepped to the foul line. His shots gave the Dawgs their biggest lead of the game, 37-34 at the 6:33 mark … only to have a 3-point Silver Knight bomb tie it at 37 all. But off a big offensive board by Fell, Gos nailed a 3 to put the Dawgs back on top 40-37 with 2:30 left in the game. After that big bucket, the team was not going to let Sterling get any closer than 3 again. Foul shots by Gos and Tommy Mooney made it 43-37, and it was only a last-second trey from Sterling that cut the final score to 3 points again, giving the Dawgs a 43-40 victory that secured the Liberty crown.

And now it was time to celebrate. Kudos for the Sterling athletic staff for allowing the opposition to stay on the court for lots of hugs, congratulations from family and the rest of the happy and relieved Dawg fans, and many photographs. With a record of 15–1, the Dawgs had finished on the top of the Colonial heap in a year they weren’t even considered viable contenders.

For Part 1, click HERE.

For Part 2, click HERE.

PART 4 of 5 will be published on Thursday, August 6.

Review of Boys Basketball, 2019-20 (2)

Dawgs Hit the Heights

By Lauree Padgett for Haddonfield Today

Part 2 of 5: Dawgs Keep Streaking Along

Three games later, after easy victories over Ocean City High School in the Seagull Classic (the Dawgs won 46-29, and Ben Cerrato scored 24) and Audubon (the Dawgs won 66-33 and Andrew Gostovich scored 23, 21 off 3’s), Haddonfield had its first of two games versus its fellow Liberty division team, the Eagles of West Deptford. This initial meeting on January 8 was at the Dawgs’ pound.

Digging again into my Facebook posts, here is my recap:

It was a barn-burner game between the Haddonfield Dawgs and the Eagles of West Deptford tonight. Going into the 4th quarter, the Dawgs sported an 8-point lead on their home court … but couldn’t hold it. We went into OT tied at 36. It was a stressful period [4 minutes], but the Dawgs hung in there with tough defense and a big 2 from Andrew Gostovich and an equally big pair of foul shots from Conner Fell. [The final was 41-39.] The Dawgs are now 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Colonial Conference. Ben Cerrato led the Dawgs with 19 points, and “Gos” finished with 16. Up next is a home game next Tuesday night versus Sterling.

Ah yes, Sterling. Sterling was allegedly another one of the “to-beat” teams in the Colonial Conference for the 2019-20 season. On January14, in the first of its pair of games versus the Silver Knights, Haddonfield again was playing host. Here is my game summary capsule:

The game was close throughout. After 1, the Dawgs were up by 3, 14-11; at half-time, they held a 5-point, 26-21, advantage. Going into the last quarter, they were ahead 37-33. But thanks to some stellar foul shooting by Tommy Mooney and four baskets under the bucket by Ben Cerrato, the Dawgs walked away with a 55-43 victory. Cerrato finished with 17 points, Andrew Gostovich with 15, and Mooney with 14. This was the Dawgs’ 7th W in a row, which improves their record to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the Colonial Conference. Nice going, boys!

After thundering over the Herd at Woodbury on January 16, beating them by 38, 58-20, thanks in part to putting 28 on the board in the last quarter, Haddonfield played Gateway at home on January 23. This wasn’t a game in which anyone was expecting the Gators to give the Dawgs much trouble. And as expected, the Dawgs won easily, outscoring them by more than 40 points. But this was a noteworthy game for a few reasons. Here is how I described it in my Facebook post:

So, some history was made tonight at the Haddonfield boys basketball home game versus Gateway. First of all, we had a female ref for I believe the first time in a varsity game. She called a good four quarters.

And then, at some point in the third after senior Andrew Gostovich had drained another 3, I heard Dave Wiedeman in the stands behind me saying, “I wonder how many 3’s he has? He must be near the record.” So, I looked down in my scorebook and counted.

Me: Dave, he has 7. What’s the record?

Dave: 9

Me: Who has it?

Dave: One of your boys after Brian [Zoubek].

Me (after thinking for about 1 second): Greg? Greg Steinberger?

Dave: Yeah, that’s it, Greg Steinberger.

And then just to make things more exciting, Gos swooshed in #8. With that, the 3rd quarter ended with Andrew alone outscoring the poor Gators by 26-19, with eight treys and a 2-pointer, and the Dawgs overall up by 35.

Gos must have known he was closing in, as he hit #9 to tie Greg almost right after the clock started ticking in the 4th. With about 4:30 showing on the scoreboard, in went #10, and with that, the Dawgs record set by Greg in 2007 was eclipsed. [Upon further review, it was determined that Greg had shared this record with Blake Wilson, who first recorded nine 3’s in a game a few years ahead of Greg.]

Well done, Gos!! And speaking of well done, that’s pretty much sized up what the Gators were by the end of the night, well done, as the final score was 74-33, Haddonfield. The Dawgs remain undefeated, at 8-0, in the Colonial Conference, and are now 12-1 overall.

Saturday, January 23, it was time for the annual Jeff Cooney Classic. This year, Haddonfield was taking on Highland Regional. By the half, Highland hadn’t even broken into double digits and the Dawgs were up by 15, 21-6. The final score would be 63-41. Tommy Mooney had 19 points and Ben Cerrato had 21 along with eight boards.

To finish out the month of January and push their overall record to 15-1, the Dawgs would face the Red Raiders of Paulsboro at home and trek to Overbrook to take on the Rams. Although the Dawgs started out a little sluggish against the Rams, trailing by 3, 7-10, after 1, they were up by 3 at the half, 17-14, and ended up winning by 13, 46-33. Paulsboro, on the other hand, was a test of the team’s tenacity that I alluded to earlier. Here is my FB wrap-up:

Jan 28

It was a real nail-biter at Haddonfield tonight, where the Dawgs hosted the Red Raiders of Paulsboro. The two teams were in a tight game through the first 3 quarters. In fact, they were tied at 12 after the first 8 minutes and tied at 21 going into the half. But Paulsboro went on a run in the 3rd and had a 6-point lead with 1:46 to left in the period. That’s when Steve McClane hit a 3 to make it 34-37, and then after Connor Fell, who is a Bulldawg in every way on the court, picked off the ball, McClane went in for 2 to make it 36-37. But Paulsboro would get the last basket to take a 3-point lead into the final quarter. Luckily, Andrew Gostovich wasted no time in swooshing in a 3 to tie it at 39, and after another Fell pick-off, Gos followed with another 3 to put the Dawgs back on top, 42-39. And amazingly, Paulsboro would only put 5 points on the board in those last 8 minutes. The Dawgs had a pair of 3’s by McClane to help seal the deal. When the buzzer sounded, the Dawgs remained undefeated in the Colonial Conference, with a come-from-behind 52-44 win. They are now 9-0 in the conference, 14-1 overall, and haven’t lost in over a month. Gos led all scorers with 19. McClane scored all 11 of his points in the second half. Next up is a road trip to Overbrook for an early (5:30) game on Thursday.

The Dawgs were riding a 14-0 streak when they met up with Moorestown, the team that had knocked them out of first round of last year’s Tournament of Champions, beating Haddonfield by 1, 60-59, and giving our guys only their second, and final, loss of the season. Needless to say, the Dawgs and their fans were looking for a little payback when the two teams met up again on February 1 at the Holy Cross Academy Shootout. Well, after 32 minutes, two things had been proven: It sure hadn’t been redemption — Haddonfield lost again — and it most certainly hadn’t been a shootout – the final score was 27-25, Moorestown. I was not able to make the game, although several friends kept me updated. So, I’ll borrow a bit from the Inquirer’s recap, written by Chris Melchiorre and titled, “Quakers Out-Defend Dawgs in a Grinding Battle.” After putting 4 on the board and keeping the Quakers off it after 1, both teams managed 7 in the second quarter, giving the Dawgs an 11-7 lead going into the half. In the third, the Quakers outscored the Dawgs by 3, 9-6, so going into the last quarter, they were only down by 1, and not for long. As Melchiorre put it, Moorestown led, 27-22, with just over a minute left before a three-pointer by Andrew Gostovich set up a tense final minute in which Haddonfield rimmed out on two would-be game winners.” Crud! Ben Cerrato put up 16 of his team’s 25 points.

Now 15-2, the Dawgs showed their mettle by coming out strong the next two games versus Colonial opponents: their only matchup against Lindenwold and round two against Collingswood. Both were at home.

Here is part of my summary of the Lindenwold game:

Feb 4

The Lindenwold Lions came to the Dawgs’ den tonight for a Colonial Conference match. And it took a while for the Dawgs to tame them. …

The Dawgs [up 30–24 at the half] started to wear down the Lions a little more in the third. Cerrato got three buckets, Tommy Mooney went up and in twice, and Kasko got another 2 and another 3, so going into the 4th quarter, Haddonfield was up by double digits, 48-33. … When the horn sounded, the Dawgs had won 63-49 to remain undefeated (11-0) in the conference. It was a good way to rebound off a tough, defense-oriented 25-27 loss to Moorestown on Saturday. Gos finished with 17, Cerrato with 15, and Kasko with 12.

The February 6 game against Collingswood was Senior Night. As I noted in part on FB:

We honored six Haddonfield players: Aiden Bell, Ben Cerrato, Connor Fell, Andrew Gostovich, Alex Kadar, and Steve McClane. All six played significant minutes and contributed to the Dawgs’ pounding of the Panthers. But no one contributed as much to the 62-31 final score as Cerrato, who knocked in 27 points and pulled down lots of boards at both ends. Sophomore Tommy Mooney finished with 13, swooshing in 9 on treys and 4 on a few nice layups. … The Dawgs are now 12-0 in conference play (with four conference games remaining) and 17-2 overall.

Then it was time for another Saturday nonleague game. Here is some of my FB recap:

Feb 8

The Dawgs had probably the shortest road trip of the year, heading down the highway to Paul VI for the Showcase tournament. The game was at 11:30 a.m., which is not the team’s favorite time to take to the court. Their opponents were the Red Devils of Rancocas Valley Regional High School. Out on the court the Red Devils looked big and athletic. And even though the Dawgs got possession off the tip-off, the Dawgs did not score. After the Devils did not either, Ben Cerrato secured the rebound, but the Devils picked off the ball and scored. They would not get another point off a field goal the rest of the quarter. … [When] the first quarter ended, the Dawgs were up 14-4.

The second quarter was even worse if you were a Red Devils’ fan. The Dawgs’ stifling defense held them to one made basket – a 3. Meanwhile, the Dawgs just kept scoring. Mooney hit his third 3; Andrew Gostovich got his first, as well as a 2-pointer; Justin Kasko scored two buckets on a pair of nice backdoor feeds, the first from Connor Fell, and the second from Mooney; and Cerrato also had two buckets in the paint. At halftime, the Dawgs were in control, up 30-7. … When the buzzer sounded to end the game, the Dawgs had still won by 18, 53-35 to improve their record to 18-2. Ben Cerrato finished with 14; Tommy Mooney, 13; and Andrew Gostovich, 12. And sophomore Mattew Guveiyian got the first basket of his varsity career, a 3 from the left side. My nostalgic sidebar below explains Matthew’s Dawg genealogy, tells you just how long I have been going to Haddonfield boys basketball games.

For Part 1, click HERE.

PART 3 of 5 will be published on Wednesday, August 5.

Review of Boys Basketball, 2019-20 (1)

Lauree Padgett, the Number One fan of Haddonfield boys’ basketball, has filed her review of the 2019-20 season, for publication exclusively by Haddonfield Today.

Celebrating Coach Paul Wiedeman’s 500th win: Tommy Mooney, Aiden Bell, Coach Wiedeman, Ben Cerrato, Assistant Coach Brian Stafford, Andrew Gostovich, Steve McClane, Connor Fell. Photograph courtesy of Tom Kadar.

Dawgs Hit the Heights

By Lauree Padgett for Haddonfield Today

Part 1 of 5: Eye on the Goal

Basketball is never far from my mind, even in the nine long months between mid-March and mid-December. However, on Thanksgiving Day 2019 at the traditional Haddonfield-Haddon Heights gridiron matchup (which hasn’t been much of a contest recently), I wasn’t thinking about hoops as I watched the Red and Black start pulling away from the Garnet and Gold. However, when the Dawgs’ lead was becoming insurmountable, two Heights fans a few rows behind me decided to look ahead to, and apparently take some solace in, the upcoming winter sports season.

Said one Garnet fan to the other, “Well, at least Haddonfield won’t be much of a threat in basketball this season,” alluding to the fact that almost all the players who had taken the team to back-to-back state titles in 2018 and 2019 had graduated. “Yes,” was the reply, “Heights, Sterling, and West Deptford are going to be the teams to beat in the conference this year.”

After hearing this assessment, but without turning around, I said in a loud voice, “Never underestimate a team coached by Paul Wiedeman.” I’m not sure they took my warning seriously then, but three-plus-months later, I wondered if my words came back to haunt them.

Dawgs in the Hunt

But it wasn’t just two guys from Heights who weren’t giving the Dawgs much of a chance in the upcoming season. In the Inquirer’s preseason South Jersey boys basketball poll, the Dawgs didn’t even make the “Under Consideration” section. That changed within the first few games, and then on January 14, Haddonfield broke through to the No. 10 position, sporting a 7-1 record. Keeper of the Top 10, Phil Anastasia, noted, “Remember Haddonfield? … Haddonfield, which in 2019 won its second straight state title, … landed in the Top 10 for the first time this season, courtesy of a six-game winning streak that includes dramatic victories over Colonial Conference rivals Haddon Heights and West Deptford.” For the rest of the season, the Dawgs stayed in the Inquirer Top 10, going as high as the 5th spot on February 11, when they were 18–2, and finishing their 25–5 season back at No. 10.

Schedule Results — Overall Record: 25–5

Colonial Conference: 15-1

  • 12.20.19: Dawgs beat Collingswood 37–30
  • 01.03.20: Dawgs beat Haddon Heights 39–38
  • 01.06.20: Dawgs beat Audubon 66–33
  • 01.08.20: Dawgs beat West Deptford 41–39 in OT
  • 01.14.20: Dawgs beat Sterling 55–43
  • 01.16.20: Dawgs beat Woodbury 57–40
  • 01.21.20: Dawgs beat Haddon Township 44–26
  • 01.23.20: Dawgs beat Gateway 74–33
  • 01.28.20: Dawgs beat Paulsboro 52–44
  • 01.30.20: Dawgs beat Overbrook 46–33
  • 02.04.20: Dawgs beat Lindenwold 63–49
  • 02.06.20: Dawgs beat Collingswood 62–31
  • 02.11.20: Dawgs lose to Haddon Heights 30–37
  • 02.12.30: Dawgs beat Audubon 65-49
  • 02.18.20: Dawgs beat West Deptford 50–42
  • 02.20.20: Dawgs beat Sterling 43–40
  • Nonleague: 7-3
  • 12.21.19: Dawgs lose to Timber Creek 49–59
  • 12.27.19: Dawgs beat Egg Harbor Township 49–39
  • 12.28.19: Dawgs beat Woodrow Wilson 68–35
  • 01.05.20: Dawgs beat Ocean City 46–21
  • 01.18.30: Dawgs beat Millville 60–39
  • 01.25.20: Dawgs defeat Highland Regional 63–41
  • 02.01.20: Dawgs lose to Moorestown 25–27
  • 02.08/20: Dawgs beat Rancocas Valley Regional 53–35
  • 02.25.20: Dawgs beat BCIT–Westampton 41–36
  • 02.27.20: Dawgs lose to Burlington Township 48–52
  • South Jersey Group 2 Playoffs: 3-1
  • 03.03.20: Round 1: Dawgs beat Pennsauken Tech 37–21
  • 03.05.20: Quarter-finals: Dawgs beat Point Pleasant Boro 53–28
  • 03.07.20: Semi-finals: Dawgs beat Haddon Heights
  • 03.10.20: Finals: Dawgs lose to Camden 42–70

Many of those 25 wins were noteworthy, some for milestones, not just the victories themselves. Even so, I’m going to zip through many of those games, often borrowing from my Facebook post-game synopses even for the ones I give more ink too, but I particularly want to highlight a trio of contests – coincidentally all against the same team, if that isn’t too big a hint – that showcased the Dawgs’ tenacity and ability to never give up and to bounce back after tough defeats.

A New-Look Team

It’s always a bit of a challenge for me to get back into reporter mode at the start of any season. Admittedly, it was great to be back home again in the boys gym — although I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Cougars’ gym at Cherry Hill East, where the Dawgs, on their borrowed home turf, went undefeated over two seasons. But even though I was back in “my” seat, I was missing some familiar faces on the court and in the stands.

What’s more, I was having some trouble keeping track of all the new starters and first guys off the bench. Who was number 11? Was that Steve McClane? Or Tommy Mooney? Usually, there are a few new uniform numbers to memorize, but this year, the only returning player with deep varsity minutes was senior Ben Cerrato, #25. Seniors Connor Fell, #2, and Andrew Gostovich, #23, had come in off the bench a lot the prior season, and I had caught them in JV games, and #22, Justin Kasko, looked familiar. Oh, and #33, Alex Kadar, was back on the team! But for the first several games, I was flipping back to the roster Coach Paul Wiedeman had provided me in mid-December more often than not to keep who was who straight in my mind – and on my notepad!

First up was not a home game, though, it was Collingswood away. I got an appreciated ride from my travel buddies Vic and Lynne Wiedeman, as December 20 was a pretty cold night! But it proved to be hot in the gym. Even with a vastly different lineup than the year before, the Dawgs didn’t have too much trouble keeping the Panthers at bay, and they won by 7, 37-30. So, for a team not expected to be a Colonial Conference contender, the Dawgs were off to a good start! In fact, the Dawgs, who, did I mention, were not expected to be one of the top teams in the conference, won their first 12 games against their Colonial advisories. Their only loss in what would end up being a 15-1 run through the conference would be to … well, more on that later.

The Dawgs Get on a Roll and Keep on Going

After that good start versus Collingswood, the Dawgs faltered a bit in the second game of the season, losing to Timber Creek by 10, 49-59. But they won both games they played in the Haddons Invitational, first defeating Egg Harbor Township by 10, 59-49, then making mincemeat out of Woodrow Wilson, putting 30-plus more points on the board than their opponent, handily winning 68-36.

Haddonfield vs. Haddon Heights, Round 1: January 3 at Haddon Heights

Then it was time for another conference game, another away matchup, this time at Haddon Heights, on January 3, the first of the New Year. Because I was going to try to watch some of the JV game (I had a vested interest; more on that later) and arrived quite a bit ahead of the 7pm varsity start time, I was not expecting to have trouble parking. However, I ended up way past the football field on First Avenue. When I got inside, I looked for a spot with some Haddonfield fans, and although it wasn’t behind our boys’ bench, where I usually try to sit for most away games, I took a seat. A bit later, I was very happy to be at this locale, as none other than Dyl Heine and Lew Evans, 2019 Dawg alums home for the holidays, who had come to cheer on their team and one of their biggest rivals, ended up directly in front of me.

This is what I had this to say in my Facebook post after the game:

Dawg Update: Well, there were 2:10 minutes left in the game. Haddonfield, at Heights, was down 10 points. And then 7, then 4, then 1, and then we went up 1! Final score, 39-38, Dawgs!! Whoop, whoop, whoop!!!

While short and sweet, covering the major details, as the first of Haddonfield’s three battles against Haddon Heights, the game deserves a bit more detail here, even though the first 29 minutes, there was not a lot for Dyl, Lew, and the rest of us to actually cheer about.

The Dawgs did get the first bucket of the game, a nice drive by sophomore Tommy Mooney after neither team had scored during its first possession. However, the Garnets would get the next 7 points on three 2’s and then a foul shot, and with just under 2 minutes left in quarter 1, the Dawgs were trailing 2-7. Ben Cerrato got his first points of the New Year on a trey to make it a 5-7 game, but Heights would get the last basket of the quarter and take a 9-5 lead into the second quarter.

In those next 8 minutes, the Dawgs got more points on the board, thanks to a pair of 3’s by Andrew Gostovich (aka Gos) and one by senior Steve McClane. Meanwhile, Heights got fewer, so going into the half, the Dawgs were only down a bucket, 14-16. I was feeling optimistic as the teams left the court, as often last year, the third quarter was when the Dawgs would kick up the offense and defense.

However, the Garnets came out determined not to give the Dawgs that chance. They hit two 3’s and a 2 in the first 80 seconds of the second half to take a double-digit, 24-14, lead. Not surprisingly, Paul Wiedeman called a timeout. A foul on the Garnets off a Haddonfield inbound sent McClane to the foul line. He made both shots to briefly get the Dawgs to within 8, 16-24. I say “briefly” because Heights came back with a 2 and a 3 to go up by 13, 29-16 at the 4:59 mark.

A nice maneuver in the paint by Cerrato made it 18-29, and a failed hot-shot attempt at a slam by Heights kept it an 11-point Garnet advantage. McClane set up the next score by Haddonfield by hustling for a jump ball that favored Haddonfield, and with 2:13 to go in the quarter, he hit a 2-point bunker to cut the Dawgs’ deficit to 9, 20-29. Heights answered with yet another 3 to push the lead back to double digits, 31-20. But just ahead of the buzzer, Cerrato picked off the ball and went in for 2, so the third quarter ended with the Dawgs down by 9, 31-22.

The last 8 minutes of the game did not begin well if you were rooting for the visitors, as the home team promptly nailed a 3, giving the Garnets a 12-point, 34-22, lead. The Dawgs didn’t get their first points of the quarter until after a few more trips up and down the court, but they were off a 3 from Gos and came off an inbound pass, making it 25-34, Heights. A steal by senior Alex Kadar set up a 3 from Cerrato, and suddenly the Dawgs were making inroads, closing the gap to 28-34 with 5 and change left in the game. In the stands, the Dawg fans were beginning to make some noise.

Heights was called for a travel with 5:07 to go, but Haddonfield could not capitalize on it. A wild hot potato loose ball ended up in Heights’ possession, but to no avail, as the Garnets lost it out of bounds. After the Dawgs failed to score, Heights managed to get three offensive boards, succeeding after the third one to get the ball in the basket. Although the field goal resulted in a foul on the Dawgs, Heights couldn’t convert at the line, and with just under 4 minutes to go, the Dawgs were behind by 8, 28-36.

A blocked shot gave the ball back to the Garnets, who parleyed that into another basket, but again missed the ensuing foul shot. Still, their lead was back to double-digits, 38-28, with 3:31 on the clock. A turnover off a bad pass gave the Garnets back the ball, but after a missed shot, there was no second-chance basket, as Gostovich grabbed the rebound. An official timeout was called at 2:44 after an injured Haddon Heights player had to leave the court. Haddonfield missed another basket, but McClane stole the ball, which ended up going out of bounds off Heights, and with 2:11 remaining in the game, the Dawgs were still down by 10. As I waited for play to resume, I had the fleeting thought of the Dawgs being down by double-digits in the 2019 South Jersey Group 2 final against Camden with about the same amount of time remaining. Would this current crop of Dawgs players remember and use that game as a “bench”mark about how to never give up?

They would! Mooney started this comeback with a 3, and with 1:53 showing on the clock the Dawgs were down by 7, 31-38. McClane, who had a big game at both ends of the court, swiped the ball again, and Heights answered with a foul. The Dawgs kept getting the offensive rebound after their shots weren’t going in, and finally, the Garnets got a foul called that sent Cerrato to the line. He uncharacteristically missed both shots, but Gostovich picked him up by grabbing the offensive board and swooshing in a 3, to make it a 4-point, 34-38 game with about 80 seconds left. Suddenly, the Dawgs and Heights were in a battle.

With 1:06 left in the game, Wiedeman called a timeout. If it was the play he set up, it worked brilliantly, as after passing the ball around and around, whittling about 30 seconds off the clock, McClane, in the corner, let the ball fly. It arched up … and in! With 33 seconds left, the Dawgs were back to within 1, 37-38. In the stands, I jumped up and down and used the heads of Heine and Evans to show my excitement by (lightly) pounding on them.

This turn of events prompted a Heights timeout with 33 seconds on the clock. The Dawgs were trying to press with tight D at the other end of the court, but pressed a little too tightly and were charged with a foul. With 22.5 seconds remaining, Heights had two chances to add to its total, and missed both. With a huge assist from McClane, Cerrato went up and in for 2 with 14.9 on the clock, putting the Dawgs up, 39-38, for the first time since the first basket of the game by Mooney. The Dawg fans went wild (and no, I did not give either Dyl or Lew a concussion with more head banging). Heights called another timeout. The Dawgs stole the ball back, and Cerrato found himself back on the line for a 1+1. The ball did not drop in, but with 5.8 seconds to go, Heights let the clock run down before attempting its final shot of the game. It did not go in the rim and the buzzer sounded. Haddonfield had done it again, perhaps not in the same venue, but all the same, this group of players pulled off an upset that would foreshadow just what this team, not predicted to do much, could actually accomplish with hard work, self-determination, and the best high school coaching staff this side of the Delaware. (Maybe even the Mississippi.)

Ben Cerrato finished with 14, Andrew Gostovich with 12. In the final 8 minutes, the Dawgs put 17 on the board, thanks to five treys and a 2, and held the Garnets to 7 points.

PART 2 of 5 will be published on Tuesday, August 4.

NJ lawmakers propose remote start (only) to school year

Three New Jersey lawmakers plan to introduce a bill that would require school districts to keep their buildings closed and provide virtual learning only for the first few months of the school year. The potential reopening of schools would be evaluated on a monthly basis after October 31.

One of the sponsors of the bill is Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, one of two representatives for District 6, which includes Haddonfield. She is the deputy speaker of the Legislative Assembly and chair of the Education Committee.

For details, go HERE.

Board of Ed: Incumbents are only candidates

By the deadline for filing to run in the 2020 Haddonfield Board of Education election — Monday, July 27 at 4pm — only three candidates had submitted petitions: Lynn Howard Hoag, Heather Paoli, and Thomas Vecchio. All three are incumbent members of the board.

The election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, the same day as the general election.

School District releases plan for the fall

During a Board of Education meeting on July 28, 2020, the Haddonfield School District released its plan for a return to school in the fall, within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The public schools are scheduled to open on Tuesday, September 8.

The plan — “On the Road Back” — presents three models:

  • Model A – A Hybrid learning plan that includes some in-person learning and some virtual learning.
  • Model B – A Virtual learning plan for students whose parents or guardians choose to not send their children to school.
  • Model C – A Contingency plan for 100% virtual learning, in the event that state or county agencies mandate school closures.

A PDF of the plan is available HERE.

A message from Superintendent Chuck Klaus, addressed to parents, guardians, staff, and students, introduces the plan:

When our students and staff left school on March 16, 2020, most of us could not imagine they would continue in a virtual learning model through the end of the year. This abrupt shift required schools to quickly re-imagine how to best deliver virtual instruction and serve our students.

Today we are approaching the start of the 2020-21 school year. Once again, we are facing a challenge we could not have foreseen one year ago, to start a new school year that will look different than any we have experienced before. To this end, over the past months, the Leadership Team of Haddonfield School District has been focused on developing a plan to safely reopen schools in September in a way that will meet the needs of all of our students and our dedicated staff.

We appreciate the difficulties and the stresses placed on staff and families over the last five months. We also realize that each of us has unique circumstances, perspectives, and feelings about how best to return to school. During this process, many different models were explored and reviewed with feedback from families, students, staff, community members and frequent consultation with our district physician and nursing staff. Ultimately any reopening plan must balance safety, instruction, and operations in a way to provide the best solution for all 1,500 families and 350 staff members in our district.

It comes as no surprise that developing a re-entry plan has been complicated by the complexities of guidelines and information that seem to change daily. In June, the New Jersey Department of Education released a recovery document (“The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education”) outlining priorities to guide this process. Paramount among them is addressing factors that will meet the needs of our families, students, and staff while ensuring a safe and healthy environment in which to learn. Just last week, the NJDOE released updated guidance, as did the CDC; each new update and change has the potential to require us to rethink and rework our plans.

The work to balance all factors and forge an effective plan required collaboration and effort from many individuals. In addition, a Steering Committee and several Action Teams, were created with members representing administration, the Board of Education, staff, parents and community members. The July 16th Board of Education meeting was held to share options and to obtain comments and questions so that all stakeholders would be heard. As a district we approached this with an open mind and a sincere desire to elicit feedback from anyone and everyone who will be impacted by the reopening plan. The result of this work is spelled out in this document, “Haddonfield School District: On the Road Back.”

Within this document, families and staff will find information about our guiding principles, the process followed, instructional models, FAQs, and contingency plans for distance learning in the event schools may need to be closed during the upcoming year. Haddonfield School District takes our responsibilities to our families, staff, and community seriously. We understand our obligation to meet the safety and educational needs of our students and staff. We have a proud history of providing our students with a high quality education, and we are committed to maintaining those standards. As a result, the return-to-school plan outlined in this document provides a balance of ensuring a safe and healthy environment while also providing access to a quality education.

Class of 2020: Ready to change the world

By Rachel Bonnet, President, Haddonfield Memorial High School Class of 2020

Good evening to my fellow classmates, friends, families, teachers and administrators. I hope you have all been safe and healthy during these unprecedented times. A special thank you to all of you who serve as front line and essential workers. I would like to begin by thanking my classmates. The relationships and experiences  we have all shared throughout our many years together have been incredible and I am so proud to have grown up beside each of you and call you my friends. Secondly, I would like to thank our teachers, administrators, coaches,  the Haddonfield community and our families for all your support and guidance and for providing our class with such a rich and rewarding experience. You have helped us grow in so many ways to become the people we are today.

This certainly is not the ending to our Haddonfield educational experience anyone could have imagined.  When we left school on March 13, we did not expect it would be our last day together at HMHS. It ended far sooner than we would have liked, in the midst of a global pandemic which continues to impact our lives. Our class was not able to enjoy so many senior year experiences that would have brought us even closer together, such as our Disney trip, Prom, spring sports, Arts in the Courtyard, performing arts exhibitions and as you can see even a normal graduation. We did not get a chance to say proper goodbyes and thank yous to one another and to our amazing teachers. However, this pandemic has required everyone to make sacrifices, and one of ours was the end of our senior year. We understand we had an important role to play in reducing the spread of Covid-19 by social distancing which meant foregoing all of the wonderful events that were planned at the end of our senior year. By doing this we helped to save many lives! While it saddens all of us that we weren’t able to laugh together, hug each other and enjoy the end of our senior year together, our class will move forward beyond this pandemic and continue to grow together even as we go our separate ways. 

This global pandemic has become part of our class’s identity, however it will not define us. Our class is so incredible and our contribution, impact and participation in our community is too great to be overlooked. 

Before the pandemic arrived, our identity as a class had already been forged. We are a class reflecting so many abilities and strengths, interests, and passions. Our character embodies honesty, integrity, goodness and commitment to others. We have experienced and grown so much together. We have laughed and cried together, we have celebrated and grieved together, we have succeeded and failed together, and we have grown to become a remarkable family together. We have brought our spirit, collective abilities and energy to enhance the culture of the HMHS community as our class raised and contributed almost $23,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation over our four years of spirit week successes. We have committed ourselves to service in so many ways. We have participated in mission trips and have supported people and communities within Haddonfield, the surrounding communities and villages overseas. We have worked on environmental initiatives, fed those who are hungry, built homes for those without shelter, and engaged with our senior citizen community in many supportive and rewarding ways. Haddonfield has nurtured us and guided us to become successful students, artists, musicians, actors, debaters, athletes, leaders, gamers, app-builders, environmentalists, social justice advocates and community service providers. Our incredible class spirit reflected how much we enjoyed coming together and celebrating each other. In just the last month of school, the gym was packed for exciting late season basketball games and wrestling matches, many sectional and state titles were won, and the drama club entertained us with an amazing performance of Hello Dolly. Our class is incredibly multidimensional;and has truly left its mark. We have shared a great experience at HMHS and we have so much to share with, and learn from the world as we move forward.

Together, we have accomplished so much. We are strong and capable people, with the ability to do whatever we set our minds to. As we move into the world, we need to make it a better place. We have a responsibility to learn and understand and then to act to effect positive change. A few weeks ago, the world witnessed George Floyd murdered at the hands of a police officer. Systemic racism and injustice continue to be prevalent in the United States. People should not be advantaged or disadvantaged based on the color of their skin. We must fight for equality. 

In addition to advancing systemic and structural social justice reforms, we need to care more about our planet. We must learn how to live sustainably and to address the steadily increasing temperatures of the earth. Informed by science, we need to act on behalf of our planet, ourselves and future generations. 

Our lives must be informed by truth. It is our responsibility to be informed by truth, to promote truth and make decisions based on truth. 

We have an obligation to stand up and to speak up — to use our voices to make our country the place that we want it to be. It may seem as though individually, our voice is small, but we can not underestimate how far our voices can carry and the incredible change that we can make.

To bring about change, we now have a responsibility to make our voices heard. We need to vote. Vote locally, vote in state elections, VOTE in the presidential election.

The Haddonfield Memorial class of 2020 steps beyond these walls with hope, excited to embrace an uncertain future. We remain resilient and optimistic, understanding we are prepared and ready to change the world. The future looks bright!

Congratulations Haddonfield Memorial Class of 2020!

School Board filing deadline: July 27

Haddonfield residents interested in serving on the Board of Education have just a few days to collect the required number of signatures for their petition. The filing deadline is 4pm on Monday, July 27.

Three seats will be in play, each with a three-year term. The incumbents are Lynn Hoag, Heather Paoli, and Thomas Vecchio.

The election will be held on Tuesday, November 3, the date of the general election.

On July 1, 2020, Governor Murphy signed into law A-4037 that would require an electronic process for the collection of petition signatures and their submission for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

For information, go HERE. The petition is available HERE.

The New Jersey School Boards Association has an online video series for school board candidates,“Ten Things Every School Board Candidate Should Know before Taking Office”. The series contains important information for candidates and newly elected board members.

NJ to permit all-remote learning

NJ Gov. Phil Murphy announced today that parents who have concerns about sending their children back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic will have the option to choose all-remote learning.

He said the Department of Education will release details later this week.

This news comes as the Haddonfield School District is soliciting feedback from parents, teachers, and members of the community on its draft plan for school in the fall.

Titled “On the Road Back,” the draft plan details two options:

  • Model 1 is based on 100% capacity
  • Model 2 is based on 50% capacity.

The basis for the two models is the District’s belief that schools and education are essential:

  • We value the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff
  • Children benefit from being physically present in school — Learning — Achievement — Socially

The district’s goal is to develop a plan for a September return to school that balances and maximizes those factors.

Read the draft plan HERE.

Submit comments HERE.

Based on feedback and continued research, the district’s Leadership Team will prepare a new model and present it during the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, July 28.

A video of Chuck Klaus’s presentation to the July 16 Board of Education meeting may be viewed HERE.