Sports

Dawgs Hit the Heights

By Lauree Padgett for Haddonfield Today

Paul celebrates with his dad, Dave, kids Matt and Sara, and wife Sue.

Part 4 of 5: 

The win at Sterling not only got us the Colonial Liberty crown, it put the Dawgs at 21-3 with two nonleague games remaining before the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs began on March. 3. First up was an away game versus the Burlington County Technical Institute (BCIT)-Westampton Panthers. In the first, the Dawgs got behind almost immediately, down 2-6 with 3:16 left in the quarter. A 3 and a 2 by Gos put the Dawgs up 7-6, but a layup by Westampton with less than 30 seconds put them back on top 8-7. As the buzzer sounded, Coach Wiedeman could be heard telling his team there had been too many turnovers in the first 8 minutes. And he was right.

Boosted by a trio of treys by Steve McClane, one that started off the Dawgs’ offense in the second and one that ended it, Haddonfield had turned that 1-point deficit into a 6-point, 20-14, lead, at the half. The Panthers mounted a comeback in the third, putting up 11 points to the Dawgs’ 9, and as the last quarter began, the Dawgs’ lead had been cut to 4, 29-25. That lead disappeared altogether as BCIT scored the first two baskets, and at the 6:38 mark, the game was tied at 29 all. But Gos answered with a 2 to push the lead back to 2, 31-29 on the Dawgs’ next possession. Nothing happened offensively for more than 2 minutes. With 4 and change on the clock, McClane secured a defensive rebound, and that was followed by a big 3 by Gos, giving the Dawgs a 5-point, 34-29, edge with 4:04 to go. The Dawgs got the ball back only to lose it on a Westampton steal and basket, closing the Panthers’ gap to 3, 34–31, with 3:23 left in the game. McClane picked a good time to hit his final 3 — he would have five total — of the game, to double the Dawgs’ lead to 6, 37-31. Again, the Panthers’ responded with a basket to get back to within 4 again, 37-33, with just under 2 minutes remaining. The Dawgs’ finished out their scoring on the foul line, with Gos converting both ends of two 1+1 opportunities with 14 and then 2 seconds left. Another buzzer trey by the opposition made it a 41-36 final. And it gave Haddonfield its 22nd win of the season.

It’s always good to head into the playoffs with momentum from a win, and that’s what Haddonfield and its fans were hoping for when the 11-14 Burlington Township Falcons came to town to wrap up the regular season on February 27. Those hopes were not to be realized, however, as the Falcons, who looked big and athletic during warm-ups and lived up to my assessment after the game tip-off, clipped those aspirations, pulling off a 52-48 win. What hurt the Dawgs was a badly executed second quarter. Although only trailing by 1, 8–9, when the second quarter began, the team only managed to put 3 points on the board—all off foul shots—while the Falcons added 15 to own a 24-11 lead at the half. In the last 16 minutes, the Dawgs’ found their shooting, outscoring their first-half total by 2, putting 13 points on the board to the Falcons’ 8, but they were still down by 8 heading into the 4th. That’s when their inability to make a field goal in the 2nd really came back to haunt them. Despite doubling their score by knocking in 24 points, with Gostovich leading the way with 11, it was not enough, as the Falcons’ 20 points enabled them to hold onto the lead and walk away with a 4-point W.

The Playoffs — And a Rematch for the Record Books?

When the South Jersey Group 2 seeding came out on February 14, no one was too surprised that Haddonfield, then at 18-3, drew the #2 slot behind Camden. What was a bit unexpected, three weeks after the seedings came out, the Dawgs were sitting at 22-3 going into that first round game. If they advanced to the semi-finals, which would be the round-three game, they could be going up against none other than Haddon Heights in their quest to reach the 25-win mark. Twenty-five wins for this Dawg team was not something many people, including me, had been contemplating as the season began. In and of itself, a 25-win season is an quite an accomplishment. But for this team, it would be more than an accomplishment, it would net Wiedeman, in his 21st season as head coach at Haddonfield, an impressive, to say the least, milestone: win number 500 of his career.

At some point earlier in the season, as the Dawgs kept racking up wins, it started to occur to me that what had seemed improbable at best at the outset of the year — 25 wins — actually had a chance, slim perhaps, of occurring. I wasn’t sure who else besides me knew this. Dawgs and Wiedeman nerd that I am, I have been keeping a running tally of the Dawgs’ record, season by season, starting with the younger Wiedeman’s debut at Haddonfield during the 1999–2000 season. That year, the rookie coach and former Bulldog took his team to the Group 2 state finals. Although they came up a bit short, the team still finished the year with a 21–8 record. With my season-by-season summary, I knew that with his win-loss record at 475-112, as the 2019-20 season loomed, Wiedeman was 25 victories away from 500. What I did not expect was that this team was going to give him a real chance of getting to that 500 plateau.

But in early February, as the W’s kept rolling in, it did not take a math wiz, thank goodness, to be able to calculate that win 500 was becoming within reach. I decided to share this info with Beth Cerrato, Ben’s mom, who was in charge of the booster club, just in case … About the time the Dawgs’ got win 20, Beth texted me. Was I sure Coach Wiedeman only needed five more wins to hit 500? Uhhh … I was pretty sure, but pretty sure wasn’t going to cut it. So, I pulled out my yearly summary and my past few scorebooks, where I list the schedule for the year, the results, and note any significant happenings, such as a player reaching 1,000 points. And there was the information I needed! On January 14, 2017, in a 71-30 thrashing of Triton, Wiedeman got win number 400. All I had to do was count each win from then on and I would make sure my current win total was accurate. After I gave myself a scare by initially counting that Triton win instead of starting with the next win, I was able to reply to Beth that, yes, I was 100% sure Paul was five wins away from 500.

When the Dawgs were sitting at 21-3 going into the games with BCIT-Westampton and Burlington Township, Tom Betley, another Haddonfield boys basketball junkie and another person who knew how close Wiedeman was getting, told me he was hoping the Dawgs would win both games, so that if Haddonfield and Haddon Heights met up in the semi-finals, the added pressure of going for Wiedeman’s 500th would be off the team’s shoulders. I agreed, but had a feeling, and actually an itch, to have that potential game be the setting for 500. Wiedeman’s 200th win had come in the South Jersey Group 2 finals against Colonial nemesis Collingswood in 2007, and it seemed fitting, perhaps even destined, that his 500th would come against another Colonial rival.

But first the Dawgs, not to mention the Garnets, had to get to that semi-final contest. Up first for Haddonfield on March 3 was Pennsauken Tech, touting a not-too-intimidating record of 9-12. The Tornadoes didn’t exactly get blown away, because the Dawgs had a low-offense production, only scoring 14 points in the first half, to the Tornadoes’ 6. It wasn’t until the 4th quarter, thanks to a pair of 3’s by Gos and one by Cerrato, that the Dawgs put double digits — 17 points — on the board. The final, lackluster score, was 37-21.

In the round-two quarter-finals versus Point Pleasant Boro, the team picked up the pace a bit. Against yet another team who were called the Panthers, the Dawgs pounced to a 16–5 lead after 8 minutes of play, spurred on by a trio of 3’s by Gos and a pair of 2’s by Cerrato. The baskets didn’t fall quite as easily in the second quarter, but at half, the Dawgs were still up by 8, 25-17. In the third, Gos added 8 points on field goals, and Cerrato hit a 3, giving the Dawgs a 37-22 lead going in the last quarter. They matched their first-quarter tally, putting 16 on the board, with Mooney and Kasko leading the way with 6 points each. The final score was 53–28. The Dawgs were advancing to the South Jersey Group 2 semi-finals. Would they need to find a way to beat Heights again to reach the finals and give their coach win number 500? Oh yes!

Haddonfield vs. Haddon Heights, the Rubber Match: March 7 at Haddonfield

Although a highly anticipated game, and an extremely nerve-wracking one on a few levels, the third battle between the Dawgs and the Garnets was going to play out to be another game in which neither team made it to 40 points. And like the first contest in January, the last basket won it in the closing seconds. A bit out of order as to how I posted it on Facebook the next night (spoiler alert: that’s because I was out celebrating that night), here is a recap of the game, focusing mainly on the second-half action:

This was not a high-scoring game, but that meant every point mattered. And it meant Dawgs who don’t always get a lot of points needed to step up when called on. In the first half, junior Justin Kasko made three field goals. In the second quarter, he accounted for 2 of Haddonfield’s 4 points, [which] meant the Dawgs were only trailing by 3, 13-16 going into the half.

Heights got the first points of the second half from the foul line to increase their lead to 5, 18-13, but Kasko answered with a basket to get his team back to within 3, 18-15, with 6:06 on the clock. Heights got back to the foul line, this time sinking 1-2, at the 5:55 mark to make it 19-15.

While Haddonfield’s defense was keeping Heights from getting the ball in the net, their own offense was not resulting in good looks. “Somebody needs to step up,” I muttered after Heights lost the ball out of bounds. And that’s exactly what sophomore Tommy Mooney did. First, he went in for a layup. Although he didn’t score, he did get to the foul line and hit both shots. This got the Dawgs to within 2, 19-17, with 3:02 showing on the scoreboard.

But the Garnets got those points back on a wide open shot. Senior Ben Cerrato answered with a bucket to make it 19-17, Heights, with 2:35 to go. Senior Steve McClane hustled to intercept a bad pass, landing on his back but making a pass behind him to Fell. Mooney, looking for the open man, couldn’t find one and decided to take the shot himself. It dropped in and with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, the Dawgs had tied it at 21.

After a timeout by Heights, the Garnets ended up losing the ball on a misfired pass. This time, McClane went up and in to put the Dawgs ahead 23-21, with 1:17 on the clock. The Dawgs pressed Heights on the bench side line and the Garnets lost the ball out of bounds. Cerrato’s drive in the paint with 48 seconds to go pushed the Dawgs’ lead to 4, 25-21, and although there were several more plays in those 48 seconds, no one scored again, and going into what would be the final 8 minutes of one team’s season, the Dawgs were still up 25-21.

Heights had possession to start the 4th, but a blocked shot and then a rebound by senior Andrew Gostovich set up what looked to be Gos’ second trey of the game. To the dismay of all the Dawg fans, a foul was called ahead of the shot, so the basket did not count. What followed was, as I scribbled in my notepad, “a mess.” The Dawgs lost the ball, got it back, and lost it again, and to add insult to injury, Heights scored and was fouled. The foul shot cut the Dawgs’ lead to 1, 25-24 with 6:21 left in the game.

Cerrato picked a perfect time to nail his first 3 of the game, pushing the Dawgs’ lead back to 4, 28-24, with 5:53 left. Heights was fouled and converted 1 of 2, and after knocking the ball out of bounds during the Dawgs’ next possession, then picked it off for an easy 2. Now the Dawgs were clinging to a 1-point lead. Mooney gave the Dawgs a bit of breathing room from the foul line, again making both shots, and making it a 3-point, 30-27, lead with 4:37 to go.

That 3-point edge was short-lived at the Garnets scored at the other end of the court, getting to within 1 once more, 30-29, with 4:18 on the clock. Neither team was able to score the next few times up and down the court. Heights committed a non-shooting foul with 2:10 left in the game, then knocked the ball out of bounds. The Dawgs were suddenly having a hard time in-bounding the ball, and the Garnets took advantage, stealing the ball and scoring to retake the lead, 31-30, with 1:50 left.

The Dawgs failed to score and the Garnets scored again. and with 1:27 on the clock, the Dawgs were down by 3, 33-30. After a Dawgs’ timeout, Gos’ shot went in and out. A jump ball gave possession back to Heights with 1:05 remaining and in the stands, Dawgs’ fans were getting a bit uneasy. There was another loose ball, and almost every player on the court dove for it. Haddonfield came up with it, but another shot missed the net.

With 46.6 seconds left, Heights lost the ball out of bounds on solid D by Haddonfield. In the right corner, Cerrato got open and sent the ball up—and in, tying the game with 35 seconds left. The Dawgs’ fans were on their feet. Heights took a timeout with 22 seconds left to set up what was probably going to be their last scoring drive of the game. Whatever that play was, it was not supposed to include senior Connor Fell, [Haddonfield’s] toughest defender on the court, sensing a pass a split second before it happened, snatching the ball, and doing something he rarely does — going in for a layup — to put the Dawgs in front by 2 with 6 seconds left.

Heights still had a chance, especially after the refs called a foul on what should have been a back-court violation on Heights, but by then there was .6 seconds left on the clock. Although the Heights player’s near-midcourt heave came a little closer than expected, it missed its mark and the game was over. The Dawgs had once again fought off the Garnets in the final minutes of the 4th quarter to steal, literally this time, the win, showing everyone in the gym what it means to never, ever give up. As the buzzer sounded and the home crowd whopped it up, students rushed on the court and started the celebration even before the two teams could do their obligatory handshakes.

Although he is usually one to shun the spotlight, when the attention rightfully turned to our masterful coach, Paul Wiedeman, he was all smiles as his team, coaching staff, family, friends, and fans took turns congratulating him. The booster club had big black cutouts of a 5, two 0’s, paw prints, an exclamation mark, and a big basketball that read “Coach Wiedeman’s 500th Win.” The coach happily posed for shots with his wife, Sue; kids Sarah, Abigail, and Matthew; and then his dad Dave and brother Vic, as well as his team and coaches. When I got a chance to go up to him, he asked, half-seriously, I think, “Are you sure this is my 500th win?” As I heartily assured him it was, he added, “You’ve been here from the beginning,” a fact that I am very lucky to say is true. Tom Betley, who knows just about everything there is to know about South Jersey high school basketball, is pretty sure Paul is now the youngest South Jersey coach, perhaps the youngest in the whole state, to reach 500 wins. Who knows how many wins — and titles — he and his teams will collect in the years to come.

As I watched the festivities on the court, it was quite touching to see how excited the players were, not just to have beaten Heights again in the last seconds, but especially to have given their coach win number 500. In fact, many of their parents, who graciously asked me to join them and the boys at the usual place of victory celebrations, P.J.’s, told me how determined the team was to make sure win 500 came this season, not next, and at their hands. Beth Cerrato shared a conversation she had with the one of Paul’s assistant coaches after the Point Pleasant Boro game. Apparently, he and the rest of the assistant coaches were not sure whether to tell the players that Wiedeman would be going for his 500th win in the next round, as they didn’t want to put any extra pressure on what was already going to be a big-time contest. The assistant coach was quite surprised when Beth informed him that the boys already knew the next win would be 500, and since they had found out it was within reach this season, securing it for Wiedeman had become their goal along with winning the Liberty conference and making it back to the South Jersey finals. This win assured that all three of those goals had been reached.

For Part 1, click HERE.

For Part 2, click HERE.

For Part 3, click HERE.

PART 5 of 5 will be published on Friday, August 7.

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.

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.