Someone once said that luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
If that's the case, Cherry Hill East had luck on its side Saturday in a West Jersey Football League interdivisional battle with visiting Washington Township.
East capitalized on breaks of its own making as well as those given by the Minutemen to register a 31-27 victory, its second consecutive win of the young season.
"Sometimes you get the good luck, and sometimes you don't," said East fullback Brian Regan, who scored the Cougars' final touchdown on a 3-yard run in the final minutes.
"Today, I thought we had some good luck and sometimes we didn't. They put the ball on the ground a few times, and sometimes we didn't get it, sometimes we did."
Regan, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound fullback, ran the ball 26 times for a game-high 94 yards and a touchdown. The senior also was involved in trick plays in the second and third periods that led to scores.
"Coach [Tom] Coen takes his fake plays very seriously, and we got it down to perfection," Regan said about a 31-yard pass he completed to senior Kurt Taylor in the second quarter and a reverse he initiated with senior wide receiver Taj Frazier in the third period.
The first one led to a 1-yard touchdown by senior quarterback Jesse Gold as time ran out in the first half for a 21-7 lead. The second led to a third-period, 27-yard field goal by Mike Suli, who is 10 for 10 in extra points and field goals the last two weeks. The Cougars then led, 24-7.
Township coach Mark Wechter said his players fought back valiantly in the second half, and they did. Down by 17 points with 7 minutes, 59 seconds left in the third quarter, the Minutemen roared back on a 3-yard touchdown run by John Montesjardi and followed that with a touchdown on a 75-yard kickoff return by senior A.J. Ashton to pull to within 24-21 with 7:24 to play.
Regan's 3-yard touchdown run enabled the Cougars to expand their lead to 31-21, but quarterback Tom Hildebrand led the Minutemen to East's 7-yard line, from where he tossed a TD pass to Matthew Long to make the score 31-27 with 1:01 left. From there, the Cougars ran out the clock.
Township (1-1 overall, 1-0 American Division) turned over the ball three times in the first period and East (2-0, 1-0 National) made the Minutemen pay on the first one, a fumble on the opening kickoff.
Jesse Gold floated a 37-yard pass into the hands of Frazier on the left side for the game's first touchdown, 52 seconds into the action.
East's Robert Taylor returned a kickoff 80 yards in the second period for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead a few seconds after Township had tied the score, 7-7, on a 2-yard run by Montesjardi.
Washington Township 0 7 7 13 – 27
Cherry Hill East 7 14 3 7 – 31
CHE: Taj Frazier 37 pass from Jesse Gold (Mike Suli kick)
WT: John Montesjardi 2 run (Ben Palestino kick)
CHE: Rob Taylor 80 kickoff return (Suli kick)
CHE: Jesse Gold 1 run (Suli kick)
CHE: FG 27 Suli
WT: Montesjardi 3 run (Palestino kick)
WT: Al Ashton 75 kickoff return (Palestino kick)
CHE: Brian Regan 3 run (Suli kick)
WT: Matt Long 7 pass from Hildebrand (kick failed)
Contact staff writer Bill Iezzi at 856-779-3826 or biezzi@phillynews.com.
