Madden breaks free late to lead Chestnut Hill past Haverford School

All afternoon, his play was a whisper. He wasn't roaring the way he had in previous weeks. Instead, on Saturday, it appeared the defense had the answers needed to bring him to a halt.

The defenders swarmed him on his carries, as they eagerly greeted him with bruising gang-tackles. The defensive line looked impenetrable as he battled just to gain positive yardage.

Then in the game's crucial moment, Cedric Madden broke free.

With 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in regulation, the senior tailback sprinted for a 14-yard touchdown as his legs swiftly cut from left to right while turning his fortunes right-side up.

The late score provided the difference as host Chestnut Hill rallied to top Haverford School in a 7-3 afternoon win to open up the Inter-Ac season.

Madden capped off a 40-yard, five-play drive as he took the handoff from Michael Hayes, countered to the right side, and eluded a few tacklers before stomping into the end zone.

"It felt great," said the senior tailback. "All game we fought, then we finally got that touchdown."

After totaling better than 150 yards in three of his last four games, Madden finished Saturday with just 54 yards on 25 carries.

Easily a reason to become frustrated, Madden instead said he just kept plugging away, knowing that his break would come. Blue Devils head coach Rich Knox said it was Madden's character that kept him going.

"Unbelievable character," said Knox, whose team improved to 4-2 overall. "More than anything, he's a great young man who's matured tremendously, and he's a pleasure to be with."

For the majority of the tilt, Haverford School (3-2, 0-1) seemed to have the game in a stranglehold, even though the scoreboard showed them clinging to a three-point lead. The Fords forced three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown but called back by a holding penalty.

"I thought our defense played really well, we didn't capitalize on opportunities. That's really the theme of the day," said Fords head coach Mike Murphy.

The five-game Inter-Ac season resembles more of a sprint to the finish than a marathon. Haverford School's Zach Rego said it was somewhat good that the Fords took this loss early, as now they can build off of it.

Rego was the Fords' leading rusher as he totaled 49 yards on 20 carries. The senior also wrestles and plays lacrosse for Haverford School and has an oral commitment to play lacrosse at Georgetown.

"Wrestling helps me run the ball and get down and dirty," said Rego. "Lacrosse I think helps with everything, and football helps me run straight north and south."

Haverford School   3 0 0 0 – 3

Chestnut Hill   0 0 0 7 – 7

H: FG Morgan 32

C: Madden 14 run (Mulvaney kick)

Contact staff writer Matt Breen

at mbreen@phillynews.com

or @matt_breen on Twitter.