The playoffs are great and all and Cherry Hill East might have been able to make some noise in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament. But the Cougars will just have to live with the afterglow from a 57-56 victory over Cherokee on Saturday.
That's right - 57-56.
In double overtime.
On Gold's two-point conversion run after the Cougars' eighth touchdown of the game.
"Best game I've ever been a part of," said Cherry Hill East senior wide receiver Rob Taylor, who scored on a 66-yard run and 14-yard reception and also had an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown nullified by a penalty.
It was a video game sprung to life on a sunny fall afternoon, two Group 4 teams burning that soft grass on the Cougars' home field to a crisp with big play after big play, with touchdown after touchdown after touchdown.
Cherokee junior Zaire Williams, who spent his freshman year at Cherry Hill East before moving to Marlton, carried 42 times for 385 yards and six touchdowns. His rushing total is the fourth-highest in South Jersey history.
Cherry Hill East senior Brian Regan carried 37 times for 280 yards and three touchdowns.
"That was some display of rushing offense," said Cherokee coach P.J. Mehigan, whose team dropped to 5-3 and was eliminated from playoff contention.
It was an injury to Regan in the second overtime that moved Cherry Hill East coach Tom Coen to go for the two-point conversion after the Cougars had pulled to within 56-55 on Daishi Goto's 5-yard touchdown run. Up until then, Cherry Hill East kicker Mike Suli was 7 for 7 on placements.
But Coen didn't want to play a third overtime without Regan, who was helped off the field with a leg injury. So the coach decided to settle the game on one play.
Gold took the snap in a shotgun formation, ran right, squirmed past a couple of tacklers, and dived into the end zone.
