Haddon Township

Connor Wade, Haddon Township Linebacker 6-foot 210 pounds College: Elon Wade made 84 tackles in leading Haddon Township to a 6-4 record. He was credited with 14 tackles for losses and five sacks. He also was a fullback and placekicker for the Hawks, who won five of their final seven games. -- Phil Anastasia

Haddon Township's wrestling team rarely loses to the same opponent two years in a row. Coach Miller Preston's Hawks emphasized that point yesterday with a 37-24 win over visiting Shawnee. Haddon Township (8-1) dropped a 39-27 decision to Shawnee last year. "Both coach Preston and (assistant) coach (Dave) Stanton reminded us of that before we came out for the match," said Township junior Brian Botcheos, who raised his season record to 9-3 with a 7-4 win over Brian Scioli at 152 pounds.

Bryan Friedrich looked as if he had just been in a prize fight. Eyes dazed and a cut between his eyebrows, the Haddon Township boys' soccer player was battered, but not beaten. Like a heavyweight contender, Friedrich battled back from a knockdown to deliver the shot that knocked Middle Township out of the South Jersey Group 2 playoffs. After suffering what was believed to be a slight concussion late in the first half, the senior scored a goal with 5 minutes, 5 seconds remaining to lead the Hawks to a 2-1 quarterfinal victory at the Panthers' field yesterday.

The summer runs were done not only for bonding, but also so Haddon Township's football team could improve on a difficult 2-8 season of 2011. So during the summer, the team ran together around the local communities, and one trek took them past Collingswood High. Every time the players passed the high school, it served as a reminder of what went wrong in 2011 and what could be rectified this year. Last season, Collingswood defeated the Hawks, 8-3, and so that was the only reminder the players had during those summer runs.

It was something old for Pat Burns. It was something new for Brendan Anderson. It added up to a 9-2 victory for Haddon Township over Haddon Heights in a Colonial Conference interdivision baseball clash Tuesday at the Garnets' Eighth Avenue Field. "Pat was Pat," Haddon Township coach Doug Richardson said in terse summation of Burns' performance on the mound and at the plate. Burns, a senior righthander, pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts and also was 2 for 4 with a double and triple and three RBIs as Haddon Township improved to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Colonial.

A four-acre tract donated by the Rohrer family to Haddon Township for use as a library was the center of controversy last night when the donor, Linda M. Rohrer, complained that the Township Commission had failed to act on her offer. Democratic Mayor William J. Park Jr. promised that the commission would reach a decision on developing the site within 30 days, and denied that the commission, which has a 2-1 Democratic majority, was deliberately stalling on the library. More than 75 residents turned out to listen and, in some cases, to comment on the community's need for a new library.

Ryan Easterday had a lively fastball and sharp curve. He also had a 5-0 lead before he took the mound. "That makes things a lot easier," Easterday said after leading Haddon Township to a 13-1 victory over Haddon Heights in a Colonial Conference baseball game Tuesday. Easterday, a senior righthander, pitched a two-hitter with six strikeouts in a game that ended after five innings because of the 10-run rule. Easterday also was 3 for 4 at the plate with a double, three-run homer, and four RBIs.

When Collingswood football coach Bob Barikian took roll call last season of his seniors, it wasn't a very long exercise. The Panthers had just three seniors, and the resulting 3-7 season was predictable. Now, the Panthers have more than four times as many seniors and just one fewer win - after just two games. The senior-laden Collingswood team improved to 2-0 with Saturday's 35-7 win over host Haddon Township in a Colonial Conference interdivisional game. It's fitting that senior B.J. Jones scored the first touchdown on a leaping 6-yard reception from senior Eric Hamrick.

  Spotlight: Haddon Township senior Kevin Griese Kevin Griese said he was having a rough game. "I just wasn't seeing the ball that well," Griese said about his first three at-bats in Friday's South Jersey Group 1 quarterfinal against Gateway. Griese made the most of his fourth and final at-bat. With the bases loaded, two outs, and the count at 3-2 - and with his team trailing by 5-4 - Griese hit a double off the left-field fence for the first walk-off hit of his career.

Jim Brown has caught bass, sunfish, and three kinds of catfish in Newton Lake, a man-made lake and favorite fishing spot that winds through Collingswood, Haddon Township, and Oaklyn. "They're all fun to catch," Brown, of Oaklyn, said Sunday, leaning next to his tackle box on a railing overlooking the lake, a line lowered into the algae-spotted water below. In the last year, algae grew so thick Brown said fish were coming up to the surface, searching for air. The situation has improved, he said, one week into an algae-removal project led by Camden County, which owns the 103-acre park surrounding the lake.

Pitching Wins 10: Luke Westfield, Pennsville 9: Matt Ennis, Pitman; Chris Oakley, St. Augustine; Steve Priolo, Eastern; John Bednarek, Cinnaminson; Zack Gakeler, Northern Burlington 8: Mike Shawaryn, Gloucester Catholic; John Murphy, Gloucester Catholic; Devin Smeltzer, Bishop Eustace; Kyle Grim, Williamstown; Don Money, Vineland 7: Mark Scarpa, Washington Township; Donovan Casey, Sterling; Will Allen, Cherry Hill West 6: Chris Seibert,...

Girls' Lacrosse STATE GROUP 1 FINAL Oak Knoll 10, Mountain Lakes 9 STATE GROUP 2 FINAL Summit 16, Allentown 11 STATE GROUP 3 FINAL Moorestown 18, Mendham 10 STATE GROUP 4 FINAL Shawnee 12, Ridgewood 9 Boys' Lacrosse TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS FIRST RD. Rutgers Prep 11, Mountain Lakes 8 Group 1 Teams: 1 Penns Grove 112.5; 2 Hasbrouck Heights 87; 3 Metuchen 75; 4 Hopatcong 71.5; 5 Newark Tech 64.5; 6...

All games Tuesday at 4 p.m. No. 4 seed Williamstown (16-8) at No. 1 seed Eastern (25-3) in South Jersey Group 4 semifinals: The Vikings have game-changing speed at the top of the lineup in Nick Tierno, Ryan Delaney and Tom Flacco. No. 7 Lenape (13-9) at No. 6 Shawnee (15-9) in South Jersey Group 4 semifinals: These school-district rivals split two games in the regular season. No. 9 Kingsway (14-15) at No. 5 Burlington Township (13-7) in South Jersey Group 3 semifinals: The Dragons have made a remarkable recovery from an 0-8 start.

South Jersey Track Sectionals Preview   At Egg Harbor Township. Friday at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m.   Group 4 Boys' team to watch: Host Egg Harbor Township has a solid squad featuring weight thrower Kofi Yamoah. Boys' athlete to watch: Pennsauken's Antwan Dickerson is a threat in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Girls' team to watch: Cherokee has a deep squad that features multi-event standout Sarah Robbie. Girls' athlete to watch: Cherokee's Jess Woodard is the state's top weight thrower.

He passed for 2,957 yards last season as a football quarterback. That was the fourth-highest total in South Jersey history. His brother is a fairly famous football player. But Tom Flacco plays a little baseball, too. "He's improved by leaps and bounds," Eastern coach Rob Christ said of Flacco's development as a baseball player in his junior season. Flacco scored two runs and drove in two as Eastern beat Haddon Township, 11-3, on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Camden County tournament.