"You never know in this sport," Dobbins said. "I just wanted to be out there. I thought maybe I could help out in some way."

Ultimately, incredibly, Dobbins made the difference as Haddon Township won its second consecutive sectional title on a breezy day at Delsea Regional High School.

Maybe that's why Dobbins' teammates lifted him into the air in celebration when coach Dave Donohue explained the complicated details of their remarkable victory.

Or maybe they just wanted to keep him off his sore right foot.

"You couldn't have scripted this," Donohue said. "It's an unbelievable story."

Dobbins should have been the Hawks' No. 1 or No. 2 runner this season. He was the team's top non-senior in this meet last season, finishing ninth in 17 minutes, 27 seconds and helping Haddon Township win the championship.

But Dobbins suffered a stress fracture in his right foot in early September. His senior season looked like a washout - he had run in one, noncompetitive dual meet and in one junior varsity meet before yesterday.

"It was tough for me, because I need to run to get my stress out," Dobbins said. "I felt bad about not being able to run individually, but I also felt bad for the team. I felt like I was letting my team down."

Dobbins never gave up on his season, even though his doctor basically told him it was a lost cause. He said he swam lap after lap in the pool at the Royal Fitness health club in Barrington, and also worked on the stationary bike and elliptical machine.

"He worked so hard to stay in shape," Donohue said. "He wanted to be ready to help out in some way, if he could. You just never expect it to work out this way."

Dobbins said he thought there was a chance he could finish yesterday's race as the Hawks' fifth runner. That would make him part of the team scoring.

He knew that was a long shot. He hadn't really run this season, except for those two noncompetitive races in the last two weeks. He hadn't trained.

He also was pushing his luck, at least according to one expert medical opinion.

"I think my orthopedic doctor would flip out if he found out I was out there passing people," Dobbins said.

But, as Donohue said, this is an unbelievable story.

First, Haddon Township officials figured they lost the team meet to Pennsville because when the results came in, the Eagles had a one-point edge.

But then things changed. Team scoring involves only athletes who compete for schools with five runners. So when a couple of runners were removed, Haddon Township and Pennsville were tied with 55 points.

The tiebreaker was the finish of each team's sixth-place runner. For Haddon Township, that was Dobbins, who placed 29th overall and clinched the team title for the Hawks.

"It's kind of incredible," said Dobbins, a top student who lists Holy Cross and Haverford as his top college choices. "I wanted to try to do something to help the team win.

"I never thought it would happen like this."

or panastasia@phillynews.com.