C.H. East gets first win

Brandon Stern knew something special was in the air when he walked into the Cherry Hill East locker room Saturday morning.

"Guys had smiles on their faces. Music was playing. We had some swagger," said Stern, the Cougars' senior quarterback.

Cherry Hill East's players felt even better after the game.

With Stern leading the way, East snapped a 14-game losing streak with a 41-28 victory over Seneca on a warm, windy afternoon on the Cougars' home field.

The victory was Cherry Hill East's first since a Thanksgiving Eve win over Cherry Hill West in 2012. It also was the most points scored by the Cougars since a 57-56 overtime win over Cherokee in 2011.

"We knew this was going to come," Stern said. "We just didn't know when. But ever since the summer, we knew this day would get here."

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Stern, a Penn State recruit in lacrosse, put together perhaps the best performance of his football career.

Stern ran 12 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns and was 13-for-22 passing for 184 yards and two TDs as East improved to 1-4.

Stern set the tone with a 59-yard touchdown run on the game's second play.

"That was huge for us," Stern said. "The line did a great job opening the hole. The receivers were blocking downfield. It showed us we could move the ball."

Junior Sam Pawlikowski ran for three touchdowns and sophomore J.J. Scarpello was 16-for-31 passing for 248 yards and a touchdown for Seneca (1-4).

"I told our team this week that going against a team that's playing for pride can be tough," Seneca coach Bill Fisher said. "That's what happened. They [Cherry Hill East] were playing for pride, and they played hard. They did a good job."

Seneca took a 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter when Pawlikowski went 33 yards for a touchdown on a fake punt.

But Cherry Hill East reclaimed the lead on senior fullback Mario Paglione's 2-yard run at the end of a drive that featured a 28-yard pass from Stern to sophomore Jay Jay Vaughters.

East added an important score with just 38 seconds left in the first half when Stern fired a 33-yard TD pass to junior Vinny Guckin, who made an over-the-shoulder catch in the right corner of the end zone.

"We kept practicing hard, kept playing hard," said Paglione, who also played a strong game at linebacker. "We kept believing in each other."

Sophomore Ryan Swenson's fumble recovery on the first play of the second half set up a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore Miles McLeod, and Stern went 42 yards for a score on the next drive to jack the Cougars' lead to 34-7.

"Every game we played this year, we went in thinking we could win," Stern said. "We kept our confidence. I walked in the locker room today, and I just knew it was going to happen.

"Everybody was like, 'Yeah, this is it. Let's roll with it.' "

Seneca 7 0 0 21 - 28

Cherry Hill East 6 14 14 7 - 41

CHE: Brandon Stern 59 run (run failed)

S: Sam Pawlikowski 33 run (Vaughn Butler kick)

CHE: Mario Paglione 2 run (Zach Volm kick)

CHE: Vinny Guckin 33 pass from Stern (Volm kick)

CHE: Miles McLeod 1 run (Volm kick)

CHE: Stern 42 run (Volm kick)

S: Pawlikowski 3 run (kick failed)

S: Wyatt Thomas 5 pass from J.J. Scarpello (Vaughn kick)

CHE: Frank Petalino 37 pass from Stern (Volm kick)

S: Pawlikowski 12 run (Scarpello run)

Cherry Hill East's Brandon Stern talks about the victory.

inquirer.com/rallynj

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