West Football Downs East, Reclaims the Boot

Lining up in an unusual spot for him—behind the center—Cherry Hill West's John Bendig took the snap on the Lions' final scoring play of the season, a two-point conversion attempt, slipped one tackler, crossed into the end zone, leaped up and spiked the ball as the Lions went up 30-6 over crosstown rival Cherry Hill East.

It was an exclamation point on a game, a season, a high school career, and Bendig wasn't missing his opportunity to celebrate both the score and West's victory—not least because this was his first chance to play in the Thanksgiving rivalry after being injured the last two years.

“This, for me, was my favorite football game of all time,” he said. “It's not even close.”

With the win, the Lions not only reclaimed the Boot—the Al DiBart Memorial Trophy, given the winner of the Thanksgiving game—winning for the first time since 2010, they also finish as arguably the best team in school history, racking up five wins and the school's first-ever playoff berth to go with the win over East.

Though the final score might say otherwise, it wasn't a pushover win for West, either.

East came out strong from the opening kickoff, blooping a not-quite-onsides kick, then forcing and recovering a Lions fumble.

Cougars quarterback Brandon Stern then hit Vinny Guckin on a 31-yard strike down the sideline for the game's first score, giving East a 6-0 lead after just one drive.

West would answer on Jaquan Gonzalez-Pratt's 54-yard run two possessions later, getting a two-point conversion to make it 8-6, then got a key pass breakup from Quinton Jenkins, who punched loose what would've been the second Stern-to-Guckin touchdown pass in the end zone.

Gonzalez-Pratt, who scored once more in the first half before getting sidelined with an injury, passed the credit for his scoring opportunities to the Lions' offensive line, which blew train-sized holes in the East defense all night.

“They put up a little fight, but our line could handle it,” he said. “It was just great blocking with my line. I can't do anything without them—they did a great job.”

The Lions made it 22-6 at halftime on Gonzalez-Pratt's second touchdown and a six-yard pass from Joey Argentina to Dwuan Allen—then the defenses and the conditions took over.

Though rain had stopped falling by kickoff, the saturated field took a beating, becoming a minefield of ruts by the start of the second half—and as the temperature kept falling, it even started freezing in spots.

West had spent time in pregame working on footing and other drills, Gonzalez-Pratt said, knowing the conditions could be a factor.

“I think that helped,” he said. “We knew we just had to keep our feet and play with the weather.”

After the teams each traded a pair of scoreless possessions in the third, the Cougars came up with what looked like a sure scoring drive—Stern broke two tackles on his way to a 30-yard pickup and East ground its way to the West 35, where the Cougars faced fourth-and-eight.

But Ryan Wimmer chased down Stern, who was scrambling and looking for a receiver, and brought down the Cougars quarterback in a critical sack.

Argentina scored on a seven-yard run on West's next drive, and Bendig's two-point conversion sealed it.

As he limped around the post-game celebration, Gonzalez-Pratt called both Wednesday night's win and the season a special experience.

“We made history,” he said. “We seniors left our mark.”

For pictures from the game, check out Cherry Hill East, West Battle for the Boot [Photos].