Staff Report
GLASSBORO — Everyone knows that in order to beat the Glassboro High football team, you have to be able to contain standout senior athlete Xavier Sabb.
Knowing in and doing it — two different things.
The Bulldogs — a pseudo host, playing just across the street at Rowan University’s Richard Wacker Stadium in the finale of this year’s Battle at the Beach invitational showcase — ran their winning streak to 15 games as Sabb did a little bit of everything in their 36-20 win over Haddonfield.
Sabb scored on a pair of touchdown receptions, added a couple of interceptions on defense and also scored on a two-point conversion. He was all over the field on both sides of the ball, as was his brother, Amari, who made some big plays on offense and special teams — including a huge kickoff return late in the first half after Haddonfield had sliced Glassboro’s lead to just 16-13. That play brought the ball to the Bulldawgs’ 32-yard line, and two plays later Amari Sabb turned on the jets around the left side and scored, extending Glassboro’s lead to 22-13 just six seconds before halftime and wiping out any momentum Haddonfield had painstakingly built throughout the second quarter.
Haddonfield found itself down 16-0 midway through the second quarter, and facing a 4 th-and-9 at the Glassboro 38-yard line, the Dawgs decided to go for it. That decision paid off, as quarterback Van Lefakis hit running back Brody Leonard on a wheel route out of the backfield for a huge gain down to the Glassboro 7-yard line. That set up a touchdown pass from Lefakis to tight end Jack McKeever, and after forcing a punt, the Dawgs scored again as another big play from Lefakis to McKeever set up Michael Keenan’s 1-yard scoring plunge.
But that’s as close as Haddonfield would get, as Glassboro put the game out of reach early in the third quarter when senior quarterback Jack O’Connell hooked up with Xavier Sabb — one of the most highly recruited juniors in the country — on a 39-yard scoring strike. Amari Sabb, a senior, ran in the two-point conversion as Glassboro extended its lead to 30-13.
WHAT’S NEXT: Glassboro hosts Haddon Heights on Friday at 6 p.m. Haddonfield hosts Woodbury on Friday at 7 p.m.
