By MARK TRIBLE

South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer

WOODBURY — In the mud and soggy sod here at Woodbury High on Saturday morning and into the early afternoon, Haddonfield’s slippery tailback made the difference.

Senior Dominic Hahn stole the show in this old-school slugfest between longtime Colonial Conference adversaries. The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder had two long runs and each of his club’s trips to the red zone in a 21-6 win for Haddonfield in the South Jersey Football Frenzy Show Game of the Week.

Hahn finished the triumph with 17 carries for 201 yards, per nj.com’s Kevin Minnick, and those three scores. His ability to break loose when seemingly bottled up showed itself in two highlight-reel runs. His first came when he gashed the Thundering Herd for a 60-yard burst in the second quarter.

Soon after, he plunged in for the game’s first points with 9 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first half.

His 70-yarder with 3:28 left in the third quarter wrapped up the points and sent Haddonfield to 4-0 on the season.

“I just try to get low to the ground and keep powering forward to do the best I can,” Hahn said.

He has done exactly that to the tune of 585 yards through the first four games of the campaign — more than 145 yards per contest. He’s averaged nine yards per carry and reached the end zone eight times. Hahn plans to play at Washington and Lee University — located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley — next season, he said.

“He’s not Barry Sanders but he runs like those great backs do,” Haddons coach Frank DeLano said. “He has a low center of gravity, he works hard.

“He’s everything you want in a player and he doesn’t care who scores.”

Hahn’s ability complemented a defense that gave up little to Woodbury (3-1, 2-0 West Jersey Football League Diamond). The Herd were without starting quarterback Donta Viccharelli for the contest due to an injury. Factored in with a messy weather day across the region, the tilt mostly took place between the hashes in the mud.

Haddonfield’s white jerseys became a color more similar to gym-sock grey. But the Haddons (4-0, 1-0 WJFL Constitution) appeared unaffected by the forecast. They embraced the moment and brought significant energy — on the sideline and between the whistles, from warmups to halftime to the postgame handshake line.

“It’s definitely the rain and playing just a great team,” Hahn said. “It was like an old-school football battle.

“I think everyone came out and felt the mud on the field and were having a great time.”

While Hahn’s performance stole the show, DeLano credited the victory to a complete and total team effort.

One of the coach’s favorite images came on that 70-yard run as Hahn raced to the goal line. Receiver Dawson Eliot raced down the field and helped provide an escort.

“That’s a receiver who’s not going to catch a ball today who was selfless and sprinted 75 yards down the field to help his buddy,” DeLano said. “When we’re doing that, we’ve got a shot.

“…When we play as one with one heartbeat, we’re pretty darn good. The minute that thing strays is when we can’t afford to deviate from the plan.”

That plan, combined with Hahn’s dodgy runs, made for a pretty good combination Saturday.

Mark Trible is a special high school football writer for South Jersey Glory Days. You can follow him on Twitter @MTrible. Also, catch his high school football show (The South Jersey Football Frenzy Show) every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at facebook.com/sjglorydays.