By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — During pregame warmups, Egg Harbor Township running back Dante Moore stood in the end zone and looked around, taking in the sights of Silver Eagle Stadium minutes before the season opener against rival Atlantic City. A senior, this would be the last first game of the season for Moore, and he vowed to make it memorable. He might want to grab a copy of the game film and put it on a CD to show his grandkids in about 40 years. Memorable might be an understatement. Moore rushed 23 times for 253 yards and a touchdown, and added three receptions for 59 yards and another touchdown, as the Eagles rallied from a 27-7 halftime deficit to shock the Vikings 41-34 in one of the wildest games in the past couple of seasons. “It was great. The only thing I can say about tonight is, when God shows up, he shows out. He really did his thing. And my linemen? Oh, my goodness, my linemen. I can’t do a darn thing without them. They really held this team together, and we just kept fighting,” Moore said. “Stats don’t matter. That’s all cool and everything, but it’s all about the team winning because we’re trying to progress forward in the season.” “Dante’s my brother. We played on different teams in youth league and we used to go back and forth. I’m happy he is on our side, and he did a great job tonight,” said linebacker D.J. Ellis, who is back in the silver and black after transferring back from Holy Spirit. 
Egg Harbor Township senior running back Dante Moore collects his thoughts prior to facing Atlantic City in the season opener. Moore finished with a pair of touchdowns and more than 300 all-purpose yards for the Eagles. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Egg Harbor Township’s season got off to a horrific start, as Atlantic City’s Idryis Muhammad returned the opening kickoff 83 yards up the right sideline to give the Vikings (0-1) a quick 7-0 lead. Less than three minutes later, Dennis DeBerry took a little slant pass from quarterback Jamir Prevard and raced 90 yards to the EHT 3-yard line. Prevard punched it in, then ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0. Egg Harbor Township (1-0) was reeling, but was able to answer when David Rice — making just his second career start at quarterback — found Moore for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Christian Ireland’s extra point cut the lead in half, and it looked as though EHT was right back in the game. But Atlantic City put up a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 27-7 lead into halftime. The first came on a screen pass from Prevard to Jackson that Jackson took 29 yards to the house, and then, with 15 seconds left and the Eagles driving, Muhammad — who played his first three seasons at EHT — picked off a pass and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. At halftime, the EHT seniors let it be known that nobody was allowed to give up. “(Coach Kevin) Stetser came in and said, ‘yeah, what the seniors said.’ At the end of the day, the seniors are passionate about our last first game of a season. And the juniors and sophomores were ready to play for us, and we were ready to play for them. We were just excited,” Moore said. “We just corralled together, team unity, team bonding. We just had to know that we knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that we could do this.” “Stetser didn’t say much, but our coaches play a big part and instill a great work ethic in us. We work, that’s what we do, and we take pride in that,” Ellis said. “At halftime, we didn’t have our heads hung down in shame because we knew we had another chance to go out there. The seniors stepped up and talked to us, and we all banded together.” 
Offensive lineman Matt Faldetta celebrates Egg Harbor Township’s unbelievable 41-34 comeback win over Atlantic City. Egg Harbor Township didn’t panic, and stayed with its running game. The Eagles pounded out 327 yards on 48 carries and gained 19 first downs in the game, wearing out the Vikings’ defense. EHT ran 82 plays, compared to just 59 for Atlantic City, and also got a couple of key turnovers. After the defense forced a 3-and-out on the Vikings’ first possession of the second half, a big run by Rice set up Moore’s 19-yard touchdown run and EHT trailed 27-13. Another 3-and-out set up Spencer LaSure’s 80-yard punt return that cut the lead to 27-20, and after Atlantic City fumbled the ensuing kickoff, EHT tied the game at 27 when Rice found Amon Rolls down the middle for a 30-yard touchdown. Rolls outleaped an Atlantic City defender at the goal line for his only catch of the game. Early in the fourth quarter, Rice found LaSure for a 47-yard touchdown pass, and Connor Agostino’s 16-yard TD run with just more than six minutes left gave the Eagles a 41-27 lead. Atlantic City answered when Prevard returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to make it 41-34, but Moore picked off a Prevard pass with 1:13 left to seal the win. “It was a war, it really was. It was our guys against theirs, they played a great game and so did we. All respect goes out to everybody on (Atlantic City’s) team,” Ellis said. Rice finished 12-of-21 for 183 yards and three touchdowns, while Agostino chipped in with 75 rushing yards for Egg Harbor Township. LaSure tallied 212 all-purpose yards, as the Eagles racked up an incredible 723 all-purpose yards and 510 yards of offense. The Eagles also had two interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
EHT couldn’t have asked for much Moore in miraculous comeback win over Atlantic City in season opener
