The Boot stays on Chapel Ave. after West wins one of the wildest games in series history

CHERRY HILL – In a season filled with growing pains, the Cherry Hill High School West football team found a pretty sweet way to ease the sting a little.

Beat rival Cherry Hill East.

The Boot remains firmly planted on Chapel Avenue for an 11^th straight year as the Lions emerged with a thrilling 29-28 victory in double overtime, marking one of the most exciting games in the rivalry's history, one that began in 1969.

Cherry Hill West completed its season at 2-7, but maintained its stranglehold on the trophy, named in honor of the late beloved Cherry Hill educator and administrator Alexander DiBartolomeo.

Jonathan Valentin doesn’t know what if feels like to lose to East. And the senior two-way lineman never will, either.

“(This rivalry) means everything to this town,” Valentin said. “It means everything to me. It means everything to this team. I just love the competition with those guys over there (at East).

“It’s not the season we wanted. We were down, but that’s when you have to push through it. And that’s what we did, it worked out for us.”

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Sophomore Hayden Baker certainly knows the history of the rivalry and the quarterback played a key role in keeping the trophy on the Westside. He scored a touchdown in double overtime and provided the clinching two-point conversion.

“There are so many generations that have been a part of this,” Baker said. “So many guys who have been a part of this streak (of 11 straight wins) have graduated, but they still come back just for this game.”

Cherry Hill West head coach Justin Arabia wasn’t surprised that the rivalry added another “exciting and entertaining” chapter to its history, but hopes his Lions don’t lose sight of what is needed for them to improve in the future.

“It’s not a bad note to end on,” Arabia said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t take away from the work that needs to be done because we have a lot of young guys on the team and they are going to need a strong offseason.”

What it means

Cherry Hill West extended its winning streak to 11, but the Lions still trail 31-24 in the overall series. West has won 20 of the last 24 meetings.

Cherry Hill East (4-5) had its best opportunity to claim its first win over West since 2012. The Cougars’ Isaiah Donaldson returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, but it was a Zach Salsbery 22-yard pass to Denzel Lee in the second overtime period that put East in prime position for the win.

Player of the Game

Baker began the season as West’s starting running back, but when a couple of injuries depleted the depth at QB, the sophomore found himself back under center.

That’s worked out fine for Baker and Co.

“When the game is on the line, we want the ball in his hands,” Arabia said. “He’s that guy for us.”

“He was the backup quarterback last year. When we needed him to go back to quarterback, he stepped into that role and continued to grow and develop. He’s only getting better and we’re looking forward to the future with him.”

Baker rushed for a pair of touchdowns, none bigger than his 1-yard plunge in double overtime and the two-point conversion run that followed.

“We knew we had to bounce back (after giving up the touchdown to start the game),” Baker said. “It shows how far we’ve come this season. We’ve struggled with coming back in games. Earlier in the season, we might have been dead after something like that. This game, we stood up and fought back.”

Game notes

The game was selected as one of the Great American Rivalry Series, sponsored by the United States Army.

The U.S. Army gave away a team trophy to West and a Most Valuable Player award to Baker and also honored the team’s best students with scholarships. East’s Kevin Bradley and West’s Ben Quach were the recipients of the scholarships.

Cherry Hill East’s Jaxon Bowman made an incredible diving catch for a touchdown with 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Eli Pollack kicked the extra point to force overtime.

Lee rushed for 168 yards, but it was his 25-yard touchdown reception that gave East a 28-21 lead in double overtime.

West linebacker Asa McMillan delivered a huge hit on a fourth down play in the first overtime period.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cherry Hill West maintains the Boot after double-OT win over East