The first-ever high school football game in the United States featured Norwich Free Academy against the Bulkeley School for Boys in Connecticut 151 years ago, starting a tradition that continues year after year in small towns and big cities across the nation.
On the hot, humid Thursday evening of Sept. 10, the appeal of high school football in local towns continued, as hundreds of Delran and Cinnaminson fans filed into the Pirates stadium to continue a longstanding rivalry.
The Cinnaminson High School marching band played a rousing rendition of the National Anthem to get the game started, followed by the Bears and Pirates cheerleaders rooting for their teams on opposite sides of the field.
On their first possession, the Pirates completed two short passes and had to punt. The Bears first play featured junior running back Denis Forbes racing 18 yards on an end run to the right as the offensive line opened up a big hole.
Next junior running back Alex Conard ran toward the left sideline for five yards and on the ensuing play took off for 17 yards to the left. Yet the drive stopped when the Pirates sacked quarterback Nate Marter for a 19-yard loss because of a bad snap.
However, the Bears got the ball right back by recovering a fumbled punt, setting up a 16-yard touchdown run when Forbes got outside to the left and sped into the end zone. Kicker Shane Palena drilled the extra point, giving the Bears a 7-0 lead.
Benson Lin got the Pirates fans on their feet with an exciting 28-yard kickoff return, but then Delran’s Nate Marter picked off a pass from Anthony Bell, giving the Bears excellent field position again.
After a 12-yard run by Forbes for a first down, Conard plowed four yards into the end zone behind more good blocks from the offensive line. The extra point by Palena was good, giving the Bears a 14-0 lead.
After a punt, the Pirates defensive line stepped up again, chasing down Marter for an incredible 36-yard loss as the first quarter ended.
Running back Lin got the Pirates fans pumped up again with a 12-yard run, and Bell pushed forward for a first down on a fourth and one situation. However, the drive stalled on the next fourth down and Delran got the ball back on downs.
After a 21-yard run to the left by Conard, Marter ran for seven more yards. On fourth and one, Marter ran to the left side again for a 20-yard touchdown. The extra point was good, giving the Bears a 21-0 lead at halftime.
It was more of the same in the second half, as Delran scored two more touchdowns and the defense played tough for a 34-0 shutout victory.
The Pirates cheerleaders root on their team.
The Cinnaminson High School marching band pumps up the crowd of Pirates fans.
Cinnaminson’s Marco Zucc tackles Delran running back Denis Forbes while Benson Lin pursues.
