HADDONFIELD – Taquan Brittingham started pleading his case as he was headed to the sideline.

The Camden High School football team faced a 4th-and-1 at its own 12-yard line with 2:46 to play. A first down would all but seal a four-point win, but the Panthers had held Haddonfield out of the end zone all evening despite giving up four red zone possessions.

The safe call was punt and play defense one more time, but Brittingham believed the purple and gold could close out the victory.

“As soon as the fourth down comes, (Brittingham said) we got to run through the middle (with a fake punt),” the senior said. “That middle is wide open and I’m going to be that dog and I’m going to make that play.”

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Head coach Rob Hinson said yes, but the Bulldawgs didn’t give him the look he wanted, so he called a timeout. He was ready to kick it away, but Brittingham wouldn’t relent.

“You got to believe in me,” he told Hinson. “This is the only time you got to believe in me. I got your back. I won’t let you down.”

Hinson couldn’t say no to that, and Brittingham kept his word.

Brittingham took the snap on the fake punt and raced 70 yards down the field as Camden, No. 1 in the South Jersey Mean 15 rankings, survived a 7-3 scare at No. 3 Haddonfield Friday night.

“Those guys were just, can you just believe in us,” Hinson explained. “I said I believe in you. If you don’t get it, I’m going to look like the biggest idiot in the world, but I believe in you guys. I really appreciate them for having enough awareness to make that call.”

It’s not the game the Panthers envisioned, but it’s the type of victory that hardens a talented, yet young, team.

“We go against pressure (in practice),” senior lineman Caleb Bryant said. “Are you going to break? No, you’re going to turn into a diamond.”

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The defense certainly shined bright.

Haddonfield used a multitude of formations and forced the Panthers to play a base defense just to slow the pace down. The Bulldawgs were able to move the ball, but each time they got toward the goal line, Camden made a play.

Bryant had a big tackle on 3rd-and-goal to push the Haddons backward. Jahmye Tyson and Brittingham had key stops, Richard James was in the mix and Israel Clark and D’hani Cobbs both snared interceptions.

On a day the offense had three turnovers and special teams had a poor snap that set Haddonfield up deep in plus territory, it was clear the Panthers defense was up to the task.

“We’re a pretty good defense,” Hinson laughed when asked what that said about his group. “… Just proud of ’em. Just proud they don’t really break. They don’t really break. They bent a little bit tonight with the stuff they were doing, but they didn’t break. That’s what I’m most happy about.”

∎ Camden offense needs to take better care of the football. The Panthers have a bevy of playmakers and can score in an instant, but it’s hard to put points on the board giving the ball away three times. They were fortunate the defense came up with a pair of takeaways to narrow the turnover margin.

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∎ Camden could benefit from turning to the ground game more. The Panthers put up 33 and 29 points in their previous two games entering Friday, but those numbers are a bit misleading as they needed big fourth quarters to close out both West Deptford and Haddon Heights. Sophomore quarterback Deante Ruffin has great ability, but he’s in his first year running the spread. Running the ball could take pressure off him and the aerial attack, and junior Jahleer Stanley continues to show burst.

∎ Haddonfield is one of South Jersey’s top programs. The Bulldawgs had plenty of chances to win on Friday night, and though they came up short, they more than proved themselves.

“They’re so good man. They’re so good, so well coached,” Hinson said. “Just over the last two games, I was like man, they got to have 40 formations.”

Hinson raved about Haddonfield quarterback Declan McCarthy as well.

“He’s a monster man,” he said. “He’s a monster, and he’s so smart too. That power read, that’s something tough. That’s something tough to defend if you’re not like a veteran defender. New linebackers, new D-line guys, that guy man, he’s smart. He’s smart. He’s smart. He makes you look pretty stupid and then he’ll run you over too because he’s freaking 240 pounds and he has a strong arm. He’s a really good quarterback.”

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Brittingham. Convinced his coach to go for a fake punt and delivered with a 70-yard run to seal the game.

Camden red-zone defense. The Bulldawgs got inside the Panther 20-yard line four times. They did not score a touchdown.

“Feel very lucky, very lucky. The pressure is on these guys. We got a lot of talent, so the assumption is every week we’re going to roll through people, but they’re still kids. No matter how talented they are, they’re still kids. They still got to prepare like the other teams prepare and you play a team like them, (shoot), you know what I mean? They’re still kids man, and sometimes people lose sight of that, but I’m just happy.”

– Camden coach Rob Hinson on how he felt leaving Haddonfield Friday night.

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.