On Friday, October 31, even Friday Night Lights and students dressed in their Halloween best were not enough to propel fourth-seeded Cherry Hill High School East to the next round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Cougars suffered their first and only loss of the 2025 season in a 22-14 defeat by fifth-seeded Toms River High School North in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Jersey, Group 5 Tournament Quarterfinal Round. The final result left the players, coaches, and fans devastated as they faced an abrupt end to their successful season.
“Truthfully, our guys won’t be happy now, but it’s something we look back on in the future and realize [they] did something that has never been done before,” Head Coach Tyler Drob said, reflecting on the historic home playoff game. “I think that is something they will look back on in the future as a huge accomplishment.”
In two short years, the transformation of the East football stadium has certainly lived up to its expectations. Since the installation of the new lights, the expanded bleacher section, the bustling snack stand, and the announcement-making, music-blasting press box, the Cougars’ home field has transformed into a community full of East spirit.
The new stadium lights are not the only reason the stands are packed with fans, family, and theme-dressed students. Most importantly, the East side of Cherry Hill has a new tradition: showing up each week to watch the undefeated 9-0 Cougar football team, its meticulous marching band, and the show-stopping cheerleaders. The East football team is living their dream: hosting Friday Night Lights and winning games. Packing in thousands of fans and selling tons of snacks, the East Football Stadium has never been busier than in the past two years.
Last season set the bar high for the Cougars. The 2024 football team finished 9-1, won the division title, and transformed the program into a winning one. This led the fans to question whether the 2025 team could maintain the same level of excellence as the prior year.
“Before the season, everyone was doubting us since we lost a lot of seniors last year,” said wide receiver and defensive back Kyle Fisher (‘26). “But to have the year we did this year and prove to everyone we were still an elite team felt good.”
During the regular season, Cherry Hill East blew out almost every team, with the biggest blowout being a 61-0 win against West Windsor-Plainsboro South, winning all nine games to finish 9-0 and defend their West Jersey Football League Memorial Division title. It was the program’s second consecutive undefeated regular season and its first home playoff game ever on East soil. These remarkable achievements reflect the coaching, players, and community of the team.
Throughout the season, first-year starting quarterback Josh Greenberg (‘27) led an exciting and impressive offense, throwing for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns while adding 866 rushing yards and 12 more touchdowns. Senior running back Jaden Green (‘26) added impressive offense for the Cougars, rushing for 524 yards and eight touchdowns while also adding 20 receptions and 62 tackles. Green transferred to East after the first marking period of his junior year but was not eligible to play, making his senior season even more special.
“I personally don’t have a specific favorite moment because I enjoyed every second of being on the team,” Green said. “From me coming to East late in the school year and practicing, competing, and spending time with my new teammates from last year to being a leader and a captain for all of the younger guys despite me being new to this school, it fueled me to make every moment a great one.”
In 2025, the Cougars’ offensive team was dangerous. Tight end Ryan Moyer (‘26) added 23 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, and four receptions totaling 196 yards, while running back and linebacker Dillon Haddock (‘27) shone with four touchdowns. Another big offensive contributor was Fisher, who was Greenberg’s top target with 20 catches for 436 yards and four touchdowns.
On defense, the Cougars were equally as efficient. Haddock once again led the team with 74 tackles and four interceptions, earning “Defensive Player of the Year” honors and “First-Team All-Conference” for defense. Green added 62 tackles, while defensive lineman Dominic Canzano (‘26) added 54 tackles and a fumble recovery. Lineman Ona Pela (‘26) was a force with 52 tackles, while Brody Connors (‘26), Keon Simmons (‘26), and Liam Sweeney (‘27) each added over 40 tackles to the dominant defensive team.
“The student section was so much fun this year, especially with all of the different themes,” said Posie Radetich (‘27). “I think that everyone off the field could feel the energy from the team playing. With everyone yelling, it definitely made the team hyper, and when we would win, everyone on and off the field could feel the win.”
Win after win, the impressive East football players earned the community’s confidence, evidenced by the packed stands and screaming fans. No matter what the week’s theme held, the crowds always showed up big, wearing their best black-out clothes, pink for breast cancer awareness, spirited school colors, or USA and Hawaiian themes, all of which added fun to the night.
On this particular Halloween night, the dedicated East fans skipped trick-or-treating and delayed their night plans to instead wear their costumes to what would be the Cougars’ final game of the 2025 season.
“Going into the game, I thought that despite having many key players out, we were the better team and had worked way harder than the other team,” Canzano recalled. “We all knew the game would be a fight, and we would have to give it everything we got to come out on top, but I felt that’s what we were going to do.”
Early in the game, Canzano tipped a pass to himself for an interception, returning it 20 yards to give East the ball at the Toms River North yard line. Although the Cougars came up one yard short, Greenberg hit Shane Peeler (‘26) for eight yards on 4th-and-9, earning Canzano the game ball.
“We had one of our defensive linemen, Tony Vega, go down with an injury, and that meant that Dom really couldn’t come out of the game,” said head coach Tyler Drob. “I think he played every single snap, and he has a tremendous work ethic.”
Despite the rainy conditions, the game was filled with intense back-and-forth moments. Toms River North took an early 14-0 lead, but Cherry Hill East battled back. They cut the lead to 14-8 early in the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown by senior running back Green and a two-point conversion run by Moyer.
The crowd screamed and cheered for a Cougar comeback, but was immediately silenced when Toms River North returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, extending their lead to 22-8. Despite the setback, the resilient Cougars continued to fight. Defensive tackle Canzano, who earlier tipped a pass to himself for an interception, also caused and recovered a fumble at the Toms River North 3-yard line, giving East another scoring opportunity.
With one minute and 29 seconds left in the game, the Cougars gave it all they had, and Greenberg scored on a 4-yard run to make the score 22-14.
The final whistle brought not just disappointment in the outcome but the sudden realization that the seniors’ time in the East football program had come to a close.
“After the game I felt great disappointment,” Canzano continued, “not for us losing or the countless opportunities we had to win the game, but disappointment that the season came to an end and I would never put the pads on with the same group of people again.”
Despite the abrupt ending, the 2025 Cougar football season was another huge success. It built on the momentum from the 2024 season despite having to replace valuable players. Once again, the East football team conquered the odds by winning a second division championship and tallying two consecutive undefeated regular seasons, changing the trajectory for East football.
“It felt amazing to help change the team,” Canzano said. “And next year, they are going to win [the division title] three times in a row.”
With Greenberg returning as the starting quarterback and the underclassmen who gained experience this year, the future remains strong for the Cougars.
The standard has been set with the Cougars having back-to-back 9-1 seasons and two division titles. Although the Cougars hope to continue that trend into next year, they also want to continue to be a community.
“Just being able to play with everyone since the team was very close-knit and friends with each other, it was a lot of fun succeeding with people you’re super close with,” Fisher said.
At Cherry Hill East, the 2025 season was more than just playing football. It was also about gaining everyone’s confidence. Winning was great, but becoming a football family and making memories are what will remain with them forever.
“Through wins or losses, but we had a lot of wins and just one loss,” Green said, “I found a way to make every moment feel special.”
