(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) RISING SON: Hun School junior quarterback Brendan Dudeck fires that ball last Saturday in Hun’s 38-13 win over visiting Mercersburg Academy. Dudeck, the son of Hun head coach David Dudeck, scored the game’s first touchdown on a nine-yard quarterback sneak. Dudeck ended the day with 32 yards rushing on three carries and hitting 3-of-11 passes for 43 yards.

QB Dudeck Sets the Tone With TD Run as Hun Football Routs Mercersburg 38-13

Bill Alden

After having been shut out by Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) in its season opener, the Hun School football team was looking to get on the board early last Saturday against visiting Mercersburg Academy.

Midway through the first quarter, the Raiders drove down to the Mercersburg nine-yard line and Hun quarterback Brendan Dudeck decided to take matters into his own hands.

The junior took off on a keeper but apparently got stopped at the five as he collided with a pack of Blue Storm defenders.

Undeterred, the 5’10, 155-pound Dudeck squirted through the defenders and sprinted in the end zone for a touchdown.

Dudeck’s scoring jaunt set the tone as the Raiders scored three more touchdowns in the half to take a 25-0 lead into intermission.

Hun cruised from there, rolling to a 38-13 win to improve to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) play.

Afterward, a smiling Dudeck still had figured out how he had escaped for his touchdown run.

“I just cut back and somehow made it through the guys who tried to tackle me,” said Dudeck, who rushed for 32 yards on three carries and hit 3-of-11 passes for 43 yards. “That was an amazing feeling.”

Hun was ready for a better feeling last Saturday as it looked to rebound from its 10-0 opening day loss to Wyoming.

“That was a tough game, we got right inside the five and two times we had devastating turnovers,” said Dudeck.

“We really capitalized in this game, we got everything we needed to. I think our whole team picked it up. Our linemen really helped us out. Nick [Williams] had a great game. Our receivers did well, Chris [Alston] had a lot of nice catches.”

Dudeck, the son of Hun head coach David Dudeck, is enjoying being at the controls of the Raider offense after having been the backup quarterback the last two seasons.

“It’s awesome being the starting quarterback; I’ve been around the program since my dad started coaching here,” said Dudeck, who has been a starting defensive back the last two seasons and made an interception in the win over Mercersburg.

“I have been a quarterback my whole life; it’s a great feeling to be doing what I dreamed of.”

With a sheepish grin, Dudeck acknowledged that being the son of the head coach has its ups and downs.

“It’s tough but it’s great ride,” said Dudeck. “He is always a lot harder on me but you’ve got to be that much better. It’s a great feeling when you do well; he’s just there right next to you.”

Coach Dudeck, for his part, felt great about how his son performed on Saturday.

“I don’t give him a lot of compliments but today he stepped up; he made plays for us,” said Dudeck.

“He needed to do that. At times, it wasn’t the prettiest but as long as he gets the job done, that’s the key. I’m real proud of him and I think he’s learning little by little.”

Dudeck was proud of his team’s collective offensive effort which saw Hun outgain Mercersburg 456 yards to 148.

“Any time you put 38 points on the board, you’ve got to be pretty proud of your offense,” said Dudeck, who got 186 yards rushing and two touchdowns from post-graduate star Donald Coleman with senior Nick Williams gaining 140 yards and scoring one touchdown.

“I think today we came out excited and jacked up; the kids were ready to play real hard. Some kids stepped up and made some plays for us. The line opened some holes and the backs and receivers played very well.”

The Raiders also showed character to go along with their hard play. “I think the biggest thing I see in this team is the fight and the resiliency,” asserted Dudeck with his voice rising, noting that the team dealt with a series of injuries in its preseason camp.

“We got smacked in the face last week but they didn’t stop. They came out this week and they said let’s go again. They want to get better; they want to win. They go to practice every day and practice as hard as they can. Some of the results of that were evident today.”

A big part of getting those results was developing a little self-belief after the loss to Wyoming.

“We talked all week about having confidence,” added Dudeck, whose squad plays at Penn Charter on September 27.

“When you play sports or you do anything with confidence, you are able to play at a higher level. I think today you saw some older kids step up and some younger kids step up. They played with confidence; they played like they belonged.”

While Dudeck was encouraged by the win, he knows that his team can’t get overconfident.

“We are a work in progress,” maintained Dudeck. “I know next week that we are going to face a very good Penn Charter team and that every week we are going to have to work our tails off to get a win. I think this is a little bit of a confidence builder.”

Quarterback Dudeck, for his part, echoed his father’s sentiments. “We didn’t really get any confidence last game,” said Dudeck.

“This game, as soon as we started scoring and made some plays, everybody got that confidence and swagger.”

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