Football team goes back to the basics for 22-0 win
MEDFORD – Looking to avoid a 1-2 start to the season, the Ocean City Red Raiders went back to the football basics with a strong run game and defensive effort against the Lenape Indians.
The Raiders accumulated more than 200 yards on the ground and cruised to a 22-0 shutout victory over Lenape High School Sept. 12. Ocean City improved its record to 2-1 led by running back Triston Schmidt, who had 102 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
Ocean City quarterback Jackson Becker contributed to the Raiders’ ground-and-pound offense with 107 rushing yards of his own. The duo combined for 41 rushes and averaged more than 5 yards per carry.
“Our game plan was to run it down their throats,” Schmidt said. “They were bigger than us and a good team, but we knew if we kept running it, they would crack. We just kept hammering it until we got what we wanted.”
The repeated rushing attempts helped Schmidt and the offense stay on the field for most of the first half. Ocean City had the ball for nearly 17 of the first 24 minutes and kept Lenape’s offense on the sideline.
Schmidt scored both of his touchdowns in the first half for a 15-0 lead and made both of his extra-point attempts as the Raiders’ kicker. Some trickery by Joe Pancoast and the Raiders on the first extra-point attempt allowed the junior to convert a two-point try.
Schmidt’s second touchdown came a few inches away from the goal line after wide receiver T.J. Santarpio gained 40 yards on a pass from Becker. Santarpio caught it with 20 yards still to go and juked defenders down the middle of the field until he was marked inches short of a touchdown.
After the game, Schmidt credited a “great” week of practice for the Raiders’ dominance against Lenape.
“We came in and worked to get it done. Our coaches said it was the best practice we’ve had all season. We were physical and focused all week and just did what we had to do.”
The Raiders were coming off a tough 19-13 loss in overtime the week prior to Eastern High School that was plagued by turnovers and big plays.
In the week leading up to the Lenape game, Ocean City head coach Sean Matthews loved what he saw in practice and how the team learned from the loss.
“A lot of kids stepped up this week,” Matthews said. “There was a lot of ownership put on both coaches and players for making mistakes last week and we all owned it together. There was no blame or complaining and everyone took the criticism and got better.”
Pancoast scored on the two-point conversion but made a huge play on defense to keep the shutout alive.
Lenape started the second half hot on offense and marched down the field into the red zone. With all the momentum starting to push towards the Indians, Pancoast snatched it right back towards the Raiders as he recovered a fumble to stop the drive in its tracks.
“I’ve got gritty kids on defense and our hats are off to them,” Matthews said. “Our safeties like Cole Dessicino are checking our coverages every play while Joey Pancoast and Ayden Majors set the defensive line. They took the plan that is put in place by the coaches and then executed it tonight. I am extremely proud of those guys taking what we worked on and applying it when the lights are on.”
Becker capitalized on the turnover at the beginning of the fourth quarter with a 41-yard pass to Michael Ragazzi down the sideline. He then ran into the end zone untouched from 3 yards out to put Ocean City up 22-0 and seal the game.
It was the Raiders’ most yards gained on offense so far this season and their second shutout win in three games.
Next up for Ocean City is a trip to Atlantic City High School to take on a strong Vikings team. Atlantic City opened the season with two big wins against powerhouses Mainland Regional High School and Millville High School. The Vikings dropped their first game of the year last week in a 45-34 shootout against Cedar Creek High School.
Ocean City’s game in Atlantic City will be at 6 p.m. Sept. 19.
– By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
