Historic night for Jake Chapman, who breaks school record for sacks
OCEAN CITY – It was a record-breaking night for Jake Chapman as the Ocean City Red Raiders opened their postseason run with a visit from longtime rival Pleasantville High School.
Chapman had been chasing the Ocean City record for career sacks for the past couple of games and delivered in the team’s biggest game of the season. His 1.5 sacks along with three interceptions by his teammates on defense were enough to earn Ocean City the 29-22 win on Oct. 30.
The senior defensive lineman entered the game needing only one more quarterback sack to break Ernie Nelson’s career total of 21 that was set back in 1998. 28 years later and the record was surpassed by Chapman in the fourth quarter of a tight playoff game.
He finally got a hold of Greyhound Takiesse Barnes and dropped him for his 22nd career sack not long after the slippery quarterback escaped his grasp earlier in the game. It was his ninth sack of the season and had the entire Raider sideline cheering while he got back into the huddle for second down.
Asked about his chase for the record, Chapman was all smiles after the game. “I always try to just play to my standard, but it was definitely in the back of my mind for a while now,” Chapman said. “It was kind of a relief that I got when it finally happened.”
Chapman had his chance at the record one play earlier with Barnes wrapped up in his arms, but the quarterback managed to slip away. “I think I got just a bit too excited there, but we keep a next-play mentality and it worked out,” Chapman said.
“He’s a great football player but I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a better person he is than a football player,” Ocean City head coach Sean Matthews said. “He picked himself up and went out there and earned it.”
Matthews’s Raiders needed Chapman and the entire team to step up against a solid Pleasantville team that always plays Ocean City tough.
The Raiders had as good of a start as they could have asked for with a 29-8 lead that was highlighted by a long third down conversion by quarterback Jackson Becker. The 27-yard pass from Becker to Joe Pancoast was exactly how much they needed for the first down and brought Ocean City to the one-yard line. Cole Garreffi punched it in from there for a touchdown.
Becker added two scores of his own earlier in the game with an opening drive touchdown pass to Michael Marczyk for the quarterback’s 20th touchdown of the season.
“We flew around and made sure it never got lackadaisical,” Marczyk said. “Last year we went out in the first round to Mainland, our rivals, and it’s just great to get a win especially because I didn’t want my senior season to end early.”
Marczyk and Garreffi were also charged with trying to contain Barnes on defense. He was a rushing threat all game long from the quarterback position. Barnes had more than 200 yards rushing but was locked down though the air by Ocean City’s secondary.
The Raiders picked off Barnes three times in the second half for the most turnovers they created in any game this season. Two of the interceptions by Chase Dessicino and Colin Doyle ended long Pleasantville drives that reached the Ocean City side of the field.
Garreffi’s interception was one of the biggest plays in the game when he jumped in front of the pass and took it to the house from 24 yards away.
“We changed some looks and created turnovers when it mattered most,” Matthews said. “We had three turnovers on defense and didn’t turn it over ourselves on offense. The differential was huge for us in this game to come out with a win.”
The big lead was put into a little danger in the fourth quarter with Barnes’s scrambling keeping Pleasantville alive. A blocked punt for a safety and two quick touchdowns brought Pleasantville to within 7 points of Ocean City with a minute and a half left in the game. The hands team for the Raiders cleanly picked up Pleasantville’s ensuing onside kick and Ocean City’s quarterback took a knee to run out the clock. Afterwards they lined up in victory formation to advance and play another week of football.
“It was an expected fight between these teams when you’ve had so much history against one opponent,” Matthews said. “This is the 101st game between these two very local teams with the same group size and everything. We told our kids all week to be ready for a fight and they prepared for a fight. It doesn’t matter if we win by one or we win by more than one right? We are advancing.”
Ocean City advanced into the semifinals of the Central Jersey Group III tournament and will get a rematch against Camden High School. The Raiders will travel to Camden looking to avenge a 32-8 loss to the Panthers back on Sept. 18.
Camden finished the season with a 5-3 record after winning the Group II state championship game last season. The first game between the two schools came down to the potent ground game of Camden that ran in five touchdowns against the Ocean City defense.
“We’ve experienced their game and they have experienced us, so there will be some familiarity there which we’ll be ready for,” Matthews said. “Our kids understand what they are going to go up against and their kids understand it too. It’s going to be an awesome environment and we are looking forward to getting these seniors one more week.”
Kickoff is 6 p.m. Nov. 6.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
