LINWOOD – A lot will be on the line for Mainland Regional this week at home against the Clearview Pioneers – division-wise and for the playoffs – after the Mustangs fell to undefeated Delsea last week 42-14.
The Mainland-Clearview game was called off two weeks ago because of COVID-19 concerns. Mainland is 4-4 and 2-1 in the West Jersey Football League Royal Division. Clearview is 4-3 and also 2-1 in the division play.
A win Friday would secure Mainland’s spot in the playoffs and a stronger seeding with an outside shot at a home game. A loss would leave the Mustangs at the mercy of the power rankings and secure them going on the road in the first round of the South Jersey Group IV playoffs if they do make it in.
“It’s a must-win game for us,” Mainland coach Chuck Smith said as his team walked off the field in the loss to Delsea (8-0 and now Royal Division champs at 4-4. “Whether it’s to make the playoffs are seeding, [Clearview] will be a huge game for us.”
Much of the Mustangs’ hopes will depend on two of their hobbled offensive weapons – quarterback Marlon Leslie and running back Ja’Briel Mace. Mace did not play last week against Delsea because of a knee injury. The junior Division I recruit now ranked No. 2 on Mainland’s all-time rushing list promised he will be back for the Clearview contest.
“I have to,” Mace said after watching the game in street clothes on the sidelines. “I will play through the pain but I’ll be there.”
Leslie was impressive through most of Friday’s game against Delsea in a fashion Mustangs fans were not accustomed to – with his arm. Leslie, best known for his rushing skills, surprised the Crusaders by going downfield with a couple of long passing plays before he went down with a shoulder injury in the third quarter and never returned.
“I’ve had a nagging shoulder injury since Week 1,” said Leslie, who was sidelines completely in Week 2 in a Mainland loss at powerful Millville. “I’m going to get it checked out but I should be OK. It’s back to the drawing board and I’ll be ready to go.”
Smith admitted the loss of Mace was tough enough going against undefeated Delsea, but to lose Leslie as well made the hill extremely difficult to climb.
“It’s tough when we were already down one big player tonight,” Smith said. “I thought the team played well overall, even though the score doesn’t reflect it. It was a battle for most of the game. When Marlon went out, it made it tough for us.”
But what made it equally difficult was a reverse call on the second-half kickoff when Mainland had hoped to cut into Delsea’s 28-14 halftime half.
Mainland, which was kicking off to Delsea to start the third quarter, opted for a surprise onside kick that the Mustangs recovered just inside the Delsea 48. The celebration of getting the ball was short-lived after the referees huddled and ruled there was an “inadvertent whistle” on the play.
The call nullified the onside kick recovery, forcing the Mustangs to kick off a second time. With the element of surprise gone, Mainland kicked deep.
“I have no idea [about the whistle] because I didn’t hear it,” Smith said. “All they said was that there was an inadvertent whistle that was blown and nullified the play.
“We knew coming out of halftime we had to steal the possession because we had a hard time stopping them. We agreed unanimously as a coaching staff that we were going to try an onside kick to try to get something. We had to. That really took a little away from us,” Smith continued.
The Mustangs defense, though, held the Crusaders to a three-and-out, forcing Delsea to punt for the first time in the game, giving Mainland a chance to get within one score.
Leslie ripped off a 13-yard run and two consecutive 4-yard runs to get the drive going. But on his third consecutive carry, Leslie injured his shoulder, leaving him lying on the field for five minutes.
The quarterback returned to the sideline in obvious pain, sitting on the bench signalling he was done for the game. There, Mainland’s drive stalled.
Delsea would score on its next possession, a 16-yard touchdown run by Wayne Adair with 2:46 left in the third quarter, essentially sealing the game for the Crusaders.
“We held them and we had a chance to get it back down to a one-score game and he went down,” Smith said. “When you’re missing two-thirds of your backfield, it’s tough to come back.”
Before the game ended for Leslie, it proved to be his best passing performance of the season. Leslie misfired on just one pass over the three quarters he played with two passes of 35 yards or more setting up both scored.
The Mustangs fell behind Delsea 21-0 early in the second quarter after Jayden Stewart’s second touchdown run. On Mainland’s next series, Leslie connected with Joe Sheeran for a 39-yard reception, one of Mainland’s longest pass completions this year.
Four plays later, Leslie connected with Nick Wagner on a 20-yard touchdown to cut the Crusaders’ lead to two touchdowns.
After Delsea went up by three scores again on a 40-yard touchdown run, Leslie came right back with a 35-yard completion to William Spollen, getting Mainland right back into Delsea territory. Leslie would finish the drive on an 18-yard quarterback keeper, getting the Mustangs back in the game, trailing 28-14 at halftime.
“He’s really shown a lot of signs of improvement over the past few weeks in the passing game,” Smith said. “Tonight, he made great reads and good throws. It was his arm that kept us in it. We knew we would have to throw the ball some this game. He did everything we asked of him.”
Game time is 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Mustang Corral.
By CLYDE HUGHES/Special to the Sentinel