35-0 victory is first time Mainland football has beaten Ocean City in six tries
LINWOOD – For the Mainland Regional Mustangs, their 35-0 home-opening football victory over arch rival Ocean City exorcized some demons of the past as the Mustangs continue to ride on the momentum that had them one step from the New Jersey Group IV state finals last year.
The Mustangs had lost five straight to the Red Raiders before last Friday’s contest, including a stinging 21-20 defeat in 2022 that prevented Mainland from having a perfect regular season record.
Mainland, though, left no doubt last week by scoring on its opening possession and securing two key turnovers that allowed the Mustangs to cruise.
The win improved the Mustangs’ record to 2-0 as they prepared to play their second consecutive home game this Friday against Mays Landing’s Oakcrest, the alma mater of Mainland coach Chuck Smith.
Ocean City, which fell to 1-1, returns home to face Cedar Creek.
Last Friday’s game was the most lopsided victory for Mainland over Ocean City since the Mustangs’ 26-0 win over the Red Raiders in 2014 during the Bob Coffey coaching era. It was also the most points Mainland scored on Ocean City since its 33-19 win in 2015.
Regardless of the superlatives, Mainland players said after the game they wanted to maintain the attitude and high standards that led them to a New Jersey Central Region Group IV title last year and nearly to the state championship.
“I think it’s a huge part of our success,” said Hunter Watson, who has taken on an additional role as tight end this season along with linebacker, where he excelled his junior year last season. “Last year definitely gave us momentum going into this season. We’re not a sleeper team this year, but it helps us because we hold each other to a higher standard.”
Senior linebacker J.J. Sinclair, who had never beaten Ocean City in his high school career, admitted he was excited to look at the scoreboard at the end of the game to see that the Red Raiders never scored against them.
“I remember my freshman year and we were crushed,” said Sinclair, who set the Mainland all-time tackling record last game. “Coming out with the win means everything because we worked so hard for this. This accomplishment is so amazing.”
After holding Ocean City without a first down on its opening possession, Stephen Ordille scored on Mainland’s fourth play from scrimmage, a 35-yard touchdown run, to give the Mustangs a quick 7-0 lead nearly four minutes into the contest.
It initially looked like the Red Raiders would respond in kind after senior running back Duke Guenther ripped off a 35-yard run to the Mainland 1 on the Red Raiders’ next series. But two plays later, Mainland’s Cohen Cook recovered an Ocean City fumble into the end zone ending the Red Raiders’ best scoring chance.
“That’s our defense, we fly around to the football and try to make things happen,” Watson said.
After an exchange of punts, Mainland’s sophomore quarterback John Franchini found senior wideout Jamie Tyson down the left sideline for a 44-yard strike just short of the end zone. Ordille scored his second touchdown from 2 yards out on the next play to give Mainland a 13-0 lead after the missed extra point.
Ocean City threatened again on its next possession, helped by a 15-yard run by senior quarterback Jon Moyer to set up the Red Raiders in Mustang territory. Tyson, though, shut the door again with a juggling interception in the end zone after Ocean City moved to the Mainland 17.
“When you turn the ball over in the end zone against a good team twice, you just don’t get those opportunities back,” Ocean City coach Kevin Smith said. “You’re not going to beat a good team by making those kinds of mistakes.”
Mainland used a bit of deception on its next score with Cook taking a double-handoff against the flow, breaking free for a 42-yard run. Cook caught the ensuing 2-point conversion pass from Franchini to give the Mustangs a 21-0 lead by halftime.
It was the same story in the second half for both teams. A big punt return gave the Red Raiders the ball on Mainland’s 34 on Ocean City’s opening possession of the third quarter. Mainland’s defense came up big, refusing to surrender a first down.
Mainland scored on the next possession, keyed by Franchini first-down completions to Tyson for 12 yards and Jake Blum for 11 yards. Junior running back Rocco DeBiaso finished off the possession with a 21-yard touchdown run with 6:33 left in the third period for a 28-0 advantage.
The Mustangs finished their scoring in a business-like fashion, going on an eight-play, 55-yard drive on its next series with Franchini mixing runs and passes. Facing a fourth-and-four on the Ocean City 5, Franchini rolled out to find Liam Kennedy for a 5-yard touchdown just before the fourth quarter, upping the lead to 35-0.
“In the second half, they just outplayed us,” Kevin Smith said. “They were just tougher and more physical than we were down the stretch.”
The Ocean City coach said he was pleased with Moyer making his first start at quarterback for the Red Raiders.
“I thought he was fantastic,” Smith said. “He hadn’t played quarterback since he was a freshman. He had three or four practices at it. We threw a lot at him against a really good defense and I thought he handled it wonderfully.”
Smith said the best thing for his squad going into Friday is to quickly forget about the Mainland loss and build on their mistakes.
“That’s what you have to do, just go on to the next one,” he said. “You don’t dwell on it. We’ll lick our wounds a little bit and we’ve got a really good football team coming in Cedar Creek next week. So we’ve got to do our preparation and we’ll start all over again.”
For Mainland, it was contrasts from two of their biggest stars from the past season. Cook, who was an offensive standout as a junior, played a big role at outside linebacker last Friday. Watson, a standout linebacker last season, has now become a key component of the Mustangs’ offense as a pass-catching tight end.
“Catching the ball as a tight end, it’s been fun,” said Watson, who admitted he’s grown about an inch or two from last season to 6-foot-5. “Being on the field basically the whole game, it’s been just a great time being out there with my brothers.”
Cook said he was having fun embracing his new role at linebacker after playing sparingly on defense in 2022.
“I got a little taste of the defense last year and now I’m full-time, but it’s been fun,” Cook said. “We’re just trying to keep everything going from last year.”
Ordille, who also made key plays in the defensive backfield as well as scoring two touchdowns, said it is all about holding each other accountable and that is part of the new attitude with the Mainland football team.
“To get to the level we were last year, it took a lot but we know what it takes to get there now and we’re going to push each other so we can get there again. We’re stoked to get back there.”
Kickoff for Ocean City at Carey Stadium is at 6 p.m. Friday.
Mainland hosts the Falcons at 6 p.m. Friday at the Mustang Corral.
By CLYDE HUGHES/For the Sentinel
