Battles ahead
LINWOOD – The fortunes of the 2023 edition of the Mainland Regional football team will be tested over the next two weeks with big games at Atlantic City and Hammonton after the Mustangs dispatched Oakcrest 32-0 last Friday.
The victory improved the defending Central Jersey Group IV champions’ record to 3-0 on the season in registering its second straight shutout. The Mustangs have not been scored on in 11 straight quarters this season.
Mainland coach Chuck Smith admitted after Friday’s game that Mainland has a lot of cleaning up to do on offense if it plans to stay undefeated in this upcoming stretch of games.
“The defense really locked down tonight (against Oakcrest), and that was good because offensively we were struggling a little bit,” Smith said. “It’s a tribute to Oakcrest, though, because they came in and played hard with their defensive front. We had a tough week of practice but everyone did with heat.
“We were out of sync and on offense you always want to look in sync. We had some hiccups that threw us out of rhythm. I think we just have to strive to get better, that’s our goal each week. I wouldn’t say we took a step back this week, but we definitely peeled wheels tonight.”
Defensively, Mainland was impressive, preventing the Falcons from entering the Mustangs’ Red Zone all night. Mainland used its strength up front to constantly thwart Oakcrest’s running efforts and strong pass rush to eliminate most of its passing threats.
The two shutout victories nearly equal the three shutouts the Mustangs had last year.
“Our defense is what runs this team and we come out with that mentality every single day,” said Stephen Ordille, who led Mainland’s solid defensive effort in the secondary and returned a punt for a touchdown. “We have playmakers all over the field and we all have that same mentality. We want to get shutouts every game.”
In fact, the last time Mainland recorded back-to-back shutouts was during its magical 12-0 season under coach Bob Coffey in 2008, when Mainland blanked Holy Spirit 24-0 and Hammonton 31-0 in consecutive weeks.
“The defense played outstanding again, shutting down their running and passing games,” Smith said. “It’s also a great job by our defensive staff who do an outstanding job in preparing each week. Up and down the line, from our defensive line to our secondary, played well because they’re a dangerous team.”
Oakcrest often placed all 11 of its players within five yards of the line of scrimmage with a plan to stop Mainland’s run game. That worked most of the first half as the Falcons held the Mustangs scoreless in the opening quarter for the first time this season.
The Mustangs could not convert a first-and-goal at the Falcons’ 8 for a touchdown late in the period, failing to score on four running plays. But Mainland’s defense held Oakcrest without a first down inside the 10, setting up the Mustangs’ first score to start the second quarter.
After a 16-yard run by Liam Kennedy, Cohen Cook scored on a jet sweep around right end for a 6-0 lead after a failed point-after.
Oakcrest’s concentration on the run burned them again with six minutes left before the half when Mustang quarterback John Franchini found a streaking Jamie Tyson running an inside route for a 43-yard catch-and-run touchdown. That gave Mainland a 12-0 lead after a failed two-point conversion.
“I talk with Jamie every day and this summer we really worked on it together,” Franchini said. “We ran patterns all summer long and I knew exactly where he was going to be.”
Tyson said the touchdown was set up by Oakcrest’s defensive alignment, where he noticed the Falcons’ safety playing tight to the line of scrimmage, allowing him to take on the corner one-on-one.
“I saw the corner was playing off of me and they didn’t have safety help over the top,” Tyson said. “I told my coach and we ran a slant. I was able to catch it and took it to the house.”
Mainland essentially removed all doubt with a 99-yard drive just before the half after an Oakcrest punt pinned the Mustangs deep. After a 16-yard run by Ordille gave Mainland breathing room, the Mustangs were assisted by three different pass interference penalties against the Falcons, the last moving Mainland to the Oakcrest 35.
Then a Falcons late-hit penalty after a Franchini scramble took the ball to the 4. Franchini took it the rest of the way on a 4-yard touchdown run after picking up a fumble, giving Mainland a 19-0 lead at the break.
Ordille added a 46-yard punt return for a touchdown and Rocco DeBiaso finished off the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown run.
“They punted a lot so I had a lot of opportunities, but on that one, I knew that I had room,” Ordille said. “One kid was right at me so I made a move and bounced it outside and a couple of my teammates made great blocks. From there, I just turned the corner and found the end zone.”
Atlantic City coming into this week’s contest is 3-0 and returns quarterback Joe Lyons and top pass-catching threat Sah’nye Degraffenreidt from last year.
Lyons and Degraffenreidt both scored last season in Mainland’s wild 56-26 victory in Linwood. While it was a win for the Mustangs, the 26 points were the most any team scored on Mainland all season en route to their 10-2 record in 2022.
“Atlantic City’s a great football team and they’re having a great season,” Smith said. “They can throw the ball around and have a lot of good skill athletes. It will be a big challenge for us, especially going over there. We will need a tremendous week of practice to pull that one off.”
Atlantic City is coming off its best offensive game of the season in beating Absegami 50-13. The Vikings will enter the game averaging 35 points per contest.
Mainland will follow that road game up with a big test against 2022 South Jersey Group IV finalist Hammonton (2-1). Mainland defeated Hammonton in a tight 29-14 contest last year.
By CLYDE HUGHES/For the Sentinel