Mustangs gallup past Winslow Township, 41-7, in Group IV semifinal
WINSLOW TOWNSHIP — Complete domination by the Mustangs this season has brought them to the biggest football game of the year.
Mainland Regional High School, the NJSIAA South Jersey champion, defeated Central Jersey champion Winslow Township High School 41-7 on Nov. 17 in the Group IV semifinal.
Mainland, led by quarterback John Franchini, a stable of excellent running backs and a stifling defense, scored a touchdown on each of its five offensive possessions to cruise into the state championship.
The Mustangs will travel to Rutgers University to play the North Jersey Section 1 champion Ramapo High School Green Raiders in the Group IV state championship game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 26.
The Mustangs improved their record to 13-0 this season as they have dominated through the playoff bracket. In four playoff games, they have outscored their opponents 181-47.
Ramapo is also undefeated at 12-0 and features a potent passing attack led by quarterback Landon Deprima. The whole team flows through him as he has more than 3,000 passing yards and 42 touchdowns this year.
Mainland head coach Chuck Smith was thrilled with his team’s performance against the Eagles.
“Our guys rose up today,” Smith said. “We made some big turnovers and got some big sacks at the best times. The offense was clicking tonight. Our key was to just drive the ball and put points on the board. But I am just proud of the overall team effort today.”
Stephen Ordille got Mainland moving early on the first possession of the game. The senior running back broke multiple tackles on his second carry for a 50-yard run. He later capped off the drive with his 26th touchdown run of the season.
The next three drives of the game featured Jamie Tyson heavily as he took over the game.
Winslow moved the ball efficiently on its first possession. The Eagles were not fazed by Mainland’s quick score and built up a 10-play drive. But Tyson ended that drive after he caught a tipped pass for an interception.
The senior, who plays both cornerback and wide receiver, got involved on offense after his interception, getting behind the defense and wide open in the end zone. Sophomore quarterback Franchini found him for a 30-yard touchdown pass to give the Mustangs a 14-0 lead to start the second quarter.
Another solid possession by Winslow brought the Eagles within Mainland’s 30-yard line. Quarterback Deante Ruffin was doing it all for the Eagles as his legs were just as dangerous as his arm. On a deep pass down the sideline, however, Tyson made his biggest play of the night.
He jumped in front of the receiver and snagged another interception off Ruffin. This time, Tyson ran down the sideline untouched for a 77-yard pick six.
“Their guy was chirping at me the whole drive while they were driving on us heavy. I just read him and took it to the crib with a great jump,” Tyson said after the game.
In a span of three drives, Tyson caught two interceptions and one pass for two touchdowns to give Mainland a commanding 21-0 lead.
Mainland’s only hiccup of the night came on the next defensive possession. A broken coverage in the secondary let Jaylen Hornsby run wide open in the middle of the field. He ran 76 yards into the end zone to put Winslow on the board at 21-7.
But Ordille ran for multiple first downs on the next Mustang drive. His running set up teammate Rocco DeBiaso to come out of the backfield and catch a 24-yard touchdown pass. When the Winslow defense finally committed to stopping Ordille, Franchini faked the handoff and found the wide-open DeBiaso to finish the first half up 27-7.
Outside of the one broken coverage, Mainland played a perfect first half by scoring on all three of its possessions and creating two clutch turnovers.
Down by 20 points, Winslow needed to answer and went on a long drive again to start the second half. The Eagles controlled the ball for more than 8 minutes and the Mustangs’ defense could not get off the field as Ruffin converted five first downs.
Smith called a timeout to try to stop the bleeding.
The timeout was exactly what Mainland needed as Winslow did not gain another yard on the drive. DeBiaso pressured Ruffin into a group of Mustangs for a sack on second down. Then Zach Hodges got another sack on fourth down to hold Winslow scoreless again on a long drive.
“We had that bend-but-don’t-break mentality tonight. We needed to break their momentum. They were finding things that were working and I thought our kids did a good job of tackling and limiting the big plays,” Smith said.
Neither team scored in the third quarter as Mainland ran the ball 12 straight times to start burning clock. The Mustangs eventually were met with a fourth and 11 and opted to go for it.
Cohen Cook received an ordinary handoff and had most of the defense collapse on his position. However, Mainland went to the very back of the playbook and had Cook throw the ball deep to Tyson, who made a great catch for a 30-yard touchdown.
Everyone on the defense was fooled as Tyson caught his second touchdown of the game. He ended his night with two receiving touchdowns, a pick six and another interception.
Up 34-7, Mainland began running out the clock. On fourth and short, the Mustangs were looking for the first down but got a whole lot more. Ordille took a handoff up the middle and broke free for a 59-yard touchdown to complete the scoring. His offensive line was a perfect convoy that pushed defenders out of the way.
Ordille later got an interception of his own to end the game and send Mainland to the state championship with a 41-7 victory.
“The team really hunkered down today and focused on our goal at the beginning of the season, which was to reach the state championship,” Smith said.
By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
