OCEAN CITY – Fueled by dominant play in the trenches, the Ocean City Red Raider football team took home an impressive win in the season opener.
In the fourth annual Battle at the Beach event at Carey Stadium, the Raiders ran for nearly 300 yards en route to a 35-7 win over Cinnaminson High School Thursday, Aug. 29.
The Pirates last season finished with a 9-2 record and only gave up multiple touchdowns twice, but were run over by Ocean City.
Two new running backs to the Raider backfield took center stage in the game. Juniors Triston Schmidt and Clay Compton each scored two touchdowns as the 1-2 punch of the Raiders was seemingly unstoppable.
“They did a great job today running hard and protecting the ball, but man did they have some great holes open for them by that O-line,” Ocean City head coach Kevin Smith said.
Smith gave the Battle at the Beach Most Valuable Player trophy to center Luke Holmes and recognized the entire offensive line for its impressive performance. Multiple times during the game the Raider ball carriers were not touched until they were at least six yards down the field.
Senior quarterback Walker Bailey added a third punch to the combo of Schmidt and Compton, gaining more than 90 yards on the ground. He attacked the defense with zone reads and designed QB runs which left Cinnaminson guessing on which Raider would get the ball.
“We thought that the rushing attack was our strength coming into the game,” Smith said. “As the game went on it kind of validated that. It’s tempting sometimes to go away from the game plan and when we did it didn’t go as well so we stuck to our guns.”
On defense the Raiders continued to control the trenches which gave Cinnaminson QB Dylan McAndrews little room to breathe.
Sophomore defensive end Jake Chapman set the tone on the second play of the game when he sacked McAndrews for a three-and-out. In his first game as a starter, Chapman racked up three sacks.
Asked after the game about his performance Chapman said, “We worked so hard all summer and I just wanted to have a big game. My defensive tackles and other end really set me up on the sacks.”
Once the ball went back to Walker and the offense, they put the game plan into motion immediately. On the first play from scrimmage Walker olowered his shoulder and almost ran over a defender.
He picked up 38 yards on the first drive before Compton scored Ocean City’s first touchdown of the year. Compton powered through defenders from 2 yards away
The next Raider possession looked even more efficient with a 12-play drive that included four consecutive first-down runs by Schmidt. However, the drive ended in the red zone after Cinnaminson intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Backed up on the 5-yard line the Pirates tried to run the ball to get some breathing room on their first play but ran into a wall of Raiders. The wall of red managed to get the ball loose and team captain Joe Berardis recovered the fumble.
After each team traded turnovers, Schmidt punched in another Ocean City touchdown on fourth-and-inches for a 14-0 lead.
Thanks to the Raiders’ success on the ground, they also controlled the time of possession. Only five minutes remained in the first half after Schmidt’s touchdown.
Cinnaminson put together its best offensive drive of the day and reached the Ocean City 10-yard line. The Raiders managed to force a field goal attempt after a Justin McCormick sack. They were only one play away from a first-half shutout.
On the field goal attempt, Ocean City was called for roughing the kicker, which gave Cinnaminson an automatic first down at the 8-yard line. A critical error forced the defense to come back onto the field after a missed field goal.
Two plays later McAndrews cut into the Raider lead with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Prendergast to end the half.
At the start of the second half, senior J.P. Forster gave Ocean City great field position with a punt return to the opposing 44-yard line. Forster earned himself a role as a team captain this season and has turned into a Swiss army knife on special teams. He made all five extra-points attempts in the game and handled kickoff duties along with kick returns.
Ocean City went back to what worked in the first half and ran the ball relentlessly in the second half.
The Raiders went into a fast tempo on offense and snapped the ball as soon as it was spotted by the referee. They moved 44 yards in under two minutes by exclusively running the ball. Compton capped off the drive with a powerful touchdown run up the middle.
Walker brought the offense down the field once again with his legs on the next drive. The offensive line seemed to get stronger as the game went on and eventually got Schmidt into the end zone for his second touchdown.
After the costly penalty to end the second quarter, Ocean City’s defense did not flinch and gave up only one first down in four second-half Cinnaminson possessions. Chapman picked up his final sack of the game to force another Pirate three-and-out to secure the win.
“We have been waiting for this game all summer by physically and mentally preparing,” Chapman said. “The hard work definitely pays off in the weight room and the film room.”
The final touchdown of the game was set up by the special teams expert Forster, who returned a punt 40 yards and was brought down at the two-yard line. Freshman Jackson Becker finished the game at quarterback and scored his first career touchdown.
Every position group on the Raiders contributed to the win. Smith said he was proud with how physical the team played but noted the long season ahead.
Ocean City will play its next three games all at home in Carey Stadium. Eastern Regional High School will come to town next on Friday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
