Late penalty upends upset in the making
OCEAN CITY — After a thrilling comeback victory last week over Middle Township, Ocean City High School looked primed to do it again in the annual homecoming game.
The Red Raiders hosted powerhouse Holy Spirit High School (7-1) on Oct. 18. They put the Spartans on upset alert early, stopping three drives in the red zone and forcing Holy Spirit, which has averaged more than 25 points a game this season, to settle for three field goals.
The upset alert was heightened late in the game. Ocean City took its first lead in the fourth quarter with 13 unanswered points — two field goals and a touchdown — and looked like it had stopped the Spartans’ final drive, but instead found heartbreak.
Holy Spirit running back Jahcere Ward punched in a 1-yard touchdown to avoid the upset and give the Spartans the 15-13 win in Ocean City.
Senior J.P. Forster put the Raiders up 13-9 with a field goal after the offense drained Holy Spirit’s timeouts. Forster kicked off to the Spartans with only 2:42 left in the game. Ocean City’s defense held the opposing offense out of the end zone all day and needed one more stop to ice it.
The biggest play of the game came on a fourth down with only 1:06 remaining. Holy Spirit was down to its last lifeline and needed a conversion to keep the drive alive.
Spartan quarterback Ty Costabile faced pressure from the Raider defensive line and threw his pass deep downfield. The pressure forced Costabile to underthrow his receiver as the ball fell to the turf for a turnover on downs and it looked like it sealed a Raider victory.
Ocean City’s celebration was short-lived though, as some yellow laundry also hit the turf.
During the celebration, the Raiders were penalized for roughing the passer, which revived the Holy Spirit offense and resulted in an automatic first down. It was three plays later when Ward struck the dagger into the Raiders’ hearts and scored the game-winning touchdown with only 36 seconds left in play.
After the game, Ocean City head coach Kevin Smith relayed his confidence in the team as the playoffs approach.
“The message to the team afterwards was that if they don’t believe they can win the Group III championship then they are selling themselves short,” Smith said. “We just went toe-to-toe with a top 15 team in the state. Had that game under control. It feels terrible right now but at the same time if that isn’t an indicator of what we are capable of then I don’t know what is.”
All season long the Raiders have made it routine to play their best football in the fourth quarter. Against Middle Township a week prior, the team rallied around the offense, which scored three touchdowns in the period, including two in the final two minutes. Last week the Raiders leaned heavily on their defense to hold Holy Spirit at bay.
Senior captain Joe Berardis put the Raiders in business late in the third with a fumble recovery. His turnover set up Forster’s first field goal of the game to cut Holy Spirit’s lead to 9-3.
Forster brought Ocean City within one score of the lead as both teams searched for the elusive first touchdown.
The defense kept the pressure on and forced another fumble on Holy Spirit’s next play. Sophomore linebacker Joe Pancoast sprinted down hill and slammed into Ward, who could not hold on after the impact.
Ocean City was gifted the ball at the Spartan 30-yard line, and quarterback Walker Bailey did not let the opportunity pass. Bailey and junior Clay Compton alternated carries until they reached the 1-yard line. Bailey did his best Jalen Hurts impression and ran a quarterback sneak for the touchdown.
Forster’s extra point pumped up the home crowd even further and gave the team a 10-9 lead.
Raider Nation’s loud chants seemed to push the Ocean City defense even further. Holy Spirit gained only four yards and faced a quick fourth down. Senior Tommy Grimley got into Costabile’s face immediately on fourth down and forced the incompletion.
Throughout the game, Ocean City’s defense gave up yards but never allowed a big pass play and held Holy Spirit to field goals in the red zone. The Spartans’ first possession of the game was a 17-play drive that scored zero points after the Raiders held their ground on the 2-yard line.
“They kept us in it and gave the offense time to shake loose in the second half,” Smith said. “I thought we ran to the ball and tackled well. I’m super proud of them today.”
Smith’s offense got the ball back in the red zone and he had to decide how much he was going to risk. The Raiders opted to lean on the strong running game. They did not pick up the first down but burned all three of Holy Spirit’s timeouts. Forster’s field goal gave Ocean City an important four-point lead to force a Spartan touchdown.
The Spartans had nearly three minutes of clock to score and started running the ball with Ward. Once Ocean City caught on to the plan, the offense was faced with the do-or-die fourth down. The Raiders got a little too aggressive with Costabile and paid a 15-yard price, which resulted in Holy Spirit’s first conversion on fourth down all day. Ward ran for the final 23 yards on the next three plays to take the lead.
Ocean City fell to 5-3 and has only one more regular season game remaining. The Raiders will travel to Cedar Creek High School to take on the 6-2 Pirates on Oct. 25. Game time is 6 p.m.
The Raiders have clinched a playoff spot, but Smith stressed the importance of the regular season finale on the seeding.
“It’s a big game for us because I am pretty sure we guarantee at least one home playoff game with a win,” Smith said. “To our seniors if they want another game on our field, we better take care of business next week.”
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
