Millville too hard to handle for Red Raiders

Thunderbolts beat Ocean City 40-3 to win South Jersey Group IV title

MILLVILLE – The Red Raider football team saw its quest for a state title end at the hands of the Millville Thunderbolts Friday night.

Millville pulled away after a tight first half, winning 40-3 to celebrate a South Jersey Group IV championship on their home field.

“We just didn’t play our best,” said Ocean City head coach Kevin Smith. “That includes the coaches too; obviously we needed to have the guys better prepared. I thought we played them tough for a while, but we had a turnover in the third quarter that gave them momentum and we didn’t really do anything to take it back.”

It was an ugly start for the Red Raiders as they went three-and-out on their opening possession, then Millville plowed upfield with its run game for an early lead.

LeQuint Allen finished the drive from 4 yards out.

Ocean City again couldn’t get rolling and was forced into another quick punt.

“They kind of dared us to throw the ball,” Smith said. “They loaded the box and they were really aggressive coming after the run. They basically matched up their athletes with our athletes and challenged us to beat them down the field. We couldn’t do it and it’s frustrating, but we were up against a team that’s well-matched for what we like to do. When they took it away from us, we didn’t really have an answer.”

The Ocean City defense stepped up with a big fourth-down play deep in their own territory.

Jack Hoag then sparked the offense with a 21-yard grab inside the Millville 30.

Jacob Wilson had the Red Raiders’ best run up to that point for another first down in the red zone.

But the Millville defense clamped down and forced Ocean City to kick a field goal.

Brendan McGonigle made the kick, which turned out to be the only points Ocean City scored in the game.

“In a game where you’re not the favorite, you have to take advantage of whatever opportunities you have,” Smith said. “I think when we got inside their 15, it would have been nice to score a touchdown instead of settling for a field goal. We took the points there and at halftime it was close. Going into the game we figured we were going to get their best shot early, so we kept saying, ‘Let’s get to halftime with it close.’ We’ve been really good in the second half this year so we thought we could take it from there.”

The Thunderbolts then showed off their balanced attack as Allen ran effectively to set up the pass.

Quarterback Nate Robbins delivered a pair of excellent throws on the drive, including a 31-yard score to Lotzier Brooks for a 13-3 lead that would hold through halftime.

Charley Cossaboone had an acrobatic interception to keep Millville off the board again before the break.

The Red Raiders forced a much-needed three-and-out to start the third quarter and, even better, had great field position on the plus-side of midfield.

However, two plays later they fumbled it away and gave the momentum right back.

“We got a stop coming out of halftime so we were feeling good about ourselves,” Smith said, “but that fumble – you can’t make mistakes like that against a good team and expect to overcome them.”

Millville was unstoppable running the ball out of a full house formation.

“They have three really good backs and they’re solid up front,” Smith said. “They run hard. They weren’t breaking a lot of long runs but they were getting four or five yards a pop. When you get the lead and you want to burn some clock, that’s a great way to do it. They just have talented guys all over the field.”

Allen  ended the drive with his second score of the night.

The Red Raider offense just couldn’t get in a rhythm.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” Hoag said. “Especially playing a great team like Millville, it just sucks.”

After a Red Raider punt Millville iced the game with another long touchdown pass, a 50-yarder to Calem Bowman for a 25-3 lead.

“They have incredible receivers,” Hoag said. “We have good corners, John Moyer and Nas (Kelly), but they have incredible receivers.”

Ocean City was forced to heave long passes downfield with the big deficit to no avail. 

Then, in what is hard to see as anything but rubbing salt in the wound, Millville came out throwing shots down the field with a three-score lead in the fourth quarter.

“It’s probably not how I would have handled the situation,” Smith said. “But it’s on us to stop them. It’s not their job to worry about how many points they put up; they’re going to put up as many as they can. We didn’t stop them and that’s disappointing. I thought we could have played a little harder towards the end. Whatever their motivation was, you’d have to ask those guys.”

“At the time I was just thinking about pushing through it,” Hoag said. “I didn’t want this to be our last game, no matter what the score is. I wanted to leave it all out there, but it just happens sometimes. Sometimes the other team just does better.”

Millville added two more scores, running it up late.

“I feel like in the fourth quarter we kind of shut down, myself included, which I feel terrible about” Hoag said. “We have to come back and get better from this.”

The Red Raiders knew they were up against a great opponent but still hold themselves to a higher standard.

“I have to give it to them, they’re a really good team,” Hoag said, “but we could have given a better effort. It wasn’t our best game, but I have to give them credit.”

All that’s left to do now is finish strong against Pleasantville Thanksgiving morning.

“We have a chance to be the first team in school history to win 12 games in a season,” Smith said. “We’ve been playing football here for 103 years and no team has ever won 12 games, so I think that’s a hell of a thing to play for. This team has so much to be proud of. I think we’re all feeling a little bit of a hangover after Friday night, but when we get into practice we’re going to put it all behind us and focus on Thursday. If we can get that 12th win and combine that with a division title, that’s a lot to celebrate.”

Indeed, the Raiders have plenty to be proud of.

“I just think their approach to everything is fantastic,” Smith said. “It’s a group that loves football. Everyone, especially the seniors, was awesome for the culture of the program. They picked up where last year’s seniors left off. All we heard was how much we were going to miss the guys we were losing from last year. While there were some great players there, the guys from this year’s team did a great job establishing their own legacy and setting an example for the younger guys.”

They’ve cultivated something that will last well beyond this season.

“We have some stability in our coaching staff and we know how we want to do things,” Smith said. “I think the players have bought into the program. They’re given a level of expectations that they need to meet and they do a good job of adhering to that standard.”

“A lot of people doubted us at the beginning of the season because we lost a lot of seniors,” Hoag said, “but we showed that hard work beats everything. That’s all that matters. This is one of my favorite teams I’ve played on.”

Game time is 10 a.m. at Carey Stadium.