Raiders rebuff Mainland for three quarters, but persistence pays off
LINWOOD – The Mainland Mustangs are kings of the bridge once again after a shutout victory over their cross-bay rival Ocean City Red Raiders.
The teams were locked into a physical, defensive battle that kept both teams off the scoreboard through three quarters. The Mustangs broke the drought to start the fourth quarter and added a second touchdown with little time remaining after Ocean City’s drive to tie the game stalled deep in their own territory.
“Anytime Mainland and Ocean City get together for football it is always going to be a slugfest,” Mainland head coach Chuck Smith said. “Both teams bring a lot of emotion into this game, and it showed out here tonight. It was not until the very end that the game was decided. Hats off to them, their defense played tremendous but thank God our defense played a little bit better.”
Mainland hoisted the Battle of the Bridge trophy after the 14-0 win.
Ocean City’s potent rushing attack was held to a season-low 57 yards. The Raiders had averaged 214 yards on the ground before the Mustangs shut them down.
Mainland running back Rocco DeBiaso scored the go-ahead touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. The senior capped off a 12-play drive that took up nearly seven minutes of game clock.
DeBiaso said he was happy the offense finally broke through and thanked the Mustang defense for its performance.
“We said the whole game we are going to have to work hard and play to the last snap and we did that for a successful W,” DeBiaso said. “It was really tough on offense and I think we relied on our defense heavy.”
Ocean City woke up on offense and got rolling after the DeBiaso touchdown. Senior quarterback Walker Bailey started the drive with a 27-yard pass to Colin Thompson. Another 15-yard completion to Ryan Hendricks set the Raiders up just outside of the red zone and threatened to tie the game.
Defensive lineman Matt Muits got Bailey off rhythm and forced an interception to cornerback Nathan Rivera. Rivera fell to the ground after the ball hit him but managed to keep it off the ground to shut down the promising Raider drive.
Ocean City’s defense forced a punt but not before the Mustangs burned three minutes of clock. Bailey and the offense got the ball back with 3:27 remaining on their own 7-yard line.
Down 7-0, Ocean City was met with a third down and only needed one yard. The Raiders’ struggles on the ground continued as Tristin Schmidt was tackled in the backfield immediately by Chase Hoag. Bailey’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete after he was pressured again by the Mustang defensive line.
“They were able to run what they run better than what we were able to do offensively,” Ocean City head coach Kevin Smith said. “They did a nice job taking away some of our run stuff so when teams do that, we need to get better at shaking them off in the pass game.”
As the fourth quarter wound down, the Mustangs picked the ball up with terrific field position at Ocean City’s 14-yard line and went for the finishing blow. Quarterback John Franchini got the Mustangs to the 1-yard line. DeBiaso took the ball and fumbled just before he reached the goal line, but the ball was picked up by his younger brother Lucas DeBiaso in the end zone for the touchdown.
Rocco DeBiaso joked about the play after the game.
“I think at the end of the day I helped him out and got him a little touchdown,” he said.
Nate Kashey’s extra point extended the Mustang lead to 14-0 and gave Ocean City one last chance to put points on the board.
Ocean City wide receiver J.P. Forster caught two passes for more than 40 yards on the final drive before a pass interference penalty on Mainland put the Raiders on the 16-yard line. With only 58 seconds in the game, Muits and the defensive line got to Bailey again and pushed the Raiders back.
On fourth and 32, Mustang senior Khaleeb Foster caught an interception in the end zone to complete the shutout for Mainland.
Mainland improved to 4-2 this season and got to light up the Stainton Memorial Causeway bridge in Mustang green.
Franchini and the Mustangs bounced back with an efficient game versus Ocean City after a tough loss the week prior to St. Augustine Prep. Mainland never turned the ball over after committing five turnovers versus St. Augustine.
“Hopefully this game prepares us for big games down the road,” coach Chuck Smith said. “Tonight was a great game too because it’s a lot different than last season where every week is a game. Even last week the game (against St. Augustine) was decided on one side of the football, but the kids still battled to the end which was a credit to their character.”
Next up for the Mustangs’ gauntlet of a schedule is a 6 p.m. game Thursday, Oct. 10, on the road against Egg Harbor Township High School. The Mustangs’ final regular season home game will be the following week on Oct. 18 against undefeated Winslow High School.
With the loss Ocean City dropped to 4-2 and will shift its focus to Middle Township High School. Coach Kevin Smith said that while the offense needs to improve its passing game, he was impressed again by the defense
“I thought they played fantastic on that side of the ball today,” Smith said. “They swarmed to the ball with gang tackles and for the most part did not give up home runs. That team is known the break off big plays, so I was proud with how we limited them there.”
The Raiders will travel to Middle Township on Oct. 11 for a 6 p.m. kickoff. Ocean City’s final home game in the regular season will be on Oct. 18 against Holy Spirt High School.
Since Mainland made the move to the Group III South division in football this season, both teams could meet again in the playoffs this year. With the win the Mustangs hold the tiebreaker over Ocean City, but a rematch is a possibility as both teams are firmly in the playoff race.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
