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Mainland quarterback Marlon Leslie runs the ball Friday night against Egg Harbor Township.
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By CLYDE HUGHES/Special to the Sentinel
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – It was one heck of a debut for Marlon Leslie as quarterback for the Mainland Regional Mustangs – 187 yards running and accounting for both scores in a 14-6 season-opening victory over the Egg Harbor Township Eagles last Friday night.
While this week’s game at traditional regional power Millville will present a host of new challenges for Mainland, Mustang head coach Chuck Smith said he will enjoy the road victory while he can.
“I’ve been concentrating on Egg Harbor Township for the last two weeks,” Smith, who enjoyed his third-straight victory over the Eagles, said immediately after the game Friday. “We’ll worry about Millville tomorrow but we’ll enjoy this one tonight.”
Leslie, a junior transfer from Pleasantville, seemed to get stronger as the game went along as the Eagles struggled to get him to the ground late. After Mainland trailed most of the game, Leslie reeled off a 57-yard run late in the third quarter to set up own 1-yard run to tie the score at the 11:46 mark of the fourth quarter.
Brady Panas’s point-after conversion kick gave Mainland a 7-6 lead.
“The offense had to pick up the pace,” Leslie said after the game. “The first three quarters were a struggle. They were running the ball down our throats and we couldn’t move the ball downfield. Penalties were killing us, so we just had to come out here and put some points on the board.”
The Mustangs’ defense, which gave up a lot of yardage in the middle of the field, managed to limit Egg Harbor Township on the scoreboard. Eagles running back Ronald Vaughan Jr. rushed for 142 yards on 25 carries.
EHT drove inside the Mainland 15 four times, but only came away with one touchdown with coach Kevin Stetser opting not to attempt field goals as the Mustangs‘ defense stiffened.
“We’re not there yet defensively or offensively,” Smith, recognizing the mistake but pleased with the victory at the end of the contest. “We’ve got to get a lot better on both sides of the football if we’re going to be successful this year. We’re happy tonight but tomorrow we go back to the drawing board and start all over again.”
Mainland’s first touchdown came as a result of a Mustangs’ defensive stand. Behind Vaughan, the Eagles drove to the Mainland 9 but held Vaughan to 3 yards on a fourth-and-5 play.
“Those stops gave us some momentum,” Leslie said of the defense.
That’s when Leslie led Mainland on its best drive of the game, 94 yards on 12 plays. Christian Elliott caught a 10-yard pass from Leslie to convert a third-down play to the Mustang 21. Leslie then scrambled out of the pocket and went on a 57-yard run to convert a 3-and-16 to the Eagles 28.
On the last play of the third quarter, Ja’Briel Mace raced off right end for 11 yards to convert a fourth-and-4 play to the EHT 13. Then Leslie showed his toughness, breaking through tackles for a 12-yard run to the Eagles’ 1 before scoring on the next play with 11:46 left in the game.
“It was tough but I worked all off-season for this,” Leslie said. “I came out here ready and I plan on getting on it.”
Mainland’s defense came up with one of its best stands on Egg Harbor Township’s next series as the Eagles found themselves behind for the first time. EHT drove to its own 47 before being forced to punt with 8:05 left in the game.
“On defense, I want to make sure all 11 players are giving everything they can,” said linebacker Nate Wagner about Mainland’s defensive consistency inside the Red Zone. “You have to make sure you keep watching your keys and making sure they don’t get around you. You just keep making plays.”
From their own 38, the Mustangs needed just six plays to get their next touchdown. At the EHT 49, Leslie shrugged off defenders again on a 38-yard run to move the ball to the Eagles’ 11.
On a third-and-11 play on the Egg Harbor Township 12, Leslie found William Spollen open in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown 6:01 left in the game for a 14-6 lead.
“(Leslie) brings a whole new dynamic to our offense,” coach Smith said. “As he gets better passing the ball, he’s really going to be a great high school quarterback.”
Egg Harbor Township’s first three drives reached inside the Mainland 15, with the final one giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. On that drive, EHT started at the Mainland 37 after forcing the Mustangs to punt into their own 15.
Vaughan covered the final 19 yards on three straight running plays, the last for a 5-yard touchdown with 6:22 left before halftime. A blocked extra-point after the touchdown would come back to haunt the Eagles.
“We made a lot of mistakes and offensively we cost ourselves twice in the Red Zone with penalties,” Smith said. “Penalties are usually drive-killers at this level. The end results is what counts and our defense came up big in the end. We had tough but we’ll get better each game.”
Mainland missed out on a chance to tie or take the lead on its final drive before halftime. Sitting on the Eagles’ 42 with less than two minutes to play, Leslie scooted 19 yards around left tackle and Mace followed with a 9-yard run to reach EHT’s 13.
Mace, who has anchored the Mainland running game for the past two seasons, finished the game with 58 yards rushing.
Time, though, ran out on the Mustangs as the Eagles held Leslie to 1 yard on a third-down play at the EHT 5 and time expired, denying Mainland a final play.
Mainland will likely need to make those conversions this week going up against Millville, one of the top Group III programs in South Jersey. Wagner said the Mustangs will be completely focused on having a great game on the road against the Thunderbolts this week.
“We’re 1-0 now and we have to just put this game in the past,” Wagner said. “We’ll now focus on Millville and try to have a great game next week.”
Game time is 6 p.m. Thursday at Millville.