Mainland team gets consolation game this Thursday at Camden Catholic
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The Mainland Mustangs played their final regular season game on the road with a 36-0 loss to Camden High School Oct. 23. Camden jumped out to a huge lead in the first quarter and had the Mustangs looking for any way up.
This Thursday at 6:15 p.m., the Mustangs have a consolation game at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill after not making the post-season sectional tournament.
“We dug ourselves a hole early with a pick six and 28-0 first quarter and it’s tough to rebound from that start,” Mainland head coach Chuck Smith said. “Its kind of been our M.O. most of the season this year but I thought our defense did a really great job afterwards.”
Camden quarterback Gregory Wyche Jr. broke the game wide open with two long touchdown passes to eventually give Camden the big lead.
After the initial pressure the Mustang defense settled in and stopped Camden on fourth down three straight possessions. Once the secondary cleaned up some of the broken coverages it allowed the bulk of the defense to lock down Camden on the ground.
“The quarterback played a very good game throwing the football, but I thought our run defense stepped up tonight against a team that can really run the football,” Smith said. “If we are going to take anything from this game, that was the positive because our run defense.”
Mainland wrapped up the regular season with a 2-7 record with a roster full of new faces. Quarterback Crew Russo was one of many players who got his first taste of Mustang football. The sophomore started all nine games and got time to learn and improve ahead of next season.
“We’re getting a lot of valuable playing experience, and we’ll find out how that translates into the future. Our offseason is going to have to be big, but a lot of kids got even more playing time with our injury situations. We had players on the field that probably would not have played as much that were getting in there also.”
The list of senior players for Mainland is not extensive but does include some big names such as Lucas DeBiaso, who was described by Smith as a “sparkplug” for Mainland during his time on the team.
“Lucas DeBiaso is our sparkplug who does it all,” Smith said. “He started off at linebacker tonight and he’s played outside linebacker, cornerback and safety. He’s been everywhere where we need him. He learns whatever we asked of him quick and does a great job with it.”
DeBiaso finished the regular season with 500 yards rushing and had his best game a week prior to the Camden game against Cedar Creek High School.
Mainland defeated Cedar Creek 27-20 on Oct. 16 for its second win of the year behind a three-touchdown performance by DeBiaso. He had 150 yards on the ground and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter to avoid overtime. His defense along with fellow senior Eban Kuhns locked down Cedar Creek in the second half, only allowing one score.
“Eban Kuhns, our other senior, plays both sides of the ball and I cannot say enough about him either. Those two guys and Brandon Reichartt, our long snapper, have been with the program the whole time.”
The Mustangs will look to get back into the playoffs next season with their roster having a whole season of experience under their belt.
– By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel