CAMDEN – It was not the ending to the football season the Ocean City Red Raiders wanted, but their effort and “resiliency” were not lost on head coach Sean Matthews.
The Raiders’ playoff run came to an end against Camden High School after a gutsy performance on defense to keep a high-powered Panther offense at bay for most of the game. Ocean City eventually fell to Camden 24-7 on Nov. 6, but not before leaving everything out on the field.
Ocean City’s defense started the game almost perfectly by shutting down a Camden attack. Fourth-down stops halted a Camden offense that averaged 39 points in the last two games.
“Our kids always found a way to battle together and find ways to win, Matthews said. “They bought into what the coaches were preaching and you could see it just because of their effort. These guys played hard for one another the whole season and loved playing with each other.”
Senior Joe Pancoast made the biggest play of the game for Ocean City after he picked off a pass and took the ball 50 yards in the opposite direction. Pancoast’s return put the ball 3 yards from the end zone for his quarterback Jackson Becker.
Becker made sure to reward Pancoast for the great field position and flipped the ball to him for an easy touchdown and 7-0 lead.
It was a much different start to the game than the last meeting between the teams on Sept. 18 when Camden handed Ocean City its first loss of the season. The Raiders lost 32-8 at home against the Panthers and never held a lead.
With their playoff dreams alive in the rematch and momentum to their backs, the Raiders continued to force long fourth downs that required passing the ball.
Camden ran the ball efficiently but consistent tackles behind the line by the defensive front gave Pancoast and the secondary opportunities for a turnover.
Sophomore Kaiden Janto followed in Pancoast’s example and hauled in his first career interception on the subsequent Panther drive. Janto jumped in front of the route to secure another turnover for the Raiders.
On offense, the Raiders ran into similar problems they faced in the first matchup – a lack of chunk yards running the ball. The offense could not get out of its own side of the field for most of the game, which was not made any easier with leading rusher Cole Garreffi having to exit the game in the first half.
The junior running back finished his year with 650 yards and six touchdowns on the game as the team’s workhorse running back who was missed by the entire offense.
Becker and the Raiders were subject to a great Panther defensive line that kept everything in front of them and limited explosive plays. Eventually Becker was brought down in his own end zone for a safety – the first points of the game for Camden.
After the free kick, the momentum swing was enough for the Panthers to score their first touchdown of the game to regain the lead at 8-7 heading into halftime.
Both defenses played about as well as possible throughout the first half and the game came down to which offense would find room to breathe first.
Camden’s rushing attack was the first to wake up in the second half and started stacking up first downs. Running back Roman Duckett carried the ball 26 times for the Panthers, and his 150 yards led them on back-to-back touchdown drives to put the game out of reach for Ocean City in the fourth quarter.
Asked about the last post-game huddle of the season Matthews said, “I told the team the same thing I told them after every game and every week, which was how proud I was of this tremendous group of young men,” Matthews said. “I loved coaching them and loved how they represent our community. They can walk around town with their O.C. football gear on with their chins up high.”
Ocean City’s senior class has high-impact players ready to graduate including Pancoast and Michael Marczyk. Leading the senior class is Jake Chapman, who added one final sack to his school record 23. He broke the record set by Ernie Nelson in the first-round playoff game against Pleasantville.
Leading the way for Ocean City next year, Becker will be entering his third full season as the Raider starting quarterback. He will still have Garreffi in the backfield and Columb Higgins at wide receiver. Higgins caught the second-most passes this season behind Marczyk.
“You can’t replace guys like a Joe Pancoast or Jake Chapman who are just tremendous program kids, Matthews said. “Seniors like Michael Marczyk, Aron Desch, Andrew Defeo, you just know they taught us so well and now the younger kids know better because of them. Now our younger guys can carry the torch and lead us through.”
– By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
