OCEAN CITY – Football season in New Jersey kicked off beachside last week with a dominant performance by the Ocean City Red Raiders in their annual Battle at the Beach game.
The Raiders held Oakcrest High School scoreless in head coach Sean Matthews’ first game as leader of the team. Two late defensive scores by the Raiders helped secure Matthews’ first win – a 32-0 shutout Thursday, Aug. 28.
Matthews served as the team’s defensive coordinator for the past eight seasons and was chosen to succeed former coach Kevin Smith, who stepped down after 14 seasons as the Raiders’ coach.
Ocean City led by only six points heading into the fourth quarter but swung everything into the Red Raiders’ favor after scoring two defensive touchdowns on two consecutive plays.
The Raiders took a comfortable 19-0 lead thanks to quarterback Jackson Becker’s second touchdown run of the game, but the defense still smelled blood in the water after the Oakcrest offense came back out onto the field.
On the first play from scrimmage, Raider cornerback Ayden Majors cut in front of his receiver and picked off the pass, before shrugging off a tackle attempt. He kept his balance the whole way towards the end zone 33 yards away with his teammates running behind him celebrating.
After the ensuing kickoff, it was the defensive line’s turn to make a play. Junior Jake Chapman, who already had a sack in the game, was in the backfield immediately and forced a fumble with a strip sack. Defensive tackle Aron Desch scooped up the ball from behind Chapman and ran 21 yards for another Raider touchdown.
“Everything went black when I picked it up and the only thing in my head was go, go, go and I kept on running,” Desch said about his scoop-and-score touchdown. “I was in the zone and was just going.”
During the entire second half, Ocean City did not surrender a first down on six straight Oakcrest drives and scored 26 points in the fourth quarter alone.
When asked about helping coach Matthews get his first win, Desch said, “It was the best thing I could have done all day.”
Desch, Majors, and the rest of the Raider defense were all recognized and given the Battle at the Beach Most Valuable Player award for their combined effort against Oakcrest.
“We’ve worked really hard this off season and pushed through a lot,” Desch said. “On the D-line we push each other so hard, and I think that’s a key to why we won this game. Our linebackers are amazing and the secondary is lockdown. When you shut out someone it’s a great feeling.”
While the defense was hard at work on preserving the shutout, the Raider offense picked up where they left off last year with a strong run game. Sophomore quarterback Becker was chosen to be the team’s starter after some good performances last season as the backup.
Becker gave Ocean City an initial 6-0 lead after the team marched down the field almost entirely on the ground. From 24 yards out Becker found a wide-open gap in the defense created by his offensive line and ran in for the first touchdown of the season for Ocean City. He finished the game with 80 yards on the ground and had two rushing touchdowns.
Alongside Becker in the backfield is running back Triston Schmidt who had an excellent season one year ago. He led the team in rushing yards and touchdowns last year as a junior.
Against Oakcrest he shared most of the rushing attempts with Becker and looked like he only got stronger in the offseason. He averaged 7.3 yards per carry and finished with 146 yards and a touchdown run. Schmidt also served as the Raiders’ kicker for extra point attempts and kickoffs after some injuries in the offseason.
Every different component of the Raiders showed up in their season opener with Matthews’ defense stealing the show in the end.
The Raiders will be on the road for the next three weeks starting with a trip to Eastern High School at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4. Ocean City beat Eastern 23-0 last season fueled by two touchdown runs by Schmidt.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
