Mustangs led 20-7 in intense rivalry game before Ocean City rallied
OCEAN CITY – The Red Raiders came roaring back in the second half to stun the visiting Mainland Mustangs 21-20 at Carey Stadium Thursday night, Sept. 1, in a game befitting the historic rivalry between the teams.
The Ocean City defense forced timely turnovers while the offense caught fire in the passing game.
Riley Gunnels finished 5 yards shy of the school record with 344 passing yards, even after a shaky start.
“I think this could be a huge turning point for us,” said Raider Jack Hoag, who scored two touchdowns on receptions from Gunnels. “This got our energy going. I think we have a lot of momentum going this season.”
“I’m so proud of the effort and the way they just kept grinding,” Raider coach Kevin Smith said.
The Mustangs could not have asked for a better start, forcing a three-and-out on defense, starting with prime field position, and racking up yardage with their ground game.
“It’s easy to get up for this game,” Mustangs head coach Chuck Smith said. “The team came out with a lot of enthusiasm. We had a nice lead at halftime. But the game is never over, especially in this rivalry.”
Ja’Briel Mace started the drive with a 27-yard run and capped it with a 5-yard score as he jumped and stretched his arms out to get the ball over the goal line with one Raider holding onto his leg and another coming in from the side.
The Raiders then connected for the second straight week on a deep ball to Pat Lonergan.
Gunnels unleashed the long throw up the right side and Lonergan came down with it for a 49-yard gain into Mustang territory.
But three plays later, as Gunnels looked to buy time in the pocket, the ball was stripped and Mainland’s Hunter Watson came up with it.
Mainland again went to their ground game, and Cohen Cook broke free on a reverse inside the Raider 40.
Mainland’s drive stalled, though, when a poor snap was followed by a botched exchange for lost yardage.
Starting from their own 10, the Raiders wasted no time as Gunnels hit Hoag in stride about 10 yards past the line of scrimmage and Hoag outraced the defenders the rest of the way for a 90-yard touchdown to tie it at 7-7.
“He’s good, he’s outstanding,” Chuck Smith said. “We had some pressure on him here and there, but they made some nice plays on some RPOs and some bunch sets. He’s an outstanding quarterback.”
“Gunnels threw me a perfect ball,” Hoag said. “It was a quick slant route, no one was on me, it was easy.”
The Mustangs saw the Raiders’ one-play scoring drive and proceeded to match it. Mace took a toss, burst up the left sideline, and outran everyone for a 79-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead that would hold through the half.
“We were down when we went into the locker room,” Hoag said, “and there was a huge energy change. It was high-energy, everyone still trusted in each other, we held each other accountable, and we came out with a win.”
The Raider defense stepped up to force a three-and-out to start the third quarter as Nick Layton diagnosed a toss play and shut it down for a loss on third down.
A poor punt put Ocean City 40 yards away from tying it up.
Gunnels connected with Lonergan for a 28-yard gain into the red zone that lit up the home crowd.
But on third down an ill-advised pass into the end zone was intercepted by Jamie Tyson.
Cook then made an unlikely highlight when a mishandled exchange with Mace popped up into the air. Cook snagged the ball to avoid disaster, then took off for daylight and scrambled more than 60 yards to the 1-yard line, where he’d finish the drive himself for a 20-7 lead.
“It was good in the first half, but we have to get better,” Chuck Smith said. “If we want to win, and win big games, we have to be able to get first downs in critical situations. That’s what we have to get better at.”
The Raiders’ offensive woes continued as another short drive was followed by a punt that gave Mainland possession near midfield with a two-score cushion and a run game that had dominated thus far.
“We talked at halftime about being a fourth-quarter team,” Kevin Smith said. “We know we’re going to be in some games deep because of our schedule, so (we need to) keep competing. We’re very young and I think they just needed a little confidence.”
But the Ocean City defense stepped up and made a crucial stop to stay in the game.
The ensuing Raider drive was aided by a pair of personal fouls against Mainland.
Gunnels and Ricky Wetzel then connected on a fourth-down conversion up to the Mustang 20 to keep the possession alive.
After a pair of incompletions and a short gain, Ocean City faced 4th-and-goal from the 2.
Gunnels rolled to his right, let the throw rip, and Hoag made the grab, getting his foot down just barely in-bounds for the score.
“We’re on the goal line, that’s a huge play right there,” Hoag said. “That was a huge turning point for our team.”
“We got the ball down there and threw the pick, then they had the big run,” Kevin Smith said. “20-7. But then the next drive we put together was just a lot of little things that we were doing right. Those little things always add up to big things. You could see it turn.”
The Raiders were officially back in it at 20-14 in the final seconds of the third.
“Hats off to Ocean City,” Chuck Smith said. “That quarterback, if you give him time, is going to eventually pick you apart.”
“I think our offensive coordinator (Paul Callahan) is a genius,” Hoag said. “He found holes in their defense and when you have Riley Gunnels as your quarterback and the O-line is blocking, we’re unstoppable.”
“When it got to 20-7, you could see us slump a little bit,” Kevin Smith said. “We almost have to be cheerleaders in some ways. But you could feel the momentum turn; guys got confident, we started to block them, and Riley Gunnels – that dude was under pressure all night and he just stood in there tough and kept executing the offense.”
Mainland then made a mistake that would prove costly. Looking to catch the Raiders off-balance, the Mustangs dialed up a trick play that had Cook line up at receiver, take a pitch, and launch one deep.
The Raiders were ready, the throw was short, and John Moyer picked off the pass to give Ocean City massive momentum.
“We just under-threw the ball,” Chuck Smith, said. “That’s all. They made a play.”
From the Ocean City 44, Moyer then took a swing pass 20-plus yards to jump-start the drive.
Two plays later, running back Duke Guenther broke free from multiple tacklers, getting spun around, but racing for a 29-yard score to complete the comeback.
The extra point from J.P. Forster with 9:58 left proved to be the winning point in the wild battle.
“A lot of unproven kids came up huge,” Kevin Smith said. “Duke, J.P. Forster – a sophomore kicker who made all three kicks. A young offensive line – we have three sophomores and two juniors, not a single senior on that line. Mainland was taking it to those guys for about two-and-half quarters, and they just stayed in there.”
The Raider defense played like their hair was on fire the rest of the way, flying to the ball carrier and shutting down plays that beat them earlier on.
“In the beginning we were struggling and our defensive coordinator helped us turn it around,” Hoag said. “He told us to keep our heads up and we all stepped up.”
“They did a good job on defense of adjusting to our offensive sets,” Chuck Smith said. “Kudos to them. They shut us down, and we gave (Gunnels) way too many opportunities to do something with the ball and he cashed in.”
“I could tell they were low-energy compared to us,” Hoag said. “Our sideline was going crazy and theirs wasn’t, so I could tell. I knew our team wanted it more than them in the second half.”
A final chance for the Mustangs with time winding down was wiped out when Ricky Wetzel came down with a game-sealing interception to kick off the celebration for Ocean City.
“He’s a definite playmaker,” Hoag said. “He’s overlooked, but many will come to find he’s a great player.”
“He’s a kid who, last year, had some pretty good kids ahead of him,” Kevin Smith said. “Now he’s being given a chance and he’s taking advantage of it.”
The Raiders will look to make it two in a row against Cedar Creek on the road at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10.
“I’ve been part of this rivalry a long time,” Kevin Smith said, “and I remember the 2015 game when we had the lead on them. We hadn’t beaten them in like six years and when they started to come back we got that doubt in our heads because we hadn’t beaten them in a long time. Now it’s the opposite – we’ve put it on them the last four years pretty good, and I think as good as that team is – and I think they’re a good football team – there had to be some doubt in their heads when it started to go the other way. ‘Uh-oh, is it happening again?’ It’s hard when you haven’t done a thing. You don’t know if you can do it until you do the thing.”
Mainland will look to get back on track Friday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. at Oakcrest.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Chuck Smith said. “We have to get a lot better offensively. I thought our defense played very well tonight overall, we just put them on the field way too many times. We had a few snaps here and there early in the game when we could have really put the hammer to them. Then in the second half we just had too many miscues and didn’t run the ball well.”
By KYLE McCRANE/Sentinel Sports
