By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
EGG HARBOR CITY — The Red Raiders continued their early-season dominance with a 45-7 victory over the Pirates on Saturday at Cedar Creek High School to improve to 3-0.
“We were thrilled with the result and we had never beaten Cedar Creek before so that was kind of cool for the kids to be able to do that,” head coach Kevin Smith said.
Ocean City’s Jake Inserra scored three touchdowns — two on offense and a pick-six interception return on defense — while teammate Jake Schneider scored on both offense and defense as well. Quarterback Joe Repetti threw two touchdown passes, one to Schneider and the other to senior Brady Rauner.
The referees played a big role in the game, as there were more flags than at an Independence Day parade.
Smith said his team was far from perfect but felt the officiating crew may have been a bit zealous.
“Some of it was us being liable and some of it was them involving themselves in the game,” he said. “You certainly don’t make excuses. We’ve got to be better and hopefully if we’re better we don’t run into the situation where the officials feel they have to inject themselves.”
Ocean City’s first drive fizzled out with two incomplete passes and a short run by Repetti after an 18-yard catch by tight end Brad Jamison on the first play gained the Red Raiders a first down. Repetti booted a terrific punt that pinned the Pirates back at their own 11-yard line.
But on their first play from scrimmage, the Pirates took an early lead on an 89-yard touchdown run by speedy sophomore JoJo Bermudez, who took a toss from senior quarterback Louie Barrios to the right, reversed field, shed tackles and raced down the left sideline to the endzone for a 6-0 lead. The extra point was good, making it 7-0 Pirates.
“Once that happened, we just had to pursue our angles on the back side better. After that I didn’t think about it at all. With the next-play mentality we were just focusing on the next drive,” Inserra said.
It was the first time this season that the Raiders had trailed in a game, and Ocean City answered with a 14-play, 77-yard drive that started and ended with Inserra running the ball.
“They scored that long touchdown against us but we just kept our composure the whole way through. I was really happy with how our team responded and how we played from that point on,” Inserra said. “Our coach is always preaching next-play mentality and I think our team really showed that during that game. We went on a 45-0 run after that.”
The Red Raiders started the 5-minute, 34-second drive from their own 17-yard line. It ended with Inserra powering through defenders to reach pay dirt from 6 yards out. Place kicker Brendan McGonigle made it 7-7. The drive was aided by a 10-yard holding penalty on Cedar Creek.
“We’ve got a veteran group of guys. There are a lot of seniors and they’ve been through big games. We were losing in the playoffs to Mainland, we were losing to Long Branch and came back and won both those games,” Smith said. “I think that they are pretty mentally tough and not fazed by a lot. They understand it’s a long game, you’ve got to play 48 minutes. The game isn’t decided off one or two plays.”
“It was pretty exciting,” Inserra said. “We definitely knew that they were going to be a pretty good team; they’re the defending Group II (finalists) so we knew we couldn’t take them lightly.”
The celebrating was over for the Pirates and their fans.
Ocean City took the kickoff low. The ball bounced off a Cedar Creek player and the Red aiders recovered at the 50-yard line. Repetti tried to put the Pirates away quickly with a long pass that was just off the fingertips of Schneider. Another incomplete pass and a short run ended the drive three and out.
On Cedar Creek’s next drive, which started from the Pirates’ 15-yard line, Bermudez ran for 8 yards before a fumbled snap and an incomplete pass forced a punt.
The Red Raiders started their next drive from the Pirates’ 34-yard line. They picked up some yardage on the ground but three penalties had Ocean City looking at a 4th and 12. Instead of sending out the field goal unit, Smith decided to go for it. Schneider ran a quick route from left to right, catching the ball in stride and breaking a couple of tackles en route to the end zone for a touchdown. The kick made it 14-7.
Smith said he felt better about throwing the ball than attempting a long field goal.
“We had a call we liked. We were right at the edge of Brendan McGonigle’s field goal range,” Smith said. “They were in a defense where we had a call that we liked and we just felt a little more confident in the offensive play than the kick.”
Things did not get better for Cedar Creek, as the Pirates began their next drive with a holding penalty that backed them up to their own 26-yard line. On 2nd and 19, Schneider jumped the route, grabbed the ball and took it back about 40 yards for his second touchdown in about 5 minutes of game time, making it 20-7. McGonigle’s kick was good for a 21-7 lead.
Inserra, the captain of the defense, said Schneider’s interception set the tone for the rest of the game.
“It definitely gets the confidence in the defense going and we all feed off each other’s energy, so Schneider being a big playmaker and making big plays like that definitely gets the whole team hyped up and everybody gets behind that energy and starts playing better,” Inserra said.
Smith said good things happen when your team controls the line of scrimmage.
“Their first play of the game we were out of position on the back side. Once we tightened that up, we were better up front and they really couldn’t run the ball. That put them in a passing situation and we were able to get after it. Our D-backs knew he wasn’t going to have time to throw really deep down field,” Smith said of Barrios. “Schneider did a great job of sitting at the first-down sticks and he let that route come to him. He knew the pass rusher was going to get there so he felt like he could sit on it. It’s definitely a great play by Schneider but definitely made possible by the guys up front.”
It was like de ja vu all over again on the next drive, but this time it was Inserra getting the glory. The Pirates started out with a holding penalty that backed them up to their own 17-yard line. On 3rd and 19, the linebacker jumped up and snagged the pass attempt out of the air and ran into the end zone for the score with 5:24 left in the half. The extra point made it 28-7.
Inserra attributed his interception to “a lot of film study and play recognition. I was keying the running back and saw him release and saw the O-lineman release freely, then I keyed on the running back until the quarterback threw the ball. I got my hands on it and ran it in.”
A personal foul on Ocean City after the touchdown forced the Red Raiders to kick off from their 20-yard line instead of the 35. A false start moved them back to the 15. A good return set the Pirates up at Ocean City’s 49-yard line. Unfortunately for Cedar Creek, yet another holding penalty and a big gang sack dashed the Pirates’ hopes of a comeback.
The teams traded turning the ball over on downs as the half wound down.
Cedar Creek started with the ball in the second half, when a face mask penalty on the Red Raiders set the Pirates up at their own 35-yard line. A flag for delay of game and another for unsportsmanlike conduct flanked a second interception for Schneider.
Ocean City started at Cedar Creek’s 14-yard line, with Inserra doing all of the work on the ground, ending with a 1-yard run for a touchdown. McGonigle’s kick made it 35-7.
Cedar Creek was not giving up, and a 32-yard kickoff return by Bermudez gave the Pirates the ball at Ocean City’s 40-yard line. The Red Raiders’ defense was having none of it, however, as a pair of sacks by Mike Rhodes and Inserra pushed Cedar Creek back. Stuck at the 50, they punted again.
The Red Raiders returned the kickoff to the 50, where Ocean City started using its second-team players. Running backs Sean Mazzitelli, Jack Hoag and Wilson each carried the ball, along with a couple of runs by Repetti. But the drive stalled at the 11-yard line and Ocean City opted for McGonigle to kick the 28-yard field goal, which was good.
The Red Raiders were now up 38-7.
Cedar Creek could get nothing going for the entire game, so decided to go with the wildcat formation to get the ball in the hands of Bermudez more. It didn’t work, and the Pirates turned the ball over on downs.
Ocean City had one final scoring drive that started from Cedar Creek’s 40-yard line. A 20-yard catch by Jamison and a 14-yard scramble by Repetti made it first and goal from the 6 as the third quarter ended. Repetti then hit Rauner for a touchdown in the back of the end zone for a 44-7 lead. McGonigle’s extra point completed the scoring.
Inserra has said that the team’s goal it to go undefeated and thinks hard work will get them there.
“We’ve been practicing right and preparing for games right, and I think that’s a huge part of why we are succeeding,” he said. “Just continue to work really hard in practice and let the games speak for themselves about our effort in preparing for them.”
Smith said mistakes can be teaching moments.
“One of the things we all know and understand is that we definitely didn’t play our best game — we made a lot of mistakes and too many penalties,” Smith said. “One of the things we talked about with the kids is we left a lot of meat on the bone. It was good to see that in a game that you win comfortably because it gives us a lot of things to work toward in practice for next week. The team we play next week is going to be a lot better.”
The Red Raiders will host Millville at 6 p.m. Friday at Carey Stadium.