Down 30-6 to top seed Somerville, Ocean City doesn’t quit
SOMERVILLE — Football season has ended for Ocean City High School after a hard-fought battle against undefeated Somerville High School.
The Red Raiders took the long trip up north to Somerville and quickly fell into a 30-6 halftime deficit. Ocean City showed resilience in the second half and played much better, but eventually lost to the Pioneers 30-14 on Nov. 8.
Somerville entered the semifinal matchup as the number one seed in the Central Jersey Group III playoff bracket and threw Ocean City off balance early.
Pioneer quarterback Brenden Pacheco led a high-tempo offense that ran the next play immediately after the previous play was over. Pacheco and the Pioneers scored three consecutive touchdowns in the first half for a 24-0 lead. Somerville aggressively extended the lead by going for two-point conversions after the touchdowns.
Ocean City got into rhythm on offense after a trick play by Ryan Hendricks and J.P. Forster got the Raiders into good field position. Hendricks took a handoff and instead of running the ball, he launched it 40 yards down the field to a wide-open Forster.
Senior quarterback Walker Bailey found Clay Compton on fourth down for the Raiders’ first touchdown of the game. Due to the sizable lead and Somerville’s tenacity for two-point conversions, Ocean City went for two but Bailey’s pass fell incomplete.
One more touchdown drive by the Pioneers to end the second quarter made Ocean City’s chances look bleak as they were down 30-6 with the season on the line.
“We put ourselves in a hole and at halftime we said the only way out was to fight,” Ocean City head coach Kevin Smith said.
Bailey and the offense got the ball to start the third quarter and marched right down the field to the Somerville 6-yard line, but four straight plays did not gain any yards as the Raiders were turned away on fourth down.
While the Raiders moved the ball at will in the second half, they struggled to finish the job with touchdowns. On four separate occasions the Raiders had a first down and goal in the second half but managed to score only once.
Defensively, the Raiders locked down Somerville for the entire second half. Ocean City surrendered only two first downs. Senior captain Joe Berardis picked off Pacheco early on as the Raiders clawed back into the game.
Ocean City’s second touchdown came late in the third quarter after strong winds forced a bad Somerville punt. Forster hauled in a fourth-down pass to keep the drive alive. The offense finally punched in a short-range touchdown with a one-yard run by Bailey in which he went untouched into the end zone.
Bailey found senior Colin Thompson in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion to put the Raiders within two scores.
Another quick stop by the defense gave Ocean City the ball with seven minutes left in the season. Thompson and Forster traded first-down catches, which brought the Raiders down near the goal line once again. Three straight passes fell incomplete until the fourth down that could have saved the season. But the Raiders came up about three yards short of the touchdown that could have made it a one-score game.
Somerville got the ball back with four minutes remaining and milked the clock to put an end to the Raiders’ second-half surge.
After the game, coach Smith talked about how proud he was of the team this season and their effort in the comeback attempt.
“We fought until the very end,” Smith said. “We had opportunities to make that a one-score game and feel like we were all the way back in. We could not make the plays to get us there in the end but the effort was tremendous.”
With only one minute on the clock, Ocean City had one more chance to score for the miracle comeback. Somerville’s punt went awry as a wild snap was recovered by the Raiders at the one-yard line.
A penalty for assisting the runner moved Bailey and the offense to the 6-yard line where they were pushed away again on fourth down. Time expired on the Raiders’ season after a kneel-down by Somerville.
Bailey finished with both Raider touchdowns in his last football game for Ocean City. He leads a large senior class who will leave in the spring. Bailey’s favorite target this season, Forster, will move on with him after leading the team in all major receiving categories.
“All of our seniors did everything we asked and more over the last four years,” Smith said. “They were all in with their effort, attitude and leadership. I am exceptionally grateful to them.”
Freshman quarterback Jackson Becker seems to be the frontrunner for the starting quarterback job next year after playing in spurts this season. He will have a potent running back duo of Compton and Triston Schmidt behind him who will enter their senior seasons. Schmidt led the team in rushing yards and scored eight touchdowns on the ground.
Team captains Berardis and Clifford Dirkes leave the Ocean City defense after an impressive season as a unit. They helped the defense keep the Raiders in every game they played all year long.
Asked about what he will remember the most about the 2024 Raiders team, Smith said, “They always gave us a great effort and had a great attitude. They took to coaching and played hard. The teams who beat us really had to earn it. I loved that about these guys.”
– By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
