Jake Schneider breaks OCHS pass receptions mark in the 36-16 victory
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY — The Red Raiders offense has been putting up a lot of points this season, but it was the defense and special teams that showed up big Friday night when they defeated the visiting Thunderbolts 36-16.
The defense kept Millville’s star running back Lequint Allen in check and scored two touchdowns on interceptions, while the special teams contributed a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, accounting for half of Ocean City’s points under the lights at Carey Stadium.
“I was really pleased with how we were able to contribute in all three phases of the game. We scored on offense, defense and special teams, and if you do that you usually are going to have a good night,” head coach Kevin Smith said.
A 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Joe Repetti and another by running back Jake Inserra, plus a field goal and three extra points from Brendan McGonigle, completed the scoring on the night.
Ocean City scored its fewest points of the season and gave up its most but still came away from Friday night’s battle with Millville victorious.
There were multiple turnovers from both teams, including an interception by Repetti at Millville’s 3-yard line that ended a potential scoring drive.
“We definitely didn’t capitalize on all of our opportunities. We were inside their 15-yard line on three separate occasions and only got 3 total points out of those trips. Obviously when you get down there you want to score every time, so we’ll look a little bit at what we were doing down there and how we executed and see if we can be more effective going forward,” Smith said.
But unlike the Thunderbolts, the Red Raiders turned their defensive turnovers into points immediately.
Linebacker Jake Schneider had yet another defensive touchdown, giving him three for the season, while Brad Jamison got himself a pick six with a nifty one-handed grab in the shadow of Millville’s goalposts.
“Jake Schneider continues to make spectacular plays on defense and he and Brad Jamison were able to take their interceptions back to the house, so they were able to score 14 points on defense and that’s hard for another team to overcome,” Smith said.
Schneider put the icing on the cake of another big game by setting the school record with 100 receptions, topping the previous mark of 97.
“One thing we say all the time is that we want to play 48 minutes and be good in all three phases of the game,” Smith said. “Playing good teams, you’re not going to dominate all 48 minutes. They are going to make good plays and they’re going to have momentum, and there are going to be stretches where they’re the better team. But 48 minutes is a long game and we want to just compete every play and no matter what the situation we are in — offense, defense or special teams — if we play hard for 48 minutes I think we are going to be tough to beat.”
Millville opened with the ball at its own 22-yard line and, using a fast-paced offense, moved downfield with a series of short passes and runs. The Thunderbolts advanced to the 4-yard line, with help from a 23-yard screen pass to wide receiver Davonte White, when a sack by Mike Rhodes and Matt Christy on third down backed them up to the 15-yard line. A pass to White fell incomplete on fourth down and the Red Raiders took over on downs.
“They had a really good game plan, they’re a well-coached team. I thought they came out on their first drive and they attacked us with their athletes in space but then we kind of adjusted to that. From that point forward, I felt like we were pretty much in control of the game,” Smith said.
An 18-yard pass to Jake Schneider got the Red Raiders going but Ocean City was forced to punt from its own 48-yard line. A fortuitous penalty for roughing the kicker kept the drive alive, and the Red Raiders went to their ground game. A fake handoff on third-and-2 fooled the defense and Repetti ran it in from 10 yards out for a touchdown to make it 6-0 with 1:44 to go in the first quarter. Place kicker Brendan McGonigle missed the extra point attempt, but Ocean City had already taken the lead for good.
The defense shut Millville down on its next drive and, after a short punt, the Red Raiders took over at the Thunderbolts’ 45-yard line.
Inserra picked up 8 on the ground but a holding penalty on second down moved the Red Raiders back. Inserra and Repetti managed to pick up a first down with a couple of short runs before the quarterback hit Schneider for 22 yards down to the 10-yard line.
The Red Raiders advanced to the 5-yard line before Millville’s defense stiffened, forcing a field goal attempt. McGonigle put it through the uprights from 23 yards out, making it 9-0 Ocean City with 9:50 remaining in the half.
Trying to get Allen into the game, Millville quarterback Nate Robbins tossed him a screen pass that went nowhere. On the next play, Robbins tried to go downfield but Schneider was waiting for the ball, which he intercepted and ran back 51 yards for a touchdown with 9:10 to go in the half. Only 40 seconds separated Ocean City’s field goal and its second touchdown, making it 15-0 Red Raiders. McGonigle’s extra point made it 16-0.
This time, the Thunderbolts answered with a 64-yard drive ending with a 23-yard screen pass to freshman Jamel Harris for a touchdown. Robbins then connected with Tiyon Cephas in the end zone for the 2-point conversion to make it 16-8 with 7:17 left in the half.
“They’ve got guys that can score any time they touch the ball and they’re fast on defense. We watched their game against [St. Augustine Prep] and they just played with a lot of energy,” Smith said. “We knew we had our hands full but I thought we responded really well.”
A touchback on Millville’s kickoff set the Red Raiders up at their own 20-yard line to start the next drive. Repetti quickly connected with Schneider, and the speedy wide receiver juked, jived and reversed field, picking up 54 yards to the Thunderbolts’ 24-yard line. It was all for naught, though, as Ocean City’s drive stalled at Millville’s 5-yard line and a 22-yard field goal attempt was no good.
The Thunderbolts took over at their own 20 but a pass off the hands of Taron Haile, a short run and an incomplete pass forced Millville to punt.
Ocean City had a good return and began the next drive from Millville’s 47-yard line. But an ill-advised pass from Repetti was picked off by Cephas and the Thunderbolts were back in business.
Once again, though, as the Red Raiders have shown all season, the defense also showed up ready to play. On first down, linebacker Brad Jamison got his big left paw on the pass from Robbins and took it down the left sideline for a touchdown, making it 22-8. McGonigle made the extra point but a chop-block call on the center — a call Smith vehemently disagreed with — made the Red Raiders try again from the 18-yard line, and the kick was no good.
Millville kicked off in the second half to junior Jacob Wilson, who took the ball 91 yards for a touchdown, leaving no doubt which team would be triumphant. McGonigle made it 29-8 just 14 seconds into the second half.
“I just saw the ball bounce up and I caught it on the second bounce … and I went right through the middle and made a cut on the kicker, and it was all downfield after that,” Wilson said, adding that it “boosted the momentum a lot.”
He said it was no time for slacking off.
“We knew they were still in the game and we had to lock it away for good, so we kept our foot on the gas and came out with the victory,” Wilson said.
Millville started its first drive of the second half from its 38-yard line and almost gave up another pick six when Rhodes jumped up and nearly intercepted a screen pass on first down. It looked like the offense would fail to move the ball again until Robbins rolled out to his right, drawing the defense with him, and threw back across field to a wide-open Allen, who picked up 35 yards to the Raiders’ 27-yard line. Allen finished off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 8:52 remaining in the quarter. Once again attempting the 2-point conversion, White took the handoff from Robbins, then tossed it to Allen, who passed it to Robbins in the end zone to make it 29-16.
On the next drive, Ocean City had a chance to put the game away. The Red Raiders moved quickly downfield on a pass from Repetti to Schneider, who caught the ball and fought for extra yards, picking up 48 to Millville’s 27-yard line. But Repetti threw another interception, this one on the 2-yard line with 7:04 left in the quarter.
The Thunderbolts faced a long field but could make the Red Raiders uncomfortable if they could mount a long drive that ended in a touchdown. Once again, however, Ocean City’s defense showed its mettle, forcing Millville to punt after picking up just 17 yards.
The Red Raiders had good field position on their next drive but were unable to get anything going. Starting at their own 44-yard line, they picked up just 2 yards on a short run and two incomplete passes before having to punt it back.
Millville was once again in the position to make the game close with 4:33 left in the quarter. Using a heavy dose of Allen, the Thunderbolts moved downfield to Ocean City’s 41-yard line before the running back fumbled.
Wilson recovered with 53 seconds remaining in the quarter and the Red Raiders were once again on the attack.
Wilson said he felt the play stopped but was taking no chances.
“I wasn’t sure whether there was a flag or not, I just saw the ball on the ground and knew I had to get on top of it because I saw a Millville player next to it as well,” Wilson said. “It was thrilling.”
Smith said veteran smarts made the play happen.
“That was Jake Inserra knocking the ball out. Great play by him. He really understood the situation he was in. He was in a trail position where the running back couldn’t see him and he clubbed the ball out of there and Jacob was in the right spot and fell on it,” Smith said.
Starting from its own 35, Ocean City kept the ball on the ground and the clock winding down, with Inserra, Wilson and Repetti taking turns toting the pigskin for four first downs before Inserra carried it across the goal line from 9 yards out. McGonigle completed the scoring with an extra point, making it 36-16 Red Raiders.
Ocean City’s defense got another interception on Millville’s next drive but it was negated by a penalty for roughing the passer that moved Millville out to midfield. The Thunderbolts were able to move the ball all the way to the Red Raiders’ 8-yard line, helped by passes of 24 and 14 yards, but Jamison made a big tackle and finally broke up a fourth-down pass to reject the offensive advance and Ocean City ran out the clock to secure another victory.
Ocean City has a bye week this Friday and will host rival Mainland Regional at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6.
