Ocean City, now 10-0, hosts Long Branch in sectional semifinals Friday
OCEAN CITY – The Red Raiders football team took charge in the second half to blow out visiting rival Mainland Mustangs in their first round playoff match-up Friday, Nov. 5.
“It doesn’t get much better than this,” said Red Raider lineman CJ Conti. “We’re excited to get back next week and, hopefully, win another playoff game on this field.”
Ocean City prevailed 41-7 at Carey Stadium in a strange game of blocked kicks and an unending flurry of penalty flags that was only 14-7 at halftime.
“One thing we try to harp on is that it’s a 48-minute game,” said Ocean City head coach Kevin Smith. “You can’t let a bad stretch distract you or take you out of your mindset. I think we just kept hammering away and eventually wore them down.”
In a sign of things to come a penalty flag flew on the first snap of the game, derailing the Red Raiders’ first drive before it got rolling.
After a Mainland three-and-out Ocean City moved the chains on an excellent catch by Pat Lonergan, who adjusted to a ball behind him for the grab.
Jacob Wilson then broke free up the sideline for a 30-yard run but it was called back on another penalty.
“That’s on us,” Smith said. “We have to look at the film to see what was going on. But that’s on us and we have to figure out how to be more disciplined, because obviously that cost us a lot of yards in the first half.”
A pair of Mainland penalties then pushed the Red Raiders past midfield, but another penalty pushed the offense back and they had to punt again.
“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties,” Conti said, “but once we got over that we came together, played hard, and did what we had to do.”
The Red Raider defense then came up huge when a tipped pass was picked off by Charley Cossaboone, who ran it back to the Mainland 9.
Wilson put Ocean City on the board, dragging two defenders into the end zone.
Ocean City elected to squib kick on their kickoffs to neutralize the Mustangs’ return game with Ja’Briel Mace.
“We spent a lot of time this week on it,” Smith said, “because they have dangerous kids back there on return. So we thought a lot about how we wanted to position the ball, and all of those things.”
After another quick stop the Red Raiders got another big play from Lonergan when he hauled in a 50-yard bomb in tight coverage.
They came away empty-handed though, missing a field goal.
Fortunately for Ocean City, the defense continued to stand tall and gave the Red Raiders possession right back.
Wilson then sparked the offense with a 29-yard run into Mustang territory.
“It’s great to be able to be consistent in the run and not take losses,” Smith said. “You hear coaches talk about staying ahead of the chains. If you’re making positive plays you set up easier second and third downs. That’s a good recipe.”
Jack Hoag finished the drive from 17 yards out on a double hand-off for a 14-0 lead.
But the Mustangs had a quick answer. Two plays later, Mace sprinted up the middle untouched for a 53-yard touchdown to pull his team within a score.
“We beat them the last couple times, 2019 in the playoffs, then last time we kind of put a whooping on them,” Conti said. “We did it twice this year, so we knew we were going to get their best effort.”
The Red Raider two-minute drill was effective as they got themselves in position for a last-second field goal attempt, but Mainland was able to break through and block it.
“Special teams is always a different animal,” Smith said. “We game-planned for that, but they just executed really well and did a great job with it.”
The teams went into the break at 14-7.
“I thought we did a good job of regrouping after halftime,” Smith said. “We were a lot more disciplined and physical in the second half.”
Ocean City came out and forced another three-and-out to start the third.
Even better, Wilson blocked the punt to set the Red Raiders up 23 yards away from the end zone.
Sean Mazzitelli finished the job, running for his first score on the day.
The defense continued to swarm with a pair of sacks on the ensuing Mainland drive.
“The D-line had a great second half,” Conti said. “We had an OK first half, but the second half was easily the best we’ve played all year.”
However, the Mustangs pulled off a perfect fake punt for a 35-yard completion to the Ocean City 38.
“The fake was on me,” Smith said. “We only had 10 guys on the field and it’s my job to see that and take a timeout. That’s my fault.”
But the Red Raiders clamped down from there, forcing a turnover on downs.
“I think they were kind of limited without their quarterback,” Smith said. “We were able to do a nice job other than Mace getting loose on the one long run. That kid is so dangerous that you hold your breath a little bit every time he gets the ball.”
On the following Red Raider series the officials frankly made the game difficult to watch, throwing flags on four straight plays and huddling up after each of them.
Penalties notwithstanding, the Ocean City ground game plowed upfield for another score, burning plenty of clock on their way.
Mazzitelli notched his second touchdown of the night.
“I thought our backs got better and better as the game went on,” Smith said. “Our line was in rhythm, the backs were making the right cuts. If you’re on defense and the other team is making five or six yards a pop running the ball, it’s very discouraging – you’re playing hard, but they’re still moving the chains. Then maybe you let up a little bit and they bust off a long one.”
The Mustangs’ special teams continued to be a bright spot, blocking the extra point.
Ocean City then matched them with their second blocked punt of the game, this one from Zach Holt.
On the very next play, Wilson put the icing on the cake with a 21-yard score to go up 34-7.
Impressively, Ocean City did not let Mace burn them after his lone long run.
“For the most part we got in our run fits, tackled well, did all the little things,” Smith said. “There’s no secret to football. Everybody likes to talk about schemes and formations and things like that. But it’s just blocking and tackling, and we did those things really well.”
“We work hard, we put in a lot of time,” Conti said, “and it’s paying off really well.”
Quarterback Riley Gunnels tacked on one more late score on a six-yard keeper.
You never know what to expect when these rivals clash, no matter their records.
The Red Raiders are glad it’s over now.
“I’ll be totally honest, I didn’t want to play them again,” Smith said. “When I saw we drew them my first reaction was, ‘Oh, come on.’ It’s five times in two years. It gets hard trying to figure out what they’re going to do. You see them so much you figure they’re going to throw something new at you. But when you block and tackle well it doesn’t really matter.”
The Mustangs finished the season with a 4-6 record. In past seasons they played a Thanksgiving game against Egg Harbor Township, but Mainland faced EHT in the first game of the season.
The Red Raiders, the No. 2 seed in the Group IV South Jersey sectional, will host No. 3 Long Branch on Friday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. in a rematch of the 2019 South Jersey semifinal.
Long Branch beat Freehold Borough 50-12.
On the other side of the bracket, top seed Millville shut out No. 8 seed Toms River South, 58-0. The Thunderbolts will face No. 4 Pennsauken, which beat No. 5 Central Regional 56-12.
“We just have to continue doing what we’ve been doing,” Conti said, “working hard, keeping our heads down, and doing what needs to be done.”
