PEMBERTON – Another game, another blowout win for the Red Raiders football team.
Ocean City is now 7-0 after their 37-0 road win over Pemberton on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The Red Raiders took a bit to hit their stride and looked rusty at times coming off the bye week, but made plenty of big plays to run away with another shutout victory.
“We’ve got to be able to play our best football no matter what the circumstances are,” head coach Kevin Smith said. “Fifteen days off, coming up here on a Saturday to a new environment, a place we haven’t played before – it just felt like we didn’t have the juice we needed out of the gate, and it reflected on our play; 37-0, obviously you’re happy. But we won’t be able to get away with some of the things we did today against playoff teams.”
The Red Raiders took a 14-0 lead in the first half with a touchdown catch from Mike Gray (his first of three on the day) and a run from Charley Cossaboone, but did not look like themselves.
Drives stalled out and uncharacteristic penalties came at inopportune times.
A Hornets drive was extended on a roughing the kicker call.
A pair of potential scores turned into dropped balls.
“We had our bye week, so I think we were a little slow coming out,” said Red Raider Zach Mazzitelli. “Then we were ready to go. (The long bus ride) definitely affected us, but you have to get past that stuff. We just have to get better.”
“Honestly I think it was (the layoff and road trip) just because of the big change in environment,” said Nasir Kelly. “Back in Ocean City on our field it’s pretty wild, it gets loud. Then we come here and it’s pretty quiet, not a lot of people. So that made a difference.”
Fortunately the defense was stout throughout, with Nick Layton and Kelly each picking off passes in the first half.
“We just had better technique,” Mazzitelli said. “When you practice hard, you play harder. We were just better than them.”
Kelly’s interception came after Mazzitelli pressured the quarterback into a bad throw.
“It just comes down to coaching,” said Mazzitelli. “Our coaches prepared us well, we just listen to them, and we played well.”
“We practice hard,” said Kelly, “so when it comes to fundamentals like tackling and things like that, it just comes naturally for us.”
The pass rush and secondary complemented each other all game.
“That’s definitely the goal,” Kelly said, “and I think we’re doing a pretty good job with it this season.”
“I thought the secondary coverage was excellent,” Smith said. “Even some of the throws they hit, I thought the QB really threaded some needles. He made some really nice throws because we didn’t really give him any open windows to throw into.”
With the short field, Ocean City marched up the field with a mix of runs and throws.
Sean Mazzitelli, as he has all year, ran hard and it took at least two defenders to tackle him on each carry.
“Sean Mazzitelli has really stepped up in Jake Wilson’s absence,” Smith said. “He’s filled a huge void and he’s quietly having a heck of a season.”
A play-action pass to Gray from the 1-yard line gave the Raiders a three-score lead that would hold through the half.
The Red Raiders seized control for good coming out of halftime.
“Sean Matthews, our defensive coordinator, made some really good adjustments at halftime,” Smith said. “We decided we were going to get a little more aggressive and that certainly paid off.”
On their first defensive series of the third quarter, the Red Raiders put up three straight sacks to record a rare safety.
Zach Mazzitelli, Tom Schutta, and Taylor Eget sacked the QB in the end zone for a safety to give the Red Raiders 2 points and the ball back.
“It’s a lot of fun to get to the ball,” said Mazzitelli. “But we just have to keep playing as a team. The team matters more than anything. That’s what we’re focused on.”
They never let up after that, racking up six sacks on the day with Mazzitelli getting three himself.
“They’ve been moving me around a bit,” Mazzitelli explained, “and I go wherever the coaches want me and just play my hardest.”
Mazzitelli and his brother Sean are both having strong senior seasons.
“It’s been a lot of fun playing with Sean,” he said. “We’re all brothers here, but I have a twin brother on the team. It’s really fun.”
Later in the third quarter the Red Raiders offense looked out of sorts:
They took back-to-back penalties to put themselves in a 2nd-and-forever situation, then just missed an open Pat Lonergan deep downfield.
“Show me a leader, Riley!” Smith yelled to his quarterback.
On the next snap Gunnels dropped a perfect pass in the bucket to Jack Hoag on a wheel route for a 71-yard score to put the game on ice. Hoag had a defender on him, but broke the tackle and ran to the end zone.
“That’s the response you want,” Smith said. “I want him to get on his teammates – in the right way. But we were going backwards, and I want the QB to step up and take charge. That’s the right response – a 70-yard touchdown pass.”
Gunnels had perhaps his best game of the year when it was all said and done.
“Four touchdown passes, he didn’t force anything, we were really happy with what he did today,” Smith said.
Jon Moyer picked off a pass shortly after to give the offense a short field, and another score for Gray brought in the running clock.
“It was a fun day,” Kelly said, “but there’s definitely room for improvement. We just keep looking to get better each week.”
That was a recurring theme – a focus on getting better despite the 7-0 record and lopsided final scores.
“We’ll watch the film, get better, hone in our technique, listen to our coaches, and just get ready for next week,” Mazzitelli said.
“Not one of our goals has been reached yet,” Kelly said. “Not one.”
“I thought (Egg Harbor Township) was a good test for us and we had a nice response,” Smith said. “But we’re going to be in those situations again and we’ll see what we’re made of. I think our kids are mature and they’ll respond the right way.”
Tougher tests loom ahead.
“Oakcrest will be good next week,” Smith said, “then Williamstown, then the playoffs. So we have to really tighten everything up and get rolling, because the most important time of the season is here.”
The Red Raiders will hit the road again Friday night to play the Falcons at noon Saturday. The game was rescheduled from Friday night.
Mainland back in action Friday
The Mustangs will host Delsea at 6 p.m. Friday. Last week’s game was canceled because a Mainland Regional High School player tested positive for COVID-19.
The Mustangs are 4-3 on the season as they have steadily improved. Delsea will be a test; the team is 7-0.
By KYLE McCRANE/Sentinel Sports
