OCHS falls to penalties, inconsistent offense, Neshaminy’s running back
OCEAN CITY — The Red Raiders football team fell 21-0 to Neshaminy (Pa.) High School in its season opener at home Friday night, done in by an inconsistent offense, too many penalties and the exploits of the Neshaminy halfback.
Markus Barnett ran for 273 yards and two scores and looked better as the game went on, while his team used the ground attack to turn a tight contest at halftime into a sure win.
“Three things,” explained Raiders head coach Kevin Smith. “One, a lot of self-inflicted wounds in the first half. I didn’t really feel like they stopped us in the first half; we stopped ourselves on three different drives. Two, the physical mismatch. They were huge and physical and they just wore us down. Then three, I just felt like at the end, the most disappointing thing is we didn’t compete as hard as we could the entire game. We kind of allowed their physicality to wear us out mentally as much as it did physically. That’s a concern and something we’ll have to address going forward.”
After a defensive stop to open the game, the Raiders went deep on their second offensive snap as Riley Gunnels hit Pat Lonergan for 43 yards.
However, a poor snap spoiled the momentum and the drive ended in a turnover on downs.
“We hit a few big plays,” Gunnels said. “The second play of the game we had a 50-yard pass to Pat Lonergan. We had a fumble right after that set us back a bit. It’s just things we have to clean up and we’ll be ready for next week.”
Neshaminy then drove deep into Raider territory with a pair of passes and an interference call. However, consecutive penalties set them back and resulted in another turnover on downs.
“We had lots of opportunities in the first half to swing that game,” Smith said. “We just didn’t take advantage.”
Gunnels then made a great play on a third and long, buying time in the pocket and finding Ricky Wetzel for a long gain. Next he hit Jack Hoag on a swing pass for another first down.
A strike to Sean Sakers gave Ocean City another first down at the Neshaminy 33. A short pass to Lonergan resulted in a 2nd-and-1 in the red zone. But another bad snap and a penalty stalled the drive and the Raiders would again come away empty-handed.
“Just too many mistakes,” Smith said. “We’d make a couple first downs, then we’d have a penalty or a bad snap that put us back. You can’t beat a good football team like that.”
“It’s the first game of the season,” Gunnels said. “There were just little mistakes we have to fix. We had that problem last year, but we’ll fix it.”
Barnett then went to work for Neshaminy, breaking long run after long run. The key play to the drive was a 33-yarder up to the Raider 18. Four plays later, Barnett opened the scoring as he stretched for the pylon on an 8-yard score.
On the ensuing drive, the Raiders were moving backward before a quarterback draw on 3rd-and-long saw Gunnels break free for 38 yards. Shortly after, Gunnels threaded the needle over the middle and found Hoag for a sliding grab and a first down.
With time winding down in the half, Gunnels ran for another first down up to the 20.
The defense then clamped down and forced three straight incompletions, but the Raiders were gifted another chance with a penalty.
They couldn’t convert and, even worse, their field goal attempt as the half expired sailed wide.
Coming out of halftime, the Raiders quickly went three and out.
“We drove down the field a couple times but couldn’t put the ball in the end zone,” Gunnels said. “Then we came out in the second half, everyone was hyped up, and we went three and out. That doesn’t define who we are, but I think a few guys hung their heads down. We have to keep our heads up.”
Neshaminy seized total control, eating up seven minutes of clock as they marched downfield. Barnett capped the drive with his second score.
“It’s a helpless feeling,” Smith said. “You or I could have made a hundred yards running behind that offensive line. That back is good — I’m not taking anything away from him — but their big guys up front definitely paved the way tonight.”
Forced to pass, Gunnels was under siege the whole second half. “I thought he played great, to be honest,” Smith said. “He stood in there. In the second half, they were just pinning their ears back and getting after him. He hung in there; he really impressed me with his toughness tonight.”
“Their three linemen were very good,” Gunnels said. “We have one returning O-lineman from last year. The guys we have did great for the most part, but we know what we have to fix.”
Despite the offense’s struggles, Gunnels looks noticeably improved from a year ago.
“Last year was a little shaky to start just because it was my first year,” Gunnels said. “But I feel much more confident and everything is coming out quicker. Everything just seems a lot easier this year.”
Ocean City’s offense just never found its rhythm and Neshaminy was able to tack on one more score late as they ran out the clock.
“We lost but we have a few good things to take away from it,” Gunnels said. “We know everything we have to fix for next week going against Mainland. We just have to put this game behind us, bring the energy this week in practice and we’ll be good.”
The Raiders look to bounce back against the Mustangs at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1, at Carey Stadium.
“That’s the turnaround you want,” Smith said. “You want to get right back after it with a team you don’t have a lot of love for in a meaningful game. So, we’ll come in, wipe the board clean and start again.”
By KYLE McCRANE/Sentinel Sports
