Unbeaten Ocean City football beats Long Branch, to take on Millville
OCEAN CITY – The Red Raiders football team punched its ticket to a sectional title game Friday night, knocking off visiting Long Branch 45-10 behind an unbreakable defense and a relentless running attack.
“They’re a really athletic team with a good offense,” Ocean City head coach Kevin Smith said of Long Branch, “so to hold them to 10 points was great. But I just thought we were physical. It’s three weeks in a row now where we were close at halftime, and we just wore teams down in the second half to pull away from them. That’s got to be our recipe.”
“It’s just a reflection of how we practice,” said Sean Mazzitelli, who scored twice and broke the 1,000-yard mark on the year. “We come in every day, do our job, we’re never satisfied, and that’s where it starts. We practice how we play.”
On their first possession the Red Raiders were set to punt from deep in their own territory when a roughing the kicker call gave them new life.
They took full advantage and marched downfield for an early 3-0 lead thanks to a field goal by kicker Brendan McGonigle.
Jack Hoag had a long gain across the middle to kick-start the offense.
“It’s been great because Jack just makes plays no matter where he is on the field,” quarterback Riley Gunnels said. “Like today – he turned a 5-yard catch into 40 yards. He’s just great to throw to; he’s a great kid.”
With the Green Wave pinned deep to start their next drive, Red Raider Zach Holt came up with a big third-down sack.
Long Branch then inexplicably attempted a fake punt from inside their own five; even worse for them the wide open receiver dropped the pass.
A play later, Mazzitelli rushed over the goal line to give Ocean City a 10-0 lead.
A couple of quick strikes then saw Long Branch knocking at the door at the Red Raider 4.
The defense stood tall and held them to a field goal late in the first half.
“The defense was great today,” Gunnels said. “They had the ball at the 2-yard line and we held them to 3 points. They’ve been doing their thing all year.”
“Our defense has been balling all year,” Mazzitelli said. “Taylor Eget and Sam Williams, they’re the leaders on the defense making sure we’re all in the right spots. Our defense has been the strength of the team this whole season. A lot of credit has to go to coach (Sean) Matthews, because he gets us ready at practice every day.”
As the game wore on play became more chippy and the flags started to pile up.
“If we can rise above that stuff, not be selfish and undisciplined, that was all that really hurt us today,” Smith said. “We just can’t have it and we need to find a way to fix it. That’s two weeks in a row with a lot of penalties, and these games weren’t close, but obviously against next week’s opponent we can’t get away with that.”
“Early on we had a lot of penalties on us,” Gunnels said. “We buckled down in the second half but then it started up again. We’ve got to stick to ourselves through everything.”
“We have to clean that stuff up,” Mazzitelli said. “All the penalties, the unsportsmanlike conduct – the coaches get on us for that and it’s unacceptable. But we’ll get it fixed this week and make sure it doesn’t happen next week.”
In the middle of all the flags, Hoag made another spectacular play after the catch for 33 yards to put Ocean City in position for another touchdown before halftime.
Jacob Wilson burst into the red zone.
“When we have success with this many running backs, it’s a reflection of the O-line,” Mazzitelli said. “I’ve been saying it all year, they’re dominant every week. They deserve a lot of credit.”
With less than a minute left, Gunnels found Taylor Eget for the 5-yard score and a 17-3 lead.
His line gave him plenty of time to throw all night.
“They gave me a lot of time passing,” Gunnels said. “I thought they did great up front. No one really got in the backfield.”
A long Hoag return coming out of the break and a slick 30-yard run through traffic from Mazzitelli had the Red Raiders back in business right away.
“Those guys (Wilson and Mazzitelli) have been phenomenal the last three weeks,” Smith said. “We’re able to always have a fresh back and throw in a new approach. Those guys have slightly different styles. So you’re constantly throwing a guy at the defense where they have to make sure they’re in their fits and tackling well, or they’ll break one or run through them. It’s wonderful to have.”
A pair of runs from Wilson had Ocean City at the Long Branch 16.
A diving Hoag grab got them even closer and a keeper for Gunnels worked like a charm for a 24-3 lead the Raiders would never look back from.
“It’s a great backfield we’re in,” Gunnels said. “I love it. It’s fun being back there.”
A flurry of flags ensued on the next series, one nullifying a Nasir Kelly interception.
“It’s been our kryptonite this year,” Mazzitelli said. “We have to clean it up. This is the week to clean it up. Sometimes emotions get the best of you, but we have to move on and fix it.”
The Green Wave picked up more penalty yards than offensive yards on the drive, with quarterback Christian Rodriguez adding a key long run.
Rodriguez finished the drive with a score.
“He did that all year,” Smith said. “We were really worried about his ability to improvise, move around and make stuff happen. He got loose a couple times, but we did a good job of bottling him up and tackled well.”
“He’s a good player,” Mazzitelli said, “but we win in the trenches every game. O-line and D-line, that’s how we win football games.”
The Red Raider ground game took over from here, Wilson and Mazzitelli both breaking 125 yards.
Mazzitelli added an interception late, where it looked more like the ball caught him just as he turned around.
“I have to give credit to the sideline,” Mazzitelli said. “They called, ‘Ball!’, I turned around, and it was right in my fingers. That was them giving me the call.”
The Ocean City crowd was frenzied throughout.
“You saw the energy in Raider Nation,” Mazzitelli said. “We feed off their energy every game. It’s a good feeling knowing you have that many kids behind you.”
“I love our crowd,” Gunnels said. “Everyone is cheering on everyone. I don’t hear them miss one player’s name when we’re on the field. It’s great to play in front of them.”
“That’s been awesome,” Smith said. “The crowd was loud, having a good time. I got so many texts today from alumni, Matt Christie showed up here. I think it means something to the guys who came through the program. It’s great to be able to give them something to be proud of.”
Ocean City will take to the road to face top seed Millville in the South Jersey Group IV championship at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19.
“We’re going to give it our all,” Mazzitelli said. “We’re not backing down from anybody.”
“We’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Gunnels said.
“That team’s not good, that team’s great,” Smith said of the Thunderbolts. “They’re the number one ranked public school in the state and for good reason so we’ve got our work cut out. But we’re going to enjoy this, and we’ll come in tomorrow and start figuring it out. These guys will work hard like they always do, and I’m sure we’ll be ready to go when we head up there.”
By KYLE McCRANE/Sentinel Sports
