Ocean City defense comes up huge in 12-7 victory, first win over team since ’76
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY — A fantastic defensive effort plus a solid performance from the offense equaled a big win for the Ocean City football team Friday, Nov. 13.
“I think after that initial first drive they had when they took it down on us and honestly pretty much bullied us on the field up front, we buckled in and settled in for the rest of the game and realized we could hang with those kids. Everybody, especially our D-line, really just gave us a tremendous effort until the end of the game,” defensive captain Jake Inserra said. “I think what separated our D-line from their O-line is our D-line is big but they’re extremely athletic as well. When it got down to the end they were more in shape and more athletic.”
Coach Kevin Smith’s Red Raiders took on the St. Joseph Academy Wildcats at Carey Stadium in the first round of the West Jersey Football League Pod B playoffs.
Ocean City entered the game at 5-0, with a 231-30 score differential and two shutouts, while St. Joseph was 5-1 with 194 points for and 63 against. The Wildcats had lost 18-6 to Holy Spirit High School in the first game of season.
Despite being at home, the Red Raiders were seen as the underdog. The team had not beaten the Wildcats since 1976, a 10-game streak that included a 46-7 drubbing the last time they met, Nov. 3, 2017. St. Joseph had beaten Ocean City by a combined score of 164-28 in the past four meetings.
Ocean City quarterback Joe Repetti ran for 87 yards and threw a touchdown pass to favorite receiver Jake Schneider, Brendan McGonigle hit a 23-yard field goal and the defense scored a safety in the 12-7 victory. The Red Raiders will host Camden (4-1) at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, for the pod championship.
“I think that they had a really strong and well-coached defense and we were pounding them up front for the most part of the game. The passing game wasn’t super-efficient but we were getting it done on the ground and our offensive line did an outstanding job up there. We just put up enough points to win that football game,” Repetti said.
But on a night when the defense shined, it was appropriate that a big play by the unit put an exclamation point on the performance. Senior defensive back Brady Rauner intercepted a pass from Wildcats quarterback Jayden Shertel at Ocean City’s 2-yard line as time was winding down and the outcome was still in the balance.
“I saw that our defensive line was getting a nice rush and [Shertel] had to leave the pocket and scramble to his left. I knew it was going to be a hard throw for him to make — it was like a 50-yard throw from where the receiver was — so I played it like he was going to throw it short and it ended up working out,” Rauner said. “It’s something that we practiced all week, making sure we shut down their run game and if they went to their pass game we were going to be all over it. It came down to the last play of the game and he threw it up and I just went up and got it.”
Ocean City started slowly, going three-and-out on its first drive, and was immediately put back on its heels.
St. Joseph’s took over at its own 42-yard line and advanced the ball straight down field in a 12-play, 58-yard drive ending in a 3-yard touchdown by running back Ahmad Ross. Placekicker Trevin DelGozzo made it 7-0 Wildcats.
The Red Raiders were forced to punt again after a three-and-out on their second drive and it looked like it may be a long night for Ocean City.
But the defense came up big, as it would continue to do for the rest of the evening, forcing the Wildcats into a three-and-out on a drive highlighted by linebacker Brad Jamison and Inserra getting into the backfield to stop the run.
“That was definitely a huge drive because we went three-and-out and they scored and we had another three-and-out. Me and Brad were telling the defense on the way out that we have to set the tone for the rest of the game and this was going to be a really important drive,” Inserra said. “It was third and short and me and Brad both read the play really well. I blew up the lead blocker and he was athletic enough to blow through the gap and break their line to make a huge play tackling that big running back. I think that play right there set the tone for our defense for the rest of the game.”
The Red Raiders started their next drive from the Wildcats’ 38-yard line with a little bit of momentum and a short field ahead as the first quarter came to a close.
Ocean City drove the ball down to the 6-yard line, helped by a 15-yard pass interference penalty, but could not pound it in for a touchdown. McGonigle came on to try a 23-yard field goal and put it through the uprights for Ocean City’s first points.
“They locked down really hard in the red zone and had a really good goal-line stance — they’re big and physical up front — but any time we are able to get points out of a drive is good. So that field goal really helped us, it got the first points on the board,” Repetti said.
The defense started to assert itself on St. Joseph’s next drive, which started at the Wildcats’ 32-yard line. Defensive lineman Will Drain and Inserra penetrated the backfield, drawing a holding call against the Wildcats. Facing a 1st-and-20, Shertel picked up 9 on the ground. Running back Cohl Mercado ran left on the next play, only to be stuffed by safety Charley Cossaboone. The pass fell incomplete on third down and St. Joseph was forced to punt.
“Charley stepped in and made a tremendous play. He’s been working his ass off all year. We knew that they were a physical unit and he was going to have to be involved in the run heavily. He read it well, came down real hard, showed no fear and made a huge stop. That play brought a lot of energy and momentum back to our team,” Inserra said.
Ocean City started its next drive on the Wildcats’ 39-yard line and went straight to work with Repetti hitting Schneider on a quick pass that picked up 17 yards and put the Raiders in the shadow of the goalposts. Repetti then ran for 13 yards to the 7-yard line, where the teams traded penalties before Repetti hit Schneider for a 5-yard touchdown pass, giving Ocean City its first lead of the game with a score of 9-7. McGonigle’s extra point stretched the lead to 10-7 with 2:34 left in the half.
“We saw that they were playing cover zero so we had a little man-V routes — a slant and a flat, almost a pick play, on the goal line. He does a great job of running routes and he got open and I just delivered the ball to him,” Repetti said of Schneider.
The Red Raider defense set the tone for the rest of the game on the next drive. St. Joseph started from its own 20-yard line and picked up 5 yards on two carries before Drain caught Shertel by the foot in the backfield and lineman Mike Rhodes hammered the quarterback.
“We had a blitz coming, so Drain was getting a one-on-one with his lineman and he made a great move — went inside and back outside — got a hand on the quarterback and then Mike hustled — he’s always going to keep hustling to the ball — so he never stopped and his motor kept going. He made another great move on his lineman and finished what Drain started on that play. That was a huge turning point in the game,” Inserra said. “We wanted to go into halftime definitely with momentum going our way.”
St. Joseph won the coin toss but deferred, so received the ball first in the second half. But instead of a showcase of offensive talent, it was another opportunity for the Red Raiders defense to shine.
“When we came back out after halftime our defense was feeling great, our offense was feeling great and we were ready to go for another 24 minutes,” Inserra said.
Starting from the 34-yard line, Shertel rolled out to his left and attempted a pass that was almost intercepted. On 2nd-and-10, Cossaboone made a diving tackle on Ross, limiting him to just 4 yards. On third down, a swarming hive of Red Raiders stuffed Ross again, forcing the punt and putting Ocean City back on offense.
Unfortunately for the Red Raiders, Schneider had the ball stripped away on the punt return and the Wildcats recovered, providing the perfect opportunity for them to get back in the game.
Instead it was another display of defensive domination as Shertel threw incomplete while getting manhandled, Inserra tackled Mercado for a short gain and a personal foul backed St. Joseph up to the 49-yard line, from where they punted on 4th-and-17.
Ocean City was able to move the ball out to midfield on its next drive but stalled there after a couple of incomplete passes.
The Wildcats came out fired up on their next outing, moving the ball from their own 20-yard line to the 50 on a couple of runs and a 25-yard pass to Mercado. On 3rd-and-10 from Ocean City’s 40, Shertel threw long, finding big receiver Keshon Griffin for a touchdown, but the play was called back for a holding penalty. The ensuing pass on 3rd-and-23 fell incomplete and St. Joseph punted again.
The Red Raiders threatened to score again on their next drive, moving the ball to within inches of the goal line before turning it over on downs when Inserra was caught in the backfield.
“It definitely hurts a little bit not getting that opportunity to put the ball in the end zone and put the game away at that point,” Repetti said.
It was still anyone’s game and the better unit — the Red Raiders defense — stepped up to make a play.
Buried deep at their own 4-yard line, the Wildcats were able to pick up a first down at the 14 before a couple of penalties put them back where they started. On 1st-and-20 from the 4, Rhodes applied the pressure on Shertel in the backfield and then Drain and lineman Matt Christy caught the quarterback and took him down in the end zone for a safety, giving Ocean City a 12-7 lead with 3:08 left the game.
“They really saved me there because I got stuffed on the goal line on fourth-and-goal on the offensive drive before that,” Inserra said. “That definitely hurts not getting any points on the board when you are only 3 yards away, so for them to step up and really strive to keep our next-play mentality — they were getting after the quarterback and weren’t worried that we didn’t score. They made a huge play that really sealed the game I would say.”
St. Joseph was not throwing in the towel, though, and got the ball back with almost 2 minutes remaining and a chance to win.
With time winding down, the Red Raiders defense was forced to make another big play to seal the victory.
The Wildcats advanced to Ocean City’s 42-yard line on a series of passes before Rauner jumped up and snagged an interception to seal the deal.
“Our defense did an outstanding job of picking up the offense and stopping St. Joe’s from scoring in the end of the game and we took home the W,” Repetti said.
This season:
— Senior QB Joe Repetti has 4 rushing touchdowns and 10 passing touchdowns with 3 interceptions;
— Senior wide receiver Jake Schneider has 6 offensive touchdowns and 3 defensive touchdowns;
— Senior running back Jake Inserra has 6 rushing touchdowns and 1 defensive touchdown.