BRIDGETON – Sometimes high school football seasons turn out as one expects and at other times turn into something entirely different.
Mainland Regional’s football team, though, has met many of the lofty expectations this season and reached another goal last Friday with its 41-0 victory over Bridgeton to grab at least a share of the West Jersey Football League United Division title.
Anchored by senior star running back Ja’Briel Mace and a solid, veteran defense, the Mustangs improved to 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in division play, ahead of two teams they have already beaten this season – Oakcrest at 5-1 and Atlantic City at 4-1.
If Mainland defeats Absegami (0-5) this Friday at home, they will claim the undisputed United Division title and can start to concentrate on the NJSIAA South Group 4 postseason.
“We know we’re headed in that direction [post-season] but we’re not really thinking about it right now,” Mainland coach Chuck Smith said at Jim Hursey Memorial Stadium shortly after the Mustangs’ victory. “We still have too much ahead of us next week with the division championship ahead of us.
“We have a couple of tough opponents coming up after Absegami with Clearview, which is a very tough and physical team, and [Capital Prep] out of New York, whom we haven’t done any studying on them. We still have a lot of football ahead of us before we can get to that part.”
The Mustangs, which appear to assured themselves at least one home game in the South Group 4 playoffs, found themselves No. 4 in the United Power Rankings in that group going into Friday, behind Middletown South, defending state champion Millville and rival Ocean City, which they lost to 21-20 earlier this season.
“We got out of here healthy and with a W, and that gives us a share of the division title,” Smith said. “I always think there’s room for improvement across the board for us. There are always little things we can do better to help our team in big ways.”
Mace rushed for 110 yards on 11 carries against Bridgeton, bouncing back from the week before when Hammonton loaded up the box to hold him to 52 yards. Bridgeton tried a similar strategy without the same success, with Mace scoring five touchdowns, four of those in the first half.
“I said the same thing last week, we’re looking forward to coming out here and making a statement each game,” Mace said of his team’s effort. “We knew the type of team Bridgeton was and we wanted to handle business and dominate and that’s what we did.”
It was the third shutout Mainland’s defense has recorded this season. The Mustangs blanked Egg Harbor Township 37-0 to start the season in August and Oakcrest 49-0 in Week 3.
Ironically, Mace did not factor in Mainland’s first touchdown on the Mustangs’ opening drive. Long runs by junior Cohen Cook and sophomore Rocco DeBiaso set up a Cook jet-sweep touchdown just three minutes into the game.
After forcing a punt that set up Mainland on Bridgeton’s 44, DeBiaso ripped off a 21-yard run that set up Mace’s first touchdown run from 17 yards out with 3:44 left in the opening quarter.
The Mustangs extended their lead to three touchdowns early in the second quarter after junior Mike Ordille rumbled for 70 yards before being caught from behind on the Bulldogs’ 5. Mace scored on a 5-yard sweep on the next play with 7:50 left before halftime.
Mainland went to the air to set up its next touchdown, with freshman quarterback John Franchini connecting with Cook for a 28-yard gain deep in Bulldog territory. Mace scored his third touchdown two plays later on a jet sweep from 15 yards out, boosting the Mustangs’ lead to 28-0.
Mainland burned two time-outs late in the second quarter to get another chance to have the ball with the defense holding Bridgeton to a three-and-out on the following series.
After a punt put Mainland at midfield, the strategy paid off with Franchini hitting senior Mawali Osunniyi on an 18-yard pass and Mace scoring on a 25-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left.
Up 35-0 with the benefit of a running clock in the second half, Mainland finished its scoring on the first drive of the third quarter on Mace’s 30-yard touchdown run.
“We want to keep our momentum going by taking advantage of every opportunity we have,” the senior running back said. “I mean, we need to take care of everything – on and off the field and even at practice. We want to take care of those things so we can keep growing as a team.”
Defensively, Mainland was outstanding as it prevented the Bridgeton offense from driving across the 50 yard-line for the entire contest. When the Bulldogs did get the ball on Mainland’s side of the field after a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs held them to a three-and-out.
Senior defensive end Paul Lombardo said he believed the win was achieved through successful practices over the past week and he felt the defense was ready to have another outstanding performance.
“We’re just building up things in practice so we can take it to the field,” Lombardo said. “We want to come out here and play with an attitude. We always want to get the shutout and our coaches are always putting pressure on us to have the fewest points scored on us.
“The difficulty of games changes from week to week so the key for us has been to keep our mindset the same regardless of the opponent and keep building on it.”
The effort capitalized on Mainland’s best defensive effort of the season the week before against Hammonton when the Mustangs held one of South Jersey’s best running backs, Kenny Smith, to 20 yards in a 29-14 victory.
“You’re always afraid of a lull after a big victory and the win [against Hammonton] was a tremendous victory for us,” Smith said. “This is not an easy trip to get on the road and drive here. To give credit to the kids, they came out here and did what they had to do and took care of business right away.”
Photos by David Nahan/Sentinel Story by CLYDE HUGHES/Special to the Sentinel
