Ocean City Faces Crucial Test Against Absegami

By TIM KELLY An old football adage maintains that things are never as bad as they seem, and things are never as good as they seem. In the case of Friday night’s West Jersey Football League Independence Division game at Carey Stadium, both Ocean City and visiting Absegami will be putting that adage to the test. It is a matchup of two teams that went into the 2019 season with high expectations and even higher hopes, but two teams currently headed in opposite directions. It is a matchup of two talented young quarterbacks, two bright veteran coaches and two fan bases looking for answers almost as much as a win. For Ocean City, (3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Division) which has posted three straight shutouts and outscored its opponents by a combined 126-0, things might not be as good as they seem. The Red Raiders’ victories, though very convincing, were over teams with a combined record of 1-7. In each game, Ocean City established its superiority early and rolled up leads of at least 35-0 by halftime, causing the second half to be played with a running clock, the NJSIAA’s so-called “mercy rule.” Consistently, the Raider opponents were beaten on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and put up just token resistance. Teams and coaches do not make up the schedules, however, and must play the assigned game. A team with championship aspirations is supposed to control the matchups and these types of games. Ocean City fans are heartened further by the performance of junior quarterback Joe Repetti , the first-year starter who has been nothing short of brilliant, passing for eight touchdowns already (half of them to junior wideout Jake Schneider) with zero interceptions. Four of them came last week against an overwhelmed Bridgeton defense. Following the waxing of the Bridgeton Bulldogs, Ocean City Head Coach Kevin Smith expressed excitement over his team’s performance but issued a reminder: “The level of competition will jump up (Friday) so we have to be ready for it.” Junior wideout Jake Schneider has grabbed four TD passes in three games. Some Raider fans are quick to point out they started out 3-0 last year and won just one more the rest of the season. Smith himself said, “We haven’t won anything yet,” after his team’s 49-0 conquest of Egg Harbor Township. While no one is saying this year’s team will go 1-6 the rest of the way, there is no denying that   matchups ahead with St. Augustine, Triton, Oakcrest, Mainland and Pleasantville (in order starting November 4) are a heavier lift. Which brings us to Absegami. The Braves are currently 0-2 after winning five of their last six games in 2018 after making the switch at quarterback to then-freshman Ray Weed. The Braves were off to a dismal 0-4 start last year and seemed headed for a dismal season until Head Coach Dennis Scuderi, Jr. inserted Weed, who made an immediate impact. The frosh prodigy rewarded his coach’s confidence. He passed for 11 TDs and ran for five more, flourishing in Scuderi’s option-heavy offense. Weed’s emergence, the return of four experienced interior lineman as well as the dynamic all-purpose playmaking of junior back Jordan Marcucci caused many observers to pencil in ’Gami as a pre-seseason favorite to win the Independence. But then came a 26-7 loss to Mainland in the Braves’ season opener and a 48-20 beatdown by Cedar Creek last week, as the Pirates scored 28 unanswered second-half points. Remember the adage? If you’re a Braves fan you have to hope things aren’t as bad as they look. Absegami trailed just 20-14 at the half and they tied the game at 20 on Marcucci’s electrifying kickoff return at the start of the second half, so there’s that. If being 0-2 weren’t incentive enough, Absegami’s seniors haven’t beaten Ocean City since their freshman season. Last year, the Braves lost 9-0, and were taken down 27-14 the year before that, with both losses happening on their Galloway Township field. A Braves win would put them right back into the balanced Independence Division title conversation. A loss would dig themselves an 0-3 ditch and send out a loud statement to the rest of the Division that Ocean City is the team to beat. Except things wouldn’t be that bad. Or that good. Junior quarterback Joe Repetti’s breakout year has been a huge factor in Ocean City’s fast start.