By TIM KELLY
It may not have been a wakeup call of epic proportions, but Ocean City’s 31-14 defeat of Williamstown on Saturday was a wakeup call nonetheless.
On a Senior Day game postponed from Friday’s originally scheduled date due to stormy weather, the Raiders gave up two touchdowns in a game for the first time all year. They were also tied in a game in the second quarter for the first time.
Whether the wakeup call was mild or epic, it had a good result.
After Williamstown, a West Jersey Football League independence Division foe, went on a 13-play, 70-yard scoring drive to make it 7-7 with 6:28 left in the first half, Ocean City scored the next 24 points to put the game out reach.
Ocean City’s convincing win over the Group 5 Braves should help the Raiders in the playoff seeding process. But on Saturday, it seemed more a microcosm of the past two seasons disrupted by ever-changing COVID-19 protocols and scheduling challenges.
“They are a great group of young men,” Ocean City Head Coach Kevin Smith said of his seniors. They have a very mature attitude and approach. They work hard and understand what it takes to be successful.”
On Saturday that meant keeping an even keel and concentrating on the prize: the fourth 9-0 unbeaten and untied record in school history and continuing the quest for the state Group 4 championship.
At first it looked like a typical Ocean City game. The stout defense, which had yielded just 21 points previously all season and racked up five shutouts, held Williamstown to a 3-and –out, and the offense went 45 yards on 123 plays, capped by quarterback Riley Gunnels’ 1-yard TD run and Brendan McGonigle’s extra point, his 35th of 36 attempts this year.
McGonigle would go on to kick two more extra points and his 11th career field goal, tying Chris Curran’s school record for three-pointers, which has stood since 2010.
But Williamstown, whose roster boasts Turner Inge, one of the top running backs in South Jersey, came back to tie it.
That seemed to be the alarm bell.
Ocean City answered by going 80 yards on 12 plays, including a 14-yard Jack Hoag run and a Gunnels-to-Mike Gray 10-yard hookup for a first down.
Unfortunately Gray, an outstanding two-way end, injured his ankle on the play and did not return.
But that didn’t stop Ocean City.
Sean Mazzitelli and Jacob Wilson, returning to the lineup after an eight-game absence, sparked the drive on the ground with Mazzitelli — who also turned in a stellar performance from his outside linebacker position — rushed the final five yards.
That made it 14-7 with just over two minutes left in the half, and the Raiders never looked back after that.
“Our backs really ran hard and on offense we controlled the line of scrimmage,” said Smith. “We blocked well and tackled well. On defense we did a great job wrapping up and containing Inge.”
Hoag, a speedy 5-7, 132-pounder, returned the second half kickoff 40 yards (unofficial stat) to set up Gunnels, Wilson and Mazzitelli’s runs for the final 25 yards.
Gunnels crashed in from the two for his second rushing score of the game.
McGonigle nailed a 26-yard field goal late in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the defense, spearheaded by Charley Cossaboone, Sam Williams, and others, shut Williamstown down.
In the fourth, Ocean City scored its final TD, on a 10-yard Mazzitelli run.
Williamstown closed out the scoring on a 74-yard drive with Inge’s 3-yard jaunt the exclamation point. By then, it was all over but the shouting.
“Williamstown is a good football team,” said Ocean City’s Assistant Coach Frank LaSasso. “Controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball is a great sign going into the playoffs.”
LaSasso added, “As has been the case with all of our wins this year, it was a total team effort with contributions from a lot of players. We need to carry this momentum into the playoffs because now there is no room for error.”
