It may have only been a scrimmage. But the Ocean City Red Raiders looked very good in their final pre-season action Saturday against Cinnaminson at Carey Stadium.
The Raiders defense was perfect, pitching a shutout – its second straight– and new quarterback Joe Repetti threw for three touchdowns as Ocean City beat Cinnaminson 19-0.
It was particularly encouraging because Cinnaminson came into the game with a state ranking of 56 by the website MaxPreps and is coming off an 8-3 season that saw the Pirates win the West Jersey Football conference Patriot Division and make it to the second round of the State Group II playoffs. In contrast, MaxPreps has OC ranked 153rd statewide and the Raiders went 4-6 overall last year.
”We saw a lot of good things today,” head coach Kevin Smith said on the team’s website. “Cinnaminson is a tough football team and they moved the ball on us. But we made plays when we had to and we handled adversity well. We have a long way to go but today was encouraging.”
Both teams’ defenses dominated a scoreless first quarter. Senior running back Issac Wilson’s 11-yard touchdown reception from Repetti broke the ice, capping a 53-yard drive. A missed extra point and stalled Cinnaminson drive ended the half with OC up 6-0.
The opening play of the second half saw Repetti connect on a slat play to Brian Beckman, who slipped past a would-be tackler and broke free for an electrifying TD covering 70 yards, and Brendan McGonigle tacked on the extra point kick.
Cinnaminson put a drive together later in the quarter, penetrating the red zone and making it all the way to the OC 6-yard line. But Pirate QB Shawn Ruffin’s pass was tipped by Colby Felix and linebacker Tommy Oves picked it off and went 70 yards the other way to the Cinnaminson 30.
On the next play, the Raiders capitalized on the turnover with a 30-yard Repetti to Jake Schneider aerial. The second missed extra point of the day left the score at 19-0, which held up over the scoreless fourth period.
The win left a good feeling for the Raiders to build on in their final practices before traveling to Lower Cape May Friday night for the season opener at 6 pm. The Caper Tigers went 6-4 last season and it should be a good test for both teams.
”They’ll be ready for us, no doubt,” Smith said. “But we’ll be ready too. It’s nice to finally get going. I’m looking forward to the regular season.”
New Athletic Director Geoff Haines said he was impressed with the team and the coaching staff.
“We have a nice mix of kids and (veteran players),” he said. “The team and the coaching staff have been working hard all summer.”
****Thanks to OCHSfootball.com for providing scrimmage details****
