Ocean City High School’s football team is headed to the NJSIAA Group 4 playoffs.
The Raiders are seeded seventh in the eight-team bracket and will travel to Gloucester Township, Camden County, to play the second-seeded Highland in the first round.
The Raiders and Tartans will kick off the playoff action Friday at 7 p.m.
“Congrats to all of our players on the hard work that went into this,” Coach Kevin Smith said in an e-mail to players and supporters. “It’s a new season now.”
It is the second consecutive playoff appearance for the Raiders (3-4 overall, 3-1 in the West Jersey Football League Independence Division) after nine straight years of not qualifying.
OC made the postseason party despite losing four straight games. All four were played against teams that also qualified for the postseason: St. Augustine, Triton (Highland’s sister school in the Black Horse Pike Regional School District), Oakcrest and Mainland.
Smith noted the Raiders put up a good fight against St. Augustine, held a fourth quarter lead at Triton, lost to Oakcrest in overtime and then succumbed to the Mustangs on the last play from scrimmage, a 41-yard field goal.
If the playoffs didn’t seem possible on Friday night after the Raiders’ 24-21 heartbreaker to Mainland, Sunday morning brought good news when the NJSIAA released its official pairings.
“Our strength of schedule was excellent,” Smith said. “We are disappointed (to have lost four straight) but we were right there in every game. We earned our way into the playoffs. Our players should be proud of what they’ve done.”
