Raider Football – Game 1 Notes

By TOM WILLIAMS

Ocean City started its season with a 35-0 win over Lower Cape May last Friday night in 30-35 miles per hour winds. Here are a few notes from that game.

5 for 11: The Raiders scored five touchdowns in their first 11 offensive plays against Lower Cape May, not the first 12 plays as originally reported. It took them four plays to score in each of the first two possessions and they scored their final three TDs on the first play of a drive. Because of those quick scores, Lower actually had the ball almost twice as long as the Raiders.

Isaac: Junior running back Isaac Wilson scored twice for the Raiders, his first two varsity touchdowns. He scored the game’s second touchdown from 17 yards out in the first quarter. Then, in the fourth period, he used a big opening created by the offensive line – especially Chris Armstrong and Zach Mazzitelli – and a downfield block by Ted Grimley to get inside the five. After being hit at the three, he maintained his balance to cross the goal line. Wilson also had a sack in the game.

Brad & Jake: The two juniors – Brad Jamison and Jake Inserra – each scored a touchdown and led the team in tackles with a combined 18, including six solos and a sack. Jake scored the game’s first touchdown when he refused to go down on an 18-yard run in the first period. And Brad showed speed rarely seen by a Jamison in streaking 58 yards with a Joe Repetti pass in the second quarter.

Impressive debut: Repetti completed his first six passes for 143 yards and two scores. He handled pressure effectively and delivered the ball where it needed to go in his first varsity start at quarterback. His performance was encouraging, that he might add his name to the list of great QB seasons by Andrew Donoghue, Harry Pfeifle and Ian Aungst the last three years.

Defense: Ocean City held Lower Cape May to 78 total yards on 49 plays. The Tigers have a versatile quarterback in Connor Eckel who is probably destined for another productive season. Jonas Lumbruno, Rob White and Damyon Bencievengo should also contribute to the LCMR offense this year. But the Raider defense – led by Inserra, Jamison, Tom Oves, Mike Rhodes, Matt Christy, Tom Schutta, Will Drain, Mike Williscroft and Brady Rauner, among others – was pretty dominant.

Jake: Wide receiver Jake Schneider caught three passes for 68 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown. The 5-foot-8, 162 pound junior has the speed and instincts to be one of the top offensive threats in the league this season. He will also be returning kickoffs and punts. One of the top receivers among Cape-Atlantic League schools as a sophomore, he should be fun to watch.

Kevin Smith says: “I was really pleased with how fast we started. We wanted to play fast and to execute well and we did those things. I thought we did a nice job of controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. There is a lot to improve upon but it was a great start.”

LINKS: The complete Ocean City-Lower Cape May stats are here. The video of the game is here. Standings in selected WJFL divisions are here. Links to online coverage of this weekend’s games are here.  

The photos, below, were taken by Jose Aponte. Many more are available here.