By TOM WILLIAMS
Coaches: Ocean City’s Kevin Smith is 37-48 in his ninth season as a head coach. Triton’s Dom Tomeo is 15-30 in his fifth season. Smith’s teams are 1-1 against the Mustangs and Tomeo’s are 1-0 against the Raiders.
Triton Update : The Mustangs defeated Cherry Hill East (28-23) and winless Cumberland (20-14). They lost to Sterling (35-6), Burlington Township (50-7) and Cherry Hill West (36-21). Triton has used two QBs – senior Shawn Coleman (5-11, 160) and junior Adrian Fred (6-0, 168). Coleman has completed 42 percent of his passes for 424 yards and three TDs and has four interceptions. Fred has completed 50 percent for 143 yards and one TD with two interceptions. Coleman has also run for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Joe Rubba (5-10, 177) is the leading rusher with 207 yards and one score. Sophomore Jarrett White (6-0, 162) has caught six passes for 208 yards and two scores and senior Kai Gullette (5-8, 143) has caught six for 184 yards and a score. They both average more than 30 yards per catch. The offensive line is anchored by junior Vince Speakman (6-1, 174) and senior Giovanni Pierce (6-1, 353). The key defensive player is senior tackle Da’son Parker (6-0, 226) who has 29 tackles, including seven for losses, two sacks and one defensive touchdown. Freshman linebacker Isaiah Beatty (5-9, 198) has 26 tackles. Senior Justin Hicken has kicked 10 of 12 extra points.
OCHS Stats: The totals through five games are here.
Offensive Scoring Averages: OCHS 34.6 per game, Triton 16.4
Defensive Scoring Averages: OCHS 8.2 per game, Triton 31.6
History: The two schools have played twice in football, each winning once. Triton won a bizarre game last year, 33-23, by scoring the game’s final 21 points. Ian Aungst threw 2 TDs to Brandon Lashley. In 2013, Ocean City won an NJSIAA consolation game. 45-22, when Jared Jones scored three times.
What’s At Stake: Just the NJSIAA Power Ratings. This is not a division game in the West Jersey Football League. Ocean City is tied for first place in the Independence Division and Triton is tied for second place in the National Division.
NJSIAA Power Rankings: In the system used to determine playoff qualifiers, Ocean City moved up during its week off. The Raiders come into this week as #13 in South-Central Group 4. If the playoffs started this week, the Raiders would travel to Hammonton. Triton is #23 in Group 3 and would not qualify. The top 16 in each group qualify for the playoffs, which begin the second weekend in November.
Rankings: On the MaxPrep website, OCHS is ranked #109 in the state and #4106 in the nation. Triton is #280 in the state and #10,530 in the USA. Neither team is currently in the Online 25 rankings, which are here.
Smith on Triton: “Triton has a bunch of tough kids and scrappy players. They give you a lot to prepare for on offense – a lot of shifts, motions, formations and misdirection. We will have to play disciplined football to beat them.”
Special Events: This is Red & White Weekend at OCHS. The field hockey team plays Mainland at 3 p.m. at Carey Stadium before the football game. There will be a football rally with refreshments, face painting and giveaways starting at 4 p.m. behind the home bleachers. The homecoming queen candidates will be introduced at halftime and the winner announced. There is also a homecoming dance and Red & White Social on Saturday night and the OCHS Sports Hall of Fame Induction on Sunday. More details on Red & White Weekend is here.
Live Radio: The game will be broadcast live on 106.3 FM and can be heard online here.
Live Video: The audio from the radio broadcast will be part of live video, produced by Matt Ulmer and Bill Shallcross, and can be seen here, along with the videos of other OCHS games.
Next week: Ocean City will travel to Oakcrest on Saturday, looking for a win to set up the Nov. 1 showdown at Mainland. Triton plays Seneca next Friday on the road in an effort to tie for first place in its division.