Injury overshadows result as LCM falls to Bridgeton

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By BRIAN CUNNIFF

ERMA — The Lower Cape May Regional High School football team lost a game to Bridgeton Friday evening but the 33-10 result seemed inconsequential after a serious injury to one of its players.

Freshman Aiden McCarraher, fighting for extra yards on a running play with a little over eight minutes remaining, lay motionless on the turf after being tackled on the play.

After about a 20-minute delay, McCarraher was taken from the field by ambulance, with medical personnel paying extra attention to McCarraher’s neck and head area.

Lower coach Lance Bailey said by text message on Saturday morning that McCarraher had suffered a concussion and a broken wrist but that no further information was available at that time.

“It puts everything into perspective,” Bailey said immediately after the game. “It’s upsetting to see something like that happen. It puts the kids and everyone here and especially Aidan in a very difficult situation. To Aidan’s credit he played hard and he played hard and he played hard all the way to the injury. When we were all out there (tending to him), he was concerned with how many yards he had on the run.”

McCarraher raised his arm to acknowledge his teammates as he was lifted into the ambulance, prompting applause from all in attendance. 

Although Bridgeton (3-2) controlled most of the game, the Caper Tigers hung in until late in the third quarter. 

Ricky Mosley’s 29-yard touchdown run on the opening possession gave the Bulldogs the lead for good. Mosley broke at least four tackles on the run, including two behind the line of scrimmage.

Lower subsequently stopped consecutive Bridgeton drives inside the 15-yard line but couldn’t stop a third. Mosley tossed 22 yards to his brother, Domitrios, on a fourth-and-seven play with 40 seconds left in the half.

“That was difficult but you’re going to make some mistakes with a young football team,” Bailey said. “We’ll get it fixed. We’ve got a bye this week so we’ll get it fixed.”

Lower, however, responded with a quick drive that resulted in a 42-yard field goal by Wesley Tosto as time expired on the first half. A 22-yard run by Marcus Hebron and a pair of short runs by substitute freshman quarterback Hunter Ray helped set up the long field goal, which was aided by Tosto having the wind at his back. The kick cleared the crossbar with plenty of room to spare.

Bridgeton essentially put the game away late in the third quarter when Edward Gravely ran 72 yards for a touchdown. After Lower fumbled two plays into its next possession, Ricky Mosley ran in from one yard out on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach at 26-3.

Gravely, who ran 21 times for 234 yards, later added a 63-yard touchdown run.

Lower (2-3) scored its only touchdown after McCarrher’s injury. Hebron reached the end zone from eight yards out three plays after a Bridgeton fumble on a punt return.

“Our kids were probably dazed by what happened (on the injury) but they showed moxie by going down and scoring at the end. They showed some pride there,” Bailey said. “Obviously they were concerned about their teammate but I think they handled it the best they possibly could.”

McCarraher’s wasn’t the only significant injury for Lower in the game. Starting quarterback Rob White was lost for the game after suffering a hamstring injury while playing defense in the second quarter.