By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
Absecon — Holy Spirit High football coach Andrew DiPasquale said he was going to have a few words with star senior wide receiver Emanuel Gerena following the host Spartans’ 48-0 romp over Ocean City on Friday night. He wanted to hammer home the notion that a bit of taunting after a 69-yard touchdown catch the blew the game open late in the second quarter wasn’t going to be tolerated.
That was about the only thing negative one could point out about Gerena’s performance against the Red Raiders.
Finally healthy after battling injuries throughout much of the season, Gerena showed why he’s one of the most dynamic playmakers in South Jersey, as he had two interceptions returned for touchdowns, caught a pair of two-point conversions, finished with 100 receiving yards and contributed to a defense that frustrated Ocean City all night.
“He’s THE best (player in South Jersey), not one of them. That kid is a stud,” said senior quarterback Ty Costabile, who threw for 149 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “That pick-6 that he had the second time, he was man-on-man on a guy completely on the other side, but he just has that instinct (to jump that route). That’s my dude. We pull up early to practice, get some throws in. I could throw to him with my eyes closed; I know where he’s going to be every time.
“I feel like there’s only one dude in New Jersey who’s doing stuff like that, and these college coaches need to take notice. He’s a stud.”
“That’s some stuff that we’ll address,” DiPasquale said, referring to the infraction charged to Gerena following the long touchdown pass. “He’s a kid who was banged up in the beginning of the year, so we’ve been trying to ease him into it. He played one half against Camden and one half against Cedar Creek, and he was the best player on the field. He wasn’t able to finish those games because of injuries, but you can see what he’s able to do when he’s able to be on the field for the whole game. He’s a game-changer, and, formationally, he’s a big game-changer for us because defenses have to adjust to him. You’re taking two guys (to cover him) and that opens up other guys to make plays for us. It’s starting to gel.”
The first quarter was scoreless as Holy Spirit came up empty at the end of along drive after missing on a fourth-down pass at the Ocean City 11-yard line. But the second quarter couldn’t have been any different.
The Spartans (4-3, 2-1 West Jersey Football League Constitution) were nearly stuffed again inside the red zone, but an Ocean City penalty on fourth down inside the 5 kept the drive alive, and Emir Hicks punched it in from a yard out. Costabile found Dylan Granzow for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 Spartans lead.
Then things got really wild.
Gerena picked off a pass on Ocean City’s next possession and returned it 26-yards for a touchdown, then Granzow stripped a ball carrier and returned the fumble 46-yards to the house, make it 22-0. With less than two minutes to go before halftime, Costabile hooked up with Gerena for the longest play of the day from either team, a 69-yard scoring strike over the middle that gave Spirit a 28-0 lead heading into halftime.
“I feel like this team is catching a groove at the perfect time. We came out in the beginning of the season a little slow. A 3-3 record is unacceptable for any team if you want to be competing for a state title. But we’re picking it up; we came out here and did what we had to do tonight. We have the genius up in the booth in coach (Charlie) Roman and he’s going to make it work,” Costabile said. “We’re figuring it out. We got knocked around by a good team (in the season opener) in Northern Highlands, but it’s about finishing. Against Northern Highlands, they were up one score and we lose. Against Camden, we were up 14-0 and lose. Cedar Creek, we were up 14 points at halftime (and lose). We’re just playing better second-half football right now, and that’s really what it’s all about down the stretch.”
“We got stuffed inside the 10-yard line a couple of times. There was a penalty that we lucked out and were able to score on a fourth down. We tell the kids all the time that one play can change the momentum,” DiPasquale said. “We had a pick-6 then (a fumble recovery for a score). I couldn’t see it from our sideline but it just looked like Dylan just stripped the ball out of a kid’s hands. Those plays changed the whole momentum of the game, and once they happened, you just have to keep riding it.”
In the third quarter, Brady Coble caught a Costabile laser over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown, and Gerena added a 55-yard pick-6 in the fourth quarter before Christian Surles capped the scoring with a 61-yard touchdown scamper over the left side.
As good a night as Gerena had offensively, middle linebacker Freddy Marczyk said he was just as valuable on the defensive side. The ability of Holy Spirit’s secondary to single-cover the Red Raiders (4-4, 1-2 WJFL Constitution) meant Spirit had a full cadre of linemen and linebackers to get after the quarterback. And that resulted in six sacks and 11 total tackles for loss.
“In this game, we had the most energy we’ve had all season. It was a lot of fun. We know a lot of kids on that team so it feels good beating them. That second quarter was great. At first, we knew it was going to be a battle, but we just took off in that second quarter. It was awesome,” Marczyk said. “It’s so great having him in the secondary so we can blitz people and bring pressure. The quarterback has to throw it, but if you throw it to Gerena’s side, it’s a pick-6. You saw how many sacks we had, that’s all from the secondary being able to lock them down.”
“Our defense has been working hard all year and I was really happy that tonight they were able to be rewarded for all that hard work,” DiPasquale added. “We had three defensive touchdowns — I don’t know if I’ve ever been part of a game that has had that, so all credit to them.”
Holy Spirit seems to be putting the pieces in place at the right time, but the Spartans don’t have long to pat themselves on the back. They have a bye week then travel to St. Augustine Prep, one of the top teams in the state, to finish out October.
“Everyone has really come together. Losing as a team sometimes brings you together more than winning,” Costabile said. “When you have to show up to practice the next day after losing a tough game — you’re working every single day in the summer, going through hell with the sprints, the lifts, people throwing up. That brings you together as a team, and I feel like we’re coming together as a family. I wouldn’t even call it a family, it’s a brotherhood, honestly.”
Added Marczyk, “we’re going to celebrate this game for a day, but after that we’re right on to St. Augustine Prep. We just need consistency. The past couple of games — against Camden, Cedar Creek — we’d fight in the first half and then somehow we’d lose in the second half. We were beating Camden 14-0 and ended up losing. We just have to keep this going.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Holy Spirit has a bye then travels to St. Augustine Prep on Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. Ocean City hosts Cedar Creek on Friday at 6 p.m.
