Here’s a quick recap of Day 1 of the Battle at the Beach from South Jersey Glory Days correspondent Brian Tortella.
Manchester Township 26, West Deptford 21: West Deptford just couldn’t seem to find its grove. Manchester Township’s senior kicker Ian Spicer knocked through a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter, and junior running back Malik Pharmes zoomed 25 yards down the sideline for the first touchdown of the New Jersey high school football season in the beginning of the second. The Eagles quickly found themselves in a 10-point deficit after a slow defensive start.
Although John Emel’s coaching debut with the Eagles didn’t go exactly as planned, he’s proud of the fight his team had, he said. They had an answer for every Manchester score, and turned what looked to be a lousy, uncompetitive game into a dogfight to kick off the season.
“We had the ball twice in the first half, we scored once,” Emel noted. “Had our back against the wall, took the lead, 21-20. You know, a couple situations where they just outplayed us. They moved the ball all day and were able to score in the red zone before the half.”
Manchester was able to overcome a 3rd-and-30, and then a 4th-and-10, capturing a touchdown on the final drive before the half to give the Hawks a 17-8 lead going into the break. That momentum boost ended up being the real difference in the game, no matter how you shape it. Instead of going into halftime down by just two points after a Zamir Davis 1-yard run and 2-point conversion, the Eagles found themselves back in the hole by nine points.
They came out clicking on offense in the second half, though, with quarterback Brady Cobb connecting with Cole Paskiewicz for a 97-yard touchdown a little more than four minutes into the half after they took possession on their own 3-yard line.
“I have to give props to the line,” Cobb said. “They held it down. We could’ve easily got a safety there. They put out great blocks, it was wide open, and we made it happen.”
The Eagles even took a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter but the defense wasn’t able to hold Manchester (1-0), which took the lead for good after quarterback Aidan Lunn found Ny’Zyr Battle in the end zone with 8:44 remaining.
“In the first half we only had the ball twice,” Cobb continued, speaking of his team’s slow start. “It’s tough to score when you don’t have the ball. Props to them for controlling the game. We had to do what we had to do, and when we had it, we made some things happen, but we could’ve done more. I’m looking forward for the rest of the season.”
Said Emel: “I’m always looking forward to the next game. We’re going to keep getting the guys better. We started eight sophomores today on defense. Had some guys banged up, some older guys. Our guys battled, we battled hard. I’m disappointed, but we have some good days ahead if we stay together.”
Lunn received South Jersey Glory Days Senior Football Writer Mark Trible’s first “Hat’s Off” award of the 2024 season. Trible’s signature post-game award goes to the biggest difference maker of the game. West Deptford’s Davis finished with 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Mainland 30, Atlantic City 18: The defending Group 4 champions once again proved why they’ll continue to be one of the top teams to beat in South Jersey with a victory over Atlantic City. Mainland hasn’t lost a game since November 20, 2022, and is riding a 15-game win streak.
“I feel great about the victory,” coach Chuck Smith said. “I’d rather be 1-0 than 0-1. Hats off to them, they made a lot of big plays. We knew Atlantic City would be dangerous. I’m proud of our guys, they hung in there. We had a lot of guys playing in positions they hadn’t played in the past, substituting guys due to injuries.”
Jake Blum fueled the offensive attack with seven rushes for 22 yards and a touchdown, adding another two receptions for 65 yards and a score en route to the 12-point victory.
Mainland’s Rocco DeBiaso was the “Hat’s Off” winner. A.C. quarterback Kajuan “Peaky” Roseborough threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns in his first game taking over for the graduated Joe Lyons, and counterpart John Franchini of Mainland threw for 188 yards and a touchdown.
Ocean City 35, Cinnaminson 7: Ocean City dominated from start to finish in its 28-point rout of Cinnaminson in the third game on the slate on Thursday evening. The Red Raiders rumbled for 287 rushing yards on 42 attempts, with Triston Schmidt accounting for 121 of those yards with two scores on 21 attempts.
You can’t have a dominant run game without a great offensive line, though, and that’s exactly why senior lineman Luke Holmes earned Trible’s “Hats Off” recognition.
IMG Academy (FL) 27, Bergen Catholic 14: It was the game everyone has waited for, and it didn’t disappoint — well, for the first half, at least. With an estimated three thousand-plus fans in attendance for the final game to end an amazing first day of high school football, the nation’s No. 10 ranked IMG Academy (Fla.) led No. 17 Bergen Catholic 7-0 at halftime. The Crusaders evened it up at seven a piece early in the third quarter, but IMG ultimately pulled away. Quarterback Ty Hawkins recorded all four of the Ascenders’ touchdowns. Six-time Super Bowl winning former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was in attendance with former NFL head coach and assistant Matt Patricia.
Editor’s note: All stats via NJ.COM, NJ Advance Media.
Contact Brian Tortella: btortreportssj@gmail.com
