By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
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LINWOOD — For a brief moment on Friday evening, it seemed as though the football gods were smiling down on the Mainland Regional High football program. Set to induct past heroes into it’s hall of fame at halftime, the Stangs had rallied back from a 14-0 deficit to tie the game heading into the break, and the misty skies above Jack Thomas Memorial Field produced perhaps the greatest rainbow South Jersey has ever seen.
And that’s not hyperbole. A brilliant, double rainbow arched high over the field — and school in the backdrop — so clear and bright it almost appeared as if it was A.I. produced.
Surely this was Mainland’s night to wipe away a frustrating 1-3 start to the season and kick start a resurgence to recent past glory.
But bitter rival Ocean City had worked too hard for this night, and the Red Raiders outscored Mainland 13-7 in the second half to hang on for a 27-21 victory. They, too, are trying to summon strength from past glory, and beating the Mustangs for the first time in the last five tries seemed cathartic. Ocean City now has the “Battle for the Bridge” trophy, and wiped away the anguish of last year’s 43-7 thumping at the hands of Mainland in last year’s state playoffs.
Ocean City’s last win over Mainland came early in the 2022 season, when the Raiders nipped the Stangs 21-20 at Carey Stadium.
“It means a lot. We’ve worked so hard since the summer and we’ve put so many hours and days into this. Coming into this, we knew it was going to be a dogfight. It’s a good rivalry, and we got the best of it today. They’re a very good team, but we got the best of them today,” said junior receiver Columb Higgins. “We knew we were getting the ball (to start the second half) and we knew we had to punch it right down their throats. We knew we were going to be able to move the ball and score, we just had to stick to our fundamentals.”
Ocean City (4-1, 2-1 West Jersey Football League Classic) forced a turnover on Mainland’s opening possession and turned it into points as quarterback Jackson Becker scored a rushing touchdown to give the Red Raiders a quick 7-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, Ocean City extended its lead to 14-0 when senior wideout Michael Marczyk took a screen pass 42 yards down the left sideline for a score.
But Mainland (1-4, 0-3 WJFL Classic) pulled itself up by its bootstraps, scoring twice in the second quarter to even the game at 14 heading into halftime. Sophomore quarterback Crew Russo called his own number and scored on a 14-yard run to pull the Stangs within 14-6, and with a minute left before halftime freshman Ryder Watson — son of former championship-winning Cedar Creek coach Tim Watson and younger brother of former Mainland star athletes Kylee and Hunter Watson — scored. Mainland got the ensuing two-point conversion on a pass from Russo to Jacob Guerrieri to knot things up heading into the break.
But Ocean City’s passing game continued to flourish in the second half, as Becker hooked up with Marczyk on a big gainer, and on 4th-and-10 from the Mainland 17-yard line, Becker found Higgins wide open in the middle of the end zone for a 21-14 Ocean City lead.
“We’ve been working all week (on our routes),” Higgins said. “Me and Becker have been working together since sixth grade. It’s just trusting our chemistry, our fundamentals. It’s going back to what we’ve worked so hard for since we’ve been little kids. I think that’s a big part of it.”
“It feels great. Last year left a bad taste in all of our mouths so we had to come out and get it done,” Becker added. “That’s what we worked for all week. Michael Marczak and Columb Higgins are great receivers who are always open, and the O-line did a great job up front keeping me protected. That’s all I can ask for.”
Ocean City forced a couple of punts on Mainland’s next two possessions, and effective iced the game early in the fourth quarter with another touchdown. Becker hooked up with Higgins on another huge fourth-down conversion before Cole Garreffi capped the drive early in the fourth quarter with a short touchdown run. The 27-14 lead made it an uphill climb for the Stangs in the fourth quarter.
“We responded to adversity well. Last week (a 32-8 loss to Camden) didn’t go as planned, but we responded well and came out on top today. I couldn’t be happier for my guys,” Higgins said.
“You saw in the Atlantic City Press we got voted as the school with the most spirit. Our student section is great, they are loud, and it’s awesome celebrating with the team and the students,” Becker said. “It’s an intense rivalry. It’s the best one around. We know all these guys and have grown up playing against them. I know who they all are, they know who we are. They know us in and out, we know them in and out. It’s just coming out here and seeing who wants it more.
“This builds momentum for us, for sure. We have a great Oakcrest team next week so we have to come back ready to work.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Ocean City hosts Oakcrest on Saturday at 10 a.m. Mainland hosts Atlantic City on Friday at 6 p.m.
