By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP — Kingsway Regional High quarterback David Oravetz was understandably frustrated with the way his Dragons ended the first half on Thursday, but he couldn’t be prouder of the way they responded in the second.
Third-seeded Kingsway saw its 14-0, first-half lead quickly evaporate against No. 6 Eastern Regional as the teams entered the break knotted at 14 in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 5 state playoffs. But championship-caliber teams find ways to win when facing adversity.
The Dragons’ defense pitched a second-half shutout as Kingsway earned a gritty 23-14 triumph in the sectional quarterfinals. Kingsway will face the winner between No. 7 Williamstown and No. 2 Southern in next week’s semifinal. The Dragons beat Williamstown, 43-20, last Friday.
“We definitely know we could play better football, but in the playoffs, a win is a win,” Oravetz, who scored two first-half touchdowns, said. “We’re going to try to be better next week and see if we can go out and get another one.
“I think the reason why we were able to battle through that is because we’re a mature team. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, especially with the Washington Township and Camden games. They were close, back-and-forth matchups. When (Eastern’s comeback) happened, we had already been through it, so we didn’t panic.”
Oravetz scored on a 9-yard run for the game’s first score, then found Christian White in the end zone to open with a quick 14-0 start. After several Kingsway drives stalled in the second quarter, Eastern’s Vincent Rosa caught both of the Vikings’ touchdowns from Nick Curreri to bring the score to a halftime draw.
The game changed early in the second half when J.D. Johnson recorded an interception in Eastern territory. Cole DeNick ran in the final touchdown of the night to give the Dragons a 21-14 lead.
It was all they needed.
“I think the teams that are battle tested in the playoffs are the ones that don’t panic under pressure,” Oravetz said. “The ones that keep calm, and when the game might seem like it’s getting out of reach, they come back and go out and win it.”
Said Coach Mark Hendricks: “We’re doing what we do. Get out to a 14-point lead, but then we face a little bit of adversity. I told the guys at halftime, ‘This is exactly the type of game I thought it was going to be.’ Eastern is very athletic, they have a good offensive system, and they run the ball well. I thought it would be that type of game. And, low and behold, here it is.”
Jordan Hernandez had 2.5 sacks for Kingsway (8-2, 3-1 West Jersey Football League Classic), including the game-sealing safety in the final minute to end the last opportunity for Eastern (6-4, 4-1 WJFL Freedom).
“It’s a surreal feeling. We left a lot of plays out there, but definitely next week we will come back and show who we really are,” Hernandez said. “It was definitely a problem that we gave up that lead.”
Hernandez said a key halftime adjustment was him moving from defensive end to defensive tackle. That allowed him to get more pressure.
“Coming out of the half, there was a missing puzzle piece,” the senior said. “I moved from defensive end to defensive tackle. That definitely helped out a lot of things.”
Added Hendricks: “I love to see the way Jordan finished the game. We figured some things out with the linemen in the second half. From that moment forward, we did what we normally do on defense. He’s a big part of what we do. He’s a wrecking ball on the inside. He creates a new line of scrimmage, he’s so fast on the ball.”
“It wasn’t super exciting, but you know what, at the end of the day, one team is moving on,” Hendricks said. “You want to play the top teams, because you have to beat them all anyway. We have a lot of room for improvement. I think you’ll see that next week. I think the guys will respond.”
Added Oravetz, “we have a lot of seniors on this team. These guys know it best. Each practice could be their last Monday, could be their last Tuesday. We’re out here fighting.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Kingsway will either host Williamstown or travel to Southern Regional for the South Jersey Group 5 semifinals on Nov. 7, time TBD. Eastern’s season is complete.
