By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Publisher
MAYS LANDING — Had the ball sailed a few inches to the left, it still would have been a pretty good season for the Absegami football team. They would have lost the Thanksgiving game to rival Oakcrest, but still would have finished 6-4 on the year.
But Kendall Elliott’s 28-yard field goal attempt with less than a minute to go hit the right upright, and the Braves hung for a thrilling 27-26 victory on Thursday morning to cap a 7-3 season that was a complete turnaround from last year’s 3-7 mark.
“It was unbelievable. For these kids, especially the seniors, they were 3-7 last year so to turn around and flip that and go 7-3 this year — our three losses came to Timber Creek, which is the No. 1 team in South Jersey, Cedar Creek, who is going to be playing for a South Jersey championship, and St. Joe, so (our guys) certainly don’t have anything to hang their heads about. They played their tails off today,” said Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi. “I told them at halftime that these are the game when legends are made. When you are down, who’s going to step up and make the big play? We had so many kids from past teams here wearing their jerseys, coming into the locker room before the game. We said (to the seniors) that they would be coming back next year wearing their jerseys, and what is their legacy going to be? I asked them who is going to step up and make the big play so that when they are back here next year with their jersey on they have something to talk about.
“We didn’t want it to be etched into the trophy forever that we weren’t able to finish the job.”
Oakcrest (6-4) took a 26-20 lead into the fourth quarter, but Absegami mounted a drive that was capped off by a great play from junior quarterback Andrew Marcucci and senior wideout Chris Dolan. On fourth down at the 7-yard line, Marcucci was flushed from the pocket, rolled to his left and lofted a pass into the corner of the end zone, and Dolan out-leaped three Oakcrest defenders for the touchdown. Zach Sterr, who previously had kicked two field goals, nailed the extra point to give the Braves a 27-26 lead with 4:50 left in the game.
We were down at halftime, but coach said not to worry about it because we were going to come back, and I believed him. This year was a long year, but we stuck it out and made a big stop.
“It was a perfect ball. He put it there and just let me go up and get it,” Dolan said.
The score was set up by a fake punt, as Sterr raced around the right side to give Absegami a first down at the Oakcrest 47-yard line.
“We made some big plays with the fake punt and Dolan makes an unbelievable catch after Andrew scrambles around and makes a great play,” Scuderi said. “Fortunately, we were on the right side of the scoreboard.”
Oakcrest was far from out of it, as Elliott — one of the best quarterbacks in South Jersey and a four-year starter — orchestrated a drive that brought the ball to the Absegami 11-yard line. The drive featured a big pass play from Elliott to Jailen Heard, and two more to Yaier Hinton. But Elliott’s pass into the end zone on third down with 1:05 remaining was off target, setting up the field goal attempt. After the miss, Absegami was able to run out the clock.
“This is fantastic. Everybody came together, we did what we had to do, and we came away with the win. They were a really good team, played hard and took it to us. But we just fought hard,” Dolan said.
“Our kids played our hearts out and there’s nothing more you can ask for,” said Falcons coach Eric Anderson. “Hats off to Absegami, they played their hearts out and got the better of us today. But it was a great game.”
The stars came to play for both teams, as the Falcons and Braves feature some of the top athletes in the West Jersey Football League. And it was no surprise the lead kept changing hands. Absegami jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, as Dolan and Ifreke Andy each scored rushing touchdowns in the first quarter. But Elliott came alive in the second quarter, tossing a pair of jaw-dropping touchdown passes to Yahsyn McKee, one that went for 44 yards and another for 37. The second tied the game at 14 with just 2:42 left in the first half, and after the Braves fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Falcons pounced again as Elliott found tight end Alec Rodriguez over the middle for a 36-yard scoring strike that gave Oakcrest a 20-14 lead.
Not to be out-done, Absegami answered, as Marcucci hooked up with Josh Coursey on a 43-yard pass play that set up a 41-yard field goal by Sterr that shaved the deficit to 20-17 heading into halftime.
Sterr tied the game at 20 by nailing a 38-yard field goal with 4:41 left in the third, but Elliott continued to make plays. He hooked up with McKee again on the Falcons’ next drive, and that play set up Elliott’s 5-yard touchdown run that gave Oakcrest a 26-20 lead.
“He is so slippery. I think I got two or three sacks on him today, but he is a problem out there,” said Absegami senior lineman Alex Walk. “I remember sophomore year, he was running around and I was never able to catch him, but I was finally able to get him.”
Anderson said it was a tough choice whether to try a field goal on Oakcrest’s last offensive play, or let Elliott try to drop back and make a throw into the end zone.
“We had a choice, and we always want to put the ball in No. 10’s hands. He’s our best kicker and we knew he could make it from there. The wind kicked up just as it left his foot, and, dink. But he played an awesome game and I would rather have no other guy (in that situation) trying to win the game for us,” Anderson said. “He’s unbelievable. He’s what I like to call a generational player. He only comes around once in a generation, and he does things you can’t teach. He’s made us great, and we appreciate his efforts. He’s been a four-year starter and has gotten better and better.”
Marcucci and Andy both came up with big plays of their own in the second half despite taking a pounding from the Oakcrest defense.
“Not that it’s ever individual, but it was nice to see those two kids finish the year the way they did. To be 7-3, I’m ecstatic for our seniors. To be able to win this one, it’s a great ending,” Scuderi said.
“We didn’t have that big of a freshman class this year, but having a good year hopefully will bring some more kids in and keep it going,” Walk said.
Anderson said it was a tough loss for his seniors, but that they have nothing to hang their heads about considering the effort they put in.
“All you can do is thank them for their service and wish them well. Hopefully the young guys take something from their leadership and their experiences the past four years,” Anderson said. “It was exciting. You can’t ask for anything more than two teams laying it all out on the line. It was fun.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays