Football: Bishop helps Mainland Regional turn tables on rival Ocean City in second half

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher LINWOOD — With the Pope Francis’ visit putting the Delaware Valley in a frenzy, it’s probably fitting that on Friday night at The Corral, it was Bishop who stole the spotlight. Senior wide receiver Justin Bishop had one of the best games of his career on Friday night, finishing with 208 yards and four touchdowns as host Mainland rallied from a 19-17 halftime deficit to take down rival Ocean City 33-19. Bishop’s 6-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter following an Ocean City fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half put Mainland up 25-19, and he followed that up with an acrobatic grab at the goal line on the first play of the fourth quarter, hauling in a 38-yard pass from quarterback Sam Jackson. Teddy Bergman punched in the 2-point conversion on a sweep left to push the lead to 33-19 and put the game out of reach. “I just practice a lot. Me and Sam, we just have a connection, the dynamic duo,” Bishop said. “I thought (the 38-yard touchdown) was going to get over my head because I was back peddling, but I just have strong fingertips and I grabbed it.” Senior quarterback Sam Jackson threw four touchdown passes to Justin Bishop during Mainland Regional’s 33-19 win over rival Ocean City on Friday night. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Mainland (2-1) had a chance to take the lead into halftime, but with 14 seconds left in the second quarter and no timeouts remaining, the Mustangs chose to run the ball. Ocean City’s defense stopped the play, and Mainland couldn’t get another play off before time ran out. No matter, though, as the second half belonged to Bishop and the Mustangs’ defense. Late in the third quarter, Ocean City (0-3) drove down to the 4-yard line, but Mainland’s defense stopped the Red Raiders on downs. The Mustangs got out of their own end when Jackson hooked up with Bishop on a screen pass that went for 46 yards to midfield. Four plays later, Jackson hooked up with Bishop for the fourth time on a scoring pass to make it 33-19. Bergman said beating Mainland’s arch-rival made Friday night’s win even more special. “You grow up knowing these kids your whole life, there’s chirping the whole game, it’s a huge rivalry and it’s great to come out on top. I was just thinking I had to make plays on the ball and not let anybody get past me,” Bergman said. He said the Mustangs weren’t worried at halftime when they trailed 19-17. “We just had to keep our heads up and tell ourselves we aren’t out of this. We had a whole other half of football, we just had to keep playing hard,” he said. Senior offensive lineman Ty Coffey said winning the rivalry game was huge for Mainland. Christian Baumgardner got the Red Raiders on the scoreboard early with a touchdown catch in the first quarter. “This game, especially. You don’t have to say it to understand the rivalry. Coming out with a win like this just shows we are having a good start to our season,” Coffey said. He also said a monster defensive game from Bergman is something the Mustangs have come to expect. “To be honest, I’m not surprised. He shows up well every day in practice and works hard. He’s a tough kid,” Coffey said. “He’s small, but he’s got guts, and we’re proud of him.” Ocean City jumped out to a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter when quarterback Andrew Donoghue found tight end Christian Baumgardner for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Mainland answered on its next possession when Jackson and Bishop hooked up on a 59-yard scoring strike. Mike Juliano’s extra point gave Mainland a short-lived 7-6 lead. The Red Raiders went ahead 12-7 on a Shane Stack 9-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter before a Juliano field goal cut the lead to 12-10. Ocean City came right back and scored on its next possession, as a couple of passes from Donoghue to Garrett Jones set up Dan Henderson’s 1-yard touchdown plunge. Kyle Blum’s extra point gave Ocean City a 19-10 lead, but on the very next play following the ensuing kickoff, Jackson hit Bishop on a wheel route for a 64-yard touchdown down the left sideline. The win was big for Mainland, as the Mustangs stayed a game behind St. Augustine Prep (3-0) and Egg Harbor Township (3-0) in the Cape-Atlantic League’s American Conference. Mainland has a bye next week before squaring off against the Hermits. “It’s great. We really have a lot of confidence now,” Bishop said. “We have a bye next week then the Prep the following week, so this is good.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]