New Era in Ocean City Football Begins Tonight

A new era in Ocean City High School football begins tonight.

The Red Raiders travel to Cumberland County to play at Vineland’s Gittone Stadium for Kevin Smith’s first game as head coach.

It may take some time for the Red Raiders to reverse their fortunes. Ocean City is coming off a 3-7 season, and one of the wins came by forfeit.

However, when all programs are 0-0, optimism runs high.

“I feel really good with the team,” Ocean City senior linebacker Bob DeLuce said. “The key for us is our defense. The defense needs to create turnovers and help out the offense. That’s a big key.”

Smith is more cautious.

“It’s been a growth process,” Smith said. “We have a lot of young kids and are focusing on getting better every day, every week. I think we got better in the second scrimmage than the first. We will see where we are Friday night, but it’s going to be a process. It’s not something we expect to turn around overnight.”

Smith installed a new scheme on both sides of the ball for a relatively young Red Raiders squad. With so many underclassmen on the team, it will allow the program to rebuild and grow over the next few seasons.

“We don’t have a lot of seniors back, so it’s a good opportunity to get the younger guys really learning the system the best we can this year,” Smith said. “We always want to win as many games as we can, but we view this year as a chance to establish our system.”

Sophomore quarterback Chris Gabor will get three seasons to run the system. Gabor will be the main cog of the spread offense with Chris Turner, who will be counted on to make big plays, and Andrew Trofa in the slot. Matt Schuler and Matt Locotus will be split out wide.

Smith believes Gabor has the tools to lead the Red Raiders this season and beyond.

“He is a good athlete who can do a little bit of everything,” Smith said. “He is young so we can bring him along slowly. He is a smart kid and the kind of kid that is coachable. He has picked up the offense really well. He is going to fill out. He is 6 feet tall and 160 pounds right now. As he grows, he will be a good-sized kid and a good player for us.”

Nick Zauck, Ben Bethea, Tim Kennelly will be the team’s halfbacks, running behind the offensive line of Clint Pearson, Kevin Weisner, Paul Stenton, Josh Johnson and Wyatt Atwood.

The defense will be led by DeLuce and Bethea. DeLuce, a senior, is coming off a knee injury that cost him the last five games in 2010, but is healthy again.

“I feel 100 percent,” he said. “I don’t feel any more problems, and I’m ready to go. I don’t even think about it on the field. I’m definitely going to go all out. I missed five games last year and I want to make up for that.”

“He is really instinctive, reads plays well; he is quick to the ball and plays very low,” Smith said. “He is just a good competitor. He is one of those kids that never take a play off. He brings it all the time.”

Bethea gives the defense another weapon. The defensive lineman is fast and strong, according to Smith.

Dylan Craver, Johnson, Colton Mentzer and Bill Swenson will line up along with Bethea. Logan Nugent will team up with Deluce in the middle.

The secondary will include Schuler, Zauck, Kennelly and Brian Slate.

With so many younger players and new faces it may be difficult for the Red Raiders to compete in a division that includes South Jersey powers Oakcrest, Holy Spirit and Hammonton. However, the Red Raiders are talented and believe they are building toward a successful program in the near future.

“We need to close the gap on those other teams,” Smith said. “We have some other teams on the schedule we should beat. We need to close the gap, and win the games we can win. We shouldn’t talk about the playoffs. We are a rebuilding program. I know it’s a cliché, but our emphasis is on growing one day at a time.”