Ocean City Meets Holy Spirit on Gridiron Tonight

The football team takes on a desperate Holy Spirit squad tonight.

The two teams kick things off at 7 p.m. at Ed Byrnes Stadium in Absecon.

The Spartans (3-3), which entered the season with hopes of being one of the best teams in the state, need to get back in the win column after losing to Hammonton last week.

The Red Raiders (1-6) are coming off a loss to Oakcrest.

"They are big, physical and probably not in a very good mood," Ocean City coach Kevin Smith said. "It's another big challenge, but we had a good week of practice."

"I'm ready and we are very excited going into this game," Red Raiders linebacker Bob DeLuce said. "Holy Spirit is supposed to win a championship this year, but we are going into it like it's any other game."

DeLuce and the rest of the Red Raiders may have their hands full with the Spartans one-two backfield punch of Dontae Pollack and Nigel Jones. Pollack missed last game because of injury and it remains to be seen if he will play tonight.

"Usually a team has one dominant back, but they have two," DeLuce said. "That helps them because one comes in for a play and then the other one comes in. They are both dominant and it helps them stay fresh. But we will be ready."

"On offense it's no secret they just pound it at you," Smith said. "We have to make adjustments. The worst thing we can do is play slow and don't react."

The Spartans have been slow starters this season, even in games they end up winning in routs. The Red Raiders need to take advantage of that, and try to find the end zone early.

However, Ocean City has also had problems at the start of its games this season.

"A lot of our games we seem to wait until the opponent scores before we start," DeLuce said. "We have to come out fast in the first half and carry the momentum."

Red Raiders quarterback Chris Gabor may have some chances to throw the ball downfield, especially if Ocean City can get a favorable matchup for wide out Chris Turner.

Gaining ground yards may be difficult, and the Red Raiders will rely on Ben Bethea and Eric Zauck.

"We will see right away how we handle their pressure on defense. They will bring guys early on," Smith said. "We have to be aware of what we are doing."