High School Football:
Ocean City Upsets Toms River South To Win Group 3

Sunday, December 6, 1998

By Gary Steiner
SJSports Staff Writer

The Ocean City Red Raiders made their presence known early by scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter of the Group 3 championship game, enabling them to go on to a 34-18 defeat of first-seeded Toms River South. The Red Raiders finished the season 11-1, previously capturing the Cape-Atlantic Division A title.

Ocean City scored first at the 10:05 mark with a 66-yard drive that ended in a 12-yard touchdown run by Jared Toscano. The point after attempt was blocked. Austin Martin scored the second touchdown on a 3-yard run at the 6:27 mark, which had been set up by his 52-yard run down to the 8-yard line. A pass to Matt Chila for the 2-point conversion made the score 14-0. The third touchdown was scored on a 13-yard pass from Al Genz to Ray Rogers with 1:15 left in the quarter. A pass to Adam Martin added two more to make it 22-0

Things settled down offensively in the 2nd quarter, as neither team was able to score. The Red Raiders had a 1st and goal at the Indians' 9-yard line with 3:20 left in the half, but lost the ball on a fumble recovered by Jeff Scoras. Three plays later, Ray Rogers intercepted a pass to get the ball back at the Toms River South 44-yard line. Four plays after that, Dave Grosiak intercepted a pass to get the ball back for the Indians.

In the 3rd quarter, Toms River South got on the board with a 65-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bill Rankin to Torry Morris at the 9:01 mark. The 2-point attempt failed. The Indians got the ball back when Morris recovered a fumble on the first play of Ocean City's next drive, giving them the ball on their own 48-yard line. The Indians drove down and scored when Brett Hardia caught a 20-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point attempt again failed, leaving the score at 22-12 with 5:54 left in the quarter. The Red Raiders responded with a 68-yard touchdown drive, scoring on an Austin Martin 3-yard run. A pass for the 2-point conversion was incomplete, leaving the score 28-12 with 2:42 left in the quarter. The Indians next drive was stalled by two key sacks from Danny Stillwell.

Ocean City started out the 4th quarter with a drive highlighted by a 63-yard run from Austin Martin, which led to a 5-yard run from Martin for his third touchdown of the game. The point after kick was blocked, leaving the score 34-12 with 7:29 left in the game. Toms River South was able to score once more with 0:17 left, but it was too little too late as the Red Raiders took home the trophy with their 34-18 win.

Photos by Art Redd