To the dismay of the Vineland High School football team, Absegami's goal on Friday was to swarm any and all ball carriers.
The Braves did just that, making the Fighting Clan pay early and often for having the pigskin in their possession.
The Absegami defense controlled the game right from the start and the offense dominated just as much in a 42-6 victory at Vineland's Gittone Stadium.
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The win improves the Braves to 2-2 heading into a bye week. The loss was the second straight for Vineland, which dropped to 2-2.
“This was a must-win game,” Absegami senior Sampson Jenkins said. “We came here to take care of business. We worked hard in practice and got the job done today.”
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Absegami all but won the game on the first play of the second quarter, taking a 21-0 lead. That was more than enough for the Braves defensive players, playing with a chip on their shoulders after giving up 32 points last week in a loss to Atlantic City.
Vineland recorded 21 yards in the opening 24 minutes, and the Braves made eight tackles for losses in the opening half. Absegami recovered three fumbles in the first half, and converted all three for touchdowns. Absegami recovered two more in the second half.
“We were kind of embarrassed the way we played last week. Not kind of, we were embarrassed,” Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi Jr. said. “The JV game was canceled on Thursday because of the (rain) but we practiced. We went out and practiced hard all week and went after it all week. The combination of practicing hard and preparedness got us ready to come out here and put it together.”
He added: “I think we did a real nice job of running to the ball, getting in gaps, knocking people down and creating turnovers. We did the things that benefit us. The defense and special teams did a great job giving us a short field.”
Absegami opened the scoring one minute, 15 seconds into the game as David Hood, who finished with 95 yards on four carries, scored on a 31-yard run.
“I felt good,” Hood said. “When you are part of the offense, it’s just not football, it’s like a family. It feels like they need you to play. It feels good.”
In their first chance to hit the field, the Braves defense registered a tackle for a loss, gave up a short pass, and recovered a fumble, as Kevin Duncan fell on the ball at the Vineland 5-yard line.
Two plays later, running back Tyler Bing scored the first of his two touchdowns of the night, finding the end zone from four yards out for the 14-0 lead just 3:35 into the game.
Defensive lineman Jo Jo Brennan came up with the second fumble of the night.
The Braves offense took over at its own 23, and scored five plays later on quarterback Rashad Kinlaw’s 14-yard touchdown run, and a three touchdown lead eight seconds into the second quarter. Hood helped set up the score with a 34-yard rush.
Mike Reilly recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Braves the ball on the Vineland 18. Four play later, Demond Cottman scored from five yards out, following a Dustin Miller block on the edge.
Sampson Jenkins then recovered a punt that ricocheted off a Vineland blocker and returned it 5 yards for a touchdown.
Absegami capped the first half scoring on Bing’s 30-yard run with 49 seconds left before the half.
Absegami played mostly reserves in the second half, but Chris Henchey recovered two fumbles, including one by ripping the ball from the Vineland quarterback’s hands.
Absegami kicker Nick Della Vecchia converted all seven of his extra points.
