VIDEO, PHOTOS: Warrior defense shines in close road loss

Posted: October 1st 2023

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

GLOUCESTER CITY – The Wildwood High School football team played extraordinary defense Saturday.

The Warriors just couldn’t muster much offensively, however.

Gloucester Catholic scored a touchdown late in the first quarter and made it stand up as the Rams held off Wildwood, 7-0, in a defensive battle on Gloucester High School’s field.

Gloucester Catholic got the game’s only touchdown following a short punt that allowed the Rams to start the scoring drive on Wildwood’s 18 yard-line. Kybron Ricks reached the end zone from two yards out on the fourth play of the possession.

Wildwood (1-4) kept Gloucester Catholic scoreless the rest of the way, mostly turning the Rams over on downs or forcing punts. James Wyers ended one Ram possession with an interception.

It was the latest good defensive effort for Wildwood, which conceded just 13 points in a loss to Bishop Eustace and held a Schalick team that is currently 5-1 to only seven points until late in the third quarter in what turned out to be a 25-0 loss.

“We’ve been playing pretty good defense and all the credit in the world to Casey Dillon, our defensive coordinator,” Wildwood coach Ken Loomis said. “We work an awful lot at practice on our offense. He basically gets one (practice) day (each week) to work on the defensive stuff and he has our guys playing tough.”

The offense, though, has struggled. Saturday’s defeat marked the third time the Warriors have been shut out this season. Wildwood has managed only seven points combined in its four games since a season-opening 28-21 win over Cumberland.

Wildwood appeared to put itself in scoring position inside the 5-yard line on a long pass completion from Junior Hans to Wyers early in the second quarter, but the play was called back due to a penalty.

In a game that featured numerous penalties and the ejections of two Ram players, Wildwood also hurt itself by gifting Gloucester Catholic first downs on an 18-play drive that took more than 10 minutes of game time in the second half. A pass interference penalty on a third-and-long play and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a tackle for loss on a third-down run allowed the Rams to continue with the football. Gloucester Catholic did not score on the drive but flipped field position and took valuable time off the clock.

“We have some games where the other team is just bigger, stronger and faster and we know it’s going to be tough for us. But we also have ones like these with teams like Gloucester Catholic where we can line up and really compete, so it’s frustrating when you know you can win the game and you don’t and this was one of them,” Loomis said. “Just too many mental mistakes. The physical mistakes you can live with. But there’s no excuse for the mental ones.”

Wildwood managed just seven first downs for the game. Wyers caught seven passes but for only 23 yards. 

The Warriors tried to spark their offense by moving Hans, the usual starting quarterback, to slotback and inserting sophomore Jordan Dozier at quarterback for the second half. Loomis said the team’s initial plan is to stick with Dozier behind center going forward.

Injuries to standout wide receiver Ryan Troiano and offensive lineman Nate Wolf have hurt the Warriors.

“Moving Junior around a little bit, it gives us a chance to get him the ball in different places,” Loomis said. “We have to try to get something going that’s going to help us move the ball better. It’s been tough, especially after Ryan went down because he was one of our biggest weapons.”

Wildwood hosts KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy for its Homecoming game on Friday. The game was added after Lindenwold dropped to the junior varsity level due to low numbers.

“We have a short week, so we need to get ready quickly,” Loomis said.