Moses Barongo vividly recalls his American Youth Football days alongside most of the seniors on the Pinelands Regional High School squad.
“A lot of us have been together since AYF, and at one time we were 0-10. We didn’t win a game,” said the senior offensive lineman, who on Saturday helped the Wildcats score another historic victory, a 13-7 overtime triumph over Oakcrest in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 semifinals.
“We have a very close connection, and we’ve stuck together all these years. In middle school, we were a little better, but we kept growing and getting better, and here we are now, still undefeated and going to a championship game next week.”
Defensive lineman Brody Rawa appreciates the journey he and his classmates have taken as well.
“This is the greatest thing ever, so far,” said Rawa, who delivered a huge sack on third-and-long in overtime to keep the game tied 7-7. “When we played in AYF, we didn’t win a game. We weren’t good. Most of these guys I’m with here now are the same guys, so to be able to go 11-0 and win two playoff games is amazing. It’s awesome to be in the position we’re in right now.”
How the third-seeded Wildcats reached the sectional final for the first time is a story for the ages, and it began with their defense.
Early in the second quarter, Pinelands made an incredible goal-line stand, stopping the second-seeded Falcons at the 1-yard line on third and fourth downs. Oakcrest scored midway through the quarter and led 7-0 at halftime.
Then senior quarterback Jamie Jenkins threw an interception on Pinelands’ opening possession of the second half, giving Oakcrest the ball at the Wildcats’ 25. A face mask penalty on Pinelands moved the ball to the 13, but the defense pushed the Falcons back to the 18, and senior defensive back A.J. O’Brien broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone with 9:33 left in the third quarter.
Momentum swung Pinelands’ way after another defensive stop near midfield. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty had moved Oakcrest to the Wildcats’ 36, but a sack by Rawa and junior lineman Infinite McLeod pushed the Falcons back to the Pinelands 44. A bad snap on the ensuing fourth-and-long punt attempt gave the Wildcats the ball at the Falcons’ 42 with 5:55 left in the third.
Pinelands Regional senior quarterback Jamie Jenkins scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Wildcats’ 13-7, overtime victory against Oakcrest during the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 semifinals on Nov. 7. Photo credit: David Biggy
“We didn’t want it to be our last game playing together,” Jenkins said. “This game meant a lot to us, and we had to stay together. At the half, the coaches told us it was only seven points. We were one big play from being back in the game.”
More like 13 big plays. That’s how many it took on Pinelands’ only scoring drive in regulation, which included a fourth-down conversion to open the fourth quarter.
A run by junior Montrell Carter left Pinelands facing fourth-and-2 at the Oakcrest 13 as the third quarter ended. After the teams switched ends, Jenkins ran for 3 yards to make it first-and-goal at the 10. Jenkins carried on each of the next three plays, the last a 1-yard plunge that barely broke the plane, and junior Alex Hickey’s extra point tied the game 7-7 with 9:40 left.
“We needed to do something to start moving the ball,” said head coach John Tierney, whose offense struggled to move down the field for most of the first three quarters. “The answer was to overload the side and let Jamie run the ball more. Let him take control and add some dashes of R.J. (Clark) and Montrell.”
Oakcrest threatened again later in the fourth, but Pinelands made another stand in the red zone. Starting at their own 43, the Falcons marched to the Wildcats’ 9 before Clark delivered a solid hit on the wide receiver to force an incompletion on fourth-and-3, giving Pinelands the ball with 3:14 to go.
It appeared the Falcons would get the ball back with just over a minute left when the Wildcats lined up to punt from their own 3. Senior Dom Colosi got the punt off quickly, and the Oakcrest returner fumbled it. Hickey pounced on the ball at the 25-yard line.
Pinelands Regional senior defensive lineman Brody Rawa celebrates after registering a sack to help the Wildcats keep Oakcrest out of the end zone in overtime. Photo credit: David Biggy
Pinelands ran two plays, including a kneel-down with 22 seconds left, to send the game to overtime. After winning the coin toss, the Wildcats chose to play defense first.
“That was an easy decision,” Tierney said. “We wanted to know what we had to get to win. If we needed a field goal, that’s what it was going to be. But we had to go out and take it. They weren’t going to give it to us.”
The defense took control immediately. Senior defensive back Anthony Bonds made a tackle in the backfield on the first play, pushing Oakcrest back to the Pinelands 31. At least four Wildcats combined on a sack after quarterback Zane Forest scrambled in the backfield for several seconds, and on third-and-28 from the 40, Rawa sacked Forest at the 43 to force fourth down. Forest’s next pass fell incomplete.
“Defensively, we put everything on our shoulders,” Rawa said. “We rely on everybody and know how to accept accountability, and that’s why we’re good. We live for that kind of pressure, and all we wanted was to get back on that field in overtime and do what we had to do to win the game.”
On its only overtime possession, Pinelands made the huge defensive effort count.
“We had to finish it,” Jenkins said. “The defense rewarded us with so much, we had to reward them in return. We’ve been relying on our defense a lot the past few weeks, so it was nice to do something to reward them. By the time this is all done, we’re going to owe them steak dinners, but at least we’ll owe them a little less after this game.”
On first down from the 25, Jenkins ran to the Oakcrest 17, and Clark added 3 yards for a first down at the 14. Two more Jenkins runs moved the ball to the 9, setting up third-and-5, and he finished off the Falcons on the next play.
“We couldn’t execute much in the first three quarters,” Barongo said. “But much love to our defense, because they kept us in the game and made it a big stop in overtime to give us the chance to go win it. On that last play, I told J-5 to follow my back. The second I blocked my guy, I knew it was going to be a touchdown.”
Jenkins followed Barongo to about the 1-yard line before several Oakcrest defenders hit him. As Jenkins fought for the final yard, a wave of teammates pushed him across the goal line for the biggest win in program history, sending Pinelands to a sectional final for the first time.
“It’s insane. It’s been 49 years or something like that, and we’ve never been where we’re going next week,” Barongo said. “We’ve solidified our legacy, but we don’t want just a legacy. We want to win it all. We want to get the next one and go ahead to the next one, and then get that one, so we can get to a state final. We want to go as long as we can.”
Top-seeded Seneca, a 21-14 winner over fourth-seeded Timber Creek in the other semifinal, will host the sectional final at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13.
“It’s just another week, and the goal is to be 3-0 for this season,” said Tierney, who insists the 9-0 regular season is better left in the past for now. “We have to control Seneca’s quarterback. He’s the closest thing to Tim Tebow we’ll ever see, and he’s really good, so we want to contain him. We want to avoid big plays and make them earn every yard. If we can make them snap the ball a lot, I like our chances.”
