VINELAND - The Absegami High School football team played angry on Friday.
The Braves were upset with how they played last week in a loss to Atlantic City that put them below .500 coming into the fourth week of the season.
"We were thinking about that loss all week and we just couldn't take it," sophomore running back David Hood said.
Vineland turned out to be the victim of Absegami's frustration.
Four different Braves found the end zone in the second quarter alone as Absegami cruised to a 42-6 win.
"We were embarrassed by the way we played last week so we went out and practiced hard and got after it all week," Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi Jr. said.
The Braves got after it on Friday, too.
Hood's 32-yard touchdown run on his first touch of the game was the first of six Absegami touchdowns in the first half.
The teams played the entire second half on a running clock with Absegami leading 42-0 at halftime.
It was apparent things were going the visiting team's way midway through the second quarter.
Scuderi chose to make the Fighting Clan retake a punt after a penalty instead of settling for the resulting field position.
Good choice.
Kevin Duncan broke into Vineland's backfield and got a hand on the punt. The ball landed in Sampson Jenkins' eager arms inside Vineland's 5-yard line.
"He got in and smacked the ball down," Jenkins said. "I just caught it in the air and ran it in for the touchdown.
"We came ready. We came fired up. We wanted to dominate this team. We came out with intensity and gave it everything we've got. We worked hard Monday through Thursday and this is what happens when you work hard."
Jenkins' score and the ensuing extra point by Nick DellaVecchia (who was a perfect 6-for-6 on Friday) put Absegami ahead 35-0.
Tyler Bing capped off the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown, his second of the game, with 49.1 seconds left in the half.
Hood, whose older brother, who is also named David, is a redshirt freshman at the University of Maine, made the most of his carries on Friday.
Hood only carried the ball four times but finished with 95 yards and a touchdown.
"I felt like I needed to make a statement," said Hood, who is only a sophomore. "The first time I touched the ball I had to get in the end zone to show that I'm still here.
"I was just trying to show that I've got speed and that I can be one of the top running backs in this league."
Absegami forced five turnovers. The Braves threw just three times. Vineland had 14 plays result in negative yardage.
Absegami quarterback Rashad Kinlaw ran for 61 yards and a touchdown on nine carries before sitting out the second half.
Vineland freshman running back Isaiah Spencer scored his fifth touchdown of the season in the fourth quarter as the Fighting Clan narrowly avoided being shut out.
Contact John O'Kane:
609-272-7210
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
A-Hood 32 run (DellaVecchia kick)
A-Bing 3 run (DellaVecchia kick)
SECOND QUARTER
A-Kinlaw 14 run (DellaVecchia kick)
A-Cottman 5 run (DellaVecchia kick)
A-Punt block return (DellaVecchia kick)
A-Bing 30 run (DellaVecchia kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
V-Spencer 30 run (kick failed)
TEAM STATS A V
Rushing 259 107
Passing 2 53
First downs 15 5
Penalties 4-40 2-25
Turnovers 2 5
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing - Absegami-Hood 4-95, Kinlaw 9-61, Bing 4-38, Cottman 4-28, Dolan 9-24, Hubbard 4-9, Sanz 3-5, Jenkins 3-2, Prince 1-(-3). Vineland-Spencer 3-49, Clark 9-26, Nelson 3-17, Morgan 2-9, Rankin 5-8, Rodriguez 1-(-2).
Passing - Absegami-Kinlaw 1-3-2-0; Vineland-Clark 3-6-53-0.
Receiving - Absegami Hood 1-2; Vineland-Douglas 2-44, Bryant 1-9.
Records - Absegami 2-2; Vineland 2-2.
