OCHS Teams of the Century

Kevin Sinclair, Jack Neall
Raider Football Players of the Century!



By TOM WILLIAMS
Gazette Staff Writer

Ocean City High School had a football team for 83 seasons in the 20th Century. There were very successful teams in every decade, led by literally hundreds of good players and guided by a handful of talented coaches.

But the time has come to select the All-Century team as part of the Gazette’s sport-by-sport review. As in most other sports, it was decided not to select a player at more than one position, though some could have qualified. So, with a thorough check of the records and the help of a number of people, here we go.

Kevin Sinclair is clearly the school’s Offensive Player of the Century. He holds or shares 25 school records and most of them should hold up for quite a while.

The Defensive Player is Jack Neall, a hard-hitting linebacker from the mid-60s, who was the best of a group of players who turned Raider football fortunes around.

Joining Sinclair on the offensive team are five running backs from different eras – Charles Adelizzi from the late 1920s, his brother Romeo Adelizzi from the early 30s, Andy Jernee from the late 40s, Mike Linahan from the mid 70s and Austin Martin from the late 90s. Some are powerful, some are quick, but they all had outstanding careers.

The quarterbacks are Bob Glaspey, a teammate of Neall’s, and two tremendous QBs from the 90s, Matt LeFever and Al Genz.

The wide receivers are Frank Sannino from the 70s, brothers Rick and Scott Lipford from the 90s and Ryan Taylor, who just graduated. The tight ends are George Karayiannis and Matt Chila from the 90s. And the end is Dick Ely from 1950, when the position had different requirements.

The offensive line includes Olaf Drozdov and Tony Dattilo from the 30s, Bill Ewing from the late 40s, Tom Oves from the end of the 40s, Bill Keele and Kevin Murphy from the 70s, Fritz Ferrell from the 80s and Dennis Singleton and Bryan DiDonato from the 90s.

Neall leads a defense that includes seven other linebackers – Frank Stedem from the 30s, Len Foglio from the 40s, Mario Conti and Mike Baldini from the 70s, Frank Sayers from the 80s and Doug Colman and Greg LeFever from the 90s.

The defensive backs are John LePore from the 20s, Joe Avis from the 40s, Jack Davis from the 50s, Joe Myers from the 70s, David Miller from the 80s and Josh Baker and Ray Rogers from the 90s.

On the defensive line we find John Carey from the 20s, Reg Ewan and Archie Harris from the 30s, Al Whiteside from the 50s, George Savitsky from the 70s, John Murphy, Trip Snyder and Chris Gunnels from the 80s, and Pete Simon and Ernie Nelson from the 90s.

Our special teams are pretty talented, too. The place kicker is Matt Daher and the punter is Tim Chatburn. The kick returners are Fenton Carey from the 30s, Walt Buckholtz from the end of the 40s, Don Tarves from the 50s and John Henry from the 60s.

Raider teams boasted the successful coaching of Dick Guest in the 30s, Wilbur Clark in the 40s, Fenton Carey in the 40s and 50s, John Cervino in the 60s, Mike Slaveski in the 70s and Ed Woolley in the 80s, just to name a half-dozen. But the OCHS Coach of the Century is Gary Degenhardt, who finished the century with the greatest run of success in school history. His teams have appeared in four South Jersey finals in the last five years, winning three. They’ve won the only five American Conference championships the Raiders have won. And he has won more games than any other OCHS football coach.

The Team of the Century – the best of all the great teams – is the 1996 team. This club was 11-0 and won the South Jersey Group 4 championship, the only time Ocean City has ever competed in the largest of the NJSIAA groups. They won their eleven games by an average of over 30 points, were ranked No. 1 in South Jersey, No. 3 in the state and No. 8 in the East. At least one prominent writer for a daily newspaper thought it might have been the best team in South Jersey history. The team featured eight members of our All-Century team – seniors Scott Lipford, Dennis Singleton, Matt LeFever, Kevin Sinclair and Greg LeFever; junior Pete Simon; and sophomores Austin Martin and Ray Rogers.

It is tough to compare athletes from eras sometimes 70 years apart with different styles and requirements. And it was quite a century for high school football in Ocean City. It took more than the 56 players on our All-Century Team to make it happen. But they were the best of the best.


All-Century OCHS Football

Offense
QB	Bob Glaspey (1967)
QB	Matt LeFever (1996)
QB	Al Genz (1999)
RB	Charles Adelizzi (1929)
RB	Romeo Adelizzi (1932)
RB	Andy Jernee (1950)
RB	Mike Linahan (1975)
RB	Kevin Sinclair (1996)
RB	Austin Martin (1998)
WR	Frank Sannino (1972)
WR	Rick Lipford (1993)
WR	Scott Lipford (1996)
WR	Ryan Taylor (2000)
TE	George Karayiannis (1990)
TE	Matt Chila (1999)
E	Dick Ely (1950)
L	Olaf Drozdov (1931)
L	Tony Dattilo (1932)
L	Bill Ewing (1948)
L	Tom Oves (1950)
L	Bill Keele (1972)
L	Kevin Murphy (1979)
L	Fritz Ferrell (1984)
L	Dennis Singleton (1996)
L	Bryan DiDonato (1998)


Defense
DB	John LePore (1929)
DB	Joe Avis (1948)
DB	Jack Davis (1959)
DB	Joe Myers (1976)
DB	David Miller (1984)
DB	Josh Baker (1994)
DB	Ray Rogers (1998)
LB	Frank Stedem (1931)
LB	Len Foglio (1947)
LB	Jack Neall (1967)
LB	Mario Conti (1970)
LB	Mike Baldini (1972)
LB	Frank Sayers (1984)
LB	Doug Colman (1990)
LB	Greg LeFever (1996)
L	John Carey (1929)
L	Reg Ewan (1932)
L	Archie Harris (1936)
L	Al Whiteside (1959)
L	George Savitsky (1972)
L	John Murphy (1984)
L	Trip Snyder (1984)
L	Chris Gunnels (1985)
L	Pete Simon (1997)
L	Ernie Nelson (1998)


Special Teams
PK	Matt Daher (1995)
Pu	Tim Chatburn (1976)
KR	Fenton Carey (1931)
KR	Walt Buckholtz (1950)
KR	Don Tarves (1959)
KR	John Henry (1966)


Coach: Gary Degenhardt (1991-2000)



The 1996 team - Best of the Century
OFFENSE
WR 12-Scott Lipford (6-0,155,Sr)
TE 89-Mike Pfaff (5-10,185,Sr)
LT 78-Dennis Singleton (6-2,265,Sr)
LG 51-Bill Carew (5-11,185,Sr)
CE 54-Brendon Gheen (5-9,215,Sr)
RG 67-Josh Case (6-0,210,Sr)
RT 75-Nick Bailey (6-3,220,Sr)
QB 15-Matt LeFever (6-1,200,Sr)
FB 43-Kevin Sinclair (5-9,185,Sr)
HB 34-Austin Martin (5-10,175,So)
HB 42-Mel Finch (5-9,160,Jr)
PK 20-Mike Pond (5-9,150,Sr)
DEFENSE
DE 75-Nick Bailey (6-3,220,Sr)
DT 52-Pete Simon (5-9,185,Jr)
DT 74-Dan Siteman (6-3,250,Sr)
DE 78-Dennis Singleton (6-2,265,Sr)
LB 46-Greg LeFever (6-1,210,Sr)
LB 89-Mike Pfaff (5-10,185,Sr)
LB 30-Brian Comeforo (5-10,150,Jr)
LB 43-Kevin Sinclair (5-9,185,Sr)
HB 12-Rob Warren rd (6-0,155,Sr)
HB  6-Ray Rogers (6-0,160,So)
SA 34-Austin Martin (5-10,175,So)
PU 46-Greg LeFever (6-1,210,Sr)
Coach Gary Degenhardt



Championship Teams
South Jersey playoff titles: 1999, 1998, 1996, 1984
South Jersey titles: 1949, 1948, 1945, 1932
CAL-American titles: 2000, 1998, 1996, 1994, 1992 
CAL-National titles: 1975, 1972, 1967, 1962, 1957, 1956, 1951, 1950, 1949



All-Time Coaches Records (thru 2000)
Gary Degenhardt (10 years)	76-29		.724
Wayne Colman (2)			11-7-1		.611
Tony Galante (4)			18-19		.486
Ed Woolley (9)			47-34-1	.580
Mike Slaveski (7)			36-26-1	.581
John Cervino (4)			20-14-1	.588
Andy Prohaska (4)			13-19-3	.406
Fred Haack (3)			14-11-2	.560
Fenton Carey (10)			61-26-2	.701
Ed Cardner (1)			5-2-1		.714
Wilbur Clark (4)			18-4-1		.818
Elmer Jones (1)			0-4-1		.000
John Carey (1)			3-3-2		.500
Roy Bloomingdale (3)		10-14-1	.417
Ned Wilcox (3)			11-12-3	.478
Von Henroid (3)			18-8-1		.692
Dick Guest (3)			23-5-1		.821
Ralph Evans (3)			15-10-3	.600
Fred Hedelt (3)			8-11-7		.421
Ewing Corson (3)			3-2-1		.600
Bill Lynch (1)			0-3		.000