Team determined to show 2025 season was no fluke
ERMA — Jose Ramos provided a good omen for the Caper Tigers to start the football season Aug. 27.
On the opening kickoff at Lower Cape May Regional High School’s home field, Ramos received the ball around the 15-yard line, got blockers ahead of him and ran untouched to the end zone.
Just like that, on a breezy but hot and humid Thursday evening, the Caper Tigers were up 7-0 before their home crowd.
They went on to win 28-7, giving up a lone Cinnaminson touchdown with less than two minutes left after getting a lot of subs into the game.
Ramos credited special teams coach Paul Baruffi and his blockers.
“Coach Baruffi drew it up,” Ramos said of the play. “My big boys were blocking well, I saw a gap and I thought, ‘I’m out.’”
His hopes for the season include making it back to the playoffs and to show that the Caper Tigers’ successful 2025 season “wasn’t a fluke.”
Last season, LCMR won its first-round playoff game 34-13 against Gloucester but fell 28-13 in the semifinal round to No. 1 seed Haddonfield in the South Jersey Group II playoffs. Haddonfield went on to win the South Jersey title.
The Caper Tigers finished the season with an 8-3 record, losing in the regular season only to Gloucester and Cedar Creek while posting wins over Pinelands, Middle Township, Absegami, St. Joseph of Hammonton, Cumberland and Oakcrest.
Large parts of the opening game were defensive slogs, with both teams fighting for yardage. On the drives that were stopped before the end zone, the Caper Tigers were consistently able to gain at least some ground. They got within the 20 once but were forced back with a penalty, something they’ll be working on in practice before their next game.
The Pirates had a much harder time with its drives, frequently ending with negative yardage because of LCMR’s stifling defense. LCMR senior Jadon Henry was a particular menace, regularly getting into the backfield to deliver big hits for losses on the quarterback.
Cinnaminson finished with 108 yards rushing, but about 70 of that came in a final breakaway TD sprint by Jahvon Johnson. The visitors finished with only 22 yards passing, given the pressure on the quarterback and good defense in the secondary.
On LCMR’s second scoring drive, junior Cooper Milligan picked up the big yardage on the ground before quarterback David Douglas handed off to fellow senior Ryan Mallon, who ran in to make it 14-0 after Britton Walls’ point-after kick.
Cooper Milligan, Ashton Ray and sophomore Connor Milligan added to the ground game before Douglas ran into the end zone on a quarterback keeper to make it 21-0.
On the final scoring drive on the ground, Mallon went up the middle in traffic before diving into the end zone while wrapped up by Cinnaminson tacklers.
“You know, we lost our home opener last year. We got punched in the mouth by Gloucester City,” head coach Billy Damiana said. “So having a home opener this year with a victory, regardless of how it was, is fantastic, right?
“We’re trying to build that culture where winning is expected, not a surprise. I felt like the emotion was high in the beginning, and then things were not going as smoothly, so kids had to get more focus and stay engaged in the game,” he added. “But a win is a win and we’re happy about that because last year we got punched in the mouth and a bit of embarrassed on the home opener.”
Damiana credited Baruffi and the work the team did over the summer with the kickoff return touchdown to start the game.
“Paul Buffi, our special teams coordinator, does a great job. We spent a lot of time on special teams throughout the week and in camp. Even in the middle of July, when everybody’s focusing on offensive sets, defensive sets and trying to adjust certain looks, we’re practicing special teams,” Damiana said. “Credit to him and credit to the kids for staying focused during those periods.”
The coach was happy with the Caper Tigers’ defensive play, crediting it in part to a non-league scrimmage a week prior.
“There was some leakage, which is going to happen, right? But for the most part, we shut down what we wanted to shut down,” he said. “The kids played very physical, which is what I was really happy about. That’s stemming off of our scrimmage with St. Joe’s last week, who’s a lot different than the St. Joe’s team last year, and they came out and punched us in the mouth a little bit in that scrimmage and we had to match for physicality and it carried over tonight, especially defensively.”
Damiana expects every player on the team to show leadership this season and hopes his seniors can collectively add their experience in what they’ve had to face over the past few years.
“This senior class has been through a lot,” he said, “so we’re hoping that all of them can be leaders as a collective, not just the four guys that go out for the coin toss.”
The Caper Tigers next host Egg Harbor Township at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3.
Damiana said the team has some work to do in practice on a few aspects, including the penalties he attributed to young players getting their first action in the opener, and some sloppiness on offense.
“We have to get it cleaned up because we have a big one,” he said. “We have to do the same thing that we’ve been doing — laser focus, attention to detail and just get better every day.”
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Cape May Star and Wave
