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Gloucester Fishermen Football '08

Fri, Sep 19, 2008 07:00 PM @ Gloucester
Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Masconomet 0 7 0 6 13
Gloucester 0 7 7 6 20
Desi Smith, Staff PhotographerMore photos

Fishermen turn to passing game to put away Masco

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Monday, September, 22 By Matt Langone
Sports editor

GLOUCESTER - There's two ways to look at the Gloucester High School football team's 20-13 victory over Masconomet on Friday night.

On the one hand, upcoming opponents of the Fishermen may use footage of Friday night's game as proof that Gloucester may not be quite the juggernaut it was last year during its 13-0, Super Bowl championship season. The Fishermen were in an absolute battle with winless Masco (0-3) and held just a 14-13 lead with 10 minutes left in the contest. A far cry from 10 months ago, when the Fishermen steamrolled the Chieftains, 39-0, in the Division 2A semifinals.

On the other hand, Gloucester is still 2-0 on the season and riding a 16-game winning streak, dating back to November of 2006. And the scary thing for upcoming Gloucester opponents is that a new Fishermen weapon was unleashed on Friday night - a more-than-capable passing game.

Senior quarterback Rick Gallant was 7 of 15 for 177 yards against Masco, and was the North Shore's leading QB this past weekend. It's a pretty formidable complimentary attack considering how potent Gloucester's rushing game is on a weekly basis. Friday night was just another 235-yard performance by the Gloucester running backs, led by junior Conor Ressel's 92 yards and three TDs.

But now, teams hoping to stack the box and try to contain Gloucester's run-oriented offense just got something new to think about.

"Gallant made some big passes for them, and that didn't surprise us," said Masco head coach Jim Pugh. "He made some plays against us last year in the playoffs. The kid can really throw the ball.

"(Gloucester) has a great passing game. Sometimes they just don't need it."

Despite the fact that the Fishermen were indeed chewing up yards on the ground, they had trouble finishing drives. Gloucester went the final 10 minutes of the second quarter without scoring and continued that trend until Ressel scored with eight seconds left in the third quarter. The score was 7-7 at the half.

To help break up the tone of the game, Gloucester head coach Paul Ingram turned to his passing game, and Gallant responded. His 34-yard pass to Taylor Burbine midway through the fourth quarter helped set up the score that put Gloucester up 20-13. Earlier in the game, he threw a perfect 60-yard bomb to senior Dylan Maki.

"We had to throw the ball and we were able to do it," said Ingram, whose team attempted just three passes in the season opener against Winthrop. "Ricky played very well. He throws a great ball but you still have to complete the passes. The kids were open and he hit them."  

Gallant won the head-to-head matchup with Masco quarterback Chris Splinter, who came into the contest with the reputation as an equally dangerous passer and runner.

Splinter certainly made his share of terrific plays, including a 52-yard touchdown pass with 10:02 left, which cut Masco's deficit to 14-13. The junior finished the contest 9 of 17 for 127 yards and two interceptions. Ross Carlson picked off Splinter with 2:28 left in the game to end Masco's bid to tie the contest.

After the game, Ingram praised Masco's signal-caller.

"With Splinter you never can relax," Ingram said. "The kid makes things happen and he throws a nice ball too."

Only time will tell if Gloucester will continue to open up the passing game. But make no mistake, opponents will have to game plan for it.

"This game will certainly help us with our confidence in the passing game," said Ingram.

Matt Langone is the sports editor at The Gloucester Daily Times. Contact him at mlangone@gloucestertimes.com.

Game Statistics:

Second Quarter

G- Conor Ressel 3 run (Giacomo Romeo kick)

M- Kevin Anderson 15 pass from Evan Bunker (Nick Salvo)

Third Quarter

G- Ressel 4 run (Romeo kick)

Fourth Quarter

M- Anderson 52 pass from Chris Splinter (kick missed)

G- Ressel 1 run (kick missed)


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING: M — Evan Bunker 12-37, Chris Splinter 4-40, Clay Cleveland 1-1; G — Conor Ressel 16-92, Ross Carlson 5-78, Taylor Burbine 6-46, Luis Hernandez 8-11, Giacomo Romeo 5-8, Rick Gallant 1-0.

PASSING: M — Splinter 9-17-127-1-2, Bunker 1-1-15-1-0; G — Gallant 7-15-177-0-0, Burbine 0-1-0-0-1.

RECEIVING: M — Kevin Anderson 4-84, Mike Hutchinson 3-43, Kurt Hunziker 1-8, Clay Cleveland 1-5, Steve Sylvia 1-2; G — Burbine 3-77, Dylan Maki 2-68, Chris Unis 1-26, Romeo 1-6.

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