RallyNorth.net

Sun, Sep 28, 2008 06:00 PM @ Gloucester

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Beverly	0	0	0	0	0
Gloucester	14	7	14	0	35

Panthers Shut Down

Monday, September, 29 By Nick Curcuru
Staff writer

GLOUCESTER - Gloucester head football coach Paul Ingram wanted his team to get an advantage early in yesterday's game with Beverly. With both teams coming into the game at 2-0, Ingram wanted to seize the momentum early and hope it carried throughout the game.

Well it was pretty safe to say that Ingram got just what he wanted, as Gloucester opened up the game forcing the Beverly offense into a three and out, and then got a 53 yard punt return touchdown from Conor Ressel just one and a half minutes into the game to give the Fishermen a 7-0 lead. Gloucester would seize that momentum and take over the game from there en route a 35-0 win over the Panthers at Newell Stadium.

"Getting the stop and the punt return early was huge," Ingram said. "We got the momentum and we really took off and played a great game."

Gloucester (3-0) did not stop their offensive explosion with the big punt return. After forcing another three and out on their next drive, the Fishermen went 45 yards in five plays capped off by a Ross Carlson 10 yard touchdown to make it 14-0 Fishermen, where it stood after one quarter.

Luis Hernandez would add a ten yard touchdown run in the second quarter to make it 21-0, where it stood at the half. The senior tailback looked to be stopped at the five yard line, but kept his legs moving and dragged three defenders into the end zone with him.

Gloucester would add to their lead with two third quarter touchdowns. Ressel made it 28-0 with a two yard plunge, and Sophomore half back Gilbert Brown gave the Fishermen their last score of the game with a

Beverly (2-1) had a lot of trouble dealing with the sloppy field conditions in the game. The Panthers fumbled the ball five times, losing one, and quarterback Mark Hannable was sacked seven times. Mark Alves and Brett Cahill lead the pass rush with 2 and 1.5 sacks respectively. Panthers head coach Dan Bauer down played the field conditions, saying that the team's inexperience in the spread offense gave them trouble against a relentless Gloucester defense.

"Both teams had to deal with the field conditions," Bauer said. "This was just out third game in the spread offense, and Gloucester sent an extra guy at us every down. We will adjust and put this game behind us."

Ingram, on the other hand, thought the field conditions would affect the Panthers. Ingram said the game plan was to get at the quarterback and shut down half back Rashad Simms. The Fishermen did both, holding Simms to just 29 yards on 11 carries.

"We had a great defensive game plan," Ingram said. "In the spread offense it takes a while to pass block, so we sent guys at them from everywhere. And after you are successful with the pass rush, the quarterback has to worry about it all game and he isn't successful."

The Fishermen, however, were plagued by penalties for the second week in a row. Gloucester committed seven penalties for 75 yards.

"Those penalties killed us," Ingram said. "That is an area that we need to improve going forward."

Carlson lead the Fishermen offense with 115 yards on eight carries. The senior also added an interception on defense and was lauded by Ingram for his play.

"Ross played a great game and made a lot of plays for us," Ingram said. "The line played great too, they opened up some big holes. Overall is was a great game for us in every aspect."

Bauer also credited the Fishermen for their play, and was also confident that his team will bounce back.

"Gloucester is a great team, and they got the best of us tonight," Bauer said. "But I love my team. We have a lot of good players and we will bounce back."