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Fulford scores five touchdowns as Gloucester advances to the Super Bowl

Tuesday, November, 27 By Richard Slate
Staff writer

LOWELL | In their wildest dreams, the Gloucester Fishermen probably never thought it would be this easy. Behind senior running back Andrew Fulford (117 yards, 5 touchdowns), senior defensive lineman Anthony Enderle (5 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks) and some dominant offensive line play, the Fishermen (12-0) thoroughly beat Masconomet (10-2), 39-0 at Cawley Stadium in Lowell and now advance to the Division 2A Super Bowl, Saturday at Gillette Stadium against Hingham (10-7 winners over Seekonk).

"Getting off to a good start was an important part. In past years when you score first or score quickly it's the kiss of death. We just kept the pressure on," said Gloucester head coach Paul Ingram.

The top four Gloucester running backs (Fulford, Enderle, Brian Harnish and Taylor Burbine) averaged 12.8 yards a carry on 25 carries for an amazing 319 yards.

Fulford and Enderle particularly were unstoppable from the opening whistle against the Chieftains. On the first play of the game, Fulford took the opening kick 81 yards to the Masconomet 9-yard line. Three plays later, he punched it in from six yards out to put the Fishermen up 6-0.

"That return was huge," said Gloucester senior lineman/linebacker Adam Quinn. "That just set the tone right off the bat for the whole game."

On Masconomet's first possession, Enderle sacked Chieftains sophomore quarterback Chris Splinter on third-and-4 to force a punt. Things went from bad to worse as Masconomet snapped the ball over the punter's head and Gloucester took over at the Chieftains 22-yard line.

The ensuing Gloucester drive seemed to stall when the Fishermen faced a third-and-24 but quarterback Rick Gallant hit tight end Cam Marston on a 28-yard pass which turned out to be a key play. Following that, Fulford scored on a 7-yard run to put Gloucester up 12-0.

"Cam is like our Randy Moss, you throw it to him and he just goes up there and gets it," Fulford exclaimed. "He's a basketball player so he can really get up there." The Chieftains failed to record a first down until there was 1:30 left in the second quarter. By that time, Gloucester was up 24-0 thanks to two more Fulford scoring runs (6 yards and 5 yards).

The teams traded interceptions as Burbine picked off Splinter and then Splinter returned the favor to Fishermen quarterback Rick Gallant.

It was 24-0 Gloucester at halftime and the result seemed to be a forgone conclusion by then.

"We didn't play with the same aggressiveness that we've been known to play with and we weren't getting to the ball (on defense)," acknowledged Masconomet coach Jim Pugh. "They outschemed us, they had an extra man blocking it seemed and they got to the corner (on rushing plays). When Fulford gets to the corner, he's tough to bring down. They all are."

The Chieftains punted after its first drive of the second half and from there, Fulford added his fifth touchdown from 15 yards out. The successful two-point conversion was an illustration how almost everything went Gloucester's way: Gallant's pass was tipped at the line but his own lineman Quinn caught the ball and ran in.

The final score was provided by Burbine, who sprinted 43 yards to make it 38-0.

Afterwards, Quinn singled out the stellar play of the teammates he blocks for. "We have a lot of depth with our running backs. They're shifty, they can find a hole if we don't make one." Asked how the offensive line was able to get such a big push, he responded, "we just get fired up for every single play because we get to hit somebody." Fulford returned the plaudits to his linemen. "I say it all the time, they open up the holes, anyone can run through them. We never gave them a chance, we never let up on the gas once when we got up early."

Gillette Stadium, home to the New England Patriots, will host another unbeaten team on Saturday as Gloucester looks to cap off its perfect season with a Super Bowl win vs. the Hingham Harbormen.

"Playing where the Patriots play, it's going to be quite the feeling," admitted Gallant. "We're going to be really amped up."

Additional stories:

• Playoff football notebook: Masconomet hopes are bright for the future