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NEC supremacy at stake when Fishermen battle Panthers

Friday, September, 21 By Matt Langone

We know they're good, but tomorrow will help us take a step toward learning exactly how good the Gloucester Fishermen are.

For the first time this season, the Gloucester football team will not have the luxury of playing in front of the hometown faithful at Newell Stadium. The Fishermen will hit the road for a game against Beverly in the always-tough atmosphere of Hurd Stadium.

The Panthers should be the first real test of the season for Gloucester, which is coming off victories of 34-14 over Winthrop and 48-15 over Marblehead last week. Beverly has also looked impressive, despite owning just a 1-1 record. In their season opener, the Panthers knocked off Lynn English 28-13 then narrowly fell to unbeaten Lynn Classical on the road last week, 18-13.

Not impressed with the resume of the Black and Orange? Well, maybe this will help.

The Panthers have won their last two contests with the Fishermen. Last year's game came down to Beverly's stingy defensive line rejecting three straight Gloucester goal line runs to preserve a 20-18 victory for the Panthers. In 2005, the results were uglier for the Fishermen, as they were trounced 33-14 at Hurd.

While the catalyst in those victories was running back Pat Bailey, who has since moved on to college, the Panthers have reloaded with an offense that is led by perhaps the North Shore's most potent ball carrier | Greg Pierce.

Pierce has ran for an astounding 464 yards and five touchdowns through the first two games and will undoubtedly be the focal point of the Gloucester defense.

Nevertheless, the Fishermen are the proud owners of a running game that is collectively just as dominant as Pierce. Senior Andrew Fulford leads the way with 225 yards and six rushing touchdowns. Brian Harnish (112 yards), Anthony Enderle (95 yards) and Luis Hernandez (83 yards) also contribute to a foursome that averages a ridiculous 10.5 yards per carry.

Quarterback Rick Gallant is also a capable option, and he showed that last week. The junior passed for 118 yards and a touchdown on just seven attempts. Meanwhile, the Beverly passing game is virtually nonexistent, accounting for just 16 yards so far. In fact, Pierce has been responsible for 80 percent of his team's offensive production, a stat that speaks volumes of Pierce's talent and how thin the Panther's running back core is.

Conventional wisdom is that more is better. As in: more offensive options, more team speed and more reasons to play a top-notch game. All are things that should sway in Gloucester's favor, as it tries to avenge its last two meetings with the Panthers.

The Fishermen have heard all of the rumors that they are the class of the Northeastern Conference. This weekend would be a good stage to legitimize those rumors.