RallyNorth.net

Gloucester runs past Andover

Friday, September, 18 By David Willis
Staff writer

GLOUCESTER — Following the game, Andover coach John Rex shrugged and summed up his team’s performance.

“We need to tackle,” he said. “We need to get back to tackling.”

The Golden Warriors struggled on defense all night, allowing a whopping 323 yards on the ground and falling behind by 33 points early in the second half on the way to losing to Gloucester 40-21. The game was moved up a day due to Rosh Hashana.

“They (Andover) have a good all-around team,” said Fishermen running back Conor Ressel. “They played us hard, but I think we had a good game plan against them in the end.”

Ressel was a thorn in Andover’s side all night. The 200-pound senior rushed for 193 yards on just 17 carries, including four touchdowns — three in the first half. He also threw a 31-yard completion on a halfback option.

Gloucester scored on four of its six first-half possessions, and added touchdowns on two of its four second-half drives. The Warriors never forced a punt, with two Gloucester drives halted with fumble recoveries — one by Ned Deane and the other by Ben Cook — and the others at the end of the half and game.

“That is one heck of a football team,” said Rex. “They hit hard and I hoped we’d match their physicality early on, and for a little while we did, but we couldn’t keep up.”

The Andover offense struggled mightily in the first half, held to negative-12 yards on the ground before halftime.

The Golden Warriors did show some life in the second half. Nick Enxing, who had just 8 yards in the first half, tallied 61 on the ground after the break including a 55-yard touchdown scamper and a 10-yard score.

After a tough opening week that saw him throw for just 39 yards, Andover quarterback John Hennessy completed 15 of 31 passes for 184 yards, but two interceptions. His favorite target was senior receiver Jimmy Johnson, who caught four passes for a career-best 77 yards.

Hennessy also rushed for 50 yards and the team’s first touchdown on six carries in the second half after being sacked three times in the first half, accounting for negative-20 yards. He also led the team in tackles with eight and blocked an extra point. Craig Hourning added seven tackles and Enxing had five.

“I think we need to get back to the basics,” said Rex. “We need to work on catching the ball and running with the ball so we don’t have the dropped passes we’ve been having.”