RallyNorth.net

Fri, Oct 27, 2006 07:00 PM @ Gloucester

Team	Final
Swampscott	7
Gloucester	28

Gloucester runs over Big Blue

Monday, August, 27 By Bill Kipouras
Staff writer

GLOUCESTER | If there was any motivation by his Swampscott High football team last night, then head coach Steve Dembowski missed it.

The Big Blue's renowned passing game was just 3 for 16 on the night. On the flip side, Gloucester ran the football seemingly when and wherever they wanted.

On a night when they went down to a 28-7 defeat at the hands of the host Fishermen, there wasn't much joy for the Big Blue on this visit to Cape Ann.

"We never got off the bus," Dembowski, whose team fell to 3-5, lamented. "We were not in the game. It was an uninspired effort. This is a young team and all, but this was our eighth game of the season, and the effort and enthusiasm were lacking."

One of the Swampscott assistant coaches, Greg Beatrice, delighted in the clam chowder served at Newell Stadium, saying he looks forward to it every two years here. However, the Big Blue must have felt like they got cooked as Gloucester's Andrew Fulford ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on just 15 carries to lead the hosts to their sixth win in seven games this fall.

The Fishermen put up 353 yards on the ground and 403 yards of total offense.

"We're fast, tough and we can control the football," said Gloucester coach Paul Ingram, after giving the game ball to defensive end Cam Marston for his fine play last night. "Our offense ate up the clock | and that's what we like to do."Meanwhile, the visitors had nothing to celebrate in this 75th meeting between the two rivals, managing only 161 total yards, including a meager 36 via the ground game.

Of those yards, 90 of those came on a 90-yard touchdown pass from John Cassidy to Brendan Garner with 1:50 remaining. The touchdown was a thing of beauty as Cassidy hit his favorite receiver in stride at his own 45-yard line, and Garner outran the Gloucester defenders en route to the end zone. But as Dembowski pointed out after the game, that touchdown came against the Gloucester backups.

Effectively, the Big Blue were out of it when Mike Burbine hauled in a 27-yard touchdown pass on a leaping catch with two seconds left in the opening half, giving the Fishermen a commanding 21-0 lead at the break. The touchdown came after Swampscott (3-5) failed on a fourth down pass attempt at their own 46, giving the hosts the ball back with 46 seconds until intermission.

"They scored on us right away, and it appeared they wanted it more than we did. Their running backs ran hard, and Gloucester's a big-play team," Dembowski remarked. "They nickel and dimed us pretty well."

Fulford had a 41-yard gain while reversing his field to set up Gloucester's opening touchdown, a 13-yard run by Brian Harnish. Fulford proved to be a going concern all night, as he was relentless driving for more yardage on second and third efforts.

"They embarrassed us last year at their place (28-0). It was a freezing day, and we didn't play Gloucester Football," said Fulford. "We've been thinking about that for a whole year. We were motivated by that embarrassment. We wanted to send a message. We weren't playing around tonight."

Fulford praised the Gloucester linemen | T.J. Marshall, Jake Alves, Mark Peritore and Jamie Brooks | for opening huge holes all night. "The backs don't go anywhere without those guys doing the job," he said.

Gloucester scored twice in the second quarter as a 4-yard run by Fulford and Cam Scola's extra point made it 15-0. Burbine's 27-yard TD catch from Sanborn just before the break gave the hosts a three-touchdown advantage.