Gloucester seals it on goal-line stand
After allowing 20 unanswered points in the second half, Gloucester’s defense rose up and held strong on a critical goal-line stand that prevented Northeast from converting a 2-point conversion for the go-ahead score.
The play enabled the Fishermen (3-5) to hang on for a 21-20 nonconference victory over their Commonwealth hosts on Saturday in Wakefield.
“[It was] 100 percent execution on the kids’ part,” said Gloucester coach Dan O’Connor. “[We were] fortunate to call the right blitz and they ran the play we thought they were going to run right into the blitz, and the kids made the play.”
Seniors Frank DeSisto and Caleb DeCoste scored on a pair of 1-yard TD plunges and senior Nick Carey found classmate Nick Koros on a 34-yard TD pass with a minute to go in the first half to lead the Fishermen (3-5), but the offense went cold in the second half.
“Our offensive line blocked incredibly and our runners ran downhill and picked up a ton of yards with what their defense was giving us,” O’Connor said.
Senior CJ Moriconi ran in a 10-yard score to start the comeback for the Knights (2-6). Junior Chris Zullo ran in a 2-yard touchdown, then found senior Kristian Cooke to put Northeast within a point.
O’Connor said it was the “maturity” of the Fishermen squad that kept pushing to hold on.
“A lot of seniors out there. A lot of juniors who have played a lot of football,” he said. “They were able to keep their composure and make plays when needed.”
Junior Michael Toppan (one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries) and senior Christian Howell were key parts of the offensive and defensive lines that helped keep the Fishermen afloat.
“I was proud of the kids,” O’Connor said. “The main part is you feel good for them to make that stop and for the kids to win a close game, which is something we haven’t done in the last couple of years.”
BB&N 14, Belmont Hill 0 — Sophomore Bo Maccormack (Westford) was dominant, rushing for 210 yards and a touchdown on 41 carries for BB&N (3-3) in the Independent School League win.
Brockton 48, Durfee 0 — Mauricio Powell took over for the Boxers (7-1), rushing for touchdowns of 42, 70, and 89 yards in the Southeast Conference win.
Central Catholic 35, Barnstable 8 — Blake Hebert tossed three touchdown passes and Markys Bridgewater and Mathias Latham each rushed for a score for the Raiders (6-2) in the nonleague victory.
Dexter Southfield 38, Greenwich (Conn.) 20 — Joe McCauley threw for 262 yards and three TDs, twice connecting with Darius Day on scoring tosses of 70 and 60 yards, to spark visiting Dexter Southfield (5-1). Quinn Carver carried 20 times for 190 yards and scored on a 3-yard run.
Martha’s Vineyard 14, Nantucket 13 — Quarterback TJ Lett ran for a pair of short touchdowns as the Vineyarders (2-6) claimed the Island Cup in a battle of first-year coaches and previously winless teams. Kareem Maxwell ran for a 22-yard touchdown for Nantucket (0-7), but his 78-yard run to take the lead was called back by a block-in-theback penalty.
Nobles 48, St. Mark’s 13 — Chris Capone rushed for touchdowns of 20 and 5 yards and Will Chiasson caught a 30yard touchdown and fired a 15-yard scoring pass for the Bulldogs (4-2) in the Independent School League win.
North Reading 54, Hamilton-Wenham 16— Will Batten rushed for a trio of first-quarter touchdowns and Ryan McGuire took back punt returns 52 and 55 yards for scores and reeled in a 29yard touchdown pass to help the Hornets (7-1) race out to a 54-point lead at halftime in the Cape Ann League win.
Wellesley 28, Braintree 7 — Xavier Ferrara reeled in a pair of touchdown passes from his twin brother, Vincent, and Tom Burton and Jake Parker each rushed for a touchdown for the Raiders (6-2) in the Bay State Conference victory.