Gillette a sharp Andover option
ANDOVER — Any time a high school team sustains a season-ending injury to a player the caliber of wide receiver Dan Gemmell, the natural tendency is to expect a reduction in offensive efficiency.
Cedric Gillette made sure the Andover offense marched along without skipping a beat when Gemmell went down last season.
Gillette stepped into the role as the go-to receiver in Week 5 and responded by catching 54 catches for 857 yards and nine touchdowns over the final seven games. The high-water mark came in his team’s wild 54-48 overtime win over Lexington in a Division 1 North quarterfinal as Gillette caught 11 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns.
“I had to change my game when Dan went out,” said Gillette, who finished the season with 86 catches for 1,150 yards and 14 touchdowns. “Dan was the deep threat and I was the slot guy (to start). With Dan not there, I had to become more of the deep threat and I started getting more passes down the field.”
Andover coach E.J. Perry felt confident if any player on the Andover roster had the ability to pick up the slack, it was Gillette. “He became the No.1 receiver and just took it in stride,” Perry said. “The Lexington game showed his will; he has an iron mentality. I’ve really enjoyed coaching Cedric; he’s done a great job for us.”
Gillette is expected to take on a larger role this fall. Record-setting quarterback Perry is at Boston College, while Gemmell is preparing for his first season at Brown University.
“I think I am going to have to become more of a playmaker, the guy my team is looking at to make plays,” Gillette said. “(New quarterback) Nick Dellatto would have started for a lot of teams, so I’m not worried about that because he can play.”
This is going to be Gillette’s last year on the gridiron as he recently committed to playing baseball at Merrimack College. The thought of giving up his senior season of football to devote full-time focus on baseball never crossed his mind for a moment,
“I’m just a competitor,” he said. “I could never go three months without competing. I have to get my competitive edge going. The other sports help each other. Baseball has a lot of same movements as football, basketball helps with endurance and football requires both.”