Duxbury passes Gloucester silly to win Division 2A Super Bowl

FOXBOROUGH – The tone for the Division 2A Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium was set on the game’s first snap: A play-action pass by Duxbury quarterback Sean Cross.With Iowa-bound running back Shane DiBona in the backfield and having the attention of the Gloucester defense, the fake worked and Cross threw a 69 yard touchdown pass to give the Dragons the lead and start an offensive display not seen in a long time in the Super Bowl.By the time he was done dissecting the Gloucester defense, Cross had completed 14-of-24 passes for 340 yards and four touchdowns as the Dragons completed a 13-0 season in style with a 46-26 dismantling of the defending 2A champion Fishermen.”Sean threw for 340 and he put the ball on the money every time,” Duxbury coach Dave Maimaron said. “It was just a fantastic performance.”The Fishermen (11-2) never could find an answer for Cross’ aerial assault despite the fact that they twice had the chance to take the lead in the third quarter following Duxbury turnovers in a 25-20 contest.It was those missed chances, coupled with the performance from Cross, that Gloucester coach Paul Ingram saw as the game’s turning point.”We had so many opportunities and didn’t convert,” Ingram said. “We just made it too easy for them ? But that’s a special team over there ? We missed our chances and you can’t do that against a team like that.”Following the Cross to Whitney lightning bolt that began the game, the Fishermen nearly delivered on of their own when Taylor Burbine fielded Ben Startzell’s kickoff at the one and returned it 78 yards to the Dragon 20 yard line.Five plays later, Burbine swept around left end and scored from two yards out to tie the game at 7-7 following Giacomo Romeo’s extra point.The game stayed tied at 7-7 until the final seconds of the second quarter when a 50 yard field goal attempt from Startzell was blocked. A heads up Dylan Maki grabbed the ball for Gloucester and returned it to the Duxbury 29.That play proved to be huge when Ross Carlson went 24 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to give Gloucester a 14-7 lead.But that gap didn’t last long as Cross went back to the long ball on Duxbury’s next possession. After a pair of DiBona runs, Cross launched a bomb down the right sideline for Hakeem Lecky, who outjumped Burbine and took it into the endzone for a 61 yard strike that tied the game.The Dragons then forced a Connor Ressel fumble on Gloucester’s next possession but came away empty handed when Startzell’s 51 yard field goal try came up well short. But the Duxbury defense held on the following possession, giving the ball back to Cross and company on the Gloucester 40 with 1:50 left in the half.Cross hit Bobby Murray for 12 and then Lecky for 13 to put the ball on the Gloucester 18. Two plays later, Cross slipped a screen to DiBona out of the backfield and the senior skated his way into the endzone to give the Dragons a 22-14 lead with 44 seconds left in the half.Even more damming for Gloucester was the ensuing kickoff, which hit off Chris Unis’ leg and was recovered by the Dragons at their 45. A 26 yard pass to Lecky got Duxbury in range for Startzell, who drilled a 33 yard field goal on the final play of the first half for a 25-14 lead.”We kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Ingram said.Following a Gloucester three-and-out to begin the second half, the Dragons looked for a killer touchdown but Cross dropped a halfback option pass from DiBona in the endzone. Startzell then hooked a 27 yard field goal wide left.The Fishermen then got right back in the game when Romeo busted a fullback trap for an 80 yard touchdown that trimmed the lead to 25-20 after a missed 2-point conversion. And when Lecky fumbled the ensuing kick and Gloucester recovered at the Duxbury 31, it looked like the champs might grab the lead.But the Dragon defense held on downs and then did so early in the fourth quarter following a Ross Carlson interception. Cross and Whitney then delivered a knockout blow,