Gloucester blanks Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT – The tone was set from the outset on Sunday at Blocksidge Field as reigning Northeastern Conference North champion Gloucester met the reigning NEC South champion, Swampscott, in a matchup of the league’s two playoff representatives of a year ago.The Fishermen marched down the field for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive and never looked back. Gloucester held the Big Blue to 153 yards of total offense and limited Swampscott to just 33 snaps in a commanding 27-0 win.It was a nearly flawless performance in all facets for the Fishermen, who got revenge for their only regular-season blemish last season. The Gloucester defense surrendered only seven first downs and constantly harassed and confused Big Blue quarterback Matt Barbuzzi in his first career start.”We gave them some very different looks than last year,” Gloucester coach Paul Ingram said. “And the defense did a great job ? The offensive line did a great job and our backs ran really well.”The Big Blue never could sustain a drive on offense as it punted four times, turned the ball over on downs twice and fumbled on its final drive of the game. Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski was quick to credit the Gloucester defense for taking his team out of its rhythm.”We made some plays, but we couldn’t sustain any drives,” Dembowski said. “We didn’t make very many big plays and they did. Gloucester is well-coached, and they’ve got something going there.”Breaking in what effectively was a new backfield in their Wing-T offense, the Fishermen got the ball to begin the game and asserted their will on offense. Connor Ressel (98 yards) and fullback Alex D’Angelo (76 yards) carried on seven of nine plays in a drive that went 53 yards and took nearly half the first quarter to complete when Ressel dashed in from 17 yards out for a 6-0 lead.Swampscott got the ball at its 41 on the ensuing kickoff and Kyle Shonio bolted for 26 yards to the Gloucester 33 on the Big Blue’s first snap of the year. But the Gloucester defense dug in its heels and forced Swampscott to turn the ball over on downs, keeping the score 6-0 after one quarter.Early in the second, Ressel picked up a shanked Swampscott punt and returned it to the Big Blue 26. D’Angelo went 20 yards one snap later, putting the ball at the four. The big fullback then bulled his way home on the next play to make it 12-0. Ressel got the call on the 2-point conversion and snuck inside the pylon to make it 14-0, Fishermen.”Connor and Alex have practiced very hard and are tough runners,” Ingram said. “They are strong and quick.”After the teams exchanged punts, the Fishermen took over at their 20 with 3:34 left in the half. Ressel got Gloucester out of jail with a 19-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Brett Cahill then threw to Chris Unis for 13 yards on third and seven at the Gloucester 42 to keep the drive going.D’Angelo then picked up a key first down on a fourth-and-one situation at the Swampscott 36 with just over 2:00 left in the half. Ressel ripped off 13 more to put the ball inside the 10 as time ticked away.Three plays later, Gloucester faced fourth-and-goal from the three. Ressel got the call around right end and was strung out, but somehow found a way to get the ball inside the pylon for the touchdown and a 21-0 lead at the half.Swampscott got a 27-yard pass from Barbuzzi to Peter Yasi on its initial drive of the second half, but the march stalled at the Gloucester 41, forcing a punt that pinned the Fishermen at their 10 after an illegal block penalty.But Ressel and D’Angelo went back to work, carrying on eight of 16 plays during a march that consumed the rest of the third quarter and ended when Cahill hit Unis for a nine-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 27-0, Fishermen.”Our offseason conditioning program really paid off (Sunday),” Ingram said.