Only Classical stands between Gloucester and another NEC/North crown

LYNN – One team wants to get back to the postseason for the first time since 1980. The other seeks its third consecutive conference championship.Friday (7) at Manning Field, they will meet to decide who wins the Northeastern Conference’s North Division.For Classical and Gloucester, the stakes couldn’t be higher.The Fishermen come to town at 9-0, and boasting the No. 6 scoring offense in Eastern Mass. (35.0 ppg). They also the North’s two-time champs.Classical is the dark horse. Few predicted the Rams would be in position to knock the Fishermen off their perch. But they’ve gotten better as the season has progressed and now are in a spot to win their first league title since 1980.”I think we have a shot,” Classical coach Tim Phelps said. “We are going to have to play the best game that we can. If we don’t, then we could be in trouble.”Friday’s game is a chance for Gloucester stake its claim as, arguably, the top program on the North Shore at the moment. But to do it, coach Paul Ingram knows his team will have to beat a team that poses quite a challenge.”(Classical) really is much improved from last year and they remind me an awful lot of us,” Ingram said. “They run an offense that we don’t face very much and their defense is big, tough and aggressive.”Both teams come into the game off convincing wins.The Rams (6-3, 3-0) kept the ball for almost 30 minutes last week in a 22-0 win over Peabody while Gloucester exploded for 36 first-half points in a 36-13 win over Revere.”Peabody was big and tough up front and we were able to keep the ball for a long time,” Phelps said. “We haven’t lit up the scoreboard at times on offene but we’ve been controlling the clock and not making a lot of mistakes.”Classical will need the ball control offense against a defense that has surrendered an average of one touchdown a game.”Coming into the year, we really didn’t know what we were going to have,” Ingram said. “But this is as fast as we’ve been on defense ever.”The Rams defense will also face arguably its biggest test of the season with the Gloucester Wing-T attack.Conor Ressel is the ring leader for that offense, having rushed for a Division 1A leading 21 touchdowns and scored a division leading 130 points. Wingback Brandon Cusamano has stepped in for Gilbert Brown and given the Fishermen a second speed threat in the backfield.”They have a great offensive line that blocks really well,” Phelps said. “And they have great running backs. They are going to do what they do and nothing different.”Two years ago, these two teams met under similar conditions and the Rams got the better of Gloucester for three quarters. The Fishermen then staged a dramatic comeback in the final quarter to steal the win and a league title.”We’ve drawn a lot of parallels from that game and that team,” Phelps said. “We played extremely well with them in that game and we have to do it for all four quarters in this one.”The reigning champions, however, aren’t quite ready to hand over the title.”The kids have worked very hard at this one. Even during school days,” Ingram said. “They’ve come up to my room during lunch and watched films. They are pretty intense about this game.”