Gloucester survives scare from Classical

LYNN ? Moral victories don’t mean much in football, but Lynn Classical can take some solace and maybe some momentum into Thanksgiving after Friday night’s 21-14 loss to undefeated Gloucester at Manning Field.Click here for a photo gallery.The Fishermen (10-0; 5-0 NEC North) clinched yet another division championship and a playoff berth, but the Rams (6-4; 3-1) made them earn it. Classical had the ball at Gloucester’s 15-yard line in the final minute of the game, but the bid for a potential tying score was thwarted when Alessandro D’Angelo intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone with 28 seconds left.”We got the job done,” Gloucester coach Paul Ingram said. “Some good will come out of this. A game like this helps us immensely. We had to overcome some obstacles tonight and we’re a little banged up, but give (Classical) credit. They made some plays.”Classical’s defense stepped to the fore, holding Gloucester running back Conor Ressel, the presumptive conference MVP, to 51 yards on 17 carries. Had the Fishermen not turned an interception into a drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown run by Ressel at the end of the half and then scored on a 38-yard pass from Brett Cahill to Brandon Cusumano on a blown coverage on their opening drive of the second half, the Rams would have likely pulled off a monumental upset.Gloucester’s Jordan Shairs also scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Classical’s touchdowns came on a 5-yard run by Kashawn Avery and a 1-yard run by Casey Johnson, both in the fourth quarter.”It’s tough to fall behind a team like that 21-0 and come back,” Classical coach Tim Phelps said. “We had a chance there at the end, and we played pretty well, but it’s still a tough loss.”Gloucester’s defense dominated the first half, allowing Classical just 10 total yards and one first down. Offensively, the Fishermen took their second possession of the game and marched 54 yards in eight plays and were helped by a pass interference penalty on Classical on third-and-11 from the Rams’ 31. Ressel went 17 yards on the next play and Shairs bowled in from there. The PAT kick was good and Gloucester led, 7-0, with 7:32 left in the first half.Shairs picked off a tipped pass from Classical quarterback Nick Grassa, and a personal foul penalty at the end of the play set up the Fisherman at the Rams’ 43 with 2:23 left in the half. Shairs ran 22 yards on the next play, then picked up three yards on a fourth-and-1 play from the 12, and Ressel ran into the end zone two downs later. The point-after kick was blocked and Gloucester led, 13-0, with nine seconds remaining in the second quarter.Gloucester’s first drive of the second half started at the Rams’ 45 and two plays later Cahill found Cusumano wide open down the left sideline for an easy score. Shairs ran for two points and Gloucester was ahead, 21-0, just 2:08 into the second half.Classical finally got its offense going midway through the third quarter. Nick Grassa hit Jasper Grassa for a 25-yard gain and then a pass interference penalty on fourth down put the ball at Gloucester’s 11-yard line. Two plays later, Avery ran around right end to put Classical on the scoreboard with 10:54 left in the game.The Fishermen went three-and-out on their next series and Classical mounted another scoring drive, a 61-yard, 13-play march that was kept alive by another Gloucester penalty and another big pass from Grassa to Grassa, this one for 33 yards to the 15-yard line. Another pass to Jasper Grassa picked up 11 yards and three plays later Johnson dived into the end zone. Nick Grassa’s kick was good and Classical trailed, 21-14, with 1:51 left in the game.Gloucester recovered an onside kick, but Classical’s defense held and the Rams got the ball back at their own 46-yard line. Nick Grassa ran for 23 yards and then hooked up with Johnson for 15 yards on a fourth-and-11 play, but after two incomplete passes around an intentional grounding penalty, Classical was forced to throw a Hail Mary into