Second-half surge by Gloucester dooms English

GLOUCESTER – Unable to sustain early momentum generated by quarterback Jordan (Javier) Lark’s right arm, English (2-2) dropped a 34-28 decision to Gloucester last night at New Balance Track and Field at Newell Stadium.English opened a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter as the junior Lark completed 12-of-17 passes for 217 yards and two TDs in the first half alone. He finished 18-of-28 for 339 yards and three scores. Receivers Chris Lessard (5 catches, 163 yards, 2 TDs) and Kyle O’Connor (8 catches, 122 yards, TD) had monstrous nights.Still, it wasn’t enough to turn back the Fishermen (4-2), who played downhill once they got their vaunted ground game in gear. Starting with its final possession of the first half, Gloucester (246 rushing yards) scored on four consecutive series to seize a 34-21 lead with 5:26 to play.English made it a one-score game at 34-28 when Lark found Lessard in the right corner of the end zone with 2:42 to play. When the Bulldogs’ Danny Kane recovered a fumble at his own 40 with 59 seconds left, English had life. Lark delivered a 30-yard strike to Anthony Delacruz across the middle but he was gang-tackled and stripped of the ball, snuffing out the last-ditch bid.”Personally, I thought he was down but you can’t blame referees for a loss. We all made mistakes. I love the way our kids kept fighting and came back. We just couldn’t stop their running game. They executed and finished, we didn’t,” said coach Peter Holey.English converted its game-opening possession as Zach Lozzi bounced in from five yards, finishing a 67-yard drive that featured Lark’s 55-yard delivery to Lessard, whose PAT made it 7-0 with just 2:50 expired.Lark’s 33-yard scoring strike to Lessard was matched by Conor Harris’s 40-yard dash on a reverse, leaving the Bulldogs on top, 14-7, with 7:51 left in the half.Lark’s 15-yard dart to O’Connor made it 21-7 just 1:51 later but the Fishermen countered when Jordan Pallazola swept the left side from seven yards on 4th-and-5 with 23.3 seconds left in the half. Chris Tinkham blocked Elijah Horne’s kick for a 21-13 English edge at the break.That momentum spilled into the second half for Gloucester, which got touchdowns from Jon Good (four-yard run), Harris (31-yard pass from Ian Kennedy) and Pallazola (one-yard run) for a 34-21 lead, setting up the frantic finish.