BEVERLY — Saturday’s clash at Beverly didn’t go down as a win for the Gloucester High football team. But the Fishermen certainly have plenty to build off of in what was a competitive season opener.
Taking on a determined Panthers squad at Hurd Stadium — a team that had managed just a single victory a season ago — Gloucester had its moments, had its chances, and did some nice things on both sides of the ball.
Making their return to a Wing-T type offense, the Fishermen’s slew of backs ran hard and put some points on the board. But a couple of key mistakes ultimately came back to bite them in a 27-14 defeat.
“The kids competed, the kids fought … we got down a little bit but continued to battle, make some plays and put ourselves in good positions to try to claw back into the game, which I think we did,” said Gloucester head coach Dan O’Connor. “I think we’ve got some good football players and that’s the important piece; they were ready to go. They don’t give up, they have faith in each other, they have faith in themselves, and I think they showed that a little bit today.”
One unfortunate play for the visitors midway through the third quarter was the difference maker.
Trailing by just one score (14-6) and facing a 4th-and-short from their own 33-yard line, Gloucester opted for a trick play, swinging the football back to running back Jaylen Severino, who had a man wide open down the sidelines. Severino launched a perfect spiral and the speedy Carlos Velazquez hauled it in, but a great play by Beverly corner Xavier Auk jarred the ball loose and he jumped on it. The recovery wiped out what had been a 47-yard gain for Gloucester that would’ve put them in great position to score.
Beverly would immediately capitalize, scoring five plays later on a 53-yard scamper by Jayden Santos to make it 20-6 and effectively take the wind out of Gloucester’s sails.
“I thought we had a shot there to make a good play and kind of catch them off guard. You know, we keep that ball on that drive and keep that momentum, maybe it’s a different story,” said O’Connor.
“He’s like our mighty mouse,” Beverly coach Ryan Hutton said of Auk. “He’s smaller than everybody on the field, but no one’s got a bigger heart. He’s probably our best tackler. He doesn’t miss any tackles, and (that was a huge play).”
Beverly would execute another scoring drive to open the fourth to increase its lead and put the nail in the coffin. They benefited from great field position, starting on their own 25-yard-line after a short Gloucester punt, and found paydirt seven plays later on a 1-yard plunge from junior tailback Sean Costa.
That made it a 27-6 game, and although Gloucester would score late on a beautiful connection from QB Camryn Rodolosi (3-for-6, 56 yards) to tight end Gavin Bren up the middle, it was too little, too late.
Still, it was a positive performance overall for a Gloucester group that hopes to remain relevant in the ever-competitive Northeastern Conference. They ran the Wing-T extremely well — “these kids asked for it, they said last year this is the offense they were comfortable in and with the kids that we knew were going to be coming out and playing, we felt it was a good mix and a good change up to what we have personnel wise,” said O’Connor — and defensively, they limited the big plays for the most part and came up with some gritty stops to remain within striking distance.
But the third quarter fumble, as well as another cough up in the second quarter and a botched snap, ultimately came back to bite them.
“Early on, couple of fumbles … I thought we had a touchdown on a play a kid was wide open and we fumbled the snap, stuff like that,” said O’Connor. “So it’s little things that we have to clean up.”
Gloucester responded well in the opening frame, answering an early Beverly touchdown (12-yard run from QB Danny Pierce) with a score of its own. That initial Fishermen TD came on a 3-yard rush by Thomas Cribbs (21 rushing yards), who was one of five players to carry the ball on Saturday. Joe Allen also ran well, chipping in 51 yards on the ground on 10 totes.
Beverly then made it a 14-6 game early in the second when Pierce fond Ray Kwiatek for a 31-yard score.
Jaylen Severino led the charge offensively for Gloucester, breaking lose for a couple of nice gains, including a 40-yard scamper in the first half. He finished with 81 rushing yards on 11 carries and hauled in one catch for 20 yards in addition to his impressive pass.
“Sev’s been great since he stepped on the field as a freshman,” said O’Connor. “He’s a great athlete, he does things really well.
“I also thought (Rodolosi) threw the ball particularly well,” he added.
Gloucester did struggle at times to limit Beverly’s seemingly potent aerial attack (Pierce threw for 151 yards while utilizing seven different receivers), but did shut down big play threat Jack Consedine, limiting him to zero catches on the day.
The Fishermen will now turn their attention to Somerville next Friday (6 p.m. start), another road test before their bye week.
Beverly 27, Gloucester 14
At Hurd Stadium, Beverly
Gloucester (0-1);6;0;0;8;14
Beverly (1-0);7;7;6;7;27
Scoring summary
B — Danny Pierce 12 run (Maverick Genest kick)
G — Thomas Cribbs 3 run (kick failed)
B — Ray Kwiatek 31 pass from Pierce (Genest kick)
B — Jayden Santos 53 run (kick failed)
B — Sean Costa 1 run (Genest kick)
G — Gavin Bren 27 pass from Camryn Rodolosi (Jaylen Severino pass from Rodolosi)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Gloucester — Jaylen Severino 11-81, Joe Allen 10-51, Thomas Cribbs 6-21, Joe Gucciardi 5-15, Camryn Rodolosi 4-10; Beverly — Jayden Santos 5-99, Danny Pierce 5-19, Sean Costa 13-12, Roman Sullivan 3-6, Floyd White 1-(-2).
PASSING: Gloucester — Rodolosi 3-6-56-1-0, Severino 1-1-47-0-0; Beverly — Pierce 13-21-151-1-0; Ray Kwiatek 1-2-9-0-0.
RECEIVING: Gloucester — Carlos Velazquez 1-47, Gavin Bren 1-27, Severino 1-20, Cribbs 1-9; Beverly — Callan McCay 6-72, Kwiatek 3-50, Liam Timpone 2-18, Sullivan 1-10, Cole Fowler 1-9, Santos 1-6, White 1-(-4).