DANVERS — The Gloucester High football team was hoping to end its season on a high note Thursday morning at Danvers.
Unfortunately, the host Falcons had other plans.
Just five days removed from playing in the Division 5 state playoff semifinals, Danvers came out determined and hungry for a Thanksgiving win. Thanks to star senior tailback and team captain Owen Gasinowski’s five touchdown runs, they achieved that by blanking the Fishermen, 35-0, at Deering Stadium.
Gloucester, which finishes its season at 5-6, held the home team off the scoreboard in the first quarter before Gasinowski and the Blue-and-White offense got untracked. He scored on runs of 4, 2 and 3 yards to give the Falcons a 21-0 halftime lead.
“We started off pretty well … and then the penalties there early on put us behind and slowed us up,” said Gloucester head coach Dan O’Connor, whose squad finished with just 102 yards of offense
“We gave up too many free yards against a good team knowing we can’t do that.”
Gloucester still leads both the overall series against Danvers, 45-27-2, as well as the series of games played on Thanksgiving (36-23), which began in 1964. The Falcons, however, have won six straight games against the Fishermen, the first time that has ever happened.
Gasinowski, who ran for 115 yards and finished the season with 1,120 rushing yards and 18 total touchdowns, said there was no holding back in his squad’s 2023 season finale.
Falcons star running back Owen Gasinowski secured all three of his teams touchdowns in the second quarter combining them for a total of 9 short yards.
“‘Leave everything out there’ is what we’ve been saying all week — and that’s exactly what I did,” said Gasinowski. “It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve worked my butt off for this.”
Gasinowski held the game in his hands as he scored touchdown after touchdown for the Falcons. He added scoring runs of 2 and 3 yards in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
“Owen has always been a physical and emotional leader. He’s got a lot of intensity and has been there for us in our biggest moments,” said the Falcons head coach Ryan Nolan, whose team wrapped up the season at 8-4. “We haven’t had too many people like him — and I don’t anticipate having any more come through the door like him. He always has that will to win.”
The Fishermen simply couldn’t find their footing offensively against a sturdy Danvers defense on the holiday. Both Jaylen Severino and Kayden Souza left the game with injuries and another skill position playre was ejected, further hampering their chances.
Quarterback John Gucciardi ran for a team-best 30 yards on seven carries while completing 7-of-13 passes for another 56 yards. Fellow captain Cameron Widtfeldt caught four of those passes.
The Fishermen’s seniors left everything on the line against the Falcons in an attempt to end their final high school football game with a winning record, but were ultimately disappointed with the outcome.
Still, they created a season full of new beginnings for their team and reached the postseason for the first time in five years. In the years to follow, they’ll no doubt look forward to coming back to see how much the program has evolved.
Danvers 35, Gloucester 0
at Danvers High School, Danvers
Danvers (8-4);0;21;7;7;35
Gloucester (5-6);0;0;0;0;0
Scoring Summary
D- Owen Gasinowski 4 run (Connor Akerman kick)
D- Gasinowski 2 run (Akerman kick)
D- Gasinowski 3 run (Akerman kick)
D- Gasinowski 2 run (Akerman kick)
D- Gasinowski 3 run (Akerman kick)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: Gloucester: John Gucciardi 7-30, Cameron Widtfeldt 2-12, Kayden Souza 3-3, Joe Gucciardi 1-1; Danvers: Owen Gasinowski 21-115, Luke Metivier 1-3.
PASSING: Gloucester: John Gucciardi 7-13-56-0-1; Danvers: Travis Voisine 12-13-111-0-1.
RECEIVING: Gloucester: Widtfeldt 4-15, Brady Patten 3-28, Widtfeldt 4-15, Joe Gucciardi 1-9, Jaylen Severino 3-4; Danvers: Logan Metivier 3-31, Michael Kasprzak 4-28, Gasinowski 2-28, Luke Metivier 2-16, Marco Bettencourt 1-8.