The undefeated Gloucester Fishermen built a 21-0 lead in the third quarter, and a fourth-down end zone interception by Gloucester's Ali D'Angelo sealed the deal in the last 28 seconds as the Fishermen held on for a 21-14 win tonight to clinch the Northeast Conference Large Division title and a berth in the Division 1A championship playoffs.
D'Angelo's interception shut down a drive in which Classical had reached the Gloucester 14 yard line before being forced back to the 24 on a penalty. The pickoff came on a 4th-and-19. A 1-yard touchdown plunge by Casey Johnson with 1:51 to go in the game had pulled Classical to within 21-14.
Gloucester had rolled up a 21-0 lead in the third quarter on a 37-yard TD pass from quarterback Brett Cahill to Brandon Cusamano, and a Cusamano run for the two-point conversion. Earlier TD runs by Jordan Shairs and Connor Ressel staked Gloucester to a 13-0 halftime lead.
The win boosts the Fishermen to a perfect 5-0 NEC Large record and a perfect 10-0 overall. Classical, now 6-4 overall, also went into tonight's game and a perfect NEC Large mark of 3-0.
For full coverage of tonight's game, look to tomorrow morning's print and online editions of the Gloucester Daily Times and gloucestertimes.com
