ANDOVER-- Gloucester will certainly not be the only team to feel the wrath of Andover this season.
The Fishermen were out-manned from start to finish Friday night in a 43-7 loss on the road, but in the process Gloucester (0-2) got some valuable playing time against one of the states best wide receiver units.
Will Heikkinen and Cam Farnham, the Golden Warriors' two flankers, torched Gloucester for 235 yards and a pair of scores through the air Friday night and there really wasn't a whole lot they could have done differently.
Wary of the duo's downfield speed, which was on display in Andover's week 1 win over North Andover, Gloucester gave the two wideouts big cushion. Andover completed several quick hitting passes with the cushion forcing the Fishermen to bring the corner backs in. It was then when quarterback CJ Scarpa went deep and Heikkinen and Farnham's blazing speed came into play.
It didn't matter what kind of coverage Gloucester threw at them, Farnham and Heikkinen were going to make plays. Heikkinen had a monster night with nine catches, 174 yards and a score.
Gloucester will not be facing an offense as high-powered as Andover for the rest of the season. They may have taken their lumps on Friday but a game against a bigger and stronger opponent will pay dividends in the long run.
Andover is a Division 1 playoff contender, and they showed just why they are receiving a lot of hype in Friday's win.
Gloucester's slate doesn't get any easier when they travel to Weymouth in week 3, but the Fishermen are hoping the difficult early season schedule plays dividends once conference play begins in week 7.
Dumont Shines
Largely lost in the Manchester Essex football team’s loss to Saugus on Friday was the impressive play of junior running back Chris Dumont.
With starting running back Jake Fitzgerald in street clothes with an injury that coach Mike Athanas said could also sideline him for the Hornets’ next game, the Hornets needed somebody to shoulder the load.
Dumont proved a more-than-capable stand-in, combining his speed with a downhill running style to pile up 131 yards on the ground to provide one of the only bright spots for the Hornets in a 31-12 loss.
Dumont also scored the Hornets’ only offensive touchdown – their first score came on a kickoff return touchdown to start the game – on a 15-yard touchdown reception late in the game.
That production in the ground game was a welcome improvement for coach Mike Athanas, as his Hornets (0-2) struggled mightily to move the ball in Week 1, particularly on the ground. If they’re able to harness that success in the ground game, particularly when Fitzgerald returns, brighter days could be on the horizon for the Hornets despite an unsightly start to their season.
Couple that with a passing attack that appeared much improved, despite completing just six of 18 passes Friday, and Athanas may finally achieve the offensive balance that he’s sought all season.
We’ll see if Dumont and the Hornets can put it all together Friday, when they look to get their first win of the season against Cathedral.
Andover 43 Gloucester 7
at Andover High School, Andover
Gloucester (0-2) 0 0 0 7| 7
Andover (2-0) 17 7 6 13| 43
A- Andrew Deloury 7 pass from CJ Scarpa (Mark Zavrl kick)
A- Zavrl 22 field goal
A- Scarpa 1 run (Zavrl kick)
A- Cam Farnham 38 pass from Scarpa (Zavrl kick)
A- Will Heikkinen 18 pass from Scarpa (kick blocked)
A- Kenny Doherty block punt recovery (Zavrl kick)
G- Jon Good 19 run (Santo Parisi kick)
A- Jesse Greaves 28 run (kick failed)
Individual Statistics
Rushing: G| Zach Smith 15-71, Jon Good 7-37, Mark Horgan 7-27, Jordan Pallazola 3-16, Santo Parisi 2-13, Mike Decaro 1-4. A| Jesse Greaves 7-47, Mark Zavrl 3-28, Connor McCollugh 2-27, CJ Scarpa 2-17, Brandon Marti 6-11.
Passing: G| Parisi 4-8-78-0-1. A| Scarpa 17-26-286-3-0, Andrew Deloury 1-1-22-0-0.
Receiving: G| Devin Hemeon 1-34, Carlo Cracchiolo 1-23, Good 1-17, Horgan 1-7. A| Will Heikkinen 9-174, Cam Farnham 3-61, Andrew Deloury 3-29, Brandon Marti 1-20, Evan Singleton 1-14, Mark Zavrl 1-10.
Saugus 31, Manchester Essex 12
at Hyland Field, Manchester
Saugus (1-1) 10 14 7 0| 31
Manchester Essex (0-2) 6 0 0 6| 12
M- John Beardsley 85-yard kickoff return (XP failed)
S- C.J. Randolph 10-yard run (Zach Verrengia kick)
S- Verrengia 34-yard field goal
S- Randolph 3-yard run (Verrengia kick)
S- Nick Benoit 29-yard run (Verrengia kick)
S- Randolph 1-yard run (Verrengia kick
M- Cory Burnham 15-yard pass to Chris Dumont (XP failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Saugus | Benoit 7-95, Randolph 16-66, Ismael Minaya 9-56,Justin Winn 3-56, Justin Barrasso 2-26, Christian Patterson 1-1, Ryan
Clarke 1-0 ; Manchester Essex | Dumont 11-129, Burnham 8-32, Nate
Riehl 2-12, Zach Fleming 2-8, Brian Gibson 1-7.
PASSING: Randolph 0-1-0-0-0; Manchester Essex | Burnham 6-18-64-1-1.
RECEIVING: Saugus | None; Manchester Essex | Dumont 3-26, Riehl 1-22,Beardsley 1-9, Liam Logue 1-7.
