Fishermen stun Witches, move to 5-0

In the first week of October, the Gloucester Fishermen took a business trip to Salem, coming home with a blowout 33-0 victory over the Witches. 

Gloucester went into its first conference game undefeated for the first time since 2018. Coming off two quality wins over St. Mary’s and Bishop Fenwick, Gloucester was riding high and looking to keep the train moving. 

Salem, on the other hand, had mixed success leading into their matchup against Gloucester. A 2-2 record certainly isn’t the worst case scenario, especially including a one-score loss to a 4-1 Danvers. Salem’s strength lies in a deep backfield, but it has had some trouble with its line in the first weeks of the season.

Gloucester started shaky, fumbling the opening kickoff and giving Salem prime scoring position. However, a strong defensive effort turned the ball over on downs to recover the ball, scoring within 3 plays off of a Jaylen Severino run. 

The Fishermen would dominate the first half, with two additional rushing touchdowns from Severino and Thomas Cribbs. Salem had no answer for the potent Fishermen offense. 

Gloucester dominated the defensive side of the ball, not allowing a single score despite two red-zone trips by the Witches. To close out the first half, Jaylen Severino added yet another touchdown on an interception-turned-touchdown off the fingertips of Elvis Espinal of Salem. The Fishermen’s defensive line held up strong as well, constantly applying pressure to the Witches’ senior quarterback Jake Lister.

By the end of the third quarter, the Fishermen’s starters were out, yet the Fishermen still managed to hold the Witches scoreless off a Drew Rodolosi interception late in the fourth quarter.

On Friday, October 10, the still-undefeated Fishermen travel to Swampscott for their second conference game.