Gloucester's Strong Start
Gloucester’s football team has shown great improvement during the early part of the high school football season. The Lions, who went 4-7 last year, have started 3-1 and even the loss wasn’t a bad one.
After opening with a 44-20 win at Pennsville and a 28-7 victory at Lower Cape May, Gloucester suffered a 30-14 home loss to a Paul VI team that was ranked among the top 15 in South Jersey.
Gloucester actually led 14-10 entering the fourth quarter, but saw Paul VI earn the victory by outscoring the Lions, 20-0 in the fourth period.
Then the Lions bounced back last week in earning a 25-15 home win over Willingboro. At 3-1, Gloucester is one win away from tying last season’s mark when the Lions were 4-7.
Even though Gloucester went 4-7, including 3-5 at the playoff cutoff date, the Lions earned a berth in the Group 2 playoffs. That is because Gloucester plays in the West Jersey Football League Continental Division, a highly competitive division for schools with medium-sized enrollments. The Lions received high power points due to the strong schedule.
After just two division games this year, Haddonfield is the only unbeaten Continental team in division play. The Bulldogs are 2-0. Paul VI—which was upset last week by Pleasantville—was considered the favorite. Now Haddonfield, Paul VI, Pleasantville and Seneca appear to be the main contenders.
Gloucester will look to show that it belongs in the contender category when the Lions visit Seneca on Friday in a game between teams with identical records (3-1, 1-1). The offensive leader for Gloucester has been junior running back Ibrahim Hudwell. This season Hudwell has rushed for 534 yards (5.4 avg.) and five touchdowns. He was the catalyst in the Willingboro win with a 62-yard touchdown run after Willingboro had scored first to take a 7-0 lead.
That was a significant win for Gloucester, which lost to Willingboro 21-10 a year ago. In addition, Gloucester now hits the road for three consecutive games against Seneca, Schalick and Haddonfield.
The Lions are a run-oriented team, but sophomore quarterback Kevin Boulden threw three touchdown passes in his first 17 attempts. Junior Ryan Coffigny, with one touchdown reception, headlines the receiving corps and he is also a threat as a return man.
The defensive leader is senior linebacker Harry Ulmer, who was credited with 18 tackles in the win over Willingboro. He is averaging 14 tackles per game.
Last year, five of the six teams in the Continental Division made the playoffs. This year, unless there is a huge surprise, all six of the teams should be in the postseason.
Gloucester is prospering while playing for one of the most competitive divisions in South Jersey, especially in regard to school size. That is why the improvement this season is even more impressive for coach Rob Bryan’s Lions.
Photo: Gloucester QB Kevin Boulden
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Author: Marc Narducci
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