takes a punch, 51-20; hosts N. Reading tonight

Published November 2, 2018

By JENNIFER GENTILE

GLOUCESTER, MA—Any plans for another trip to Gillette Stadium for Melrose football will have to wait until next year after the Red Raiders fell, 51-20, to the Gloucester Fishermen in the opening round of playoffs last Friday, Oct. 26 at Newall Stadium in Gloucester High.

It was a good old-fashioned shellacking for Melrose, who drops to 4-4 on the season and will play in consolation games for two weeks until their finale on Thanksgiving at Wakefield. Gloucester (7-1), meanwhile, advances to the Division 4 North Semifinals to face No. 6 Revere (5-3). Tonight, Melrose will play North Reading at home at 7:00 p.m. in a consolation non-playoff game. 

Gloucester proved a tricky foe on Friday and came as advertised as a primarily rushing team led by back Jan Pena Ortiz, who ran for nearly 200 yards and 4 touchdowns. Over the night, the Fishermen amounted an eye-popping 500 yards of offense, a Wing-T effort that ripped through Melrose defense, who struggled to force a punt.

THE PLAYOFF run is over for the Red Raider football team, but they will host North Reading tonight at 7pm in consolation play. (Donna Larsson photo)

“This was a good team we played who ran the ball to perfection,” said Melrose coach Tim Morris. “We just didn’t make the tackles we needed, and you can’t do that with a good team. They converted their 3rd downs, didn’t have to punt. Our defense just couldn’t stop them.”

From the outset, it appeared that it would be a high scoring game as both Melrose and Gloucester scored on their first possessions. Gloucester remained two points ahead by opting to convert two points (successfully) after each score. The touchdowns started when Gloucester’s Jan Pena-Ortiz ran for a 53-yard score to make it 8-0. Melrose bounced back when quarterback Jesse Gardner threw a 50-yard bomb to Kevin Peete, who received it on the 15 and ran into the end zone making it an 8-6 game.  

Gloucester’s Marc Smith scored on Gloucester’s next drive, a 37-yard touchdown run and, with a good conversion, the Fishermen took a lead of 16-6. 

But Melrose fans were on their feet when junior Chris Cusolito returned an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and a two-point conversion by Peete made it a battle at 16-14 as the first period drew to a close.

After this, however, it was really no longer a game. The Fishermen became relentless on offense.

In the second, Gloucester launched a 12 drive play that culminated in a 1-yard touchdown from quarterback James Nelson, making it a 24-14 game (conversion good). Melrose was forced to punt on their next possession and the Fisherman took advantage of that with a 40-yard rushing touchdown by Pena-Ortiz, who made it a 30-14 with 2:30 left before the half. Brendan Fennell stepped in as quarterback for Melrose and had some impressive series of rushes, but his team came up empty on fourth down at the Gloucester 35. It soon became a 36-14 game right before halftime after Ryan Argentino scored one of the few passes thrown by Gloucester QB Jim Nelson.

After the half, Gloucester’s Pena-Ortiz scored on a 22-yard run to make it 44-14. Pena-Ortiz next officially poured salt in the wound with a 65-yard touchdown that resulted in a 51-14 game. 

Melrose scored once more when Melrose QB Fennell found Sean Herbert open on a 15-yard touchdown pass. 

In the end, it wasn’t the result they wanted—nor the season they wanted—but losing to Gloucester doesn’t always mean gloom to Melrose. Just two years ago they were eliminated by Gloucester in playoffs too. The following year, they won the Super Bowl. 

The Div. 4 North football bracket meanwhile is full of upsets as #1 seed 7-0 Marblehead fell to #8 seed Dracut, 28-14, and sleepers Wayland and Revere advanced to semifinals over Burlington and North Reading: a true reflection of an unpredictable year of high school football. 

Across the Middlesex League, only Stoneham (8-0), Reading (7-1) and Woburn (4-4) remain in playoff contention. 

Tonight, Melrose will take part in consolation play when they host the North Reading Hornets, a team who came close to beating Melrose last year. They arrive for a 7:00 p.m. game at Fred Green Field. 

“We beat North Reading by one point last year,” says Morris. “They’re a good team who run different formations. This will be a good test for us and we’d like to bounce back with a win.”

This may represent Melrose’s last home game of this season, as the winners will advance to play another consolation opponent at a time and location TBD. 

Stay tuned.