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Super Bowl Preview: Hingham vs. Gloucester

Friday, November, 30 By Matt Langone and Rich Slate
Staff writer

3 keys to victory

Hingham

1. Slow down Gloucester's potent offense. This is easier said than done, as Gloucester has scored at least 30 points in nine of its games this season and has never scored less than 21. The Fishermen have also topped the 40-point plateau on five different occasions. In the semifinals against Cape Ann Large champ Masconomet, Gloucester jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 39-0 shutout.

2. Don't rely on a perfect game from the defense. The Harbormen average 29.7 points per game on offense so they're no strangers to the end zone. If Gloucester scores early, Hingham will have to answer quickly or risk getting too far behind like Masconomet. The defensive unit for Hingham can't get discouraged by a very explosive Gloucester offense.

3. Don't give up any big plays on special teams. Gloucester senior captain Andrew Fulford took the opening kickoff 81 yards against Masconomet and the Chieftains never seemed to recover from there. Both teams have potent offenses so Hingham can't afford to give up anything extra on special teams.

Gloucester

1. Stop Constantine. Hingham is a lot like Gloucester in the fact that both teams rely on heavily run-oriented offense. In the Harbormen's case, the rushing attack is mainly provided by 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior Chris Constantine, who has racked up 30 TDs and 2,010 rushing yards this season. Gloucester head coach Paul Ingram estimates that Constantine gets the ball nearly 70 percent of the time.The Fishermen will have to be fundamental with their tackling and really wrap up Constantine, who is a great cut-back runner.

2. Stay the course offensively and execute. So far this season Gloucester's offense has not disappointed. With only three days to prepare for Hingham, there isn't ample time to really develop any new offensive plays. Thus the Fishermen will rely on the play-calling that got them to the Super Bowl and precise execution will be key.

3. Win the battle in the trenches. Gloucester's offensive line of Dylan Morrissey, Adam Quinn, Sal Taormina, Robert Lowe and Mario Peritore have to continue dominating as they have all year to allow for the Gloucester running backs to produce. Since both teams seem to built offensively on the foundation of a strong offensive line, the winning team will undoubtedly be the squad that gets the best play up front.

Did You Know?

Gloucester Head Coach Paul Ingram has a chance to win the Super Bowl in the same year that he made his first trip to the postseason ... Hingham lost to Wareham in the playoffs last year, finishing 9-3 on the season ... Both Gloucester an Hingham use the 4-3 defense ...Dating back to last year, Gloucester has won 19 of its last 20 games with the only defeat being a two-point loss to Beverly ... After his five touchdown performance against Masconomet on Tuesday, Gloucester's Andrew Fulford moved into first place in all of Division 2A with 32 total touchdowns. Hingham's Chris Constantine is second with 30 ... Outside of the football field, Constantine is an All-State wrestler and All-Patriot League baseball player ... The last time Gloucester played a team from the Patriot League, was when it played Rockland in the 1998 Division 3 Super Bowl. The Fishermen lost, 14-12 ... Constantine also gets it done in the classroom as he's looking to continue to play football at either Cornell University or Bucknell University ... This year's Fishermen have a chance to become only the second team in school history to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl in the same year. They also accomplished the feat in 2000 ... Hingham senior quarterback Pat McAuley transferred to Hingham his junior year after attending BC High his first two years of high school ... Eight different players have caught at least one pass for Gloucester this year ... Gloucester has five running backs with at least 100 yards rushing this season ... McAuley's dad and most of his male relatives were all Triple-Eagles (BC High, Boston College, BC Law or BC Grad. School), so he's breaking family tradition ... Hingham kicker Mike Egan has hit on 4 of 5 field goal attempts. His only miss came from 43 yards out ...Hingham has won nine games in a row and it all started with a 42-27 win at Bishop Fenwick on Sept. 28 (Constantine had 5 touchdowns) ... Hingham's only loss this year came to Division 2 Super Bowl-bound Bishop Feehan, 28-14 on Sept. 21... After blanking Masco, 39-0, on Tuesday, the Fishermen have three shutouts on the season and two in their last three games.