SWAMPSCOTT – Knowing that his team was a heavy underdog, despite both clubs entering the game at 4-0 and the game being played at Blocksidge Field, Swampscott coach Steve Dembowski gambled with his decision on the opening kickoff in Saturday’s game against high-flying Gloucester.The Big Blue won the toss, but elected to defer to the second half, despite possibly allowing points to the Fishermen.The coach’s gamble almost paid off for Swampscott, but the club couldn’t get the potential tying score, as Gloucester took a 21-14 win.”I like to get the ball to begin the second half,” said Dembowski. “We hadn’t given up a touchdown in the second half (to that point), and we could establish field position.”The Fishermen (5-0) took the opening kick, and behind a troika of powerful running backs (Anthony Fulford, Brian Harnish, and Anthony Enderle), Gloucester promptly marched downfield. Fulford (18-97) gave the team a first down with three yards to the Big Blue 43. Two plays later, Fulford burst his way through the Swampscott line for 19 more to the 16, and then scored the game’s first points moments later with a 15-yard run.”Our success has come from spreading the ball around,” Gloucester coach Paul Ingram said, as the three backs teamed for 235 yards on 38 carries. “You can stop one back, but you can’t stop all three of them.”The Big Blue (4-1) came close to tying the score on their first possession. Quarterback Peter Kinchley (9-19-2-145) opened up with a 25-yard completion to receiver Trevor Wheeler to the Fishermen 45. Moments later, on third-and-16 from the Big Blue 49, Kinchley again teamed with Wheeler over the middle for a 37-yard pickup to Gloucester’s 14. Yet Swampscott was penalized five yards on the next play, and Kinchley’s pass intended for Justin Mitchell was deflected and picked off by defensive back Ross Carlson in the end zone.Both teams traded possessions until the middle of the second period. Swampscott went three-and-out, and punted. The Fishermen took over at their 32. Quarterback Richard Gallant then picked the opportunity to fire his first (and only) pass of the contest, finding tight end Cameron Marston at midfield. Marston then broke past the Big Blue defense, shaking off tacklers along the far sideline, and heading straight into the end zone to extend the lead to 14-0.”We had him covered, but he broke the tackle,” said Dembowski of Marston’s catch. “That’s a pass play that’s tough to defend, as it came with the bootleg (from Gallant), and he was able to score.”Yet Swampscott wasn’t ready to just play out the rest of the half. The team took over at its 49, with Kinchley converting a pair of fourth downs along the way. The Big Blue cut the deficit in half with 12 seconds remaining before halftime, when Kinchley found receiver Stephen Moran (3-38) in the end zone.Upon getting the ball for the second half, Swampscott came out ready to tie the score. Gloucester aided the Big Blue with an unsportsmanlike penalty that put the hosts at the Fishermen 19. Yet the Big Blue had an apparent first down nullified by a flag, pushing them back ten yards, and then Kinchley’s fourth-down pass from the 20 that was intended for Mitchell fell incomplete.The Fishermen took over, and utilized Enderle throughout. He gained seven on a third-and-1 to the Gloucester 46. Fulford added seven on the following play; then the Big Blue drew an unsportsmanlike penalty, which brought the Fishermen to the 32. Enderle and Fulford traded carries, with Fulford netting his second score of the afternoon on a one-yard run to increase the lead to 21-7.Swampscott marched as far as Gloucester’s 25 upon taking over, but Kinchley fired his second interception. Yet the Big Blue had another chance when Gallant fumbled the ball away at his 30 with just under four minutes to go. Kinchley immediately hit Wheeler in perfect stride along the far sidelines, bringing the club to within 21-14. However, Gloucester recovered Mitchell’s onside kick, keeping the ball th