The Beverly football team had been the thorn in Salem’s side for the past six seasons. Winners of six consecutive Thanksgiving clashes and 12 of the last 14, the Panthers were hoping to continue that success at Salem’s Bertram Field on Thursday morning. Instead, the hungry Witches ended the trend.
Salem senior running back Vinnie Gaskins, one of the more elusive athletes in the Northeastern Conference, led the Witches to a 47-25 Thanksgiving victory over the Panthers. Gaskins finished the Salem victory with 305 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The Panthers were led by a four-touchdown performance by Ryan Barror.
Tied 7-7 in the early stages of the game, the Witches ended the first half on a 28-6 rally to claim a 35-13 lead at halftime. Gaskins scored three of his touchdowns in the first half and added two more in the second half to help Salem seal the victory.
Salem ends its season with a record of 7-4.
Gloucester 40, Danvers 28
Thursday’s Thanksgiving rivalry game between the Fishermen and Falcons, the 54th edition of the contest, was highlighted by a great battle between Gloucester running back Jan Pena-Ortiz and Danvers quarterback Justin Mullaney.
Pena-Ortiz, a junior, tallied 326 rushing yards on 29 carries with three touchdowns. His 326-yard performance stands as a Gloucester record for rushing yards in a single game. The previous record was set by Christian Sanfilippo last year on Thanksgiving.
Mullaney was 26-for-41 on pass attempts, tallying 419 passing yards and three touchdown tosses. He led a second-half Danvers surge after Gloucester built a hefty lead in the first half.
Gloucester led 26-7 midway through the third quarter before Danvers inched back in at 26-21 in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. Leading 34-28, Pena-Ortiz sealed the win for the Fishermen with a 28-yard touchdown run. The Fishermen end their season at 7-4 while Danvers closes the book on its year at 6-5.
Other Scores
Malden 27, Medford 22
Mystic Valley 21, Minuteman 6