An offensive line changeup made the winning difference for Gloucester High School on Saturday. Leading the Dukes to their first Peninsula District football victory of the season were, from left, Robert Ellison, Jarrell Bennett, Tyler Wood, Brandon Minter, Carlos Pollard and, not pictured, Landon Smith. Photo by Kim Robins

Gloucester earned its first Peninsula District football victory of the season Saturday with a 19-3 win over Heritage that broke a 15-game district losing streak for the Dukes.

GHS coach Sonny Merchant credited much of Saturday’s success to a shuffling of the Dukes’ offensive line, a change resulting from necessity more so than strategy.

The offensive changeup was due largely to the absence of starting center Ryan Toms, who sustained a concussion in practice last week. That led Merchant to replace Toms with Landon Smith. Another change of positions replaced Smith and some backup players were called up to the line. The resulting offensive combination of Robert Ellison, Jarrell Bennett, Landon Smith, Brandon Minter and Carlos Pollard along with Tyler Wood opened things up for the Dukes.

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