The Gloucester High School varsity football squad succumbed 55-3 to Phoebus at GHS on Friday but the Gloucester junior varsity squad avenged the loss with a 25-6 victory on the Phantoms’ home field on Saturday.

"It was special," said GHS jayvee head coach Ryan Wenner on the first Gloucester win over Phoebus. "We showed up, the weather held off, we got the ball first and just went right down the field, right down the middle." Fullback Cody Correll capped the opening drive with a 30-yard run for the Dukes’ first score of the game.

After the touchdown, an onside kick from Gloucester’s Watkins Yeager gave the Dukes their second possession. "We just drove all the way down there again," Wenner said, and Correll took the ball in for his second TD.

Wenner said it worked so well the first time that the Dukes decided to try it again, and again Yeager executed a perfect onsides kick. On fourth and goal, Wenner went with a halfback pass and Brady Barefoot found Michael Midgette for a third Gloucester touchdown.

The larger Phantoms, playing against a young Gloucester team that only has five returning players this season, found themselves down, 19-0, at the half. "A lot of teams would get mad if they were down like that at halftime, they just looked shocked," Wenner said.

Phoebus scored in the third quarter to make it 19-6 but the Gloucester defense held after that and the offense tacked on another TD in the final quarter. An interception by Gloucester’s Cody McDermott also aided the defensive effort.

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