High School Football: Second Half the Difference for Gloucester Catholic Thursday, November 25, 2004 By Jason Brown SJSports Special Correspondent It's always special when these two teams meet on the field, but it was something else that brought these two football teams from Gloucester together on Thanksgiving Day. The game was being played in honor of Marine Corporal Marc Ryan who was killed in action in Iraq. The former Gloucester player had his number 19 placed on the field for all to salute at the beginning of the game. When the opening whistle was blown to start this game, Gloucester Catholic broke open a close game during the third quarter and never looked back. The Rams from Gloucester Catholic cruised to a 40-14 victory. Gloucester Catholic's Merf Trout was a very busy player on this day. Not only did he give his team an early 8-0 lead when he scored on a 70 yard punt return, but also doubles as the place kicker. Trout would also return another punt in the third quarter for a touchdown and then nail a 32 yard field in the game. The Lions would score on a Matt James touchdown pass to Ian James in the first and go ahead in the second quarter 14-8 when David Saunders scored from 41 yards out. The Rams would regain the lead before the half when Brett Conway completed a 27 yard touchdown pass to Kevin O’Hara. During the second half, Gloucester Catholic began to pull away. Trout would score from 40 yards out and then Vinny Santangelo continued to show off his running back abilities. Santangelo ripped off a 54 yard touchdown run and Gloucester Catholic were enjoying their success after losing in the opening playoff round in Non-Public group 3. Photos by Mark Fletcher