Gloucester running backs aim for strong start in college

Enderle, Fulford impress coaches

Andrew Fulford and Anthony Enderle, key members of last fall's Division 2A Super Bowl champion Gloucester High football team, have a lot in common.

For example, both enjoy running and lifting, no matter the weather.

In the summer, they train by running at Good Harbor Beach and lifting at The Zone fitness center. When the weather turns cold, they run past defenders and into the end zone and lift hardware like the trophy they hoisted in the frigid Foxborough air, the culmination of an undefeated (13-0) season.

Something else that links Fulford and Enderle - they'll soon be welcome additions to New England college football programs.

This fall, Fulford will head to Northfield, Vt., to play for Division 3 Norwich, while Enderle's compass will point to Springfield's American International College, a Division 2 program.

Stylistically, they're quite different.

One is a 5-foot-9, 185-pound scrapper. The other is a 6-foot-1, 255-pound bulldozer. One is a talker, an emotional leader, known to scream "Woooo!" after making a big tackle on defense. The other is a gentle giant who rips through opposing linemen and terrorizes quarterbacks with little more than a word.

Both have intriguing potential, according to their future coaches.

"We're very excited about Andrew," said Norwich coach Shawn McIntyre, coming off a 2-8 season (0-6 Empire 8 Conference). "We can't wait to have him here. We feel fortunate to have an athlete of his caliber decide to come to our program."

Last August, even before Fulford ripped off 34 touchdowns - breaking his own single-season mark by a dozen - Gloucester football coach Paul Ingram praised his senior back.

"He's not very big, not very tall," said Ingram. "But he's very strong, has tremendous balance, he's deceivingly fast, and hard to knock off his feet. He has a knack of getting people to miss him. How do you teach that?"

Those instincts will be on full display once all Cadets report for training camp Aug. 13. But Fulford, a three-time Northeastern Conference all-star in hockey, nearly brought the same grit he showed on the Gloucester gridiron to the Norwich ice. "It's going to be tough not playing hockey, because I've been playing as long as I can remember," he said, adding that he's played football "just as long."

He finally settled on football. We think.

"I'd like to play," said Fulford, who met with Norwich hockey coaches on a visit to the school. "We'll see how my body feels after my first season in college football."

McIntyre said he'll use Fulford in the backfield rotation in Norwich's spread offense, behind senior Darnell Jackson. Fulford is "a guy who could be a future feature back for us," said McIntyre.

That toughness is shared by Enderle, a steamroller with the ball. He revealed that he played the last two seasons with a broken bone in his wrist. He recently had surgery to correct the injury.

"I heard a pop," he said, recalling the game against Salem in September 2006. "We were up, 6-0, in the fourth quarter. No one else could go in for me, so I stayed in."

How? "Just played through the pain, I guess."

He still wears a cast, but once that comes off and he reports for camp on Aug. 5, Enderle will be brought along slowly. That's a habit of AIC coach Art Wilkins, who likes what he sees in his new fullback.

"Our offense derives from the Washington Redskins when John Riggins was there. And Anthony reminds you of John Riggins a little bit. He's what we like to call our 'big back,' " said Wilkins, entering his 15th season as Yellow Jackets coach.

Wilkins said Enderle will be used as a blocker on isolation plays, and act like a tight end in certain sets. "This is a pro offense, so it takes a little while to get everything down. But he could be a good one," said the coach.

"He's talented enough to play, but the development is as important as the production next year." Enderle said he doesn't care where he plays. His summer goals? Get his bench press back up to 315 pounds (the surgery hampered his activity) and shave his 40 time from 4.8 seconds to 4.7.

"I just want to go up there and make a good first impression," he said. "I just want to play football."

Matt Porter can be reached at heymattporter@gmail.com.