After only two weeks of play and four league games, it's still too murky to make any definitive statements. However, some things are starting to clear up.
First, let's have a look at the CAL Small Standings:
League Overall PF PA
Newburyport 2-0-0 2-0-0 36 13
Lynnfield 1-0-0 2-0-0 66 13
North Reading 1-1-0 1-1-0 39 17
Amesbury 0-0-0 0-2-0 0 61
Georgetown 0-1-0 0-1-0 6 32
Hamilton-Wenham 0-1-0 0-2-0 12 58
Ipswich 0-1-0 0-2-0 0 56
So let's take a look at the preseason CAL contenders.
Well if you've read my game story in the Villager, you know the Pioneers handled Georgetown easily. What we don't know is if the Royals are as bad as Lynnfield made them look or if the Pioneers are simply that good. We may not know for a few more weeks. Georgetown takes on Shawsheen Tech this weekend. They are coming off a 35-2 pasting at the hands of the Wilmington.
Amesbury has struggled out of the gate, but they opened with two straight CAL Large teams. The Indians were routed by a strong Triton team 40-0 in Week One and then lost to North Andover 21-0 last week. It would be tough to count them out this early. Remember Newburyport went 0-5 last year against the CAL Large before winning five straight and played for the title on Thanksgiving Day. Plus Amesbury is getting back Jesse Burrill after a two game suspension and they are stepping down to face Division Four East Boston this weekend. Let's see how they do against some lighter competition.
Which brings us to the third member of the trio of teams most experts were picking to contend for the title, Newburyport. The Clippers are in great shape so far, playing and winning two league games. They shut out Hamilton Wenham and edged North Reading so they sit at 2-0 atop the league. Barring a monumental upset, the Clippers figure to go 3-0 in the league as they host struggling Ipswich Friday night.
Some thought the Tigers might make some noise this year with 10 returning seniors, but it hasn't happened. Ipswich was drubbed by North Reading 26-0 and Marblehead 30-0 and have now lost 23 straight games since winning the Division 3A Super Bowl in December of 2006. That streak will probably be extended at War Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
But there are still questions surrounding the Clippers. Their defense has been good but again we don't know about the competition. Hamilton Wenham (0-2 after a 39-12 beating from Triton last week) is in rebuilding mode after losing a boatload of seniors. They returned only five letterman including quarterback Andy Duval who appears to be carrying the entire load. Yet the Clippers managed only 19 points in their 19-0 win. Last week Newburyport struggled with North Reading, nursing a 14-13 half time lead and could manage only a Kyle LeBlanc field goal in the second half to hold on to the 17-13 win. Their offense has clearly been a problem with junior quarterback Matt Mottola trying to fill the enormous cleats of Joe Clancy who graduated last year.
Which brings us to the biggest surprise in the league so far: North Reading. The Hornets returned only five lettermen from their 4-7 team last year and figured to be in rebuilding mode as well. However they came out strong against Ipswich on opening night and fought the Clippers to the end last week. The Hornets take on a young Cardinal Spellman team this week.
So as I said at the start, the league is still fuzzy but based on early returns, the Pioneers look as good as anyone. Newburyport, thanks to a favorable schedule and solid early season play, figure to be the lead horse for a while, but Amesbury and even North Reading might also challenge. Who knows. It might come down to the Pioneers and Hornets on Thanksgiving Day.
Check back Thursday for a preview of Friday night's Wilmington game.
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Tom,
ReplyDeleteGreat work! Insightful, entertaining, and accurate. Hopefully, you can get Dan Guttenplant on this blog for a little Cape Ann Small banter.