Let's start with probably the biggest stunner and the one with the most relevance to the Pioneers
Just when it looked like Hamilton Wenham had emerged as a leading contender in the CAL Small, they travel to Bishop Fenwick and get run over by the Crusaders 25-7.
This one is a real headscratcher.
The Crusaders, who could pick up only 40 yards and were shut out by the Pioneers’ first defense, rolled over the Generals for 343 yards of offense. H-W came into the game having allowed only 29 points to Newburyport, Triton and Pentucket combined but gave up 25 to a Fenwick team that came up empty against the Pioneers.
The only difference for the Crusaders was the presence of running back Eamom Barrett who did not play against the Pioneers but rumbled for 87 yards and a touchdown against H-W. Could one player make that much of a difference?
According to reports, the Generals played a sloppy game, turning the ball over four times. Two of those, a fumble and an interception of quarterback Dylan Keith, led to Fenwick touchdowns.
The Generals took an early 7-0 lead on a 13 yard run by Trevor Lyons, but then gave up 25 unanswered points. They trailed 12-7 at the half and the Crusaders pulled away with a third quarter TD and a final score in the fourth.
Fenwick QB Brett Kidik, who managed only 27 yards against the Pioneer first defense, exploded for 191 yards on 17 for 27 passing against the Generals.
H-W coach Andrew Morency said he felt this was a “trap” game and the Generals certainly fell into it.
So playing the "matchup" game, if the Pioneers beat Fenwick by 21 and Fenwick beat H-W by 18, does that make Lynnfield 39 points better than the Generals?
Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.
The more likely case is that the Generals, flush with their 3-0 record, watched the tape of the Pioneers’ manhandling of the Crusaders and figured they would waltz in for an easy win. They apparently came out flat, played poorly and learned the hard way that you can’t take anything for granted. Especially in high school football.
Unfortunately for H-W, they will have to regroup in a road game against undefeated Wilmington Friday night. That will be very difficult for the Generals who will face a Wildcat team that has beaten Melrose, Austin Prep, Arlington and Lexington by a combined 93-48 count.
There was another mild surprise in Newburyport where the Clippers used a couple of big plays to mount a comeback win against Pentucket. Newburyport took an early 7-0 lead but the Sachems erased that midway in the second after converting a fumble into a four play scoring drive to take a 8-7 lead. They added a 25 yard field goal on the final play of the second period to take an 11-8 halftime lead.
The Sachems picked off a Ryan O’Connor pass on the first play of the second half and again turned it into points to take an 18-7 lead. That’s when the Clippers, who won their third straight, went to work.
Newburyport blocked a punt and returned it for a score in the final minute of the third to cut the lead to 18-13. Then with just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Clippers faced a fourth and eight from their own 42. O’Connor found Brett Fontaine behind the defense and the 58 yard TD connection gave Newburyport the 21-18 win.
It was an impressive victory for the Clippers who despite the loss of Andrew Sokol, who is lost with another ACL injury, will be a serious contender for the league crown.
The Clippers look to extend their winning streak when they host Masco this Friday night.
In the “how the mighty have fallen department” the Chieftains come into the game winless. Apparently life isn’t quite so easy when you don’t have the CAL Small teams to kick around. Masco now has to play teams its own size and the result so far has been losses to Lowell, Reading, Lincoln-Sudbury and Westford.
And speaking of surprising, North Reading may have found something in a hard luck 30-26 loss at Austin Prep. After scoring only nine points in three straight losses, Hornet coach Jeff Wall shook up his lineup. He moved sophomore R. J. Warnock from quarterback to receiver and installed senior Nick Rosano as the signal caller.
The switched worked like a charm as Rosano was 10 for 22 for 148 yards and two TDs, both to Warnock, and carried 23 times for 70 yards. The Hornet offense exploded, twice leading last year’s Division 3A Super Bowl champ by two touchdowns.
AP took an 8-0 lead, but NR answered with three straight scores to lead 20-8 at the half. The Cougars returned the second half kickoff for a score to make it 20-14 but the Hornets responded on a 50 yard TD run by sophomore running back Carl Lipani to stretch the lead back to 26-14.
Unfortunately for NR, Austin scored two TD’s early in the fourth quarter (adding insult to injury both were by North Reading native Ryan Havey) and converted for two points both times to steal the win.
The winless Hornets and their revamped look will host Bishop Fenwick Friday in a game that might be more interesting than first thought.
Another CAL Small contender continued to struggle as Amesbury lost their third straight, this week falling to powerful St. Mary’s 18-7. The good news for the Indians is that their defense finally showed up. The uptick in play on that side of the ball coincided with the return of linebacker Ian Mclaughlin who played in his first game since the Indians’ win over Triton on opening night.
Amesbury came into the game having allowed 105 points in three games. St. Mary’s meanwhile had scored 126 in their first three games, so things could have gotten ugly for the Indians. They did not, however, but instead of giving up points, the Indians were giving out footballs as they had five fumbles that destroyed their scoring opportunities.
They actually moved the ball well against the Spartans, amassing 237 yards, but St. Mary’s capitalized on the turnovers to outlast the Indians. The Spartans returned the opening kick for a score for a quick 6-0 lead. They increased it to 12-0 the second time they touched the ball.
The Indians cut the lead to 12-7 on a C. J. Collins 5 yard run, but St. Mary’s answered right back with a long touchdown run to make it 18-7 to end the scoring.
Amesbury has a good chance to end their losing streak when they visit winless Georgetown on Saturday. The Royals were off this week.
Ipswich prevented Pat Sheehan and his Vikings from getting their first victory holding off a late Triton rally to win 9-7.
The Tigers took a 6-0 lead in the second on an 11 yard run by Peter Moutevelis. Kenny Wing booted a 22 yard field goal midway in the third to make it 9-0 before Triton mounted their late charge.
After struggling in the first half, the Vikes started to move the ball in the second half. They took advantage of a short Ipswich punt to complete a 28 yard scoring march capped by a seven yard run by quarterback Blaise Whitman. Ryan Clay added the point after and Triton was within two.
The Vikings got the ball back late in the game but could only move to midfield and the Tigers had their second win of the year. They host Pentucket Friday night in a battle of Wing T offenses.
CAL/NEC Merger
Finally, Phil Stacey of the Salem Evening News reported last week that the proposed merger between the Northeast Conference and the Cape Ann League set for next season took another step toward reality.
According to Stacey, the NEC athletic directors met last week and one of the decisions that was made was that the new league will be called the CAL/NEC. The league will have four divisions set up as follows: Tier 1 Peabody, Revere, Masco, North Andover, Lynn Classical, Lynn English; Tier 2 Beverly, Salem, Danvers, Gloucester, Marblehead, Swampscott; Tier 3 Saugus, Winthrop, Amesbury, Newburyport, Triton, Pentucket; Tier 4 Lynnfield, North Reading, Hamilton Wenham, Ipswich, Manchester-Essex, Georgetown.
The champion of each division will get a ticket to the playoffs.
The divisions will be set for two years but can be adjusted after that if there is significant enrollment changes among the schools. Each team will play the other five teams in its division, but the other non division games can be set by the individual schools. There are no mandatory crossover games at this point but according to Stacey, the AD's from the leagues will meet in the spring to determine if that will change. A two thirds vote would be required to make that change.
That’s it for now. Check back Thursday for a preview of the Pioneer-Danvers contest.
Finally, Phil Stacey of the Salem Evening News reported last week that the proposed merger between the Northeast Conference and the Cape Ann League set for next season took another step toward reality.
According to Stacey, the NEC athletic directors met last week and one of the decisions that was made was that the new league will be called the CAL/NEC. The league will have four divisions set up as follows: Tier 1 Peabody, Revere, Masco, North Andover, Lynn Classical, Lynn English; Tier 2 Beverly, Salem, Danvers, Gloucester, Marblehead, Swampscott; Tier 3 Saugus, Winthrop, Amesbury, Newburyport, Triton, Pentucket; Tier 4 Lynnfield, North Reading, Hamilton Wenham, Ipswich, Manchester-Essex, Georgetown.
The champion of each division will get a ticket to the playoffs.
The divisions will be set for two years but can be adjusted after that if there is significant enrollment changes among the schools. Each team will play the other five teams in its division, but the other non division games can be set by the individual schools. There are no mandatory crossover games at this point but according to Stacey, the AD's from the leagues will meet in the spring to determine if that will change. A two thirds vote would be required to make that change.
That’s it for now. Check back Thursday for a preview of the Pioneer-Danvers contest.
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