Thanksgiving Day: Time to Finish Strong

Obviously there is considerable disappointment in the fact that the Pioneers will not be playing for a post season berth on Thanksgiving Day. That is understandable. But the key for the Pioneers is to not let that affect the way they finish the season.

Let's be honest. Winning a league championship is difficult and not something that is going to happen every year. It happened in 2009 but it just wasn't in the cards this season.

What you can look for every year is for the team to be competitive and go into as many games as possible with a realistic chance of winning. This year's Pioneers certainly filled that bill. So rather than dwelling on what might have been, let's be thankful (seeing as it is Thanksgiving) for what has been a terrific season. The 2010 Pioneers are an outstanding football team that has provided us with an extremely entertaining season.

So to the issue at hand - the annual rivalry game with North Reading. The Hornets are the only team the Pioneers have played every single season since the program began in 1958. Tomorrow will be the 53rd meeting between the schools (52nd on Thanksgiving Day) and finishing the season strong at home should go a long way to healing the hurt of the past two weeks.

The Pioneers hold a 31-21 edge on the Hornets in the series which has ebbed and flowed over the years. Lynnfield dominated the early years of the rivalry, sprinting out to a 15-4 lead from 1958-1976. North Reading began to turn around their program in the late 70's winning consecutive CAL Championships from 1978-80 and the Pioneers had a slight 9-7 edge from 1977-1992. The Hornets took control from that point winning 10 of the 15 contests from 1993-2008. The Pioneers have won the last two but with the an improving young Hornet team, there is no way to tell which way the series will go from here. Suffice to say it should continue to be competitive.

As for this year's game, the 2010 Pioneer squad has already established itself as the second highest scoring team in Lynnfield High history (315 points going into Thursday). A win against North Reading would make them only the 6th team in school history to win 9 games and tie them for 8th place in all time winning percentage.

And with all the focus on the prolific offense, let's not forget the outstanding play of defensive coordinator Greg Haberland's defense. The Pioneers have only given up 98 points in ten games, a 9.8 per game average. Only nine other Pioneer teams have allowed an average of less than 10 points per game. This year's team has also posted four shutouts matching the 1959, 61, 64, 83 and 2003 teams. The 1962 team had six.

The Pioneers are going to have to play their best on both sides of the ball on Thursday morning to subdue a frisky and improving Hornet team. North Reading comes to town 1-8 but have lost a slew of close games and could easily be 5-4. You also know that head coach Jeff Wall has pumped this game up as being the Hornets' Super Bowl, so they will come in foaming at the mouth. The Pioneers will have to match their intensity.

Pick up the Villager on Wednesday for my full preview of the game along with some other relevant stats on the two teams.

You will also find another feature article I wrote about the incredible 1960 game in which both teams were undefeated heading in. A loyal blog reader John Festa, LHS class of 1962, former sports reporter/copyeditor for the Newburyport News and a close friend of many of the players on the '60 team, connected me with Charlie Meeker, one of the heroes of that game. I interviewed Charlie and was able to put a first person perspective on that historic game played 50 years ago Thursday. I think you'll find his story and the events surrounding that game interesting.

Speaking of first person perspective, this will be my 35th consecutive Lynnfield/North Reading game. I covered the Hornets for the North Reading Transcript from 1976 through 1988. I moved to Lynnfield in 1989 and have covered the Pioneers for the Villager ever since.

Thursday will be the final game for 15 Lynnfield seniors - co-captains A. J. Roberto, Steve Ullian, Gino Cohee and Jeff Gannon and Peter Foustoukas, Rick Berardino, Wes Sullivan, Tim Shannon, Matt Kelly, Ben Kendrew, Evan Panzero, Craig Cataldo, John Bossi, Nick Burtman and Rich Dimare, Jr.

Hopefully they can end their high school careers with a pleasant memory.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, enjoy the game and check back after the game for my next post.