Instead of constantly checking back here to see if I've posted, you can fill in your email address at the left and have the blog delivered by email. That way you will always have the latest post sent to your iPhone, Blackberry or Android or just waiting in your inbox when you log in to check email.
Masco Scrimmage
So let's take a look back at Saturday's Chieftains scrimmage. My full account is in Wednesday's Villager, but here are a couple of additional observations.
Despite the fact that they were playing a bit over their heads taking on a Masco team that has been a perennial CAL Large power, the Pioneers did learn some things from the matchup.
"It was good," head coach Neal Weidman said afterwards. "In the beginning we had to adjust to the speed of playing somebody else. But just working against a good team was positive."
The Pioneers also played without a couple of key pieces, especially on defense. Tri-captain Jon Roberto was ill and did not play and junior Andrew Kibarian played a little center on offense but did not play defensively. The strength of the Pioneers this season will be their experienced offensive and defensive lines, so playing shorthanded there was definitely a disadvantage.
Some other notes from the scrimmage.
- Junior Mike Karavetsos handled the quarterbacking duties with the first team but was under some heavy pressure from the Masco defense and the Pioneer offense struggled as a result. He had one pass picked off by Masco's first defense. He did combine with tri-captain Mike Thomas on a nice 20 yard screen pass.
- Sophomore Kyle McGah showed some good running sense in tallying the Pioneers' first TD. He knifed inside on a run to the right side and hit a wall of Masco defenders, but he bounced right and cruised in untouched for the three yard score.
- Alex Roper came in to quarterback the second team. He completed a nice 60 yard TD pass to Alex Pascucci who shook off a hit as he caught the ball at midfield then outraced the Masco defense to the endzone. Senior Dan Ashwell helped spring him by chipping the only defender who had a chance to catch him. Roper also threw a couple of picks.
- Ashwell combined with Roper on a nifty 50 yard catch and run. He made a nifty move after the reception to get to the outside and picked up a big gain before being knocked out at the 20.
- Nick Varano made a nice play to pick off an interception.
- Roper had his first PAT attempt blocked, but drilled through a low liner after the Pioneers' second TD.
Other than that, it was good for the Pioneers to take on someone other than their teammates after a week of beating each other up.
Triton Coming to Town
The practice contest against the Vikings represents a homecoming for Lynnfield native Pat Sheehan who is beginning his second year as head coach of the Vikings. Sheehan, a receiver, defensive back and long snapper, was captain of the Pioneers in 1999, and was an assistant coach at Lynnfield in 2005 and 2006, and again in 2008 and 2009. He was the Offensive Coordinator of the 2009 CAL Small Champion Pioneers.
He took over the Triton program last year in the late spring, with very little time to build his program. He brought former Pioneer teammate and fellow assistant coach with Lynnfield and captain (2000) Mike Geary along with him to Byfield. But playing in the tough CAL Large, the Vikings struggled through a winless 0-11 season.
Despite not notching a victory, Sheehan kept Triton competitive throughout. Seven of their 11 losses came by a TOTAL of 30 points. In five of the losses, the Vikes were tied or ahead going into the final quarter. They lost two in the final minute of play (one with 10 seconds left) and one in four overtimes.
"It was unbelievable to tell you the truth," Sheehan told me in an inteview earlier this year." Each week was the same old story. It was one thing or another. You think you have it. We were tied. We were up. We were driving. Then came a costly turnover or just a fluke thing."
Triton should experience a resurgence this year as they no longer have to battle the giants of the CAL Large. They will be playing in the CAL/NEC Tier 3 league, which like the Pioneers' CAL/NEC 4 will be Division 3A. Triton's other league foes will be Pentucket, Newburyport, Amesbury, Saugus and Winthrop
The Vikings will provide a good test for the Pioneers. Sheehan returns 15 seniors including standout skill players in quarterback Blaise Whitman and running back Derek Paquette.
"Blaise has a year with the offense under his belt and understanding it. I think Paquette is going to be the best back or one of the top backs in the league. We have some receivers and offensive linemen coming back. We are losing a lot of our defense but we're excited about the guys we have coming back and the commitment they've shown this offseason."
Whitman threw nine touchdown passes as a junior last season and ran for five more. Paquette had eight rushing TD's and caught another in amassing 54 points for the Vikes last season.
In an interview with Dan Gutteplan of the Newburyport News last week, Sheehan expressed cautious optimism.
"I don't want to say we're in better shape than any other team," Sheehan told Gutteplan. "A lot of these guys went through an 0-11 season. We are one of the more veteran teams in the league, but we need to find ways to win."
The game will be played at the high school practice field because the field at the Middle School is being reseeded.
That's it for now. Check back soon (or fill out your email subscription!)
No comments:
Post a Comment