To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the only Pioneer team to make it to the Super Bowl, I am taking a week by week look back at the Super 1986 season.
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| LHS Football Wayback Machine |
When you think of Masco today, you think of the biggest school in the CAL with the powerhouse football team. Such was not the case in the mid 1970's and 1980's. The Chieftains were regularly the league doormats and the Pioneers regularly trounced their neighbors off Route 95.
From 1977 through 1991, the Pioneers amassed a 13-1 record against Masco, outscoring them 446-142. The only Chieftain win in that stretch came in 1982. Following that loss, the Pioneers ran off three straight wins against Masco, including a 55-0 beating in 1985.
With the Pioneers coming into the game at the Middle School field 4-0 and Masco winless at 0-4, the Lynnfield faithful expected more of the same in 1986.
They were not disappointed.
After four tough games against strong opposition to start the season, the Pioneers got their first "breather" against the Chieftains.
Lynnfield cruised to a 14-0 halftime lead and built that to a 28-0 advantage before Masco put up a meaningless score in the waning minutes to make it a 28-7 final.
Co-captain Todd Coviello scored a pair of touchdowns (one yard, and 14 yards), junior Jason Mochi (9 carries, 74 yards) tallied on a 24 yard run and quarterback Dave Frontero hooked up with converted quarterback Jay Kelleher on a 12 yard TD pass to account for the Pioneer touchdowns. Frontero kicked all four extra points.
Linebacker Scott Yerardi paced a swarming Pioneer defense that held Masco in check all afternoon. Yerardi recovered a Chieftain fumble on the two yard line on a kickoff setting up the Pioneers' fourth TD. Mark Sutera and Bill Aldenberg recorded sacks and Steve Bucci picked off an interception for the second game in a row.
According to the account in the Villager by reporter David Angelini, the home crowd received a scare in the fourth quarter when Aldenberg went down with what appeared to be a serious injury. He was not moved and emergency personnel had to remove him from the field. Fortunately, the injury did not turn out to be as severe as first feared. Aldenberg was diagnosed with a neck strain, according to Angelini.
The win was the Pioneers' 12th straight, stretching back to 1985 and kept them in a first place tie in the CAL with Hamilton Wenham and Ipswich who both remained undefeated at 4-0 in the league. Lynnfield's overall 5-0 record lifted them into sole possession of the Division 3 Eastern Mass Super Bowl rankings
Next: The Pioneers travel to last place Pentucket.
If you played on or were involved with the 1986 team and would like to share a memory, please pass it on to me at tcondardo@gmail.com
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