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 |
You couldn't blame Villager reporter David Angelini when he stated in his preview of the Amesbury game that the Indians "shouldn't pose much of a problem for the high flying Pioneers."
After all, the Pioneers were 6-0 overall atop the Division Three Super Bowl standings and alone in first place at 5-0 in the CAL, now the only undefeated team in the league. Amesbury, meanwhile, limped onto the Middle School field with a 1-5 record having scored only 14 points in its last three games.
Mismatch, no?
It certainly started out that way.
Amesbury came out strong on their first drive but the Pioneer defense ultimately stopped them. Leading the way were linebackers Mike Pascucci, Mark Sutera and Todd Coviello, or as Angelini called them "Italy's Finest." The trio racked up 12 first half tackles including Pascucci's second sack of the year.
Lynnfield's offense was also in high gear despite the absence of key running back Jason Mochi, who was out with a sprained hand.
"I was on the sidelines that day," Mochi recalled recently. "I hurt my hand in the (Pentucket) game and wasn't able to hold on to the ball."
Mochi's loss didn't seem to slow down the Pioneer offense as they scored on their first possession on a 17 play, seven minute drive. Coviello, who picked up 101 yards on the day, punched it in from the one for the score. David Frontero added the extra point and the Pioneers led 7-0.
They marched in for another TD the next time they got the ball moving 52 yards for the score. Frontero scampered for 17 of them on a rollout and Sutera went the final 30 for the touchdown. Frontero added another PAT and the Pioneers were in control at the half leading 14-0.
According to lineman Chris Loomos, the Pioneers could have actually been up by three scores at the break.
"I actually had a chance for an interception in the first half with us up by 14," Loomos told me recently. "I dropped it with no one near me and could have been clear sailing but I botched it."
The Pioneers were hit with a couple of penalties in the opening minutes of the second half, couldn't get anything going and were forced to punt.
The Indians took over and put together a five play scoring drive with Amesbury quarterback Robert Kennedy slipping in from the three for the score. The Pioneers stuffed the two point conversion try, but their lead was now only 14-6 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
The score seemed to energize the Amesbury defense, which began to shut down the Pioneer offense.
"We couldn't move the ball," Lynnfield head coach Bill Adams told Angelini after the game. "They took it to us."
Loomos agreed with Adams' assessment.
"I don't know what it was but they came out fired up and they scored one touchdown," Loomos recalled. "I think they gained some confidence and ran rough shod on us and we just could not stop them."
"I don't remember the specifics," recalled end Dave Callahan, "but I do remember the momentum changing in the second half and us not being able to move the ball."
From that point, the Indian offense certainly had no trouble moving the ball. They revived and broke through for a another score with seven minutes left in the contest. Amesbury running back Mark Cox appeared to be stopped at the three but he kept churning and broke through for the score to make it 14-12. Kennedy snuck in for the two point conversion and the game was tied 14-14.
The Pioneers got it back, but again could not move the ball and had to punt.
Amesbury began their next drive on their own 33 yard line with 4:30 left in the game. Cox took control at this point, hauling in a Kennedy pass for 20 yards and then picking up 15 yards rushing. The Indians moved to the Pioneer one yard line and on second and goal, Amesbury set up in the triple stack.
Pioneer alumn Glenn Listernick (LHS '74) was an Amesbury JV coach and was on the opposing sideline that day and related the game winning play to me recently.
"Kennedy faked the hand-off to Cox (who appeared to be stopped) and then ran around the right end untouched for the score. Everyone expected Cox to take the handoff!"
The point after try was no good, but Amebury led 20-14 with only 40 seconds left in the game.
A last gasp pass from Steve Bucci, was intercepted and Amesbury sealed the upset win.
"They did put me in at QB at the end of the game," Bucci told me recently. "I was the backup QB but could throw the ball, and probably more importantly, it allowed us to put Frontero at receiver. So the plan was to get the ball to someone that could run (Frontero, Grasso, Coviello, etc). Obviously it didn't work!!"
"I just remember it being a tough physical game," Bucci recalled.
Amesbury head coach Dave Bailey told Angelini after the game that it was their biggest win ever. "We outplayed them in the second half and controlled scrimmage throughout. We played up to our capabilities and we never let up."
Angeli quoted Adams' comments from the preseason that "in high school football, any team in the league can defeat any other team in the league on any given day. Intensity makes up for any difference in talent."
Little did he know that he would be talking about his own Pioneers unexpectedly losing to lowly Amesbury, who would go on to post a 5-5 mark for the season.
The loss badly hurt the Pioneers who dropped into a three way tie for first in the CAL with Hamilton Wenham and Ipswich who all sported 5-1 CAL records.
As Adams grimly summed up to Angelini, "Now we've opened it up for everybody."
Next: Off to Hamilton for a first place showdown with the Generals.
Mismatch, no?
It certainly started out that way.
Amesbury came out strong on their first drive but the Pioneer defense ultimately stopped them. Leading the way were linebackers Mike Pascucci, Mark Sutera and Todd Coviello, or as Angelini called them "Italy's Finest." The trio racked up 12 first half tackles including Pascucci's second sack of the year.
Lynnfield's offense was also in high gear despite the absence of key running back Jason Mochi, who was out with a sprained hand.
"I was on the sidelines that day," Mochi recalled recently. "I hurt my hand in the (Pentucket) game and wasn't able to hold on to the ball."
Mochi's loss didn't seem to slow down the Pioneer offense as they scored on their first possession on a 17 play, seven minute drive. Coviello, who picked up 101 yards on the day, punched it in from the one for the score. David Frontero added the extra point and the Pioneers led 7-0.
They marched in for another TD the next time they got the ball moving 52 yards for the score. Frontero scampered for 17 of them on a rollout and Sutera went the final 30 for the touchdown. Frontero added another PAT and the Pioneers were in control at the half leading 14-0.
According to lineman Chris Loomos, the Pioneers could have actually been up by three scores at the break.
"I actually had a chance for an interception in the first half with us up by 14," Loomos told me recently. "I dropped it with no one near me and could have been clear sailing but I botched it."
The Pioneers were hit with a couple of penalties in the opening minutes of the second half, couldn't get anything going and were forced to punt.
The Indians took over and put together a five play scoring drive with Amesbury quarterback Robert Kennedy slipping in from the three for the score. The Pioneers stuffed the two point conversion try, but their lead was now only 14-6 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
The score seemed to energize the Amesbury defense, which began to shut down the Pioneer offense.
"We couldn't move the ball," Lynnfield head coach Bill Adams told Angelini after the game. "They took it to us."
Loomos agreed with Adams' assessment.
"I don't know what it was but they came out fired up and they scored one touchdown," Loomos recalled. "I think they gained some confidence and ran rough shod on us and we just could not stop them."
"I don't remember the specifics," recalled end Dave Callahan, "but I do remember the momentum changing in the second half and us not being able to move the ball."
From that point, the Indian offense certainly had no trouble moving the ball. They revived and broke through for a another score with seven minutes left in the contest. Amesbury running back Mark Cox appeared to be stopped at the three but he kept churning and broke through for the score to make it 14-12. Kennedy snuck in for the two point conversion and the game was tied 14-14.
The Pioneers got it back, but again could not move the ball and had to punt.
Amesbury began their next drive on their own 33 yard line with 4:30 left in the game. Cox took control at this point, hauling in a Kennedy pass for 20 yards and then picking up 15 yards rushing. The Indians moved to the Pioneer one yard line and on second and goal, Amesbury set up in the triple stack.
Pioneer alumn Glenn Listernick (LHS '74) was an Amesbury JV coach and was on the opposing sideline that day and related the game winning play to me recently.
"Kennedy faked the hand-off to Cox (who appeared to be stopped) and then ran around the right end untouched for the score. Everyone expected Cox to take the handoff!"
The point after try was no good, but Amebury led 20-14 with only 40 seconds left in the game.
A last gasp pass from Steve Bucci, was intercepted and Amesbury sealed the upset win.
"They did put me in at QB at the end of the game," Bucci told me recently. "I was the backup QB but could throw the ball, and probably more importantly, it allowed us to put Frontero at receiver. So the plan was to get the ball to someone that could run (Frontero, Grasso, Coviello, etc). Obviously it didn't work!!"
"I just remember it being a tough physical game," Bucci recalled.
Amesbury head coach Dave Bailey told Angelini after the game that it was their biggest win ever. "We outplayed them in the second half and controlled scrimmage throughout. We played up to our capabilities and we never let up."
Angeli quoted Adams' comments from the preseason that "in high school football, any team in the league can defeat any other team in the league on any given day. Intensity makes up for any difference in talent."
Little did he know that he would be talking about his own Pioneers unexpectedly losing to lowly Amesbury, who would go on to post a 5-5 mark for the season.
The loss badly hurt the Pioneers who dropped into a three way tie for first in the CAL with Hamilton Wenham and Ipswich who all sported 5-1 CAL records.
As Adams grimly summed up to Angelini, "Now we've opened it up for everybody."
Next: Off to Hamilton for a first place showdown with the Generals.
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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