Hamilton Wenham Leftovers

Well the Pioneers did what they had to do yesterday by finally getting over the hump with the Generals.

It was a dominating effort and left no room for any heartbreaking last minute heroics from H-W. Both coaches knew what the strategy needed to be for the Pioneers to win and when it was evident that the Pioneers played the game exactly as it needed to be played, both Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman and General head coach Andrew Morency acknowledged the obvious.

"They executed their game plan," Morency told me after the game. "I knew they were going to try and ground and pound to keep Trevor off the field which is what a lot of teams try to do. My hat’s off to Lynnfield. Defensively they’re real strong. They were big and physical. We went into this game knowing that we had to play a mistake free game. Like any good football team when we made the mistakes they took advantage of them. I think that was the key to the game. 

"Early on we had momentum and they took it right away with a couple of big plays so I give them credit," Morency continued. "They had  a couple of long drives that took the wind out of our sails. Defensively they really predicate what they do and offensively they rolled. After they caught those couple of turnovers. That’s the sign of good football team. You can’t make a mistake and they took advantage."

The Generals' coach knew his squad was in trouble when the Pioneers came out for the second half and allowed H-W only three offensive plays.

"The first drive after halftime we knew we had to have that drive but they came out and they took that eight minutes/seven minutes and the rest was history," the coach said.  "By the time we got the ball back it was a little different of a scenario."

Morency also acknowledged that a key difference from this year to the last two years is that the Pioneers had the advantage at the line of scrimmage, both in size and experience.

"Absolutely," he said. "Their line is a big strong line that has some veteran leadership. That’s something that any football team yearns for. In high school it doesn't come every year. So Lynnfield certainly has that as their advantage. They are big and physical up front and you have to play a pretty good football game to beat a team like that. When you have a good line you can make a couple of mistakes and you can still tell the tale. You saw that today. Lynnfield made a couple of mistakes but man when you can ground and pound it like that with those two backs with the quarterback tandem it’s really hard."

Weidman also agreed that the Pioneers wanted to keep Lyons from the offensive side of the ball and doing do was a key to the win.

"The game plan against them is that we contain them when they are on offense as much as possible and keep the ball away from them as much as possible because you don’t want it in (Lyon’s hands)," Weidman said. "The defense did well but we kept the ball out of their hands with the exception of three plays in a whole quarter. I think the drive to start the third quarter must have knocked seven minutes off anyway. That’s what you have to do against them. You have to be able to control the ball. You have to get first downs. You have to keep the ball out of their hands. Shutting down Lyons is important. Luckily the defense played great but we were able to control the ball too which is what you have to do against them. They score points." 

Both coaches acknowledged how close a game it really was.

"It was a good football game but they definitely had the upper hand today," Morency said.

"When two teams like that play each other that have been pretty even over the last few years it comes down to whoever catches a few breaks along the way," Weidman said. "That’s just the way it is." 

Playing Like Champs

Despite the way the game finally ended up, you have to give the Generals credit. They never quit and made some noise at the very end. They played just the way you figured a two-time defending champion would.

"Absolutely," agreed Weidman.  "We didn’t think they would (quit). They play hard."

Morency also agreed when I mentioned it to him.

"As the game was slipping in a certain direction we talked about we were going to fight like a champion to the bitter end," said Morency, "and that’s what they did so I am proud of them for that. We didn’t want to go out that way. And the kids were going to try to do everything we could. And we did a little bit at the end which maybe we can carry momentum into the next one."

Snapping Streaks

The Pioneers snapped a couple of streaks with the victory. First it ended the 12 game league winning streak by the Generals. It also ends a six game losing streak by the Pioneers in Hamilton. The last the time the Pioneers won up there was in 1996 when they crushed the Generals 37-8.

Saturday was the 40th meeting between the schools, with H-W now holding a 20-19-1 edge. The Generals have had the better of it for the past decade or so, now winning 11 of the 14 contests since 1999. In the Weidman era, the Pioneers are now 2-3.

Pick Six
Captain Tyler Palumbo's interception return for a touchdown was the first Pick Six for the Pioneers since 2005 when Tino Cohee did the trick against Hull in a 23-6 win.

It was the 25th Pick Six in the history of the school

Adam Smasher
Freshman Adam Buchanan has become a fourth down specialist. He did it again on Saturday when he came in for one carry on a fourth and one from the H-W 12 on the Pioneers' first scoring drive. He blasted ahead for the first down to keep the drive alive.

For the season he now has four carries for eight yards. Three carries for first downs and one for a touchdown. That's efficiency.

That's it for now. Check back tomorrow night, weather permitting, and I'll take a look at the other two CAL/NEC 4 contests.