To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first Pioneer team to play in the Cape Ann League, I am taking a week by week look back at the 1973 season.
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Wayback Wednesday: The 1973
CAL Champion Pioneers |
October 24, 1973 - As the season reached the halfway point, the Pioneers' 4-0 record had clearly marked them as a team to be reckoned with. They returned home after the Hamilton-Wenham rout to take on the second place Amesbury Indians, who came into Lynnfield with a 3-1 mark. If the Pioneers wanted to stay undefeated and keep their share of first place with Newburyport and Pentucket they would have to deal with the much bigger Indian squad.
Not that facing a bigger team was anything new for the Pioneers. In fact it would become an ongoing theme all season.
The Wakefield Item's Steve Farrar reported that Amesbury's offensive line averaged 204 pounds to only 177 for the Pioneers. Proving that "speed and agility can override weight," the Pioneers dominated the Indians 36-14 on a wet Pioneer Field, running up over 300 yards of offense in the process.
"The tough 'five' up front," Farrar said of "Jeff Silva, John Imbrescia, John Callahan, Greg Anderson and Mark Stone have done a super job all season with no exception on Saturday, as they blasted holes in the big Amesbury defense, paving the way for the flashy array of Pioneer backs."
It wasn't only the running game that was on fire. Quarterback Steve Olsen broke the Pioneers' single season record for touchdown passes held jointly by himself and Doug Murdock (1962), tossing his ninth and tenth TD of the season. His favorite target, Lindsay Ross, etched his name in the LHS record book hauling in his 6th of the season, breaking the single season mark of five set by Charlie Meeker in 1960. Ross' TD catch extended his career mark to eight.
Olsen was six for 11 for 96 yards and his two TD passes extended his career TD passing record to 20.
The Pioneers started quickly in this one, taking the opening kick and driving 64 yards for the score. Brian Rea had the big play on the drive, a 33 yard run, and Steve Celata busted in from 11 yard line to cap it. Alan Harrington added the extra point and the home team led 7-0.
The Indians answered back with a 73 yard march but failed to convert the PAT so the Pioneers led 7-6.
The Pioneers pulled away in the second period on a pair of scores.
The first came on a 61 yard drive highlighted by an Olsen to Larry Mitkus 39 yard pass. Olsen then completed the drive with an 8 yard toss to brother Bob. Rea ran in the two point conversion to put the Pioneers up 15-6.
They added another score later in the quarter which was set up by center Jeff Silva who snapped for the punt then ran down and crushed the Amesbury punt returner forcing a fumble which he promptly recovered on the Indian 12 yard line. Rea scored on a one yard blast three plays later and Harrington added the PAT to give the Pioneers a 22-6 halftime lead.
The Pioneers piled on in the third when Olsen found Ross for a 25 yard TD hookup to make it 29-6.
Amesbury threatened early in the fourth but Harrington picked off an interception to end the Indian bid.
Olsen added the cherry on the top of this one shortly thereafter when he ran a naked quarterback bootleg and cruised 76 yards for the score to make it 36-6. The Indians added a score against the Pioneer reserves to account for the final score.
The win upped the Pioneer record to 5-0 and kept them in a first place tie with Pentucket and Newburyport, Lynnfield's next two opponents. The next two weeks would determine the Pioneers' fate.
Next: Battle I for first place
Checkin' on the Young 'uns
Not that facing a bigger team was anything new for the Pioneers. In fact it would become an ongoing theme all season.
The Wakefield Item's Steve Farrar reported that Amesbury's offensive line averaged 204 pounds to only 177 for the Pioneers. Proving that "speed and agility can override weight," the Pioneers dominated the Indians 36-14 on a wet Pioneer Field, running up over 300 yards of offense in the process.
"The tough 'five' up front," Farrar said of "Jeff Silva, John Imbrescia, John Callahan, Greg Anderson and Mark Stone have done a super job all season with no exception on Saturday, as they blasted holes in the big Amesbury defense, paving the way for the flashy array of Pioneer backs."
It wasn't only the running game that was on fire. Quarterback Steve Olsen broke the Pioneers' single season record for touchdown passes held jointly by himself and Doug Murdock (1962), tossing his ninth and tenth TD of the season. His favorite target, Lindsay Ross, etched his name in the LHS record book hauling in his 6th of the season, breaking the single season mark of five set by Charlie Meeker in 1960. Ross' TD catch extended his career mark to eight.
Olsen was six for 11 for 96 yards and his two TD passes extended his career TD passing record to 20.
The Pioneers started quickly in this one, taking the opening kick and driving 64 yards for the score. Brian Rea had the big play on the drive, a 33 yard run, and Steve Celata busted in from 11 yard line to cap it. Alan Harrington added the extra point and the home team led 7-0.
The Indians answered back with a 73 yard march but failed to convert the PAT so the Pioneers led 7-6.
The Pioneers pulled away in the second period on a pair of scores.
The first came on a 61 yard drive highlighted by an Olsen to Larry Mitkus 39 yard pass. Olsen then completed the drive with an 8 yard toss to brother Bob. Rea ran in the two point conversion to put the Pioneers up 15-6.
They added another score later in the quarter which was set up by center Jeff Silva who snapped for the punt then ran down and crushed the Amesbury punt returner forcing a fumble which he promptly recovered on the Indian 12 yard line. Rea scored on a one yard blast three plays later and Harrington added the PAT to give the Pioneers a 22-6 halftime lead.
The Pioneers piled on in the third when Olsen found Ross for a 25 yard TD hookup to make it 29-6.
Amesbury threatened early in the fourth but Harrington picked off an interception to end the Indian bid.
Olsen added the cherry on the top of this one shortly thereafter when he ran a naked quarterback bootleg and cruised 76 yards for the score to make it 36-6. The Indians added a score against the Pioneer reserves to account for the final score.
The win upped the Pioneer record to 5-0 and kept them in a first place tie with Pentucket and Newburyport, Lynnfield's next two opponents. The next two weeks would determine the Pioneers' fate.
Next: Battle I for first place
Checkin' on the Young 'uns
Unfortunately for Lynnfield, the JV team was not as fortunate as they fell to Amesbury 20-18. Glenn Dolbeare scored twice for the Pioneers, bringing his JV total to six on the season.
Dolbeare opened the scoring for the Pioneers with an 85 yard punt return but Amesbury went up 8-6 a short time later on a 40 yard scoring drive. Amesbury picked off an interception late in the half and turned it into another score to go in at halftime with a 14-6 lead over the Pioneers.
Amesbury makde it 20-6 early in the third converting a Lynnfield fumble into another score. The Pioneers answered by blocking an Indian punt and taking advantage of the short field to score. Dolbeare capped the drive with a two yard run to make it 20-12.
Jim Nelson edged the Pioneers closer late in the game when he found Steve Stickney with a 45 yard TD pass to get the score to 20-18 but the try for two was unsuccessful.
The JV's record now stands at 3-2.
1973 Flashback
Dolbeare opened the scoring for the Pioneers with an 85 yard punt return but Amesbury went up 8-6 a short time later on a 40 yard scoring drive. Amesbury picked off an interception late in the half and turned it into another score to go in at halftime with a 14-6 lead over the Pioneers.
Amesbury makde it 20-6 early in the third converting a Lynnfield fumble into another score. The Pioneers answered by blocking an Indian punt and taking advantage of the short field to score. Dolbeare capped the drive with a two yard run to make it 20-12.
Jim Nelson edged the Pioneers closer late in the game when he found Steve Stickney with a 45 yard TD pass to get the score to 20-18 but the try for two was unsuccessful.
The JV's record now stands at 3-2.
1973 Flashback
The Villager noted that Lynnfield police had two reports of UFO sightings in town this week. On Wildwood Drive, two youths "reported seeing a red triangular object disappear into the woods." An hour and a half later, a party at the Colonial Country Club reported seeing "15 UFO's hovering over route 128 with blue lights shooting back and forth between them." The spotter then told police the UFO's "drifted north over the highway and dissappeared."
"No explanation has been advanced for the sightings," the article concluded.
Local school children in conjunction with the girl scouts collected a truckload of non perishable food for the victims of last week's Chelsea Fire. I grew up in Chelsea and was actually there during the fire that destroyed 18 city blocks. It was a surreal scene watching firefighters from all over the area battle the blaze.
Three local Pop Warner teams participated in a VFW Post of Somerville Bowl Games. The "A" Chargers lost 36-6 to an undefeated Somerville team but the "B" Rams upset their undefeated Somerville counterparts 12-6. The "C" Spartans beat their Somerville opponent 8-6
Local school children in conjunction with the girl scouts collected a truckload of non perishable food for the victims of last week's Chelsea Fire. I grew up in Chelsea and was actually there during the fire that destroyed 18 city blocks. It was a surreal scene watching firefighters from all over the area battle the blaze.
Three local Pop Warner teams participated in a VFW Post of Somerville Bowl Games. The "A" Chargers lost 36-6 to an undefeated Somerville team but the "B" Rams upset their undefeated Somerville counterparts 12-6. The "C" Spartans beat their Somerville opponent 8-6
If you played on or were involved with the 1973 Pioneers and would like to share a memory, please pass it on to me at tcondardo@gmail.com.
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