Around the CAL/NEC 4: Week 10

Well, the Pioneers and Hornets have taken all the mystery out of the league race since it comes down to Thanksgiving Day for those two teams for the title and a trip to the playoffs. We can take a look at the pre-Thanksgiving Day games and a little bonus coverage for those looking ahead. First, let's check out the updated standings.


Looks good, doesn't it?

The Pioneers certainly made sure they were hitting on all cylinders heading into the title clash, but as I mentioned yesterday, North Reading nearly hit a speed bump in the form of the Ipswich Tigers.

The Tigers did the best job of the year on Carl Lipani holding him to 63 yards on 24 carries and keeping him out of the end zone for the only time this year. The only other time this season he didn't score a touchdown was against Pentucket where he did manage to get a two point conversion. No doubt the Pioneer defense will be looking for clues on how the Tigers managed to contain Division 3A's number two scorer (132 points).

Things were so tough for the Hornets that they actually had to attempt their 13th pass of the year and it was good for their third completion of the season. Jason Kellogg hit C. J. McCarthy for a 69 yard TD in the second period to give NR a 7-0 lead. The Tigers' Peter Moutevelis punched it in from six yards out to tie the game at the half 7-7.

McCarthy added an eight yard TD run in the third to give the Hornets a 13-7 lead. The Tigers blocked the extra point, but Evan Wade recovered it in the endzone for the two points that ended up being the winning margin.

Ipswich made it interesting in the end nearly scoring the winning TD but John Fortes intercepted a pass at the goal line with 11 seconds left to seal the nailbiting win.

The Tigers will look to make their season when they travel to Hamilton-Wenham on Thanksgiving Day in what should be a very interesting contest.

The Generals tuned up for that one with a 34-14 win over Georgetown. Trevor Lyons scored three times in the first quarter as H-W built a 20-0 lead.

They added another score in the second and one in the third to take a 34-0 lead before the Royals put up two fourth quarter scores.

For those looking ahead, the winner of the North Reading/Lynnfield contest will play the CAL/NEC 3 Champion on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. Regardless of which squad advances, there will be a familiar foe waiting for them.

With a last second win over Pentucket on Saturday, Amesbury ensured that the Indian/Clipper Thanksgiving Day battle will decide that league's champion. Pentucket nearly threw a monkey wrench into that when Cody Rothwell scored with 32 seconds left to give the Sachems a 20-14 lead.

But Matt Talbot drove the Indians down the field and threw a tipped TD pass to Ben Cullen with one second left to tie the score. Mac Short nailed the PAT for the win.

With the winner-take-all affair set regardless of the outcome, Newburyport lost to Winthrop 18-16 on a late Viking score.

North Reading lost to Newburyport 19-14 in the closing minutes of their game and the Pioneers fell 7-6 to the Clippers. The Hornets handled the Indians easily 21-7 while Lynnfield needed a heart-palpitating comeback to get by Amesbury 31-27.

Regardless of which teams advance, the Division 3A semifinals should provide an outstanding contest.

That's it for now. Check back Wednesday for my next post on the 1973 Pioneers.