The 1973 CAL Champion Pioneers: Capsized in Newburyport

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.

Wayback Wednesday: The 1973
CAL Champion Pioneers

November 7, 1973 - Stop me if you've heard this before. The Pioneers travelled to Newburyport with high hopes and came home crushed. 

Rinse and repeat.

This would be a refrain that would haunt the Pioneer for the next 40 years, but the first trip north in 1973 ominously set the tone for the decades of frustration that followed.

The Pioneers were riding high, undefeated at 6-0-0, ranked 4th in Division III, five spots ahead of the Clippers, with a chance to seize undisputed possession of first place of the CAL from Newburyport. Rodan, grabbed on to an interview he had with the local Newburyport paper as a potential source of inspiration for his squad in this first ever meeting between the schools.

Rodan told Steve Farrar of the Wakefield Item that the reporter "displayed an attitude of confidence bordering on arrogance. Rodan went on to say that the paper had picked Lynnfield to lose the last three weeks."

According to Farrar, the Pioneers "looked good in practice all week as they prepared for this make it or break it contest."

Let's just say things didn't quite work out they way the Pioneers would have hoped. In fact, things couldn't have turned out worse.

Windy conditions as World War Memorial Stadium combined with a big, fast Clipper defense clamped down on the potent Pioneer passing game. Quarterback Steve Olsen came into the game with 12 touchdown passes, eight of them to Lindsay Ross, but Newburyport's air tight coverage prevented the pair from hooking up for a TD for the first time all year.

Ross seemed to be the only Pioneer able to generate any production as he led the team in receiving (four catches for 82 yards) and rushing (five carries for 56 yards). He also nearly ran back a kickoff for a score.

Compounding the problem was six Pioneer turnovers, three of which the Clippers converted into scores. It was not pretty for the visiting Lynnfield squad.

The teams battled to a scoreless first quarter before the Clippers mounted a 70 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Then began the Big, Pioneer Giveaway Party as they fumbled twice and Newburyport converted both to take a 19-0 lead at halftime.

The Clippers picked up right where they left off in the third quarter marching 52 yards for another score to make it 25-0 heading into the final quarter.

The Pioneers finally got on the board in the final frame thanks to a fake punt by Ross on a fourth and 13 that went for a 22 yard first down run. The Clipper defense chipped in on the drive with 27 yards of penalties, according to Farrar. Brian Rea capped it with a one yard plunge to avert the shutout. Newburyport added another score and two point conversion to account for the final score.

"The league leaders should be given a great deal of credit," wrote Geof Simons in his Villager report. "But in the opinion of many, it was the Pioneers who beat themselves."

Assistant coach Harry Jameson told Simons that "the offense simply didn't execute well."

Olsen told Farrar that "we are a good small team and Newburyport is a good big team."

"You can't make mistakes against a good team," head coach Bill Rodan told Simons.

The loss dropped the Pioneers into a second place tie with Pentucket at 6-1-0 with games against North Andover and North Reading left on the schedule. Lynnfield dropped from fourth place to sixth place in the Division III rankings, while Newburyport moved into second place in the division. Pentucket was ranked tenth in the 49 team division. 

Next: Jamboree redux against North Andover

Checkin' on the Young 'uns
The JayVees didn't do much better against the Clippers in their contests, falling by a 20-8 score. Newburyport built a 12-0 halftime lead on a pick-six interception return and a kickoff return for a TD.

The Pioneers scored late in the third quarter when Jim Nelson connected with Steve Stickey for the Td. Frank Guarino plowed in for the two point conversion to cut the lead to 12-8. The Clippers added a fourth quarter TD to account for the final score.

1973 Flashback

The price of admission to the upcoming Thanksgiving Day game in North Reading was increased to $2 per adult and $1 for students. Dr. Bernard Huntley "expressed a reluctance to increase prices by 100%, but stated that North Reading is the host town this year and they already charge $1.50 per adult for regular games." He also pointed out that he reviewed other towns and Lynnfield was "in line with the vast majority which charge $1.50 per adult."

He expressed hope that children's tickets could be set at seventy-five cents when North Reading reviews its admission policy.

Huntley stated that the proceeds from the games is split 50/50 between the schools and goes to defray team expenses. 

On another topic, Police Chief Thomas Ganley requested that parents not drive their children to Junior High School, but have them ride school buses.

According to the Villager, Ganley's action was prompted "because of a serious traffic jam that occurred on Main St. last Tuesday morning resulting from the large number of parents driving their children to school in the inclement weather."

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.