by Tom Condardo
The Ipswich Tigers are out of the cage.
Since the creation of the Cape Ann League in 1973, Ipswich has been one of the smallest schools in the Cape Ann League. But for years under legendary coach Jack Welch, the Tigers ran the nefarious Delaware Wing T and routinely competed with - and beat up on - much larger schools. Welch led Ipswich to five state championships and eight CAL titles.
The Tigers struggled after Welch's retirement but as recently as 2006 captured the Division 3A Super Bowl with a 7-0 win over Cape Cod Tech. They crushed Manchester-Essex 34-0 in the semi-final to get there.
Then it all came unglued.
After that Super Bowl win, the Tigers lost 30 straight games, snapping the losing streak on Thanksgiving Day 2009 with a 14-13 win over Hamilton Wenham.
Heading in to Year Two of the Fessette era, the Tigers are poised to continue their resurgence, and you know they put a giant red circle around tomorrow's night's game against the Pioneers. To be the best you have to beat the best, and the Pioneers have been the gold standard for the past four years. The Tigers will be sky high for this one.
The game has huge implications both for the Baker League title and for the Division 3A playoff race. Only eight teams make the playoffs and this game could have an effect on who makes it, and if they both earn berths, who would have the higher seed.
Plus there is also likely some frustration for the Tigers when it comes to their recent head to head matchups with the Pioneers. Lynnfield has won nine straight games between the schools, outscoring the Tigers 248-36 in the process. Ipswich hasn't scored on the Pioneers since 2012, losing the last three games 107-0.
But that is then and this is now.
Both teams come in 1-2, with Ipswich having the slightly tougher schedule. The Tigers opened with a tough 21-13 loss to a strong North Reading team. They bounced back and upset Newburyport 12-6, then fell to Pat Sheehan's Triton Vikings - probably the best team in the league - by a 28-0 count.
They graduated only four seniors and will come to Pioneer stadium as an experienced squad with 15 seniors leading the way.
The Tigers have been tough on defense but have struggled running the spread offense with the graduation of last year's outstanding QB Jake Long.
Coach's Corner
I asked Sheehan for his take on the Tigers:
"Ipswich is tough," he said. "They have a really good defense. They have a couple of defensive tackles (Charlie Koshivas and Kieran McCormack) that get after it. They are pains in the butt.
"(Captain Billy) Waiswilos at linebacker is tough and plays nasty," Sheehan went on. "And safety Matt Rugo is aggressive. As a unit they gang tackle and fly to the football."
The offense, on the other hand has struggled.
"They are new to the spread offense," Sheehan went on. "And as you know there are growing pains in installing a new offense, especially the read option game from the spread.
"(Running back) Charlie Gillis is very fast and obviously their go-to guy. They have a couple of receivers who can make plays, but they want to get the ball to Gillis."
Shutting down the running game will be job one for the Pioneers tomorrow night. They are coming off two straight games where they were gashed by the opponents star running back. Matt Andreas of Danvers and Zack Prentiss of Amesbury had big nights against the Pioneers, both rushing for over 150 yards. If the Pioneers can't contain Gillis, they could be in for a long night.
A key will be the health of the Pioneers. They were already without several key players against Amesbury and lost several more during the game. Captain Louis Ellis and Nick Kinnon are two of their top three offensive weapons and Ellis left the Amesbury game with an injury and Kinnon was operating at half strength for the entire game. Getting those back along with lineman Zach Huynh, running back Tyler Murphy, and linebacker/TE Cooper Marengi will be critical.
It should be a good one.
That's it for now. Check back Sunday night for my Leftovers post.
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