by Tom Condardo
Newburyport Leftovers
Unsung Heroes
There was a lot to like in Friday night's big win over Newburyport. Certainly a great deal of credit goes to the ball handlers (the term I prefer since "skill position players" suggests the other players lack skill - untrue.)
Matt Mortellite (13 for 19, 250 yds, 2 TD's), captain Nick Kinnon (7 catches, 176 yards, TD; 21 yards rushing), Jason Ndansi (2 catches 34 yards, TD) and Peter Look (2 catches, 36 yards) unleashed a lethal aerial assault.Meanwhile on the ground, the Murphy Boys Thunder and Lightning attack performed as advertised. Captain Anthony Murphy (65 yards, 2 TD's) punished every Clipper who attempted to bring him down. Tyler Murphy (56 yards, 1 TD) showed off his jets with a scintillating 40 yard scamper down the left sideline for the final score of the night.
Kudos to all who contributed to an offense that rolled to 410 yards of total offense.
Today I want to note the unsung heroes who contributed mightily to the win. Start with the offensive line of captain Harry Collins, Zack Hyunh, Ken Babine, Nick Torosian, and E. J. Umlah. They were matched up against a bigger Clipper line, led by Newburyport's 6'6, 240 pound giant captain Connor Smith. Despite giving up size, the Pioneer front wall more than held its own. They gave Mortellite time to find his open receivers and opened enough room for the running game to pick up 170 yards. Very impressive.
"They're shorter but they're al pretty strong," head coach Neal Weidman said of his linemen. "They don't necessarily weigh a lot but they're pretty quick. Sometimes that's a good thing too."
Line coach Gino Fodero seems happy with his group, size or no size.
"We need to move people and we have to be in great condition," Fodera said as the most significant difference in having smaller linemen. "(In the scrimmage) against Melrose, when we got down to the nitty gritty we started pushing people around a bit. It's about angles and having your wind. Understanding where you have to go. We have to grind and get people out of the holes. Once we do that, we'll be fine. I think over time this is going to be a really good offensive line."
You could see the effects of the Pioneer conditioning over the course of the game Friday night as the Clipper defensive line clearly wore down. The same group held up well on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Clipper first team to 110 yards rushing.
"Defensively we don't have the size but we have speed like I have never seen at Lynnfield before," said Fodera. "Umlah, Collins, and (captain Nate) Drislane have to be three of the fastest defensive linemen in the league."
Another unsung group against Newburyport was the linebacking corps. Captain Cooper Marengi and Anthony Murphy, Jack Razzaboni, and Leo Quinn were all over the Clipper ball carriers.
Finally, a shout out to the Pioneer's special teams coverage, where the Lynnfield speed was again in evidence. The Pioneers had solid coverage on punts and kicks all night led by junior speedster John Lee who was in on most special teams tackles.
"We have some speed in the underclassmen as well," Weidman said of the crew he has covering kicks. "John's one of them. he's one of those guys that's starting to get varsity reps because of his athleticism. Him and a few other guys as well. It's just getting them up to speed on knowing what to do."
The point? The guys who score the points get the headlines and the ink, but the supporting cast make it all possible.
Red Flag
Despite the win, there was one serious red (or should I say yellow) flag. The penalties the Pioneers piled up bordered on the absurd. They were flagged 12 times for 130 yards almost matching the total offensive output of the Clippers (149 yards). Although it didn't hurt in a 32 point win, Weidman is clearly concerned about cleaning that up.
"There were moments in the game where we got sloppy," Weidman told me. "And that's something we have to fight against a little bit better. They seem to come in stretches. Like a four minute stretch and then we're good for six minutes and then another four minute problem stretch. The consistency has been a bit of a struggle the past two years. But the penalties have to stop."
Data Points
Although there has been a lot of handwringing about the Pioneers's struggles against Newburyport (okay mostly by me), the fact is Friday's win was the fourth in the past five years over the Clippers. The only Newburyport win in the series since 2013 was last year.
Interestingly, the winning team's point total in the past four games have been 32 (32-0 Lynnfield), 32 (32-12 Newburyport last year), 33 (33-6 Lynnfield in 2015), and 32 (32-0 Lynnfield in 2014). And yes, the Pioneers have only shut out the Clippers twice in 45 meetings, both by 32-0 scores.
Speaking of shutouts, it was the tenth time in school history Lynnfield started the season with a shutout, the first time since 1991 when they blanked St. Mary's of Lynn 36-0 in the opener. It was the first shutout for the Pioneers since a 32-0 whitewash of Manchester Essex in 2015. They didn't put up a donut last season.
Baker League Review
Four of five CAL Baker teams notched victories in Week 1. In addition to the Pioneers, Hamilton-Wenham (21-0 over Bishop Fenwick), Ipswich (14-0 over Essex Tech) and Manchester Essex (46-34 over Northeast) all posted non league wins. Amesbury was the only Baker team to lose this weekend, falling to Norwell 20-7.
The most interesting score was the H-W win over Fenwick. Although the Crusaders are in rebuilding mode after losing a big senior class, a big shutout win by the Generals is still impressive.
D5 Update
Only four of the 11 teams in Division 5 scored victories in Week One, giving the Pioneers an early head start on the field. Somerville shocked D2 Peabody to pick up 12 points and vault into the top spot in the initial playoff rankings. In addition to Lynnfield and Somerville, Watertown (50-28 over Arlington Catholic) and Swampscott (43-0 over Greater Lawrence) also notched opening weekend wins.
The Week 1 Standings (rating in parentheses)
1. Somerville (12.00)
2. Lynnfield (10.00)
2. Watertown (10.00)
2. Swampscott (10.00)
5. Bedford (1.20)
5. Triton (1.20)
7. Amesbury (1.00)
7. Newburyport (1.00)
7. Pentucket (1.00)
7. Saugus (1.00)
7. Weston (1.00)
Wayland Preview
It's back to the future Friday night when the Pioneers host the Wayland Warriors at Pioneer Stadium. Although the two teams have met only once in the past two decades, the Warriors and Pioneers share a long football history.
The two teams met annually for the next 15 seasons with the Warriors holding a 9-4-2 edge. In 1973, Lynnfield joined the Cape Ann League and dropped Wayland from the schedule. After a one year hiatus, the two teams renewed the rivalry in 1974 with the Warriors becoming the Pioneers' traditional non-league opening day opponent.
The tide turned once the teams were no longer in the same league and the Pioneers went on to beat Wayland 14 times against seven losses over the next 21 seasons. In 1995, the CAL added Wilmington and Lynnfield no longer had room for a non-league opponent. They travelled to Wayland for opening night 2004 and were beaten 36-14. That was the last time the two teams met. Overall, the Pioneers hold a slim 18-17-2 edge in the series.
Wayland has become a Dual County power and are in Division 4 for post season play. That means a Pioneer win would be worth 12 points in the D5 ratings, the only time this season Lynnfield is jumping up a division.
The Boston Herald has the Warriors ranked sixth in D4 and the Pioneers listed at number two in D5. Wayland is coming off an 18-14 loss to Hopkinton, a game they led 14-0 and 14-6 before the Hillers dropped 12 unanswered points on them in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors, much like the Pioneers, had a young team last year and suffered through a 4-7 season. They come back experienced led by 12 seniors on their 45 man roster. Wayland returns three DCL all stars in linebacker Sean Devlin, the DCL's co Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Wellington Periera, and wide receiver-safety Ben Robinson. They also return four of five starters in the offensive line.
A lone spot of inexperience is at quarterback where sophomore Mason Bolivar is taking the snaps. Periera and Bolivar ran for the two Warrior touchdowns against Hopkinton.
The Wayland strength appears to be on defense so the Pioneer offense, which exploded for 32 points against Newburyport last week, might have a sterner test this week.
Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm.
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