tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12058252155540285362024-03-13T17:51:58.334-04:00Lynnfield Football GridblogTom Condardo provides information, reports and updates on all things involving Lynnfield High FootballTom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.comBlogger429125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-182612931396854472018-08-16T16:24:00.000-04:002018-08-16T16:24:13.298-04:00 A Fond Farewell<br />
<i>By Tom Condardo</i><br />
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Tomorrow afternoon the Pat Lamusta Era of Lynnfield football will begin. The energetic new head coach of the Pioneers will kick off the first practice of the season at 4 pm at Pioneer Stadium.<br />
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And for the first time in nearly three decades, I won't be there.<br />
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As some of you know from the article in the <a href="https://www.localheadlinenews.com/lynnfield-villager-football-reporter-condardo-retires-after-40-seasons/">Villager in April,</a> for the first time since 1989, I won't be roaming the sidelines covering Pioneer football this fall. It's not really a retirement since it's always been a part time gig and I've never been busier with my freelance commercial copywriting business. But it's time to bid adieu to my "hobby."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Your Faithful Scribe</i></span></td></tr>
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Little did I know that when I took a <a href="http://gut%20course/">gut course</a> (do they say that anymore?) my senior year at Suffolk University called <i>Theory and Practice of Athletics</i> taught by Athletic Director Charlie Law, that I would learn something that I would use for more than half my life: how to chart a football game.<br />
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For 11 seasons (1976-1986) covering North Reading for the Transcript and for the past 29 season following the Pioneers for the Villager, I have spent my fall Saturdays and Friday nights prowling hundreds of high school field sidelines charting my little heart out.<br />
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I have a two and half year old grandson and a granddaughter due literally any day now in western Mass so I will be spending more time out there. I just can no longer devote the time that's needed to cover the games, compile all the stats, write my newspaper article, and compose my blog posts the way I feel they should be done.<br />
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When I started as a wide-eyed cub reporter/advertising rep/layout man/paper deliverer/go-pick-up-subs-for-supper-guy for those late nights putting the papers together, I was using a manual typewriter and a Minolta SLR 200 with no autofocus or auto-advance functions.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>My Actual Desk with My Actual Typewriter <br />at the Transcript Office 1976</i></span></td></tr>
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I would get a roll of film with 12 shots, shoot what I could get, and hope for the best. I got some pretty good shots. For example this 1977 action photo of a certain Lynnfield selectmen with the initials "Phil Crawford" back in his Hornet days.<br />
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My first game was in September of 1976, North Reading at Hamilton-Wenham. Being a city boy from Chelsea, I didn't know Wenham from Mars so in those pre-GPS days I asked Hornet Head Coach Ed Sapienza if I could ride up on the bus. He agreed and that was the first and last time I did that. I went out and purchased a map book the next day.<br />
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The final result that day was a 20-0 North Reading win over the Generals and I was off and running all the way to Thanksgiving Day 2017 - fittingly in North Reading - an appropriate ending bookend to my 419 game football writing career.<br />
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<b><i>Lots of Thanks</i></b><br />
There are a number of people I want to thank for helping me on this more-than-semi-lifelong journey. First the coaches that I worked with over the years. In North Reading, Sapienza, now a retired Peabody High School principal, and I started our journey together. I was the wet-behind-the-ears reporter and he was a brand spanking new North Reading head coach. He took over a Hornet program that had struggled for years and turned it into a CAL powerhouse winning league titles in 1978-79-80 and going to the Super Bowl in 1979. That was a fun run.<br />
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He was succeeded by Gary Sverker who went on to enjoy much success at Lynn Tech. He was followed by Jim Nangle and then Walt Miller. I took a two year hiatus after 1986 but in 1989 my wife and I bought a house in Lynnfield and Al Sylvia Jr. contacted me and said "Great, now you can cover Lynnfield." And that was that.<br />
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In Lynnfield I had the pleasure of working with a trio of classy gentlemen in Bill Adams, Scott Brennan, and Neal Weidman. Adams had two tours of duty during my time and he always amazed me with his total recall of specific plays in specific games played years ago.<br />
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During some games when the Pioneers would need a boost, the big bear of a man would call them over, huff and puff and stomp around screaming his displeasure, throwing his hat on the ground for the final exclamation point. He would then send his team back out on the field, pick up his hat and saunter by me on the sideline and wink. "Sometimes you have to put on a show," he would tell me.<br />
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I covered coach Adams for 146 games and he had a tradition where he would come over to me and shake my hand before the national anthem. We did that 146 times. On days when the sun was shining in your face on the Lynnfield sideline at the old Middle School field, I would have to go on the opposing team sideline so I could get pictures that weren't washed out. But I would have to wait until we did our handshake before I could scurry over there.<br />
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Bill struggled through a difficult time in the program when the Pioneers were caught in a perfect storm. Lynnfield's numbers were down but the Pioneers were still playing a full-sized CAL schedule against the likes of North Andover, Masco and the regionals schools like Triton and Pentucket who were big at the time. Suiting up 20-25 kids was not uncommon for the Pioneers. I remember one game in the mid 90's where Lynnfield had 17 kids in uniform.<br />
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When Bill left after the 1994 season, he was replaced by Scott Brennan, a young enthusiastic motivator. Think a high school version of Pete Carroll. Always up, always positive, always teaching. Scott is now an Assistant Principal at Triton My son Kevin was on his squads his sophomore and junior years and I couldn't have been more pleased to have my son play for him.<br />
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There's something Scott used to say that I still quote today when talking about kids who make the commitment to play football. "You <i>play</i> baseball and basketball, but <i>you are</i> a football player."<br />
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Adams returned in 2000 - my son's senior year - and stayed on until 2007 when he turned the program over to his offensive coordinator Neal Weidman. What followed was a wildly successful decade that saw the Pioneers become a juggernaut, winning almost 70% of their games in compiling a 78-34 record.<br />
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The Pioneers captured their league title seven of the ten years Weidman was coach including a still alive six championships in row streak. They also won a division title and made it to Gillette Stadium for the school's second Super Bowl.<br />
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Neal was great to cover, always cooperative, always available whenever I needed some information or a late quote to finish a story. His wife Jen was always gracious to me as well never mentioning my interruptions over the years. Though I remember one conversation Neal and I had while he was driving on vacation that must have pushed her patience to the limit. No matter the situation, win or lose, he was always right there to face the reporters, many times consisting of just me.<br />
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<b><i>A New Beginning</i></b><br />
Weidman announced in March he would be moving on and his assistant Pat Lamusta was named head coach a couple of months later. I first met Pat as a ferocious linebacker who cracked the Pioneers' starting linebacker as a freshman in 2004. Pat was a never-quit dynamo on some struggling Pioneer squads in the mid-2000's but he was always a bright spot during some dark fall days.<br />
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I expect Pat to bring that same enthusiasm as head coach. When he was still playing for Framingham State I asked him what he planned to do and he said his long term goal was to be the head coach at Lynnfield. I told him at the time that I had no doubt he would reach that goal. He is someone that is smart, driven and has his priorities in order. One thing is for sure, he won't be outworked.<br />
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He has some big shoes to fill and a number of roster holes to plug as he takes over a squad that lost 21 of 22 starters to graduation. But give him a chance and I'm confident he will find a way to continue the winning tradition that has been established.<br />
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Thanks also to you for continuing to read my weekly drivel and for passing on the kinds words whenever we met.<br />
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So that's it. I'm moving on. I will definitely miss it. It has been a huge part of my life but there is always a time when it has to end and this is it for me. I want to thank all the coaches, players, and parents for making it an enjoyable run. Thanks to the Sylvia family for getting me started and to Glen Dolbeare, publisher of the Villager, for letting me continue. Most importantly, thanks to my wife Noreen who has been a high school football widow for too many fall weekends.<br />
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That's all folks. Go Pioneers!<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-64213986090410672182018-03-18T15:26:00.000-04:002018-03-18T15:28:42.836-04:00End of an Era<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
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By now you all know that Neal Weidman is stepping down as head coach of the Pioneers after an amazing ten year run - one of the most successful stretch in school history.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Former Pioneer Head Coach Neal Weidman</i></b></span></td></tr>
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Lynnfield football has been fortunate to have some illustrious periods in its 60 seasons.<br />
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Steve Sobieck started the program in 1958 and went 2-5-1 his first year with a team without any seniors. But beginning in 1959, he reeled off six successful seasons going 41-9-3 (.775 winning percentage including three Dual County League titles and a 1960 team that went 9-0 and still stands as the only undefeated team in LHS history.<br />
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Bill Rodan, the winningest coach in LHS history with 101 victories, had a particularly stellar six year run from 1978-83 going 43-16-1 (.716) and a CAL championship.<br />
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Bill Adams' teams went 25-6 (.806) from 1985-87 including a CAL title and the school's first trip to a Super Bowl.<br />
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The run of Weidman's teams deservers to be elevated to that pantheon. He finished 78-34 (.696). Excluding his first year in 2008 when the Pioneers went 3-8, Weidman's final nine year record was 75-26 (.742) with seven league championships, two division titles, 15 playoff games, three division title games, and a trip to the Super Bowl.<br />
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After speaking to him the day he made his announcement, it was obvious to me that his decision to step down was not an easy one.<br />
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"It's tough. I don't feel great that's for sure," the coach told me of his feelings the day he told his coaches and players and sent out his email notice to the Pioneer football community. "There's a few different reasons for my decision. I'm at a crossroads with a few different things and because I was unsure I figured if I was unsure than I probably shouldn't be doing it.<br />
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"It was ridiculously hard decision," he continued. "I've been tormented over it. I've given it a ton of thought. I'm not a hundred percent sure if I'm making the right decision but I don't know how you can ask a group of people to be all in if you're not sure that you can be all in."<br />
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It was also clear that this was a decision a long time in the making.<br />
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"I've given this thought for years," Weidman said. "Deciding when would be the right time? It was something that I never really wanted to think about but every year I had to think about it a little bit more. I've come to the realization that there's never going to be a good time. There's always going to be a group of seniors. There's always going to an underclass group that you're gonna like that's coming up through. There's always good kids and always good players so there was never going to be a perfect time. I'm sure I'm going to regret it come the fall when the first day rolls around. Not sure how I'm going to get through school that day."<br />
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Weidman has no plans to do anything in coaching this fall.<br />
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"The plan is to not do anything," he said. "I haven't looked for anything and no one has reached out to me. I don't know if that will change once people find out but I will not be actively seeking anything else.<br />
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"Head coaching is a big commitment and I've always prioritized it," he continued. "Maybe even at times when it shouldn't have been the top priority. But that's the only way you can do it because its pretty demanding."<br />
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"I'm not sure where things are going to go but I'm just trying to reprioritize," he summed up. "Hopefully I'll get another opportunity if I want one some day. There's no guarantees because that's just the way it is."<br />
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I'm guessing that with his track record, getting that next opportunity won't be a problem.<br />
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For the time being however, I'm sure Jen, Hudson, Cal, and Tripp will enjoy having husband and dad around this fall.<br />
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<b><i>Coaches Kudos</i></b><br />
Weidman's departure also means the breakup of one of the best and most dedicated coaching staffs on the North Shore. The core group of John O'Brien, Gino Fodera, Chris Sakelakos, Fern Lavoie, Pat Lamusta and Jeff Gannon have been together for years and the results on the field show it. The Pioneers have had great talent over the years, but the staff always made sure the players were in the best position to take advantage of their skill sets. From what I understand, those marathon Sunday night coaching sessions were epic, but the results speak for themselves.<br />
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<b><i>A look back</i></b><br />
So as the Weidman Decade prepares to pass into the LHS football history books, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back do a recap of the past ten seasons.<br />
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<b><i>2008</i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>2008 Pioneers</b></i></span></td></tr>
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Weidman took over a Pioneer team that had gone 5-38 from 2004-2007, three of those wins coming in 2007. They would go into battle with only six seniors including captains Ryan Perkins, Chris Klove, and Ben Salisbury.<br />
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"Our main goal is to improve every single week," Weidman told me before the season. "We're happy with the kids. They want to get better and they want to win so we're working for that common goal for all of us."<br />
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The Weidman Era began with a bang, as the Pioneers blasted Matignon 28-6 on opening night in Somerville. Salisbury, Gino Cohee, and Chris Grassi led a rushing attack that exploded for 264 yards and four TD's. The Pioneers led 21-6 at the half and cruised in from there.<br />
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The Pioneers would then lose seven straight, being outscored 176-82. They nipped Ipswich 13-7 in week nine. The turning point for the program began in week ten in a 35-21 loss to Super Bowl bound Manchester Essex. The Hornet head coach told Weidman that the Pioneers had given them their toughest battle of the year.<br />
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Hope for the future began to emerge on Thanksgiving Morning when the Pioneers shut out North Reading 21-0 at the Middle School Field setting the stage for an optimistic offseason.<br />
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"It's something to build on going into next year," Weidman told me after the game. "Going into next year we're going to have to pick it up a notch and take that next step."<br />
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Final Record: 3-8<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2009</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2009 Pioneers</span></i></b></td></tr>
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And take the next step they did.<br />
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Led by captains George and Joe Hennessey, Eric Inglese, and John Leydon, nearly 50 players including 18 seniors turned out for preseason practices. One prescient prognosticating sportswriter (okay, me) knowingly began his preview article in the Villager this way: "There's really no other way to say it: The 2009 Lynnfield football team is loaded."<br />
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Spoilers: It was.<br />
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"None of that matters," Weidman told me. "The only thing that matters is that each week you prepare and continue to improve."<br />
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The Pioneers roared out of gate with two lopsided wins over Matignon and Georgetown by a combined 66-13 score. They then were forced to swallow a heaping helping of humble pie in a 28-7 loss to CAL Large Wilmington.<br />
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The Wildcats ripped off a TD return on the opening kick and then turned a Lynnfield fumble into another TD.<br />
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"We got outplayed," Weidman said after the game.<br />
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The Pioneers bounced back with wins over Cathedral and Danvers - the latter another turning point game against a tough non-league opponent. Gino Cohee rolled for 183 yards in the first half in the rain in Danvers to help build a 14-0 lead. Nick Roberts picked off a fourth down pass to seal the win with less than a minute to play.<br />
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"I think it's a great win for the program," Weidman said. "For us to not only win, but to be able to win a close game is big.<br />
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The win gave the Pioneers a 4-1 record, and their first four win season since 2003. They ripped off four more victories over Triton - 21-19 thriller on 22 yard Steve Ullian field goal with nine seconds left- Amesbury, Newburyport, and Ipswich to set up a potential championship clinching game against Hamilton Wenham.<br />
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Rushing touchdowns by George Hennesy and Cohee, and a Chris Grassi to Tyler Surette TD pass, gave the Pioneers a 21-3 win and clinched the first league title and post season berth for the Pioneers in 23 years.<br />
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The Pioneers disposed of North Reading 35-14 on Thanksgiving day in a play-for-pride game and took on Austin Prep on the following Tuesday at Reading High School for the right to go to the Division 3A Super Bowl.<br />
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They came up a yard and a half short. The two teams battled to a 20-20 tie in regulation and the Cougars scored on their set of downs to start the overtime. The Pioneers faced a fourth and goal from the one and half but Cohee was stopped short ending the Cinderella season with a 26-20 loss.<br />
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"I'm proud of them," Weidman said of his team. "We won our league. We went a long way."<br />
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Final record: 10-2, CAL Small Champs<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2010</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2010 Pioneers</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Led by captains Gino Cohee, A. J. Roberto, Steven Ullian, and Jeff Gannon, the Pioneers bolted out of the gate and rolled over their first seven opponents by a combined score of 252-58.<br />
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Then Newburyport happened.<br />
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Playing in their personal House of Horrors at World War Memorial Stadium, the Pioneers wilted under the bright lights of Fox25 who had selected the matchup as their game of the week. The Clippers came in with a 3-4 record, but a Lynnfield team hadn't won in Newburyport since 1986 - 11 straight losses. That should have been an omen.<br />
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The Pioneers were totally dominated as the Clippers had three times as many offensive yards and built leads of 7-0 and 14-0 before closing it out at 24-7.<br />
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"We got outplayed right from the start," Weidman said after the disappointing loss. "It obviously wasn't our best game."<br />
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The Pioneers bounced back with a 41-0 Senior Day thrashing of Ipswich to improve to 8-1 and set up must win showdown at Hamilton-Wenham to keep their title hopes alive.<br />
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But it was not to be. The Generals' co-captain James Brao kicked his first ever field goal from 25 yards out with 18 seconds to play to upend the Pioneers and snuff out their hopes of repeating as league champs.<br />
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The Pioneers returned home to beat North Reading 21-6 on Thanksgiving day to end a strong season.<br />
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"Ending the season on a win is huge," summed up Weidman. "It gives you a good feeling going into the offseason."<br />
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Final record: 9-2<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2011</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-15Psc8UqCAQ/Wq6qORHm29I/AAAAAAAABJM/yx_DBGDXJEsYORC75x6z9cvHveNB8wNXQCLcBGAs/s1600/M-E%2B1%2BSeniors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-15Psc8UqCAQ/Wq6qORHm29I/AAAAAAAABJM/yx_DBGDXJEsYORC75x6z9cvHveNB8wNXQCLcBGAs/s400/M-E%2B1%2BSeniors.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2011 Pioneer Seniors</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Captains Jon Roberto, John Gaff, and Mike Thomas led a group of 63 players who showed up for preseason practice, and Weidman and staff were going to need to cull through all of them to replace 15 seniors lost to graduation.<br />
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The Pioneers got off to an inauspicious start with a 27-14 loss to Newburyport, but bounced back with wins over Amesbury and Bishop Fenwick before getting hammered by St. Mary's of Lynn 40-16 and losing to Danvers in a 42-35 shootout. After beating Pentucket 21-14, the Pioneers sat at 3-3 heading into the CAL/NEC 4 league schedule.<br />
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They beat Ipswich 13-6 setting up another huge league game against H-W who would come to town with a perfect 6-0 record. But in a game that epitomized the star-crossed 2011 Pioneers, the Generals escaped the Middle School Field with a 22-14 overtime victory in a contest they had no business winning.<br />
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Lynnfield led 14-6 with a minute to play. The lead should have been even larger but two Pioneer touchdowns in the second half were negated - one on a bad call on a simultaneous catch in the end zone by Nico Varano and a General defender that was ruled an interception and the second when a 22 yard TD run by Mike Karavetsos was called back on a questionable holding penalty.<br />
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The Generals, who would go on to play in the Super Bowl, took advantage, scoring a touchdown and two point conversion with 37 seconds left to force the overtime. H-W scored on fourth down of the overtime and the Pioneers couldn't answer and left with a disheartening loss.<br />
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"We had them and then we lost then," Weidman said of the lost opportunity. "It's too bad. The kids deserved better. They deserved to win the game."<br />
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After beating Georgetown 35-7, the Pioneers came out flat on Senior Day and fell to Manchester Essex 7-6.<br />
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Already hurt by the loss of running back Thomas and outside linebacker/backup QB Alex Roper, the Pioneers suffered a fatal blow when Karavetsos was knocked out of the Thanksgiving Game with an apparent concussion. Lynnfield was forced to go with sophomore Matt Kramich and freshman Danny Sullivan at quarterback and fell to the Hornets 37-18 to end the year.<br />
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"We had to fight through a lot of adversity and hung in there as long as we could," Weidman said of the effort against North Reading, although in truth, he could have been talking about the 2011 season as a whole.<br />
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Final record: 5-6<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2012</span></i></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SN-iicDs8ls/Wq6q0hGUiwI/AAAAAAAABJc/RvuKo9eCtXkpVywib7C9oT3cbYBUmoeKQCLcBGAs/s1600/2012%2BPioneers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1600" height="156" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SN-iicDs8ls/Wq6q0hGUiwI/AAAAAAAABJc/RvuKo9eCtXkpVywib7C9oT3cbYBUmoeKQCLcBGAs/s400/2012%2BPioneers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2012 Pioneers</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Captains Mike Karavetsos, Andrew Kibarian, D.J. DeGeorge, Alex Pascucci, and Tyler Palumbo led an experienced group of 65 players including 17 seniors and 13 regulars who were determined to rebound from a down 2011.<br />
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"It's a good group," Weidman said in what would prove to be the understatement of the year.<br />
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The Pioneers opened with the obligatory loss to Newburyport, this one a 7-6 heartbreaker, and finished the non-league portion of the schedule with a 3-2 mark.<br />
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They then reeled off four straight league wins including a payback 25-14 win over Hamilton Wenham to set up a winner-take all defacto CAL/NEC 4 championship game on Thanksgiving morning against North Reading, who was still in the same league as the Pioneers that year. The stakes were high since under the playoff format at the time, only the league champs went to the postseason.<br />
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Both teams came into the game with 4-0 league records in a matchup that featured the Pioneers wide open spread offense against the Hornets ground and pound single wing attack. Over 3000 people jammed the Middle School field for what would turn out to be the final Thanksgiving Day game played at old Pioneer Field.<br />
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The game lived up to the billing. The Pioneers dominating defense held the potent Hornet offense to 145 yards, 40 in the second half.<br />
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Lynnfield opened the scoring on a 13 yard run by Kyle McGah and PAT by Alex Roper. North Reading tied it up when Carl Lipani barely edged into the end zone on a one yard run. The Pioneers notched the winning score midway in the third when Karavetsos broke loose for a 65 yard run to the Hornet eight yard line and three plays later bootlegged in from the five for the score.<br />
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The win set up a playoff matchup with CAL/NEC Champ Amesbury five nights later for the right to go to Gillette Stadium for the Division 3A Super Bowl. The Pioneers had beaten the Indians 31-27 earlier in the year but had to dig out of a 21-0 hole to do it.<br />
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Not to worry. Playing on a neutral field at Cawley Stadium in Lowell, the Pioneers dominated from start to finish in a 35-14 win. McGah led the offensive onslaught with four rushing TDs, equalling the four he scored in the earlier matchup with the Indians.<br />
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The other half of the story was the Pioneer's bruising defense led by a front wall of Kibarian, D. J. DeGeorge, and Mike Soden, and an active linebacking corps of Palumbo, McGah, Roper, Anthony Costa, and A. J. Gallo.<br />
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It was off to Gillette for Lynnfield's first appearance in the Super Bowl since 1986.<br />
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Unfortunately the Pioneers had to take on powerhouse Bishop Feehan, winners of eight state championships and participants in seven of the last 12 Super Bowls.<br />
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The Shamrocks jumped out to a 14-0 lead on their first two possessions and things looked bleak. The Pioneers would cut the lead to 14-7 on a two yard burst by McGah before the half. But the Feehan defense would never bend again and added a third quarter TD to build a cushion they would not relinquish in a 21-7 win.<br />
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Asked after the game what he would have said if had been told during the summer that his season would end on the field at Gillette, Weidman told me, "I would have taken it in August. But now when you get here, you want to win it.<br />
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"I'm proud as heck of the kids," the coach summed up. "They played hard. They gave great effort all year. It's too bad it had to end this way for them. I just want to say thank you to the entire team this year for a great season."<br />
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Final Record: 9-3, CAL/NEC 4 Champs, Division 3 North Champs, Super Bowl Finalist<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2013</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3Wb3Eg-xqI/Wq6tNDZs9JI/AAAAAAAABJw/K6cafpNBvJEKKs863X4gVs0IYCPGZzYdQCLcBGAs/s1600/2013%2BPioneers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1600" height="190" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3Wb3Eg-xqI/Wq6tNDZs9JI/AAAAAAAABJw/K6cafpNBvJEKKs863X4gVs0IYCPGZzYdQCLcBGAs/s400/2013%2BPioneers.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2013 Pioneers </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Tracy Karavetsos photo)</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Under the leadership of captains Kyle McGah, Matt Kramich, Anthony Costa, and Dom Costa, the Pioneers picked up right where they left off in 2012, rolling to a perfect 7-0 record and outscoring their opposition 248-48. Sixty-eight players turned out including 19 seniors, ad the Pioneers dominated in the pre-playoff portion of the season.<br />
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Under the first ever MIAA playoff format, the first seven weeks of the season were used to establish playoff seedings. The CAL/NEC merger was dissolved so the Pioneers were back in the CAL Small, now named the Baker Division. To earn an automatic playoff spot, you had to win your league or finish second or get an at large bid using a strength of schedule formula.<br />
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The Pioneers' fast start took the making-the-playoff suspense out quickly and they captured the league crown with a 34-0 smashing of Hamilton Wenham. The Pioneers earned the second seed in Division Four North and handled seventh seed Stoneham 34-12 at the Middle School field.<br />
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The next matchup for the undefeated Pioneers was third seed Bedford. In a hard hitting defensive battle, the Pioneers led 7-0 after three quarters but ran out of gas and allowed two fourth quarter Bedford TDs, the last coming with nine seconds to play handing the Pioneers their first loss of the year.<br />
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Lynnfield finished the year with an exciting 21-20 comeback win over Watertown (spoilers: that name will come up again.)<br />
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Defense took Thanksgiving Day off as the teams combined for 675 yards and 77 points as the Pioneers fell to the Hornets 42-35. Missing starting linebackers David Adams, C. J. Finn, and Kevin Lee all out with injuries, the Pioneers had no answer for North Reading's C. J. McCarthy who rolled for 271 yards and four TDs in the Hornet single wing offense. Just to add insult to injury, McCarthy had a pick-six with under six minutes to play to seal the deal.<br />
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"Losing the last one always hurts but it was a great season," Weidman told me after the game. "We'll miss all the seniors. For the younger guys, they need to be positive and move forward and try to make their mark next year."<br />
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Final Record: 9-2, CAL Baker Champs, Division Four North Playoff Semi-finalist<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2014</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_2UpSDJTXw/Wq6uF1u9zwI/AAAAAAAABJ8/1Q61LWyRNaoJ_b_mrTQ69hzo1t5qXcObgCLcBGAs/s1600/fullsizeoutput_16b9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="1600" height="116" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q_2UpSDJTXw/Wq6uF1u9zwI/AAAAAAAABJ8/1Q61LWyRNaoJ_b_mrTQ69hzo1t5qXcObgCLcBGAs/s400/fullsizeoutput_16b9.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2014 Pioneers</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Tracy Karavetsos photo)</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Close to 70 candidates, including 21 seniors led by captains Cam Rondeau, Jon Knee, and Danny Sullivan turned out for the first day of practice.<br />
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Despite having to play their first four games on the road due to the construction of the new Pioneer Stadium at the high school, the Pioneers rolled through their pre-playoff schedule, going 7-0 and sweeping to their third straight league championship. Lynnfield celebrated the opening of their new stadium with a 42-0 whitewashing of Georgetown on October 10.<br />
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They also took care of one of the few remaining pieces of unfinished business in the Weidman Era in week two when they rolled into Newburyport and snapped the long standing curse. The Pioneers routed the Clippers 32-0 for Lynnfield's first win in Newburyport since 1986, ending a 13 game losing streak at War Memorial Stadium.<br />
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"The kids wanted to take some pride in being the team that stopped the streak," Weidman said. "I wanted it to be over as well. 1986 was a long time ago."<br />
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Paced by an explosive offense, let by Sullivan, Knee, and Rondeau, and the running of Jake Rourke, the Pioneers averaged 37 points a game in their first seven games. The defense was just as impressive holding opponents to only 20 points and posting four shutouts. The D was strong on all three levels with a massive front wall of Cam DeGeorge, Stephen White, and Al Maclachlan, an attacking linebacking corps of David Adams, CJ Finn, Jake Rouke, Kevin Lee, Rob Debonis, and Chad Martin, and a ball hawking secondary of interception-machine Rondeau, Knee, and Dan Bronshvayg.<br />
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The Pioneers continued their dominance in the playoffs rolling over Saugus in the rain 42-6 and handling Swampscott 35-7 to punch their ticket to the Division Four North final against Winthrop. Both teams came into the game at frigid Miller Field in Winthrop undefeated at 10-0 but the Pioneers took home the title in a contest that was much closer than the 35-14 score would indicate.<br />
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With Lynnfield leading 28-14, the game turned on probably the most exciting play of the Weidman Era. The Vikings faced a fourth and half yard and looked ready to punch in a TD that would make it a one score game, but DeGeorge drove the Winthrop center into quarterback Dylan Driscoll, blowing up an attempted quarterback sneak. The ball fell to the ground amidst a pile of 21 players but an alert Rondeau stepped into the pile, picked up the ball and raced 99 yards the other way for a Lynnfield score.<br />
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"I didn't even know what was going on," Weidman told me after the game. "I saw (Rondeau) running down the field with no whistles and the refs chasing him and I said 'thank God.'"<br />
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The win gave the Pioneers the Division Four North Division Championship and lifted them into the division state semi-finals.<br />
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However, the Pioneers saw their hopes for another trip to the Super Bowl dashed at Cawley Stadium the following Saturday when a fast, aggressive Holliston team dominated in a 26-0 win. It was only would mark the third and final time the Pioneers would be shut out in the 112 games of the Weidman Era, the other two coming in 2008.<br />
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"We were chasing it the whole game," Weidman said. "We were never in a favorable position to get any of our matchups because they were so fast. Their overall team speed was the deciding factor.<br />
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"There's a lot of positives for the year," the coach summed up. "We won the North and won our first 10 games and no Lynnfield team has ever done that. But the kids wanted more than that. It just was not our day today. Not at all. Sometimes that's the way it is."<br />
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The Pioneers exacted a measure of revenge for the 2013 Thanksgiving Day loss by stifling the Hornets 35-0 in a couple of inches of snow at Pioneer Stadium on the holiday to finish the only 11 win season in the history of Lynnfield High football.<br />
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Final Record: 11-1, CAL Baker Champs, Division Four North Champs, Division Four State Semi-finalist.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2015</span></i></b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XZYOSYrERiA/Wq6ubMlPhOI/AAAAAAAABKA/Dxo3_kUtG8gKL6DtJ6i2xFODufT41RzIACLcBGAs/s1600/fullsizeoutput_223.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="1600" height="143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XZYOSYrERiA/Wq6ubMlPhOI/AAAAAAAABKA/Dxo3_kUtG8gKL6DtJ6i2xFODufT41RzIACLcBGAs/s400/fullsizeoutput_223.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2015 Pioneers</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Tracy Karavetsos photo)</span></i></b></td></tr>
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An amazing 82 players turned out for the first practices including captains Cam DeGeorge, CJ Finn, Drew McCarthy, Spencer Balian, and Drew Balestrieri.<br />
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The Pioneers split their two non-league games to start the season then rolled through their CAL Baker schedule with five straight wins to clinch their fourth consecutive league title. They nailed down the third seed in the Division Four North playoff and hosted Watertown in the first round.<br />
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Plagued by turnovers and penalties, the Pioneers fell to the Raiders 25-17 at Pioneer Stadium. The Pioneers led 17-12 in the third but after an impressive goal line stand, fumbled at the goal line and the Raiders recovered at the two. They would score one play later and then add a another TD to nail it down.<br />
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"We're disappointed obviously," said Weidman who saw his team lose for the first time in ten games at Pioneer Stadium. "Sometimes in games like that you need a couple of things to go your way and they didn't."<br />
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The Pioneers lost a 28-27 heartbreaker to Pentucket the following week in a game they led 21-0 at halftime. They bounced back to beat Triton 36-7 and North Reading 32-12 in a game Weidman called "our best game of the year" to finish the season on a high note. Senior quarterback Jake McHugh led the way against the Hornets with a pair of touchdown runs.<br />
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"It was a great year," Weidman said of the season. "We had a bunch of great kids. I'm very proud of the senior class. I'm glad they finished as strong as they did. You never want to send them off with a bad feeling so I'm just happy for them."<br />
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Final Record: 8-3, CAL Baker Champs<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2016</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OC82OszoSaU/Wq6uy_V4sUI/AAAAAAAABKI/sb06tNSf1n8-Ffl3frjmuWgCQQIVLKZVwCLcBGAs/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="1600" height="161" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OC82OszoSaU/Wq6uy_V4sUI/AAAAAAAABKI/sb06tNSf1n8-Ffl3frjmuWgCQQIVLKZVwCLcBGAs/s400/fullsizeoutput_8a.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2016 Pioneers</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Captains Louis Ellis, Mike Stellato, Kyle Hawes, and Alex Boustris led a group of 70 players who turned out for preseason practice. However, as opposed to recent years when the Pioneers featured around 20 seniors, this year's edition only had a dozen. With only those the four captains being regulars in 2015, Weidman knew there would be a lot more teaching with his inexperienced group.<br />
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"We just have to go slower than in the past," he said after the first practice. "We have to do some things differently. The seniors have worked hard and they're ready for their senior year, but there just aren't a lot of them."<br />
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To no great surprise, the Pioneers lost their first two non-league games to Newburyport and Danvers but they righted the ship and rolled through an undefeated 4-0 CAL Baker schedule to capture their fifth straight league title.<br />
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"We just wanted to come in and prove everyone wrong," said Stellato of winning another championship. "They said we were undersized and we weren't good enough because everyone left. But as captains, we decided to take control of the team and lead everyone and make everyone better day in and day out and this is the product of it."<br />
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Lynnfield had no trouble in the opening round of the D3A playoffs pasting Northeast Metro 34-14. Unfortunately, in round two they ran into one of the best teams in the state in undefeated St. Mary's of Lynn. The big, fast, physical, athletic, and smart Spartans rushed for 366 yards enroute to a 44-24 win.<br />
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The Pioneers closed to 16-8 early in the third period, and forced St. Mary's to play their starters the entire game, something they hadn't had to do the entire year.<br />
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"It doesn't feel any better when you give them a great game and lose," Weidman said after the game at Manning Field. "But the kids played hard. The effort was there and we were pretty physical which is all we could ask for."<br />
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The following week, the Pioneers survived a sleepy first half to pull away from Greater Lawrence 34-14 behind four TD passes from Matt Mortellite.<br />
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Lynnfield then finished the season with a heartbreaking 21-20 squeaker loss to North Reading at Pioneer Stadium. The Pioneers led 14-3 early in the second half, but the Hornets roared back with 18 unanswered points to take an 21-14 lead. The Pioneers came back to score to make it 21-20 but the point after try was wide and the Hornets held on for the win.<br />
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"We had a good year," Weidman said. "After those first two games we kind of put it together. I just think we improved a lot throughout the year."<br />
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Final Record: 6-4, CAL Baker Champs, Division 3A North Semi-finalists.<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">2017</span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JuoD6Edghpk/Wq6vHrxVR1I/AAAAAAAABKY/sxyfv89Z6bE-bJ5E3wpEPqeYNuCAN83XgCLcBGAs/s1600/fullsizeoutput_1525.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="1600" height="142" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JuoD6Edghpk/Wq6vHrxVR1I/AAAAAAAABKY/sxyfv89Z6bE-bJ5E3wpEPqeYNuCAN83XgCLcBGAs/s400/fullsizeoutput_1525.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">2017 Pioneers</span></i></b></td></tr>
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A very different scenario from 2016 faced the 2017 Pioneers when captains Nick Kinnon, Nathan Drislane, Harry Collins, Cooper Marengi, and Anthony Murphy led 70 players onto the practice field for the team's first workout. Gone was the inexperienced squad that needed to take things slow in the early going. With 13 returning starters and 18 seniors and 21 juniors, the Pioneers were ready to hit the ground running.<br />
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"It's obvious that the junior and seniors who were here last year know what's going on," Weidman said following the squad's first practice. "We did twice as much on this day this year than we were able to do last yer. Our expectations are definitely higher this year. I told them I'm not going to be patient this year."<br />
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The experience showed as the Pioneers rocketed out to six straight wins to start the season. The most exciting pre-playoff game was a 28-26 overtime win over Wayland in week two. Lynnfield led 20-6 at halftime but the Warriors took control of the second half scoring twice to knot the score at 20-20 late in the fourth quarter.<br />
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Wayland scored on their first possession in overtime but the Warrior receiver who was wide open on the two point conversion inexplicably dropped the pass to keep the Wayland lead at 26-20. The Pioneers couldn't score on their four downs but a Warrior defensive back mauled Kinnon on fourth down and was called for pass interference giving Lynnfield new life.<br />
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Anthony Murphy bulldozed in from the one yard line on second down to tie the score at 26-26 then took a perfect pitch from Matt Mortellite on a read option and plowed into the end zone for the two point conversion and a 28-26 win.<br />
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"I had it in my mind that I was getting in and there was no one that was going to stop me," Murphy told me after the game.<br />
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The Pioneers faced Hamilton-Wenham in week seven with a chance to clinch their sixth straight league title. But the wheels came off early and often and the General stunned Lynnfield at Pioneer Stadium 35-7 handing them their first loss of the season. The Pioneers committed five penalties and turned the ball over twice, most in crucial situations.<br />
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"Right off the bat we started shooting ourselves in the foot and when you play a good team, you can't recover from that stuff," Weidman said.<br />
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The loss apparently dashed the hopes of another league title as the Pioneers fell to 3-1 in league play while the Generals stood at 3-0. They only needed to beat Ipswich who was 2-1 in league play, to take the crown. Fortunately for Lynnfield, the Tigers had other ideas and upset the Generals 22-20 so all three teams finished 3-1 and shared the CAL Baker crown.<br />
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Despite the loss to H-W, the Pioneers held on to the top seed in the Division Five North rankings and hosted the number eight seed Bedford in the opening round of the playoffs. They cruised past the Buccaneers 34-6 to move to the semi-finals against Newburyport.<br />
<br />
The Clippers battled the Pioneers to a 7-7 stalemate late in the first half, but Lynnfield scored with no time left on the clock when Mortellite threw a dart to Kinnon to make it 13-7 at the half. Kinnon stretched the lead to 19-7 when he returned the second half kickoff 94 yards for a score. The Pioneers were never threatened again and the 26-7 win gave Lynnfield the satisfaction of beating their nemesis twice in the same season.<br />
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The win set up a showdown matchup in the D5N finals against pain-in-the-tailpad Watertown. The Warriors, who play in the tough Middlesex League against higher division teams, always get into the playoffs as a lower seed then dominate in the post season. Such was the case this year as sixth-seeded Watertown upended second seed Somerville and third seed Swampscott and were now coming after the top seed to make it a 1-2-3 sweep.<br />
<br />
On a bitterly cold night more suited to ice fishing than football, the Pioneers and Warriors staged an epic contest for the ages. How cold was it? Game time temperature was 27 but a persistent wind made it feel like single numbers. It was so cold, I had to retreat to the press box for the second half because the ink in my pen was freezing and I couldn't take notes in my familiar spot along the sidelines.<br />
<br />
The two teams combined for over 700 yards of offense despite the conditions and things looked good for the Pioneers when Tyler Murphy scooted 29 yards into the end zone to give Lynnfield what looked like a comfortable 34-24 lead with 2:55 left to play.<br />
<br />
But Watertown, who had staged two miracle comebacks for last minute wins in their first two playoff games did it again at Pioneer Stadium. They exploded for two touchdowns, the last with 11 seconds left in the game to steal a 38-34 win from the shocked Pioneers.<br />
<br />
The Warriors would go on to get crushed by Dennis Yarmouth 41-3 in the state semifinals, but the bitter loss was hard to take for Lynnfield.<br />
<br />
"We could have won that one," said Weidman after the game. "We played fairly well the whole game but unfortunately we couldn't get the ball back to run the clock out at the end."<br />
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The Pioneers finished the season on a sour note with a 27-13 loss at North Reading on Thanksgiving morning. Despite missing five players who covered eight starting positions and then losing quarterback Mortellite to an apparent concussion in the closing minute of the first half, the Pioneers fought hard. They trailed 20-13 with 5:35 left in the game and were inside the NR 20 driving for the tying score when Hornet lineman Michael Luciana scooped up a fumbled bad snap and raced 77 yards for a crushing touchdown to seal the win for the home team.<br />
<br />
Lynnfield was forced to play without Anthony Murphy who suffered a broken leg against Watertown and three other starters who were suspended due to disciplinary reasons.<br />
<br />
"We talk about adversity all the time," Weidman said after the game. "We played tough against a pretty good team. The score looked like a 14 point difference but it was probably a bit closer than that."<br />
<br />
"We were right there all year," the coach said in what would be his final post game session as Pioneer head coach. "Unfortunately we had some adverse circumstances. The Hamilton-Wenham game they outplayed us. That's the only game I can really say was a little bit disappointing. Other than that, Watertown we played tough in some tough circumstances with the weather and then again today we played tough through some rough circumstances. I really can't complain."<br />
<br />
That's it. Ten years of mostly dominance. 78 wins in 112 games. Over that ten year stretch, the Pioneers outscored their opponents 2,968-1,529 and except for a seven game losing streak in Weidman's first year, never lost more than two games in a row in a single season.<br />
<br />
A outstanding decade of excellence by a class individual and superior football coach. He will be missed.<br />
<br />
<b><i>A Heartfelt Thanks</i></b><br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Coach and the Scribe</td></tr>
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On a personal note, I want to extend my thanks to Coach Weidman for his cooperation through out the ten years I have had the pleasure of covering him. Regardless of the outcome of the games, he was always there following the action to politely answer every question I had. Although most of the time it was to discuss big victories, there were many bitter defeats, but he maintained the same cordial demeanor regardless.<br />
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I also want to thank Jen for putting up with the instances I know I interrupted their family time with phone calls - one family road trip comes immediately to mind. Her patience was also greatly appreciated. I wish Coach Weidman and his family the best in the future.<br />
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-->Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-84159631260202693692017-11-30T18:34:00.000-05:002017-11-30T18:34:17.514-05:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report - Final Edition <br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>North Reading Leftovers</i></span><br />
<br />
The short-staffed Pioneers had no business being in this game. Yet there they were with 5:35 to go in the game, playing with a backup quarterback and backup running backs driving for what could have been the go-ahead touchdown.<br />
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"If we had gotten that in, we were definitely going for two," Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman told me after the game.<br />
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But then came the back-breaking, game-ending bad snap/fumble and North Reading turned what might have been a 21-20 Lynnfield lead into a 27-13 heart-breaking loss. But in defeat, this game told you more about this year's team than all the blowout wins over Newburyport, Amesbury, Winthrop, Manchester-Essex, and Bedford ever could: The 2017 Pioneers had heart and guts.<br />
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This 60th game between the rivals could have gotten ugly in a hurry and it looked like we were headed that way early. The explosive Hornets gashed the Pioneers on their first two drives gobbling up 134 of their 311 rushing yards and jumping out to a 14-0 lead.<br />
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But the Pioneer defense stiffened and held the Hornets offense to only one more TD. The Lynnfield defense, on the arms and legs of Matt Mortellite, then got in gear to cut the lead to 14-6 just before the quarterback's day ended on a spinning tackle right before the half.<br />
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But the resilient Pioneers kept at it. Junior Brett Cohee showed his mastery of the spread run game making the right reads and picking up 87 rushing yards including a 35 yard scamper that made it 20-13 after captain Nick Kinnon's PAT. With a quarter and a half to go, the Pioneers were in business.<br />
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However, it was not to be on this holiday morning, but it wasn't for lack of effort or determination.<br />
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Much of grit was the result of the stellar leadership of captains Kinnon, Cooper Marengi, Nathan Drislane, Harry Collins, and Anthony Murphy (whose absence in the game due to a broken leg suffered against Watertown was huge). Coupled with the loss of Mortellite for the second half and the loss of several other key players due to disciplinary reasons, and the Pioneers faced a mountain just too steep to climb.<br />
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"We have definitely had to deal with adversity all year," Drislane told me after the game. "It's been kind of a common theme. It was again today, especially when our quarterback went down. I'm proud of what we did today with so many things fighting against us."<br />
<br />
"For all these young guys to step up in what we consider one of the biggest games of our career is huge," added Marengi. "We just told the guys to be confident in what they were doing. We told them they are in that position for a reason and we trust them to make the plays and they ended up doing pretty well."<br />
<br />
"We did alright," Weidman summed up. "The kids we asked to hop in did a nice job and the kids that have been there all year really played hard. We were really close to pulling this one out."<br />
<br />
<b><i>Champs Again</i></b><br />
Lost in the disappointment was the fact that 20 miles to the north, the Ipswich Tigers were in the process of helping to secure the Pioneers' sixth straight CAL championship. Ipswich upset Hamilton-Wenham 22-20 in overtime leaving the three teams in a tie with 3-1 league records.<br />
<br />
"It wasn't really an up and down year," said Weidman. "Hamilton-Wenham outplayed us. That's the only game I can say was a real disappointment. But give credit to them. They outplayed us that day in every way and I would have like to see a little better performance that night but other than that we were right there. Watertown we played tough in some tough circumstances with the weather and then today we played through some tough circumstances as well but I can't complain. I really can't."<br />
<br />
<b><i>Deja Vu </i></b><br />
Thursday morning's game brought back some bad memories of the 2011 Thanksgiving game on the same field when another short-handed Pioneer squad fell to the Hornets 37-18. Like this year, the Pioneers went into the game without their starting running back. That year is was Mike Thomas who was out with a collarbone and outside linebacker/placekicker/backup quarterback Alex Roper.<br />
<br />
And again like last week, they lost their quarterback to concussion symptoms in the second quarter when starter Mike Karavetsos took a hit to the head on a nine yard run. With Roper unavailable, Weidman was forced to jump start the career of Danny Sullivan.<br />
<br />
The freshman, alternating with sophomore Matt Kramich, hung in there - all 5'6" 135 lbs of him - and picked up the first of his eventual 29 career TD passes. On the Pioneers' first play of the second half from their own 20, Sullivan reared back and drilled a perfect pass to a streaking Alex Pascucci who got behind the Hornet defense and raced all the way in for the score. It gave Lynnfield a short-lived 18-16 lead, but the depleted Pioneers couldn't hold off the Hornets' devastating running game.<br />
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<b><i>Still Ahead</i></b><br />
Despite the loss, the Pioneers still lead the series with the Hornets 35-25. They hold a 1013-824 scoring edge. It was the second loss in a row to North Reading, the only time the Pioneers have suffered consecutive losses to their rivals in the past 10 years.<br />
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<b><i>Unlucky 13</i></b><br />
It was only the second time this season the Pioneers have scored 13 points or less, the other being the seven they tallied against H-W and both resulted in losses. In the past ten years of the Weidman Era, the Pioneers are 2-15 in such games and five of those came in the coach's first season in 2008. The two wins both came against Ipswich, 13-7 in 2008 and 13-6 in in 2011.<br />
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<b><i>Top Gun</i></b><br />
The unceremonious end of Mortellite's day at Arthur Kenney Field brought to a conclusion a stellar career that puts him in the company of all time great Pioneer passers. Mortellite's two year career numbers puts him in the conversation with Danny Sullivan and Gino Cohee, two other elite passers of the past three decades.<br />
<br />
Mortellite's 38 career touchdown passes shattered the previous mark of 30 set by Cohee from 2007 to 2010. His 21 TD passes last season tied him with Sullivan (2014) for the most in a single season. He also tied the record for most career two-point conversion passes with 10, a 45-year old record set by Steve Mucica from 1960-62.<br />
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Mortellite's 1,878 yards passing this year is the best ever for a single season since at least 1989 (and probably all time considering how offenses were run before the advent of the spread offense), topping Sullivan's 1,741 in 2014. Mortellite's 68.1% completion percentage this year is second only to Sullivan's 69.1% in 2013. Mortellite's two-year total of 3,609 yards is almost 700 yards more than Sullivan's second most 2,954 career total.<br />
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Mortellite's NFL passer rating this season was 128.8 a tenth of a point behind Sullivan's 128.98 in 2014. His two year passer rating was 118.1.<br />
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Not bad for someone who stepped into a brand new offense when he transferred in from Malden Catholic as a junior last year. He struggled in his first game against Newburyport throwing three interceptions and no TD's in the 32-12 loss. It would be the last game in which he ever played that he DIDN't throw a touchdown pass. He would go on to throw TD passes in 20 straight game culminating in the 24 yard beauty he tossed to Jason Ndansi in the second quarter Thursday morning. Even more impressive, after three picks in game one, he was intercepted only eight more times in the next 20 games.<br />
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Truly an outstanding career.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Catching a Record</i></b><br />
Captain Nick Kinnon caught 7 TD passes this year and 8 last year to set a career touchdown reception mark of 15, edging Jon Knee who caught 14 in 2013-14. Kinnon also scored 68 points giving him 178 for his career placing him 6th on the all time scoring list. Captain Anthony Murphy finished with 108 career points good enough for 16th on the all time list.<br />
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<b><i>Data Points</i></b><br />
- The 60 year Lynnfield record now stands at 317-275-11, an all time winning percentage of .526,<br />
- The 337 points the Pioneers scored this season placed them fifth on the all time single season points scored list. Seven of the top ten teams on the list are from the Weidman Era.<br />
- The 188 points against - a 17.1 ppg average - places them 40th on the all time points allowed list.<br />
- It was the 16th Pioneer team to reach at least eight wins in a season. Six of those have come in the last 10 years.<br />
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That's it from here. Congrats to the Pioneers for another great season.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-29931396407647466992017-11-21T21:00:00.002-05:002017-11-22T08:16:33.250-05:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report - Thanksgiving Edition<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Big Game Preview</i></span><br />
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The Pioneers and Hornets will meet on Thanksgiving Day for the 59th time on Thursday (actually its the 58th time on the holiday and 60th time overall. I'll explain the discrepancy in a bit) and both teams are hankering for more than just turkey.<br />
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The Pioneers are coming off a devastating 38-34 loss to Watertown in the D5 North Final (and the Raiders went on to get smushed by Dennis Yarmouth 41-3 last Friday) while the Hornets suffered a one point loss to Melrose (who is going to be playing for the D4 State Championship a week from Saturday). North Reading followed that up with a 21-7 loss to a tough, 8-2 Wilmington team last week.<br />
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So combined the rivals are 0-3 coming into the big game.<br />
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It normally takes a while to shake off the affects of a playoff game loss which may have been the case with the Hornets. The Pioneers struggled in the first halves against Watertown in 2013 and Greater Lawrence last year before clearing the cobwebs and coming back for wins. The Pioneers need to avoid a first half letdown or they will find themselves in a deep hole to a strong Hornet team at Arthur Kenney Field in North Reading.<br />
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"Sometimes having a game to get it out of your system is better but we're not in that situation," Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman told me. "So we need to find a way to be ready to go."<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>North Reading Battle Tested</i><br />
The Hornets come into the game with a 6-4 record, but that is very deceptive. Their four losses have come at the hands of Melrose, Wilmington, Hamilton-Wenham, and Lynn English, teams that currently sport a combined 36-4 record. They swept the CAL Kinney beating Masco, Newburyport, Pentucket and Triton to capture the league title for the second straight year.<br />
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"They played some tough teams," said Weidman. "They're physical and very sound defensively."<br />
<br />
Offensively, they will look to run the ball, nothing unusual sine the Hornets have a TOTAL of 54 yards passing in the past five Thanksgiving Day games combined. They will unleash a stable of talented runners led by Jake Bedell who does most of the heavy lifting. Alex D'Ambrosio and Ryan Edison, will also get some carries.<br />
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Quarterback Kyle Bythrow, who returned for the Melrose playoff game after missing five games in the middle of the season, is also a dangerous runner. He will also throw the ball as he did last year picking up 58 yards and a touchdown in the Hornets' 21-20 win in Lynnfield.<br />
<br />
<i>Pioneers Feature Dangerous Offense</i><br />
The Pioneers will have to overcome the loss of leading rusher and starting inside linebacker captain Anthony Murphy, who suffered a broken leg against Watertown. Murphy (535 yards, 4.9 yards per carry, 10 touchdowns) was the thunder to Tyler Murphy's lighting (469 yards, 10 TD's), giving the Pioneers a change of pace one-two punch.<br />
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Tyler Murphy and quarterback Matt Mortellite (358 yards rushing, 5 TD's) will have to pick up the slack in the running game. But with the forecast calling for a clear day, look for Mortellite and the Pioneers' combustible receiving corps to fill the North Reading sky with footballs tomorrow morning.<br />
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Mortellite has passes for 1,778 yards and 16 TD's this year as he keeps adding to his career TD passes record which now stands at 37. He has plenty of targets in captain Nick Kinnon (698 yards, 7 TD's), Jason Ndansi (337 yards and 4 TD's), and Peter Look (402 yards, 2 TDs). Murphy is also dangerous out of the backfield with 113 yards and a TD.<br />
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<i>Common Opponents</i><br />
The Pioneers and Hornets have only three common opponents this year. Both beat Newburyport: the Hornets 32-14, the Pioneers twice 32-0 and 26-7. Both beat Wayland, NR 17-14 and the Pioneers 28-26 in OT. Both lost to Hamilton Wenham, NR 28-14 and the Pioneers 35-7.<br />
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The game should be evenly matched and offer a delectable appetizer for everyone's Thanksgiving Dinner to come.<br />
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<i>What's the Number?</i><br />
So earlier I noted that this is officially the 59th Thanksgiving Day game. However, the 1989 game was actually played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving due to a snowstorm. It was also the day then Pioneer head coach Bill Adams was getting married so he had to hightail it from North Reading to get to his wedding.<br />
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Unfortunately, the Hornets were killjoys scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns to erase a 14-13 Lynnfield lead to upend the Pioneers 28-14.<br />
<br />
And this will be the 60th meeting between the schools, but the first game was played the last week of October in 1958 so is not officially recognized, which has always been a pet peeve of mine. Officially the Pioneers lead the series 35-23, but the Hornet won that first game 26-12 so Lynnfield really holds a 35-24 edge.<br />
<br />
<i>Let There Be Light</i><br />
This will be the one and only day game the Pioneers will play all season. They haven't played in daylight since last Thanksgiving. Since Pioneer Stadium's opening in 2014, the Pioneers have played 39 total games, only eight in the daytime. The Pioneers are 5-3 in those games with the only losses coming to Holliston 26-0 in 2014, Pentucket 28-27 in 2015 and North Reading 21-20 last year.<br />
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<i>My Top Five Thanksgiving Day Games</i><br />
Tomorrow I will be covering my 42nd Lynnfield/North Reading game. Yikes. My first came in 1976 when I was a cub reporter/advertising sales/paper delivery person for the North Reading Transcript, fresh out of Suffolk University with my brand new journalism degree.<br />
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Back in the day, the games usually ended up as mudfests as the Middle School and Arthur Kenney Field melted as the temps rose through the morning.<br />
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There were plenty of exciting Thanksgiving Day games before I came on the scene - the 1960 classic between two undefeated powerhouses is probably the all time number one - but this list is made up of only games I have witnessed personally.<br />
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So as we get ready for the 60th meeting between the Chestnut Street Rivals, it's time to fire up the LHS Football Wayback Machine. Here in reverse order is my personal Top Five Most Exciting North Reading-Lynnfield games.<br />
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<b>Number 5: 2002 - Stung at the Buzzer 13-12</b><br />
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The excitement for the 2002 game started when Mother Nature dumped an early season snow storm just before Thanksgiving. The DPW along with the football team and other volunteers worked all day Wednesday to clear the field for the holiday morning game.<br />
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Their efforts were not in vain as the large crowd that turned out at the Middle School field were treated to a real nailbiter.<br />
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The Hornets were running a double wing in 2002 and they took the opening kick and drove 78 yards over the snow covered field to take a 6-0 lead. Jamie Solomon and Chris Bryant helped the Pioneers get in gear late in the first half. Quarterback Mike Parizale connected with Andy Poor and Jared Polansky to get the Pioneers to the NR three yard line. But the Hornets stuffed Polansky at the one to preserve their 6-0 lead.<br />
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The Pioneers broke through on the opening drive of the second half when Chris Stivers took a reverse handoff and sprinted 53 yards for the score. The PAT try was wide but the score was now tied at 6-6.<br />
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Lynnfield took the lead in the fourth quarter on a clock eating drive capped by a six yard Bryant run to give the Pioneers a 12-6 lead with three minutes to play.<br />
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The Hornets began their final drive at their own 39 and methodically moved down the field. They got to the Lynnfield two yard line with 20 seconds left. Quarterback Steve Labo took the snap, tried to find a receiver, could not, tucked it under his arm and plowed into the endzone for what appeared to be the tying touchdown. However, the Hornets were flagged for illegal motion which nullified the score and pushed them back to the seven yard line with seven seconds left in the game.<br />
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The final play of the game was one of the most bizarre in North Reading-Lynnfield history. Labo took the snap and handed off to John Murphy who was immediately grabbed by Matt Talis for what appeared to be the game winning tackle.<br />
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In desperation, Murphy shoveled the ball to Labo who was just standing at the three yard line watching Murphy getting stopped. Finding the ball in his hands, he turned and stumbled into the endzone with no time remaining to tie the score. Labo then drilled the extra point for the 13-12 win over the stunned Pioneers.<br />
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<b>Number 4: 1981 - Another Stunning Comeback Defeat 20-15</b><br />
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The Pioneers were heavily favored in this one, coming into the game 6-3 to North Reading's 3-6. The game was billed as a defensive struggle, but the Hornets came out fired up and scored first. Mark Tremblay bulled in from the two and Brian Jones added the PAT and NR led 7-0.<br />
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The Hornets made it 14-0 midway in the second when Les Montford hit Jeff Hull with a ten yard scoring strike. The Pioneers got on the board late in the half when Andy Nekoroski plowed in from the two yard line. Nekoroski added the two point conversion and Lynnfield trailed 14-8 at the half.<br />
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The Pioneers appeared to right the ship with under three minutes to play when quarterback Scott Sanborn tossed a screen pass to Nekoroski who zigged and zagged his way to a 62 yard touchdown. Joe Krieger added the PAT to take a 15-14 lead with only 2:57 left in the game.<br />
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But the Hornets were not done. Billy Germano returned the kick to the 38 and a late hit call on the Pioneers gave NR the ball at midfield. On the next play, Montford found David Lee down the right sideline for a 51 yard strike to get the Hornets to the Lynnfield two yard line. Two plays later, Montford slashed into the endzone for the score. Jones missed the PAT but the Hornets led 20-15 with less than a minute to play.<br />
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The Pioneers did not quit. Sanborn hit Jeff Perkins for 28 yards and a head slap penalty on the Hornets moved the ball to the NR 29 yard line with less than 30 seconds to play. But the Pioneers could get no further and Sanborn was sacked on the final play of the game to seal the Hornet victory.<br />
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<b>Number 3: 2000 - Veinot leads the way 29-23</b><br />
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This was one of the highest scoring Lynnfield-North Reading games and get my vote as the second mod exciting in the past 35 years.<br />
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Tailback Danny Veinot was the story in this one as the outstanding runner finished with 277 yards and scored all four Lynnfield touchdowns and 27 of the Pioneers' 29 points.<br />
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Veinot got the Pioneers on the board on their first drive with a four yard run. He booted the PAT and Lynnfield led 7-0. The Hornets answered when quarterback Tom Tone hit A. J. Richardson for a 43 yard TD to tie the score at 7-7.<br />
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On the first play following the NR touchdown, Veinot responded with a 63 yard run and PAT to give the Pioneers the lead at 14-7.<br />
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The Pioneers appeared to be taking control but quarterback Jimmy Motzkin turned an ankle and had to leave the game. But Veinot was hitting on all cylinders and scooted 38 yards for another TD. Backup QB Mike Parziale hit Brian McBride with the two point conversion and the Pioneers appeared to be in control 22-7.<br />
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The Pioneers cut into the lead when Tone his Matt Cecchini for a 22 yard TD pass to make it 22-13 at the half. The Hornets then began to stop the Pioneer offense and crept closer in the third when Drew Canan scored from the three to make it 22-20.<br />
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The Hornets were driving again, but Veinot went to work on the other side of the ball and picked off a Tone pass to end the threat. At this point, Motzkin reentered the game and seemed to energize the Pioneers.<br />
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Motzkin hit Drew Barraford and McBride on consecutive passes to get the Pioneers to the NR 14 yard line. Veinot took it in from there to give the Pioneers some breathing room at 29-20.<br />
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The Hornets nailed a field goal on their next possession to make it 29-23. But the Hornets would not go away quietly. They got the ball back with 1:57 left in the game and marched to the Pioneer 21 yard line. On fourth down, with 23 second left, Tone attempted one last pass into the endzone. It was picked off by...guess who...Dan Veinot to preserve the win.<br />
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<b>Number 2: 1980 - For All the Marbles 7-6</b><br />
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This was the most exciting Pioneer-Hornet game I have witnessed not only because of the play on the field, but also because of the stakes involved.<br />
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The Hornets came into the game as the two time defending CAL Champs with a 7-1 league record (8-1 overall). The Pioneers were 6-1-1 in the CAL and 6-2-1 overall. If they beat the Hornets and Amesbury could knock off Newburyport, the Pioneers would take the crown.<br />
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So this was in affect a CAL championship game.<br />
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The two teams battled through a scoreless tie as the day started cold then warmed up turning the Middle School field into a quagmire. With 1:14 left in the game, Andy Nekoroski plowed in from the three to give the Pioneers a 6-0 lead.<br />
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Playing like the champs they were, the Hornets came back. Warren McNeill hit Jeff Hull on two post patterns to get the ball to the Lynnfield three yard line. With only 23 seconds to play in the game, Billy Welch bulled in from the one to tie the score. Marco Vittozzi nailed the PAT to seal the win and sew up a third straight CAL Championship for the Hornets.<br />
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If it makes anyone feel better, the Clippers beat Amesbury 26-6 so even if the Pioneers had held on, they would not have earned a piece of the title.<br />
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<b>Number 1: 2012 - Playoff Bound 14-7</b><br />
This was the final year before the current playoff format was adopted and getting to the post season was a lot more difficult. The only way to earn a shot at the Super Bowl was to win your league title. The Pioneers (7-2) and Hornets (8-1) faced off at the Middle School field in a battle for the league championship. The winner would move on to the Super Bowl semi-finals and the loser would go have some turkey dinner.<br />
<br />
The game was billed as a battle of contrasting styles with the Pioneers "sideline to sideline, spread 'em and shred 'em" attack vs. the Hornets "toe-to-toe, pack 'em in, throwback single wing" ground game.<br />
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The Pioneers came out on top in both style and substance. They held the dangerous single wing and super back Carl Lipani to only 145 total yards. The Lynnfield Spread meanwhile exploded for 319 total yards, 275 of it on the ground led by junior Kyle McGah.<br />
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McGah carried four times for 55 yards on a 63 yard Pioneer scoring drive late in the opening quarter including the final nine for his 13th TD of the year. Alex Roper nailed the PAT and the Pioneers led 7-0.<br />
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The Hornets knotted the score midway in the second with Lipani edging into the endzone to make it 7-7.<br />
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Midway in the third quarter, captain quarterback Mike Karavetsos broke loose for a 65 yard run to the eight yard line. Three plays later he bootlegged around the right side for a five yard TD that turned out to be a the winning score.<br />
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The Hornets answered by marching to the Lynnfield 30, but on fourth and three, Anthony Costa knifed through and cut down Lipani short of the first down. North Reading would not threaten again.<br />
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The Pioneers went on to defeat Amesbury for the second time, this one in a playoff at Lowell's Cawley Stadium, earning them a trip to the Super Bowl against Bishop Feehan.<br />
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So there it is. My top five.<br />
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Who knows. Maybe 2017 can crack the list on Thursday.<br />
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-33242472413885790142017-11-16T18:36:00.000-05:002017-11-16T18:36:04.614-05:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report Week 10<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Watertown Leftovers</i></span><br />
<br />
Well now we know how the Atlanta Falcons fans felt last February. Just as they thought a 28-3 lead with a quarter and a half to play was enough to get them a Lombardi Trophy, most Pioneer fans believed a 34-24 lead with 2:55 to play was enough for the Pioneers to punch their ticket to the Division 5 State Semi-finals.<br />
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But just as someone forget to tell the Patriots the game was over, Watertown was just as forgetful, pulling out a dramatic, heartbreaking 38-34 win with 11 seconds to play.<br />
<br />
Instead of folding after Tyler Murphy galloped in for a 29 yard touchdown, the Raiders went to work. They moved quickly going 56 yards in eight plays in just over a minute and a half. Nick McDermott hit big John Korte with a six yard TD pass and the lead was cut to 34-31 with 1:15 to play.<br />
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"We just couldn't make them use enough time on the drive," head coach Neal Weidman told me after the game.<br />
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Watertown still needed to get the ball back and they did so by executing a perfect onside kick. Conor "Superfoot" Kennelly bounced it to the left side where Korte came down with it right on the 50 yard line. An inch less and the play would have been called back, but every break seemed to be going Watertown's way at this point.<br />
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"They got a perfect hop and it hopped up to a 6' 5" kid," said Weidman.<br />
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After two McDermott incompletions, the Raiders faced a 3rd and 10 from the 50. They converted on a backbreaking completion from McDermott to Kennelly to the 13 yard line. Kennelly pulled down the pass with Peter Look draped all over him. He couldn't have defended it any better but the 6'1" Kennelly took advantage of a couple of inch height advantage to make an incredible catch.<br />
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Two plays later McDermott swept in from the six for the winning score.<br />
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The Watertown comeback should not have come as a surprise. It was the third straight playoff game on the road that they have crawled out of the grave to pull out a win. In the opening round, they overcame 21-7 Swampscott lead in the first half and a 27-24 lead at the end of three quarters. But McDermott hit Korte on an 86 yard bomb with just over five minutes to play to win 31-27.<br />
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They cut it closer the following week when McDermott hit Kennelly for a 26 yard TD pass with 12 seconds to play to upend Somerville 21-20. Then came the 11 second stake in the heart of the Pioneers.<br />
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Something tells me Dennis-Yarmouth may want to pay attention Friday night, especially if they have a lead on the Raiders late in the game.<br />
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And also, now that you have some empathy for the Falcon Faithful, you may want to think twice before pulling on one of those 28-3 tee shirts,.<br />
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<b>Long Distance</b><br />
Watertown's Kennelly has a big foot, but Raider coach John Cacace may have been pushing it when he had the senior attempt a 48 yard field goal midway in the fourth period. Kennelly had earlier boomed a 37 yarder easily into the win at the school side of the field and this one was with the wind at his back. The ball landed in the end zone to the left of the goal post and the Pioneers still led 28-24.<br />
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<b>Rare Occurence</b><br />
Friday night was only the third time in school history the Pioneers failed to win when scoring 34 or more points. Going into the game, their record when scoring 34 or more was 76-2. The only losses came on Thanksgiving Day 2011 and in 2013 against Danvers both by the score of 42-35.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>It was so cold....</b><br />
So how cold was it? It was 27 degrees at kickoff with a howling wind from the north making it feel like single digits.<br />
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I've covered over 400 high school football games and I can count on both hands the number of games I've done from the press box. I prefer to be on the sideline because a) I have to take photos for the Villager and b) I always felt I got a much better feel for the game, listening to the players, coaches, and referees interact.<br />
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For example, in the Newburyport playoff game, the Clipper score was widely reported as a touchdown by quarterback Owen Bradbury who appeared to sneak into the end zone. That wasn't the case. Bradbury fumbled at the goal line and a scramble ensued with Newburyport's Thomas Murphy recovering it in the end zone.<br />
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The only way I know that was because I was standing on the goal line, saw the action and realized something was up. When the official trotted over to the sideline for the extra point, I asked him if it was a fumble. He answered "Yep it was a fumble and #10 recovered it in the end zone."<br />
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Anyway, I prefer to be down where the action is and that was my plan Friday night. So I underarmoured up, heavy winter coat, couple of fleeces and assumed my regular post on the sideline. Unfortunately, I neglected to take into account that my trusty Bic 4 Color pen contains ink made mostly of water.....so at 27 degrees, guess what? Ink freezes. So as the first half wore on, my pen began to malfunction. So at halftime, I had to hightail it up to the heated press box so I could chart the second half.<br />
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In terms of cold games, the only ones I can remember that came close was the division championship game in Winthrop in 2014 but according to the Weather Underground web site, it was only 34 degrees that night.<br />
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But the coldest was probably Thanksgiving Day 2002. Lynnfield was hit with four inches of heavy wet snow the day before and a frigid cold front came in right behind it. The Middle School Field was a frozen tundra ringed with snowbanks and the game time temperature was 25. The difference, however, was that the temperature rose throughout the game to about 30 by the end and the game was played in sunshine. Friday night the temp dropped throughout the game landing at around 23 by the bitter end.<br />
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Ironically, that 2002 game also resulted in a stunning, last second Pioneer defeat. With 20 seconds left in the game, the Pioneers led 12-6. But the Hornets had the ball on the Lynnfield two yard line. NR quarterback Steve Labo took the snap from center, looked to pass, found no receiver, tucked the ball under his arm and spun into the end zone for what appeared to be the game tying touchdown.<br />
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Fortunately for the Pioneers, a motion penalty on North Reading wiped out the score and pushed the ball back to the Lynnfield seven yard line with seven seconds left on the clock. On the game's final play, Labo handed off to Hornet running back John Murphy who was quickly grabbed by Matt Talis behind the line of scrimmage.<br />
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Bottled up by Talis, Murphy shoveled the ball forward to Labo who was standing at the three yard line where he gathered it in and stumbled into the end zone to tie the score with all zeroes showing on the clock. Labo calmly booted the extra point as the frozen Pioneer faithful watched in stunned disbelief at a victory that got away.<br />
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The good news? Early forecasts for next Thursday calls for a partly sunny morning with temps in the upper 30's.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-50504165498215019292017-11-08T17:59:00.002-05:002017-11-08T17:59:52.301-05:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report Week 9<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Newburyport Leftovers, Watertown D5N Final Preview</i></span><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Newburyport Leftovers</i></b><br />
Keepaway was always a fun game to play when you were a kid. Two or more players would pass around a ball while another player in the middle would try to intercept it. Lots of fun except for the poor kid in the middle who could never get his or her hands on the ball.<br />
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Lynnfield opponents try to play a similar game when they face the Pioneers, figuring the best way to stop Lynnfield's high octane offense is to prevent them from getting the ball. It's a classic football approach to teams that can seemingly score at will.<br />
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When I mentioned that it seemed like keepaway was Newburyport's plan in last Friday's game, Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman responded, "I think that's a lot of teams' plans."<br />
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And for the most part, opponents have been successful at it. The "keeping away" part. Turning that into wins? Not so much.<br />
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For the season, Pioneer opponents have held the ball for 228 minutes to only 167 for Lynnfield. That's a 62 minute difference - equivalent to almost six full quarters of time of possession (TOP) advantage for Pioneer foes. There have been only two games this season where the Lynnfield has won the TOP battle: Amesbury (24:48-19:12) and Bedford (24:27-19:33).<br />
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The extended possession time hasn't translated into points or wins, however. That has a lot to do with what the teams have done with the ball when they have it. The Pioneers have scored 290 points or an average of one point for every 35 seconds of game time they have had the ball. On the other hand, it has taken Lynnfield opponents 112 seconds of game time for every point they have scored.<br />
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In Friday night's game, that ratio worked out just about perfectly for the Pioneers as they scored 26 points in 14 minutes of game time - one point every 32 seconds. That included the incredible end of first half in which the Pioneers raced 80 yards in 1:29 to score the go ahead TD with no time on the clock. That effort worked out to one point every 15 seconds.<br />
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For the night, the Pioneers had scoring drives of 4:26, 1:29, 0:15, and 0:06.<br />
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On their lone touchdown, the math worked out perfectly for Newburyport as well they consumed 13 minutes of clock and came away with 7 points, a point for every 111 seconds. Things didn't work out as well for the game in total. Despite holding the ball for more than twice as long as the Pioneers (29:56-14:04), they managed only that lone score. Their overall time to points ratio was one point for every 257 seconds of possession.<br />
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The moral of the story? It's not how long you hold the ball, it's what you do with it while you have it.<br />
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<i>Conversion Time</i><br />
One of the reasons the Clippers were able to control the clock, especially in the first half, was their ability to convert on third and especially fourth down. Newburyport was only 5 for 13 on third down but they were a backbreaking 4 for 5 on fourth down. The Pioneers were 4 for 7 on third down and 1 for 2 on fourth down.<br />
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<i>Air Tight (Addendum)</i><br />
All year I've been touting the stellar work of the Pioneer's defensive backs in shutting down opposing air attacks. I've neglected to give a little love to the defense's next level - the linebacking corps of captains Cooper Marengi and Anthony Murphy, Jack Razzaboni, Leo Quinn, and Hunter Allain,<br />
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That group stepped to the front again Friday accounting for both Pioneer interceptions. Marengi's pick halted a Clipper drive in the fourth quarter. Razzaboni made an athletic play midway in the final quarter not only blocking Owen Bradbury's pass at the Clipper 10 yard line but picking it off before it hit the ground. That set up Tyler Murphy's 10 yard score on the next play.<br />
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The bottom line is the entire defense is working together to make throwing the ball against the Pioneers' difficult. They are going to have to go to another level Friday against pass-happy Watertown, but more on that later.<br />
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<i>Leading Man</i><br />
The Pioneers picked up 242 yards of total offense, 175 of it passing. They managed only 67 yards on the ground. The Pioneers leading rusher? Junior Jaret Simpson with 26 yards on four carries, a solid 6.5 per carry average. Although all of it came on the Pioneers's final drive as time was running out, the lack of a Clipper bench meant he was still running against some Newburyport regulars.<br />
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<i>Reversing the Curse</i><br />
Although many (okay me) obsess over the Clippers dominance over the Pioneers over the years, the fact is Lynnfield has now beaten Newburyport in five of their last six meetings. That includes twice this year by a combined score of 58-7.<br />
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<i>Happy Returns</i><br />
Captain Nick Kinnon's TD kickoff return was the first for the Pioneers since 2015 when he did it against Manchester-Essex in game five. The last time someone did the trick at home was by Cam Rondeau in 2014, also against M/E. It was the 28th kickoff return for a touchdown in school history. The career record is 3 held by Matt Kramich (2012-13) and Shawn Egerton (1994-95).<br />
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<b><i>Watertown D5N Final Preview</i></b><br />
The Pioneers face their toughest test of the year Friday night when they host the powerful Watertown Raiders. That's the way it should be when you're playing for the Division Five North Championship and the right to move on to the state semi-finals.<br />
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The Raiders come in flying after impressive come-from-behind road wins over Swampscott and Somerville in the first two rounds of the playoffs.<br />
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Raider coach John Cacace is playing up his sixth seeded squad as an overachieving, underdog Cinderella team but that is so much locker room, pep talk balderdash. He was even quoted in the local paper as Watertown being the "smallest school in the division."<br />
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Anyone paying attention realizes that Watertown is always one of the top two or three teams in the division. And - Fake News Alert - they are the fifth LARGEST school in the division with 352 boys grades 9 through 12. The Pioneers with 320 are the smallest.<br />
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The only reason the Raiders fell to sixth place in the playoff rankings is because of their brutal schedule. They play in the tough Middlesex League made up of mostly strong D4 schools.<br />
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They finished the regular season 3-4 but their four losses were against Melrose 28-14 (playing in the D4 Finals), Wilmington 32-17 (lost in the D4 semi-finals), Stoneham 27-23 (playing in the D6 Finals) and Wakefield 21-14 (didn't make the D4 playoffs, sorry Tom Waisnor). The Raiders's three wins came against Arlington Catholic 50-28 (lost in the D6 semi-finals), Plymouth South 48-29 (didn't make D4 playoffs) and Burlington 35-20 (didn't make the D4 playoffs).<br />
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So coming into the playoffs, they were as battled tested as any team in the division and it has showed. In round one, they trailed third seeded Swampscott 21-7 early, then cut the lead to 21-17 before halftime with a TD and 25 yard field goal in the final 39 seconds of the second quarter. The Raiders took a 24-21 lead late in the third quarter but the Big Blue jumped back out front 27-24 at the end of three. Watertown took the lead for good midway in the fourth to advance with a 31-27 win.<br />
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Last week against Somerville, dressing only 27 players, the Raiders took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter only to see the Highlanders score twice to knot the game 14-14 at halftime. With less then four minutes to go in the game, Somerville scored to take a 20-14 lead. They missed the PAT which would prove fatal.<br />
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The Raiders moved down field and with 12 seconds left, quarterback Nick McDermott found Conor Kennelly with a 26 yard TD pass. Kennelly then kicked the PAT for the 21-20 win, punching their ticket for a trip to Lynnfield for the division championship.<br />
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Watertown may have a thin roster, but they are heavy with talent. McDermott is a gifted passer and runner and will be the best QB the Pioneers have faced all season. He has two superb targets in big John Korte (6'3, 200 lbs) and Kennelly. They also can do serious damage on the ground with Mange Camara who ran for 104 yards against Somerville, and Matt Muldrew.<br />
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"Watertown looks like Watertown," Weidman told me. "They're the same tough team. They grind."<br />
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This will be the third game in five years between the schools. Their first every meeting came in 2013 after both squads were bounced in the division semi-finals. The Pioneers shook off a sleepy first half to climb out of a 14-0 hole and win a thriller 21-20.<br />
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Two years later, the teams met in the opening round in Lynnfield and the Raiders upset the Pioneers 25-17. That is the only loss in seven playoff games for Lynnfield at Pioneer Stadium.<br />
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The forecast for Friday night is brutal, below freezing cold with winds approaching 20 mph. So despite the fact that both teams love to throw, this one could come down to a ground battle.<br />
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Game time at frigid Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm. Dress warm.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-64802026067357922702017-11-02T08:37:00.001-04:002017-11-02T08:37:29.506-04:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report Week 8<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Bedford Leftovers, D5N Playoff Update, Newburyport Preview</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i><b><i>
Bedford Leftovers</i></b><br />
Let's file this one under "taking care of business."<br />
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There were two goals for Friday night's opening playoff matchup with the Buccaneers. First - and most important - win and advance to the D5N semi-finals. A secondary goal was to shake off any lingering hangover from the disappointing loss to Hamilton-Wenham.<br />
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On point one, mission accomplished - rather easily as it turned out which is frankly what should have been the case. The Pioneers sputtered out of the gate but kicked it into high gear in the second quarter with three TD's to ice this one by halftime.<br />
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And give some credit to Bedford for the home team's slow start. Yes the Bucs won only two games but I stand by my assertion that their record was a bit deceiving. They did play a tough schedule and played some teams close for long periods of time, but they are young team with only eight seniors and eventually that surfaces.<br />
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Aiding the Buccaneer cause Friday night was the return of Peter Kapanides. The 6'4" 195 junior was the starting quarterback at the beginning of the year but suffered a broken thumb against Wilmington in the second game of the year and hadn't played QB since. With playoff time arriving, Kapanides returned to throw (3 for 13, 48 yards and an interception), catch (4 receptions, 26 yards), and run (5 carrries, 48 yards) the ball for the Bucs.<br />
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"He's a good athlete," Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman told me after the game. "Obviously he hasn't had a chance to play much this year. He's definitely a big, strong athletic kid."<br />
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Having him back no doubt gave the young Bucs a shot of energy which I think we saw in the first quarter.<br />
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Which brings us to goal number two: washing off the stain of the H-W loss. No doubt the lopsided loss shook the confidence of the Pioneers. They had run into some resistance against Wayland and Ipswich, but no one had been able to manhandle them the way the Generals did.<br />
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Friday night's first quarter was shaky for both squads as Bedford had four penalties and the Pioneers had three. But as young teams will do, the Bucs made the first big mistake when captain Harry Collins broke through and blocked Bedford's first punt giving the Pioneers the ball at the Bedford 20.<br />
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The first good sign came three plays later when the Pioneers quickly cashed in with a three yard Anthony Murphy run. Captain Nick Kinnon, handling the kicking chores again, booted the PAT and the Pioneers led 7-0. Lynnfield's downfall against H-W was their inability to cash in on opportunities. This was an early sign that was not to be the case against Bedford.<br />
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The Pioneers couldn't do much the rest of the quarter, but unleashed their speed demons in the second to score three rushing touchdowns in less than seven minutes. Quarterback Matt Mortellite, showing a couple of extra gears, sprinted in for two of them - one on a scramble for 18 yards and the other on an all out dash for 45 yards. Tyler Murphy showed off his jets with a 20 yard TD run just before the half. That one was set up by a 44 yard Mortellite to Peter Look pass completion.<br />
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So up 28-0 at the half, the memory (nightmare?) of the H-W loss was far in the rear view mirror.<br />
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So on the two goals for the game? Done and done.<br />
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<i>Alternating Memory</i><br />
Interesting to watch the Bucs alternate quarterbacks for much of the game. Bedford coach Tom Tone shuttled between Kapanides and sophomore Gregory Cormier depending on the situation.<br />
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No doubt Tone was inspired by his own experience as a quarterback for North Reading. I remember when he was a junior, he alternated every other play with Matt James, in a system Hornet coach Ed Sapienza used.<br />
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Tone was 1 for 4 for 34 yards and a touchdown passing and carried only once for -1 yard while James was 4 for 6 passing for 22 yards and a touchdown and carries five times for seven yards in a 28-12 North Reading win.<br />
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<i>Triple Threat</i><br />
Senior lineman Zack Huynh pulled off an rare triple play Friday in Friday's game. On third and 7 for Bedford from the Pioneer 27, Huynh broke through the line and sacked Cormier for a six yard loss. Actually Cormier stumbled and Huynh covered him up but it's still a sack on the stat sheet.<br />
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On the very next play, Huynh picked off Cormier at the Lynnfield 23 for his first career interception. That ended a Bedford scoring bid that would have tied the game and launched an 85-yard Lynnfield TD march that made it 13-0 in favor of the Pioneers. Then early in the second quarter with the Pioneers leading 13-0, Huynh recovered a muffed punt on the Lynnfield 18 yard line. Sack, pick, and fumble recovery. Not a bad night's work,.<br />
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<i>Look-ing Good</i><br />
Opponents have to pick their poison when deciding how to defend the Pioneers speedy receiving corps. They usually start with Kinnon and Jason Ndansi, but they can't cover everyone. The biggest beneficiary lately has been senior Peter Look.<br />
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Look has been the Pioneers' leading receiver the past two games catching 4 for 80 yards against Hamilton-Wenham and then 4 for 78 and a two point conversion against Bedford. For the season, Look is now the team's second leading pass catcher with 16 receptions for 299 yards and a pair of TDs. He trails only Kinnon who leads the team with 25 catches for 582 yards 6 TDs and a pair of two point conversions.<br />
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<i>Running Wild</i><br />
It's clear that Mortellite is one of the league's best passers, but lately he's been doing just as much damage with his legs. In the Pioneers' first five games, the quarterback did not have a rushing TD. In the last three games, he has four, two against Ipswich and another two against Bedford. His ability to run off the read option gives the Pioneers another valuable weapon.<br />
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By the way, Mortellite's second touchdown was the 1000th rushing TD in the history of the school.<br />
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<i>Air Tight</i><br />
In the last two games, the Pioneers have faced two teams who like to sling the ball around. And in H-W's case, they had to defend Billy Whelan, the second best quarterback in the league. Despite the increased passing activity, the Pioneer secondary is still sporting some eye-popping numbers.<br />
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The group of Kinnon, Ndansi, Look, Tyler Murphy and Justin Ysalguez have allowed only 30 completion in 92 attempts - a 33% completion rating. They've allowed only 326 yards, a paltry 3.5 yards per attempt. They've given up only 4 touchdowns and picked off 11 interceptions. That works out to a 14.49 rating using the NFL passer rating formula.<br />
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For comparison, Mortellite is 79 for 120 (66%) for 1,435 yards, 13 TD's, and 4 interceptions. His passer rating is 128.99.<br />
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<i>Joining the Century Club</i><br />
Anthony Murphy's touchdown Friday night gives him 64 points for the year and 102 for his career making him the 21st member of the Pioneer Century Scoring Club. Of those, 11 have played in the Weidman Era. Murphy is now #18 on the all time scoring list.<br />
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Kinnon's 8 points gives him 159 for his career and lifts him into sixth place all time. He passed Jamie Solomon who had 158 from 2001-2003.<br />
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<i>600 Club</i><br />
Finally, the Friday night's game was the 600th in school history. The Pioneers now have an all time record of 316-273-11.<br />
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<i>Grand Openings</i><br />
Since the inception of the new playoff format in 2013, the Pioneers have qualified five straight years. They have enjoyed much success in opening games. The win over Bedford was their fourth opening playoff win in five tries. The only year they failed to advance to the second round was 2015 when they were upset by Watertown 25-17.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers have played 13 playoff games in the Weidman Era with an overall record of 7-6.<br />
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Lynnfield's playoff history over the past nine years;<br />
<br />
2009: Austin Prep 26 Lynnfield 20 (OT) D3A EMass Semi-Finals<br />
2012: Lynnfield 35 Amesbury 14 D3A EMass Semi-Finals<br />
2012: Bishop Feehan 21 Lynnfield 7 D3A EMass Super Bowl<br />
2013: Lynnfield 34 Stoneham 12 D4N Quarterfinals<br />
2013: Bedford 14 Lynnfield 7 D4N Semi-finals<br />
2014: Lynnfield 42 Saugus 6 D4N Quarterfinals<br />
2014: Lynnfield 35 Swampscott 7 D4N Semi-Finals<br />
2014: Lynnfield 35 Winthrop 14 D4N Championship<br />
2014: Holliston 26 Lynnfield 0 D4 State Semi-Finals<br />
2015: Watertown 25 Lynnfield 17 D4N Quarterfinals<br />
2016: Lynnfield 34 Northeast Tech 14 D3AN Quarterfinals<br />
2016: St. Mary's Lynn 44 Lynnfield 24 D3AN Semi-Finals<br />
2017: Lynnfield 34 Bedford 6 D5N Quarterfinals<br />
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>D5N Playoff Update</i></b><br />
The Pioneers will play Newburyport for the right to get to the division championship game and we'll talk about that in a bit. First, let's take a look at the other side of the bracket where #2 Somerville will play #6 Watertown.<br />
<br />
Pat Sheehan's Triton Vikings had a valiant effort against Somerville, jumping out to a 9-0 first quarter lead, and trailing only 13-9 after three quarters. The Highlanders got their potent offense in gear and pulled away with two fourth quarter touchdowns to advance to the semi-finals with a 27-9 win.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, Watertown upset #3 Swampscott coming back from a 21-7 deficit to take a 31-27 win. The Raiders, who I told you last week would be dangerous, scored on a 53-yard TD pass with five minutes to play to take the win.<br />
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Watertown plays in the tough Middlesex League against D4 and D3 teams and that hurts them in the regular season playoff rankings but when they get to the post season, they become the team no one wants to play. The Somerville-Watertown game should be quite a battle with the survivor moving on to take on the winner of the Lynnfield-Newburyport game for the D5N title.<br />
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<b><i>Newburyport Preview</i></b><br />
To quote the late Yogi Berra, it's deja vu all over again.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers will host the Clippers for the second time this year and the first time in the playoffs, but a lot has happened since opening night. You may remember Lynnfield pretty much had their way with Newburyport, playing their first game under head coach Ben Smolski.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers rolled for 410 yards of offense and held the Clippers to only 149 building up a 25-0 halftime lead and cruising to a 32-0 shutout win.<br />
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It won't be nearly as easy this time as Newburyport has come around under their new coach.<br />
<br />
"They are much improved," Weidman told me. "They are doing way more on offense than they did at the beginning of the year and they're getting the ball into the hands of the right kids."<br />
<br />
Leading the way are two players right out of the great-athlete mold typical of Newburyport football. Running back Myles Maloof and quarterback Owen Bradbury combined for nearly 200 yards rushing in the Clippers' 28-0 win over Weston in the quarterfinals last week. Expect both to be featured against a Pioneer defense that has struggled to stop the run lately.<br />
<br />
"We're going to have to do a good job in the running game," said Weidman. "(Maloof) runs the ball really well and (Bradbury) is also running real well. They run some option stuff and some zone reads with the bubble screen. It's going to be like defending the triple option. You have to take away the running back, the quarterback, and the pitch or bubble man. It's difficult to do especially when two or all three of those options are viable. They have good athletes and are doing a good job."<br />
<br />
Why such an improvement in seven weeks?<br />
<br />
"They have good players every year," Weidman explained. "It's just the fact that any of the new things they are doing after the coaching turnover is seven weeks better. It was brand new and now it's not. That gives them a chance to be better."<br />
<br />
The Clippers bounced back from the shutout loss to the Pioneers to nip Ipswich 10-7. They were then blanked by Masco 35-0 and after a bye week edged Triton 19-13 and Pentucket 21-13. they finished the regular season with a 32-13 loss to North Reading but their 3-3 record was good enough to earn the #5 seed.<br />
<br />
Weidman doesn't see an advantage either way when it comes to playing a rematch.<br />
<br />
"They're are probably advantages and disadvantages playing both a team you know well and one you don't," he said. "We're going to need to prepare our best and come ready to play and not be sloppy. It can go either way for either team. It really is going to come down to blocking and tackling and who wants it more."<br />
<br />
The last time the Pioneers played a team twice in the same year was 2012 against Amesbury. They beat the Indians 21-14 at Landry Stadium and ended up winning the CAL/NEC 4. Amesbury went 5-0 in league play to take the CAL/NEC 3 and the two played a rematch at Cawley Stadium in Lowell for the right to go to Gillette Stadium to play in the Division 3A Super Bowl.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers dominated the second meeting 35-14 thanks to a smothering defense led by Andrew Kibarian, D. J. DeGeorge, Mike Soden, Tyler Palumbo, Kyle McGah, Alex Roper, Anthony Costa and A. J. Gallo that limited the Indians to 174 yards of offense.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile on offense, McGah rumbled for 176 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Mike Karavetos ran for 114 yards and a touchdown. The O-line of Kibarian, DeGeorge, Dom Costa, Connor Lordan, and Cam DeGeorge shredded the Amesbury defense opening gaping holes.<br />
<br />
The win propelled the Pioneers to Gillette where they fell to Bishop Feehan 21-7.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers are hoping the second time is the charm against Newburyport as well. Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-75225591944184205902017-10-25T19:49:00.000-04:002017-10-26T08:01:53.577-04:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report Week 7<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Hamilton-Wenham Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Update, Bedford Playoff Update </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i><b>Hamilton-Wenham Leftovers</b></i><br />
As I finished my postgame interview with head coach Neal Weidman, I stopped to jot down some notes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the coach's 12 year old son Hudson sauntering over, casually flipping a football to himself.<br />
<br />
"Rough game, huh?" he said to his Dad, matter-of-factly.<br />
<br />
From the mouth of babes.<br />
<br />
Rough would be one word you could use to describe the devastating loss to the Generals Friday night. Others would be stunning, shocking, surprising, unexpected, stupifying. I could go on and on but you get the picture.<br />
<br />
Everyone expected a tight, to-the-final-whistle battle between two undefeated, evenly matched teams fighting for a league title. That one of them would lose was not the issue. The 7-7 halftime score was a bit low for two high-powered offenses, but not out of the ordinary for this type of game.<br />
<br />
It was the way the second half came apart at the seams for the home team that was so startling. There's another word. No one saw that coming.<br />
<br />
"We were bound to have one of these sooner or later," Weidman said after the game. "It's unfortunate but it is kind of where it is. When you do that against a good team, you lose.<br />
<br />
The scope of the loss was historic, as far as recent Pioneer football history is concerned. If you read my Villager article you saw that a Lynnfield football team hasn't lost by 28 points since a 49-21 defeat at the hands of North Andover in 2007 - a year before Weidman took over as head coach.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers haven't given up 28 straight points since 2008 when Saugus turned a 21-14 halftime lead into a 49-14 second half bulge with four straight TD's. The Pioneers scored a pair of late TD's to make it a 49-28 final.<br />
<br />
It's been 28 games since the Lynnfield failed to score in double digits, that coming in the 26-0 loss to Holliston in the D4 title game in 2014. It's been 59 regular season games since the Pioneers failed to score 10 or more points. The last regular season game they scored in single digits was a 14-7 loss to Bishop Fenwick in 2012.<br />
<br />
The win also snaps a 27-game league winning streak that dates back to 2011. Their last CAL league loss came at the hands of Manchester-Essex, 7-6. Also on Senior Day.<br />
<br />
<i>Road to loss started in first half</i><br />
But to get to the heart of what happened Friday night, you must look beyond the second half. The seeds of the defeat were sown in the first half, when the Pioneers failed to put away the Generals when they had the chance.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers realistically could have scored four times in the first half.<br />
<br />
Drive #1: Took the opening kick and marched from their own 38 to the H-W 14. Big play on the drive was a six yard run by captain Anthony Murphy for a first down on fourth and two from the Lynnfield 46. On third and two from the 14 there was no gain on a run, then a killer false start penalty. Incomplete pass on fourth down, turnover on downs.<br />
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Drive #3: 71 yards, 7 plays, Matt Mortellite to captain Nick Kinnon 24 yard TD pass for the score. Big play on the drive was a 21 run run by Mortellite.<br />
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Drive #4: Interception by Jason Ndansi -his fifth of the season - at the Lynnfield 32 and an impressive 40 yard runback to the HW 28. two runs for four yards and two incomplete passes, turnover on downs.<br />
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Drive #5: Interception by Ndansi in the end zone - his sixth of the season. With only 33 seconds left the Pioneers motored 67 yards in three plays to get a first down at the HW 13. Big play on the drive, a 43 yard pass from Mortellite to Peter Look. With seconds on the clock, incomplete pass in the end zone as time runs out in the half.<br />
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Meanwhile, on Drive #2, the Pioneers moved quickly from their own 23 to the HW 48 but then fumbled. The Generals scored six plays later.<br />
<br />
So instead of being up 28-7 or 21-7 or even 14-7, the two teams went in at the half tied 7-7.<br />
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If the Pioneers had a two or three TD lead, the Generals would have likely had to go to their passing game. Although it is formidable, it also plays right into the teeth of the Pioneers' defensive strength. Instead, HW patiently pounded the running game - an area the Pioneers have struggled with lately.<br />
<br />
The Generals then marched down the field to open the third quarter moving 52 yards in nine plays, throwing only twice and handing it off to sophomore running back Ian Coffey six times. The Lynnfield fumble on the first play of the following drive gave the Generals another short field and they ate it up in two plays with Cam Peach bulldozing the final 27 yards to make it 21-7.<br />
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The Generals would throw the ball only one more time in their final 17 plays, but that one was a 40 yard TD pass on a fourth and 17.<br />
<br />
Another key factor: the Generals converted both Pioneer turnovers into touchdowns while Lynnfield wasn't able to capitalize on the two turnovers committed by HW.<br />
<br />
"We never really got anything going," Weidman said. "We had a hard time getting off the field on defense and then not hanging on to the ball at all on offense. It was a combination. We got outplayed on both sides."<br />
<br />
<i>Defensive Demon</i><br />
Ndansi's two interceptions gives him six for the season. He not only had two picks but also made a super over the shoulder knockdown of a sure TD pass.<br />
<br />
His performance this year puts him in some lofty company when it comes to defensive back play. Cam Rondeau set the standard in recent years with an amazing 15 picks in three years. He had 4 as a sophomore, 6 as a junior and 5 as a senior. In 2013, Rondeau's junior year, Matt Kramich also had 6 picks. The Pioneers had an eyepopping 18 interceptions that season.<br />
<br />
<i>Battlefield Promotion</i><br />
With captain Cooper Marengi out with an ankle injury, Kinnon was called on to do the placekicking and converted his only PAT try after scoring the Pioneers' lone TD. The seven points gives him 151 for his career and lifts him into a seventh place tie on the Lynnfield alltime scoring list with Dan Veinot (99-00).<br />
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<i>Data Points</i><br />
- The loss snaps a five game winning streak against Hamilton-Wenham. The Pioneers now lead the series 23-21-1.<br />
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- The Pioneers lost two fumbles in the game. They had lost only one in the first six games.<br />
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<b><i>Around the CAL Baker</i></b><br />
With the win, the Generals have earned at least a share of the Baker title for the first time since they won it in 2010 & 2011. To win it outright, HW will have to beat Ipswich on Thanksgiving Day. Should the Tigers spring the upset, Ipswich, Hamilton-Wenham, and Lynnfield will all be tied at 3-1 which will likely make them Tri-Champs so technically the Pioneers' five year championship string is not over. The Tigers have not tasted the league championship since 2006 when they went 5-0 in league play and went on to win the Super Bowl.<br />
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If there were a playoff game on the line, the normal tiebreaker would be points allowed, so the Pioneers would likely be on the short end of that stick having giving up a combined 64 points to the Tigers and Generals.<br />
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In the only other Baker action last week, Manchester Essex picked up its first league win with a 35-14 victory over Amesbury. The win also allowed the Hornets to squeeze into the Division 7 playoffs as the eight seed. Their reward? A first round date with St. Mary's of Lynn - although how in heaven's name St. Mary's is in D7 is anybody's guess.<br />
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<u>The Standings</u><br />
Hamilton-Wenham 3-0 (7-0 overall)<br />
Lynnfield 3-1 (6-1)<br />
Ipswich 2-1 (4-3)<br />
Manchester-Essex 1-3 (3-4)<br />
Amesbury 0-4 (0-7)<br />
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<b><i>D5 Update</i></b><br />
As discussed here last week, despite the loss, the Pioneers were able to hold on to the top spot in Division 5 by the tips of their fingernails. The margin was a razor thin six-tenths of a point over Somerville 111-110.4. There were no upsets last week and the Pioneers picked up 16 opponent points thanks to wins by Man-Essex, Ipswich, and Wayland. They also got one point each for seven HW wins adding another 7 points to the pile. They needed every single one of them.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers can thank their CAL foes who in the past years haven't been able to deliver many opponent points but this year Ipswich, Man-Essex, and Newburyport came up with 10 wins, good enough for 30 points, 27% of Lynnfield's total.<br />
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Surging Somerville - again why they are in D5 is another subject for another day - roars into the playoffs off four straight wins. Swampscott's wins over winless Winthrop and one-win Saugus in the last two weeks proved fatal and caused them to slip into third place.<br />
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Weston took the fourth spot, taking advantage of the system playing an independent schedule piling up points against two teams from D8, one from D7, two from D6, and two from D4.<br />
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Newburyport, Watertown, Triton, and Bedford round out the playoff field.<br />
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On Friday night, the Pioneers will host Bedford and Pat Sheehan's Triton Vikings will travel to Somerville. On Saturday, Swampscott faces Watertown, a dangerous six seed who didn't finish higher mostly because they play a D4 schedule in the tough Middlesex League, and Newburyport will play Weston in Wellesley because the Wildcats' field is under construction.<br />
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Should the Pioneers take care of business Friday, they would either face Weston, or host Newburyport in a rematch of opening night.<br />
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<u>Final Playoff Rankings</u><br />
1. Lynnfield 6-1; 15.86 (111 points)<br />
2. Somerville 5-2; 15.77 (110.4)<br />
3. Swampscott 6-1; 15.20 (106.4)<br />
4. Weston 5-2; 14.94 (104.6)<br />
5. Newburyport 3-3; 11.50 (69)<br />
6. Watertown 3-4; 10.89 (76.2)<br />
7. Triton 2-5; 8.77 (61.4)<br />
8. Bedford 2-5; 6.94 (48.6)<br />
9. Saugus 1-6; 6.43 (45.0)<br />
10. Pentucket 1-5; 4.83 (29.0)<br />
11. Amesbury 0-7; 4.14 (29.0)<br />
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<b><i>Bedford Playoff Preview</i></b><br />
When last we saw Bedford, it was the 2013 Division 4 North Semi-Finals in the final game ever played at the Middle School Field. It was a fitting finale for the place the Pioneers called home for 56 years as the Pioneers and Buccaneers battered each other for four bruising quarters.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers led 7-0 heading into the fourth quarter but Bedford finished the game with two scoring drives to end the Pioneer's playoff run. The Buccaneers' outstanding tailback Olan Abner punched in the winning TD with nine seconds to go to hand the Pioneers their first loss of the season.<br />
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The Pioneers scored first in the second quarter after a bizarre turnover. Bedford's return man caught a C. J. Finn punt at the 25 and appeared to try to pitch it to a teammate when Jon Knee picked it off and danced into the end zone for an apparent touchdown. The officials ruled that it was a muff, which can't be advances, not a lateral and gave the ball to Lynnfield at the Bedford 25.<br />
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Four plays later Kyle McGah barreled in from the 11 for the touchdown. Dan Bronshvayg added the point after.<br />
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Lynnfield shut out Bedford's run heavy offense for the first three quarters but then wore down. The Bucs tied the score on a 25 yard sweep with just over eight minutes to go in the game setting up the game winner in the final seconds.<br />
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"That's exactly the type of game we though it would be," Weidman told me after the hard fought contest. "They were exactly who we thought they were - fast on defense and grinding on offense."<br />
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It was one of the hardest hitting, physical games I have seen since I've been covering high school football.<br />
<br />
Which brings us to Friday night. The Bucs team that comes to town bears little resemblance to that big, veteran Bedford team of 2013. The young squad with eight seniors, 14 juniors, and 13 sophomores that comes in under new head coach Tom Tone finished the regular season 2-5 to take the final D5 playoff spot.<br />
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But don't let their record fool you. The Bucs played a tough schedule with five of their seven games coming against teams in higher divisions. Their five losses have come against teams with a combined record of 22-12.<br />
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Their season unfolded as follows:<br />
<br />
Oliver Ames (D3) 32 Bedford 21<br />
Wilmington (D4) 41 Bedford 13<br />
Cardinal Spellman (D6) 30 Bedford 6<br />
Newton South (D2) 22 Bedford 7<br />
Bedford 30 Boston Latin (D4) 0<br />
Bedford 32 Atlantis Charter (D8) 7<br />
Wayland (D4) 41 Bedford 18<br />
<br />
The only common opponent is Wayland who the Pioneers defeated 28-26 in OT in Week 2. The Warriors exploded for four touchdowns in just over seven minutes to put the game away early in the 41-18 rout.<br />
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Bedford runs a spread offense similar to the Pioneers with sophomore quarterback Gregory Cormier at the control. They lost starting signal caller Panayiotis Kapanides to a broken thumb in the second game of the year against Wilmington.<br />
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Cormier likes to sling the ball around and picked up 230 yards passing against Wayland as two Bedford quarterbacks threw 33 passes in the game completing 20. Captain Toby Hart is a favorite receiver. Myles Francis is the feature running back.<br />
<br />
The game is another Dual County League reunion as the Pioneers and Bucs faced each other 13 times between 1960 and 1972 as members of the DCL. Lynnfield holds a 8-5-2 edge over all.<br />
<br />
Tone, the Bedford head coach, will have no trouble finding Lynnfield, although he may head for the Middle School instead of Pioneer Stadium. Tone is a former North Reading quarterback and faced the Pioneers in three Thanksgiving Day games from 1998 to 2000.<br />
<br />
He was 2 for 11 for 27 yards and a two point conversion and picked up 26 yards as a sophomore in the Hornets 14-6 win in 1998. As a junior in 1999, Tone was one for 4 for 34 yards and one TD and an interception with one carry for minus one yard in a 28-12 North Reading win. The Pioneers finally got him in an exciting 2000 game. He was 10 for 22 for 191 yards and 2 TD's and 19 yards rushing, but he threw three interceptions, the last one in the end zone to Dan Veinot to preserve a 29-23 Lynnfield win.<br />
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Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm.<br />
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-->Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-75417119528760836632017-10-18T18:52:00.001-04:002017-10-18T18:52:02.665-04:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report Week 6<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Ipswich Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Update, Hamilton-Wenham Preview</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i><b>Ipswich Leftovers</b></i><br />
So before I get started, I have a favor to ask. I'm going to ask you all to be very quiet while I type since I've had a splitting headache for the past five days....<br />
<br />
Oh, no, Here he comes again...<br />
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GOOD ENOUGH FOR ANNNOTHER TIGERRRR FIRST DOOOOOOOOWNNN!!!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">E. J. Umlah Leaps over </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Tiger defender</span></div>
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<br />
I can't seem to get that out of my head and it's driving me crazy.<br />
<br />
For those of you not fortunate to attend Friday's exciting 54-29 Pioneer win, every time Ipswich picked up a first down, the PA announcer would scream that at the top of his lungs. You lucky fans were way over on the other side of the field. But for those of us on the sideline right under the press box, the sound was excruciating. And thanks to the Pioneers' inability to slow down the Ipswich Veer running game, we were serenaded like this SEVENTEEN TIMES!<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Captain Anthony Murphy streaks into</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">the end zone for his second TD of the</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">night</span></div>
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<br />
He's no Tom Waisnor, that's for sure.<br />
<br />
Luckily, as the Pioneers took control of the game, he was heard from less and less as the game wore on and not once in the fourth quarter.<br />
<br />
If you read my game story - and if not, why not? - you know that the explosive, back and forth game resulted in a number of mosts, and firsts in a long time. The combined 83 points were the most ever scored in a Lynnfield game, topping the 77 points in a 42-35 loss to North Reading in 2013. The 54 points the Pioneers put up were the most since 1985 when Lynnfield blasted Masco 55-0. It was only the second time since 1960 that the Pioneers scored 50 or more points.<br />
<br />
Incredibly, in 1960, the Pioneers scored 50 or more points in four straight and five out of six games. In succession, they defeated Dracut 54-12, Weston 22-16, Wayland 60-0, Lynn Tech 60-6, Bedford 50-6, and Westford Academy 50-0. That team averaged 45.6 points a game while allowing a total of 64 points on the season. Needless to say they were 9-0 and were Dual County League champs.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5OzMpqA8Jrc/WefZrcjZSvI/AAAAAAAABGQ/55MFmzErUQIuNrnQ5ZnNcQjByDbwopIgQCEwYBhgL/s1600/fullsizeoutput_14d5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1208" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5OzMpqA8Jrc/WefZrcjZSvI/AAAAAAAABGQ/55MFmzErUQIuNrnQ5ZnNcQjByDbwopIgQCEwYBhgL/s200/fullsizeoutput_14d5.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler Murphy picks up a big<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">gain against Ipswich</span></div>
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The first half Friday night resembled more of a tennis match than a football game as each team took turns ripping through the opposing defense for touchdowns. The Pioneers scored all four times they touched the ball and Ipswich found the end zone on four of their six possessions. The only time they didn't put up points was when the Pioneers broke serve on a Peter Look fumble recovery and when time ran out in the first half.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers continued the onslaught in the second half again scoring all four times they had the ball. The Lynnfield defense finally slowed the Ipswich veer offense down first on Jason Ndansi's fourth interception of the season and again on a crucial fourth down stop at their own 20. Despite the efficiency of the Tiger running game, the Pioneers were able to shut them out in the second half, turning a 29-27 deficit into a 54-29 win with 27 unanswered second half points.<br />
<br />
<i>Veer Problems</i><br />
Why did the Pioneers struggle to stop Pat Gillis (220 yards on 27 carries) and the Ipswich running game? Head coach Neal Weidman explained it to me after the game.<br />
<br />
"We knew the veer was tough to stop," he said. "We watched it on film and they're good at it. You don't see it much. It's assignment football but not only is it assignments, but it's different assignments depending on the formation. While you're thinking about that, you still have to get off blocks and make tackles. It's tough to stop."<br />
<br />
So was it confusion or lack of execution?<br />
<br />
"I think it was less confusion and more they're really good at running it and us being tentative because we knew the assignments changed based on what Ipswich did," he said. "We didn't want to screw up but you can't play that way. You have to be able to play full speed and we were catching a lot of blocks and catching a lot of ball carriers and not being aggressive because we were trying to do the right thing."<br />
<br />
<i>Pep Talk</i><br />
Right before the half, the Pioneers appeared a bit frazzled as Ipswich recovered a pop-up kickoff and went down and scored to make it 29-20 with 2:42 to play, Lynnfield's biggest deficit of the season. They came back to cut the lead to 29-27 a minute and a half later, but they definitely needed to regroup at half time.<br />
<br />
And they did, coming out for the second half a different team. I asked the coach what he had said to them at the break.<br />
<br />
"I told them they weren't always going to be ahead," he said. "I told them 'you're down by two points and you guys are acting like we're getting beat by 50.' I told them to just compete. That's what we're here for. We're here to compete. That's okay. You're going to have to compete for four quarters tonight and that should be fun. You get to go and compete against a team that's been playing well. They sometimes lose sight of some of that because we've had some games where they were so far ahead at halftime, they weren't in a dogfight. It's actually good for them in some ways.<br />
<br />
"You don't want to be banged up, but it's about overcoming adversity," he went on. "They have a whole lifetime ahead of them of adversity, so it's good practice."<br />
<br />
<i>Mortellite Hat Trick Passing Record</i><br />
Quarterback Matt Mortellite completed the passing TD records hat trick Friday night. With his two touchdown passes, he now has 32 for his career, breaking the mark set by Gino Cohee (2007-2010).<br />
<br />
When I told him he broke the record after the game he was surprised since he really had no idea. I asked him how he was able to pick up the complex Pioneer system so quickly after coming over from Malden Catholic last year as a junior.<br />
<br />
"The coaches here are so good," the senior replied. "They know what they are doing all the time. It's all coaching."<br />
<br />
When I relayed his answer to Weidman, he joked, "He's well trained."<br />
<br />
"His best attribute is he cares," the coach went on more seriously. "He's a competitor and he wants to win. He doesn't care how. If it means we have to throw the ball then he'll throw the ball. If it mean we have to run the ball, we'll run it. He does not care one bit. He just wants to win and compete. And he loves playing. Obviously when he came back and got an opportunity to play, he appreciated it."<br />
<br />
On the season, Mortellite is now 57 for 79 (72% completion) for 1118 yards, 11 touchdowns, 3 two-point conversions and only 2 interceptions. His NFL passer rating is 143.3. Alex Smith leads all NFL quarterbacks in passer rating at 119.2.<br />
<br />
<i>Chain Gang Praise</i><br />
The men who worked the chains during the game were all parents of Ipswich players and spent the entire game on the Pioneer sideline. They were pumped when the Tigers looked ready to spring the upset but were gracious in defeat when the outcome was decided.<br />
<br />
"This is the best coaching staff we've had here this year," one of them told me. "Always under control. They do a great job."<br />
<br />
<i>Data Points</i><br />
- The Pioneers have now won 11 straight games against Ipswich. Overall, they trail in the series 23-26. They lead in points scored 781-771,<br />
- Captain Nick Kinnon caught a two point conversion pass giving him 114 points for his career and lifting him into ninth place all time. He passed Dan Bronshvayg who has 143.<br />
- The Mortelitte to Kinnon two point conversion in the third period was the 100th passing two-pointer all time for the Pioneers. They've rushed for two 229 times.<br />
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<i><b>Around the CAL Baker</b></i><br />
The only other league game last week was somewhat of a surprise. Hamilton Wenham defeated Manchester-Essex to stay unbeaten both in the league and overall, but they had to come back from a 14-0 hole to do it. Seems like the Hornets gave the Generals a similar hard time as they gave the Pioneers with their double headed running attack of Jake Athanas and Robbie Sarmanian. M/E took an early 14-0 lead on two Sarmanian touchdowns but H/W cut it to 14-8 on a touchdown and safety before the half.<br />
<br />
The Generals took a 15-14 lead but M/E took it back when Sarmanian connected with Lake Flemming on a halfback option pass to make it 22-15. But as was the case against the Pioneers, the Hornets ran out of gas as the game wore on.<br />
<br />
The Generals tied it and went ahead in the fourth on a pair of TDs. H-W is now 2-0 in league play right behind the Pioneers who are 3-0.<br />
<br />
<u>The Standings</u><br />
Lynnfield 3-0 (6-0 overall)<br />
Ham-Wen 2-0 (6-0 overall)<br />
Ipswich 2-1 (3-3 overall)<br />
Man-Essex 0-3 (2-4 overall)<br />
Amesbury 0-3 (0-6 overall)<br />
<br />
<i><b>D5 Update</b></i><br />
The Pioneers win over Ipswich gave them 19 points and wins by Wayland and Newburyport earned them 6 more giving them a total of 95. Swampscott only picked up 19.2 points. That vaulted the Pioneers into the top spot in the division with a slim 5.8 point lead over the Big Blue.<br />
<br />
Somerville cemented its hold on third place with a huge win over previously unbeaten Lynn Classical. Weston picked up its fourth win to move into the final first round home playoff slot. Newburyport, Watertown, Triton and Bedford round out the current top eight.<br />
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The Pioneers can clarify things quickly Friday night with a win over Hamilton-Wenham. That would give them the top seed in the playoffs and guarantee them home field through a potential D5 North title game.<br />
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Lynnfield can still take the top spot if they lose, but then some serious scoreboard watching would be in order. I'll try to sort it out, but a warning: there will be math. And keep in mind this mess is HIGHLY UNOFFICIAL.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers would earn 7 points in a loss to the Generals (for their 7 wins) and are guaranteed 3 points from the Man-Essex/Amesbury game because they beat both team. If Wayland beats Bedford and Ipswich defeats Georgetown - and both teams would be favored - that would get Lynnfield to 111 points. Winless Winthrop is unlikely to beat undefeated Lynn English, and Newburyport is an underdog to North Reading.<br />
<br />
Swampscott can put the most pressure on the Pioneers with a victory over one-win Saugus that will earn them 13 points. The are guaranteed at least 1.2 points from Winthrop/Lynn English game which would give them 103.4 points. A win by favored Greater Lawrence over Mystic Valley would boost that to 106.4.<br />
<br />
So to jump over the Pioneers, Swampscott would need upset wins in four games: Revere (1-5) over Somerville (4-2), Triton (2-4) over Masco (4-2), Salem (4-2) over Lynn Classical (5-1), Winthrop (0-6) over Lynn English (6-0).<br />
<br />
Somerville is guaranteed 91 points and can pick up 15 more with a win over Revere. The Highlanders would get an additional 4.2 points if Lynn English beats Winthrop and Lynn Classical beats Salem. That would give them 110.2. They could get 2 more points if Medford (1-5) upsets Gloucester (4-2). That would give them 112.2.<br />
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Weston has an outside shot with 75.6 points but they would need to beat New Mission (4-2) and get wins from five of their opponents and an upset win by winless Boston Latin over Concord-Carlisle to get to 111.8.<br />
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In a nutshell, it would be a lot simpler if the Pioneers would just win Friday night.<br />
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<u>Week 6 Playoff Rankings</u><br />
1. Lynnfield (6-0); 15.83 (95 points)<br />
2. Swampscott (5-1); 14.87 (89.2)<br />
3. Somerville (4-2); 14.50 (87)<br />
4. Weston (4-2); 12.60 (75.6)<br />
5. Newburyport (3-2); 11.76 (58.8)<br />
6. Watertown (3-3); 11.20 (77.2)<br />
7. Triton (2-4); 8.17 (49)<br />
8. Bedford (2-4); 6.73 (40.4)<br />
9. Saugus (1-5); 5.93 (35.6)<br />
10. Pentucket (1-5); 4.43 (26.6)<br />
11. Amesbury (0-6); 4.00 (24)<br />
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<b><i>Hamilton-Wenham Preview</i></b><br />
Death, taxes, and Hamilton-Wenham. Some things are inevitable. At least when it comes to the CAL title.<br />
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The Pioneers and Generals are the only two teams to wear the CAL Small crown (in whatever configuration) for the past eight years. The Pioneers took it in 2009, and the Generals won it in 2010 and 2011. Lynnfield has now captured it five years in a row and it looks like it will come down to these two teams again.<br />
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For a review of the rivalry from 2009 to 2013, check out <a href="http://lynnfieldfootball.blogspot.com/2014/10/hamilton-wenham-game-preview-showdown.html">my post from 2014</a>. The Pioneers have dominated the past three years beating the Generals 35-0 in 2014, 49-8 in 2015, and 32-7 last year. They have now beaten H-W five straight times.<br />
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If the Pioneers can make it six in a row Friday night, they will capture their sixth straight CAL title. The Generals will take a giant step toward the title if they win, but they would still have to beat Ipswich on Thanksgiving Day.<br />
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Both rivals come into the game riding high. The Pioneers are 6-0 and hold the top spot in the Division 5 playoff rankings. The Generals are 6-0 and sit atop the D6 playoff rankings.<br />
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The Generals opened the season with a 21-0 whitewash of Bishop Fenwick, and followed that with an impressive 28-14 win over North Reading, who has already clinched a share of the CAL Kinney (Large) division. H-W then rolled to three straight lopsided wins over Greater Lawrence (28-7), Amesbury (42-12), and Georgetown (37-8).<br />
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They struggled with Manchester-Essex last week falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter before coming back to swat the Hornets 29-22.<br />
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For the first time this season the Pioneers will be facing a team that has the same type of potent passing attack as they do. Southpaw quarterback Billy Whelan has no problem slinging it all over the field trusting his outstanding receivers Cam Peach, Jake Lanciani, and Michael Crowley to go up and get it. Whelan has tossed 10 TD passes, four each to Peach and Lanciani.<br />
<br />
The strength of the Pioneer defense has been its pass defense, holding opposing quarterbacks to a 28% completion percentage, 125 total yards, and two touchdowns. That's an average half for Whelan and company. Safe to say, the Pioneers haven't faced anywhere near the passing attack they will see Friday night.<br />
<br />
As good as Whelan has been, keep your eyes on Peach, #44 in your program. Make no mistake, the General offense runs thought this 6'2", 180 pound all league performer. He lines up everywhere on the field - wide receiver, slot receiver, tight end, and tailback. Given the Pioneers' recent struggles containing the run (569 yards allowed the past two weeks), don't be surprised to see H-W coach Jim Pugh plug Peach into the backfield to see if he can get similar results.<br />
<br />
Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman knows his team will have their hands full with the Generals.<br />
<br />
"They're very, very good," he said. "They have tons of good players and they're well coached. We're going to have to play well.<br />
<br />
"They run a multiple I and can run the ball," Weidman continued. "They'll do some single back and some shot gun and they'll break out in four wide. Sometimes they'll be under center with a fullback. The do a lot of different things from a lot of different formations, different plays, play action passes and straight drop back passes. It's different from us but the way they mix things up is similar to us."<br />
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"It's been a lot of years in a row," Weidman said of the battle between the two teams for league supremacy. "We'll see how it goes."<br />
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Friday night is also Senior Night, where the 20 graduating seniors will be honored before the game. The ceremonies start at 5:45 so get there early.<br />
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Game time is 7 pm.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-29723321263704434642017-10-11T19:37:00.001-04:002017-10-11T19:37:18.391-04:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report Week 5<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Manchester-Essex Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Playoff Race Update, Ipswich Preview</span></i><br />
<br />
<i><b>Manchester-Essex Leftovers</b></i><br />
After his defense had given up 202 total yards rushing in its previous two games, Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman could be forgiven for being angry as he watched Manchester-Essex rip through the Pioneers for 160 yards in the <i>first half. </i>Only he wasn't.<br />
<br />
"I wasn't necessarily upset about the way the game was going because it's probably what we deserved a little bit," the coach told me after the game. "After four games maybe they thought that they could start doing things in a different way and not doing what got them to this week."<br />
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Was the sleepy first half and semi-scare the Hornets threw at them a wake up call for the Pioneers?<br />
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"I would hope so," Weidman replied. "We'll find out next week. We definitely played better in the second half."<br />
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Not that the Hornets, now 2-3 on the season, didn't have something to do with the shocking first two quarters.<br />
<br />
"They definitely have some talent," Weidman said. "They're thin obviously. They don't have a lot of numbers and that hurts them in the end but the kids that start are good looking players."<br />
<br />
Running backs Jake Athanas and Robbie Sarmanian certainly shined in those first two quarters. Athanas rolled for 81 yards and Sarmanian scampered for 65 yards and a touchdown.<br />
<br />
"You have to give them credit," Weidman went on. "They played harder than we did and played better than we did and they took it to us.<br />
<br />
The Hornets could have made this one a lot more interesting if not for a key sequence late in the second quarter. Leading 7-6, M/E appeared to be heading for another score as they marched from their own 20 deep into Lynnfield territory. But the Pioneer defense came alive once the Hornets got into the red zone.<br />
<br />
They held Sarmanian to a two yard gain, broke up a pass on second down, threw Athanas for a yard loss on third down, and broke up a pass on fourth down to force a turnover on downs with 1:16 left.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers made the Hornets pay and took control of the game on the next play when quarterback Matt Mortellite faded back and threw a perfect pass that travelled 43 yards in the air into the waiting arms of captain Nick Kinnon who was streaking down the left sideline. He never broke stride and cruised into the end zone to give the visiting Pioneers a 12-7 lead. That play doused the flames of the fired up Hornets ending any thoughts of an upset.<br />
<br />
"They shouldn't have been down 12-7 at the half," Weidman said of the home team. "We got the big play. Obviously the fourth down stop was huge. They outplayed us in the first half and we were still winning. That's a good thing for us but we certainly didn't deserve it."<br />
<br />
The Pioneers came out with a much different attitude in the second half, scoring on three straight possessions and limiting the Hornets to six plays on their two third quarter possessions. When I mentioned that the first team defense didn't allow a first down in the second half, Weidman wasn't impressed.<br />
<br />
"They allowed a lot of them in the first half," he said. "They kicked our butt in the first half."<br />
<br />
Something tells me film review this week featured more of the first half than the second half.<br />
<br />
<i>Three's a Charm (Part 1)</i><br />
Mortellite tossed four TD's in the game, tying a record he set and then matched last year. He torched Manchester Essex to set the record last year in a 47-14 win and then repeated the four bagger in a 34-14 victory against Greater Lawrence. The four this week gives him nine on the year. His NFL passer rating is now 148.8.<br />
<br />
<i>Three's a Charm (Part 2)</i><br />
Opposing quarterbacks may want to start trying someone other than Jason Ndansi when looking for an opening in the Pioneer secondary. The senior picked off his third interception of the year early in the second quarter against M/E. Ndansi got some help from junior Hunter Allain who roared in untouched from his right linebacker spot to T-bone Hornet quarterback Cosmo Pallazola just as he threw. Ndansi's three picks is half the total for the Pioneers on the year.<br />
<br />
The Pioneer secondary continues to be air tight. They held Pallazola to a 1 for 7 night for nine yards and the interception. For the season, opposing quarterbacks are 16 for 57 (28%) for 97 yards, 1 touchdown, and six interceptions. That works out to a Passer Rating of 5.84.<br />
<br />
<i>Long Distance Calling</i><br />
The Pioneers have scored 25 touchdowns so far this season and 13 been for 20+ yards, 6 passing and 7 rushing.<br />
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<i>Well Coached</i><br />
Interesting tidbit on the next to last play of the game. With time running down and the game essentially over, junior quarterback Brett Cohee took the snap, faked a handoff to the running back and when the outside linebacker bit on the fake, Cohee tossed a perfect bubble screen to Aidan McCormack who scampered for a 26 yard gain. Perfect read and perfect execution.<br />
<br />
Except it wasn't what Weidman wanted. As soon as Cohee made the read, the coach knew what his quarterback was going to do and he started yelling "No, no!" But is was too late.<br />
<br />
"Obviously I did not want him to throw the bubble in that situation but he did as he was coached so I couldn't yell at him," Weidman said. "His run game reads are really good. He's smart, he pays attention, he does all those things. He did it correctly like he typically does."<br />
<br />
The coach made a point of pulling Cohee aside after the game to tell him he absolutely did the right thing. The play was called back on a holding call so no harm, no foul.<br />
<br />
Cohee took a knew to end the game.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Around the CAL Baker</i></b><br />
It'll be a battle for first place this Friday night in Ipswich as the Tigers moved to 2-0 in Baker League play with a 42-21 win over Amesbury. The Tigers were clinging to a 21-14 halftime lead but made it 28-14 early in the third and pulled away with a pair of Pick Six interceptions.<br />
<br />
That was the only other Baker League action last week. In addition to the Lynnfield/Ipswich clash, Manchester-Essex will take on undefeated Hamilton-Wenham.<br />
<br />
<u>The Standings</u><br />
Lynnfield 2-0 (5-0 overall)<br />
Ipswich 2-0 (3-2)<br />
Hamilton-Wenham 1-0 (5-0)<br />
Man-Essex 0-2 (2-3)<br />
Amesbury 0-3 (0-5)<br />
<br />
<b><i>D5 Update</i></b><br />
The Pioneers win combined with the Swampscott loss to Lynn English puts the two teams in a dead heat for the top seed in the division. The Big Blue has an easier final two week schedule facing one win Revere and winless Saugus but that also limits their opponent point potential.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers have a tougher schedule with Ipswich (3-2) and undefeated Hamilton-Wenham upcoming but it also gives them the opportunity to pile up some serious opponent points should they manage to get past their two CAL Baker foes.<br />
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There are a couple of important swing games for Lynnfield this week. Triton plays Amesbury and a win for the Vikes gives Swampscott three points while an Amesbury win would give three to Lynnfield. Winthrop plays Saugus in a battle of winless team. A win by Winthrop gives both leaders three points, but a Saugus win gives Swampscott an opportunity for three points next week when they face the Sachems. Wins by Newburyport over Pentucket and Wayland over Concord-Carlisle would give the Pioneers six more opponent points.<br />
<br />
Somerville beat Beverly to get to 3-2 and move into third place in the division, 14.2 points behind the leaders. Watertown lost to Wilmington but still held on to the fourth and final home playoff spot, 16.2 points behind. Weston, Newburyport, Triton, and Bedford round out the eight playoff slots.<br />
<br />
If the playoffs started this weekend, the Pioneers would be playing either Triton or Bedford.<br />
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<u>Week 5 Playoff Rankings</u><br />
1. Lynnfield 5-0; 14.00 (70 points)<br />
2. Swampscott 4-1; 14.00 (70 points)<br />
3. Somerville 3-2; 11.16 (55.8 points)<br />
4. Watertown 3-2; 10.76 (53.8 points)<br />
5. Weston 3-1; 10.72 (43.6 points)<br />
6. Newburyport 2-2; 10.45 (41.8 points)<br />
7. Triton 1-4; 6.92 (34.6 points)<br />
8. Bedford 1-4; 5.60 (18 points)<br />
9. Saugus 0-5; 4.68 (23.4 points)<br />
10. Pentucket 1-4; 4.08 (20.4 points)<br />
11. Amesbury 0-5; 3.80 (19 points)<br />
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<b><i>Ipswich Preview</i></b><br />
Talk to any high school football coach and they will tell you that high school football is a senior game. Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman has made that point several times and the team's success this year can in a large part be attributed to a nearly all senior lineup Lynnfield puts on the field on both sides of the ball.<br />
<br />
If it's true that your twelfth graders are key to winning, the Pioneers better be alert on Friday night when they travel to Ipswich. The Tigers have 17 seniors and will leverage that experience to try and spring the upset over the Pioneers.<br />
<br />
The Tigers blanked winless Essex Tech 14-0 to open the season then fell to Newburyport 10-7. Ipswich fell to Triton 35-21 but has bounced back with wins over Manchester-Essex 22-13 on a big fourth quarter comeback and last week rode a big second half to rout winless Amesbury 42-21.<br />
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At 2-0 in the Baker, the Tigers are tied with the Pioneers for first place and at 3-2 overall are clinging to the final playoff spot in Division 6. There is a lot at stake for the Tigers and you can expect them to come out roaring Friday night.<br />
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"We'll have our hands full," Weidman said. "The are going to be tough.<br />
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Offensively, the Tigers have jumped into the Wayback Machine and installed an old school veer offense with two backs behind the quarterback and two tight ends. It is a run oriented attack that looks to take advantage of a solid, aggressive offensive line. Four of five starters return from last season.<br />
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The Tigers have been opportunists on defense. In the past two weeks they have scored three defensive touchdowns. Their defensive line is experienced but they have three first year starters at linebacker so look for the Pioneers to exploit the middle of the field.<br />
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The Pioneers have dominated the series in the last decade, winning ten straight by an aggregate score of 268-42. That includes four shutouts and five games in which the Tigers managed only one touchdown.<br />
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Game time in Ipswich is 7 pm.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-46394836582251786552017-10-04T19:40:00.003-04:002017-10-04T19:40:30.717-04:00The Pioneer Grid Blog Report - Week 4<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Winthrop Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Update, Manchester-Essex Preview</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i>by Tom Condardo </i><br />
<br />
<b><i>Winthrop Leftovers</i></b><br />
Watching the Pioneers methodically dismantle the Vikings last Friday night might cause you to ask why Lynnfield was playing such an overmatched opponent. Chalk it up to the ebbs and flows of the strength of high school football teams.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Captain Anthony Murphy cruises<br />in from the three for the touchdown</td></tr>
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First, you need to understand that there is a difference between a "team" and a "program." Winthrop has always been a strong "program." This year, they just happen to have a poor "team" and that is largely a function of their age.<br />
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They have 38 players on their roster and nearly half of them are freshmen. And head coach Sean Driscoll must dress - and use - some of these ninth graders. They also only have a dozen junior and seniors combined. So when they play a senior-laden team like the Pioneers, they are at a serious disadvantage.<br />
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But they are always a tough, scrappy team. They play in the tough Northeast Conference and despite their small numbers, they have always been able to compete. They have 4 Super Bowl appearances on their resume (1981, 1983, 1992, 2006) and have won three of them. In 2014, they were undefeated heading into the D4 North title game against the Pioneers.<br />
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"There's no crystal ball," head coach Neal Weidman said when asked about the scheduling. "Winthrop is a program that is typically good with tough kids who was open the same week we were.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">John Lee scoots burst into </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">the end zone for his first </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">varsity score</span></div>
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They've always done well. In 2014 they were the top seed and I went and watched them play a number of times and they smoked a whole bunch of Northeast Conference teams that year. I knew they were going to be one of the teams to beat that year."<br />
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I asked the coach if they could get anything positive out of game like this other than being able to empty his bench and get some kids valuable experience.<br />
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"No," he responded. "They're just too young. You feel for them. Coach (Sean) Driscoll is a good guy and it's just one of those years. They'll remember this year and it will be better for them in the future."<br />
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Does Weidman feel he has to guard against overconfidence as a result of this game? Does his team have to be reminded that Winthrop just isn't in their class this year?<br />
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"They know that," he responded. "We try to schedule games so you improve before the end of the season."<br />
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Weidman will look to practices to gain the edge it is difficult to get in a mismatch game.<br />
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"We can control practices," he said. "That's where we can improve. We're going to have to do some of that this week."<br />
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<i>Rush Hour</i><br />
The Pioneers didn't waste much time scoring Friday night. Their six touchdown drives in the first half took 13, 68, 9, 67, 46, and 54 seconds. That's one touchdown every 42 seconds or a point every six seconds.<br />
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<i>Point Total</i><br />
The 47 points were the most for the Pioneers since beating Manchester-Essex 47-14 last year. It's the 14th time in school history they've scored 47 or more points and 32nd time they've tallied more than 40. The most points Lynnfield has scored in a game was in 1961 when the Pioneers beat Bedford 63-0.<br />
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<i>Air Force Update</i><br />
Winthrop's Jack Adamson was 2 for 9 for 9 yards and an interception passing Friday night, bringing the opposing quarterback passer rating to 7.64. Matt Mortellite was 3 for 3 for 91 yards and a touchdown giving him a passer rating of 150.00.<br />
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<i>Climbing the chart</i><br />
Captain Nick Kinnon's two touchdowns gives him 134 career points and vaults him into the top ten in Pioneer career scoring. Last week's performance lifted him past Andy Nekoroski (1979-81) who has 126, and Jake Rourke (2013-14) at 130. Frank Berardino (1958-61) is Lynnfield's all time scoring leader with 262 career points.<br />
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<i>Triple Threat</i><br />
For the second week in a row, the Pioneers were able to use all three of their varsity quarterbacks. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;">Brett Cohee scampers in for the first<br />of his two touchdown runs</td></tr>
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Mortellite took a seat once the lead ballooned to 33-6 in the second quarter. Junior Brett Cohee took over and continued the onslaught carrying twice for 14 yard and 85 yard touchdowns. He also completed a pass for 9 yards. Despite limited playing time, Cohee is now the team's third leading rusher with 145 yards on 8 carries, a nifty 18.1 per carry average.<br />
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Sophomore Clayton Marengi, younger brother of captain Cooper, came on in the fourth quarter and picked up 21 yards on three carries. He actually had 32 yards on one carry but lost 11 yards on a couple of kneel downs to end the game.<br />
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<i>Homecooking</i><br />
The Pioneers head out on the road this week for the first time in nearly a year and they've been spoiled by how many home games they've played. Eight of their last 11 games have been played at Pioneer Stadium. Five of their first seven games will be played at home and if they stay in the top four in D5, they will have at least one more home playoff game.<br />
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Of course they'll be paying the price next year when they start the season with road trips to Newburyport, Wayland, Amesbury and Winthrop.<br />
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<i>Wardrobe Change</i><br />
Fans arriving at Pioneer Stadium Friday night may have been jarred to see the Pioneers wearing white pants instead of their traditional all navy blue look. I spoke to Kinnon and captain Harry Collins for the reasons behind the change and they told me it was at their request.<br />
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"We just wanted to change things up with the four straight home games," said Kinnon.<br />
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They said it took the captains two weeks to convince Weidman to let them make the change.<br />
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<i><b>Around the CAL Baker</b></i><br />
While the Pioneers were playing their non-league game, the rest of the CAL Baker was in action. Hamilton Wenham continued to impress with a 42-12 blasting of winless Amesbury.<br />
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The biggest news coming out of this game was the emergence of the General's running game. Their passing game with quarterback Billy Whelan and elite receivers Cam Peach and Jake Lanciani has been lethal, but against the Indians, sophomore running back Ian Coffey broke loose for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. If the H-W attack can be effective both on the ground and in the air, they are going to be tough to handle.<br />
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Meanwhile, over in Ipswich, the Tigers stunned Manchester Essex with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take a 22-13 win. The Hornets led 13-6 with less than six minutes to play but Ipswich scored and made the two point conversion to give the Tigers a 14-13 lead. Ipswich then returned a M/E fumble for a score to seal the deal.<br />
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Ipswich travels to Amesbury this week and Hamilton-Wenham has a non-league game against Georgetown. <br />
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<u>The Standings</u><br />
Lynnfield 1-0 (4-0 overall)<br />
Ham-Wen 1-0 (4-0)<br />
Ipswich 1-0 (2-2)<br />
Man-Essex 0-1 (2-2)<br />
Amesbury 0-2 (0-4)<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i><i><b>D5 Update</b></i><br />
Swampscott knocked the Pioneers out of the top spot with a win over previously undefeated Salem that earned them 19 points. They now have a 7 point lead on Lynnfield, thanks largely to opponents points. The Pioneers have 42 "own" points to 40 for the Big Blue, but Swampscott has 18 "opponent" points while Lynnfield has only 9, the second fewest in the division. Both Amesbury and Winthrop are winless, giving the Pioneers zero opponent points. Newburyport had a bye last week again depriving Lynnfield of any points. Wayland won again giving the Pioneers their only 3 opponent points for the week.<br />
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Weston snuck by Whittier 38-36 to stay at 3-1 only 2 points behind the Pioneers. Watertown beat D4 Burlington and hold on to the last home playoff spot, 3.2 points behind Lynnfield. Somerville, Newburyport, Triton, and Pentucket round out the eight playoff spots at this point.<br />
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Two games with huge implications for the Pioneers if they hope to earn the top seed in the division. Swampscott plays D4 Lynn English in a battle of unbeatens, and if the Big Blue can beat the Bulldogs, they will earn 24 points. Salem plays Winthrop likely giving Swampscott another 3 opponent points. The Big Blue finish up against winless Winthrop and Saugus so if they defeat Lynn English this week, it will be nearly impossible to catch them for the top spot.<br />
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Another game to consider is Newburyport vs. Triton. Swampscott has already beaten Pat Sheehan's Vikings and the Pioneers defeated Newburyport so the outcome of this one means a six point swing between Swampscott and Lynnfield. The Vikes would be heavy favorites in that one so it's probably three more points for Swampscott, and none for Lynnfield.<br />
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Watertown takes on D4 Wilmington who is 3-1 so a win there would be worth 21 points for the Raiders and give them a big boost in the ratings. Weston has a bye this week.<br />
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If the playoffs started this week, the second seeded Pioneers would host seventh seeded Triton.<br />
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<u>Week 4 Playoff Ratings</u><br />
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1. Swampscott 4-0; 14.50 (58 points)<br />
2. Lynnfield 4-0; 12.75 (51 points)<br />
3. Weston 4-0; 12.25 (49 points)<br />
4. Watertown 3-1; 11.95 (47.8 points)<br />
5. Somerville 2-2; 9.60 (38.4 points)<br />
6. Newburyport 1-2; 7.87 (23.6 points)<br />
7. Triton 1-3; 6.80 (27.2 points)<br />
8. Pentucket 1-3; 3.9 (15.6 points)<br />
9. Saugus 0-4; 3.55 (14.2 points)<br />
10. Amesbury 0-4; 3.25 (13 points)<br />
11. Bedford 0-4; 3.15 (12.6 points)<br />
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BTW, if you're wondering about the fractions of points, teams get 1 point for every win by team that has beaten you, but you get 1.2 points for a win for team that has beaten you that is in a higher division.<br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b>Manchester-Essex Preview</b></i><br />
The Pioneers hit the road to Manchester-by-the-Sea for their first road game of the year and their first since heading to Greater Lawrence last November 12. That's nearly a year between road games.<br />
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The Hornets are much improved from last year with two and three years starters at many key positions starting in the backfield. Robbie Sarmanian and Jake Athanas have been the workhorses for a couple of years and they will share the load in the running game. The Hornets lost last year's second leading rusher Dan Rodier to Governor's Academy. The other key hole is at quarterback where senior Cosmo Pallazola takes over for Charlie Otterbein who graduated.<br />
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M/E features a big, experienced interior line led by senior captains Andrew Hantzopoulos, Jackson Rice, and Charlie MacDowell. Four of the five linemen are returning starters.<br />
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Rice and Hantzopolous lead the linebacking corps to spearhead the defense.<br />
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The Hornets have had a see-saw season so far. They beat Northeast (2-2) in a 46-34 shootout to open the season and then were routed by Nantucket (4-0) 32-7. They bounced back with a 39-0 beating of winless Essex Tech then were nipped in the final minutes by Ipswich 22-13 last week.<br />
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The Pioneers won last year's meeting 47-14 with Matt Mortellite leading the way with a school-record four TD passes. The offense exploded for 524 yards of offense scoring 47 unanswered points after M/E marched down the field and scored on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead.<br />
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The Pioneers have beaten M/E five straight times by an aggregate score of 210-34. Overall they hold a 6-3 edge in the series.<br />
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Game time in Manchester-by-the-Sea is 7 pm.Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-19099421542013832772017-09-27T18:08:00.001-04:002017-09-27T18:08:35.604-04:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report - Week 3<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Amesbury Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Update, Winthrop Preview</span></i><br />
<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<b><i>Amesbury Leftovers</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
The Flash. Quicksilver. The Roadrunner.<br />
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(Insert fast metaphor here).<br />
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So did you catch the Pioneers' game Friday night? Even if you were there you might have missed it.<br />
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Lynnfield's speed was on full display and the Amesbury Indians were the unfortunate victims. The Pioneers were dashing circles around the poor visitors scoring from every point on the field and wasting no time doing in.<br />
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The Pioneers scored on their first four possessions (would have been five but the officials somehow decided to wave off the final 29 seconds of the first half with Lynnfield perched on the one yard line.) Instead, the home team had to settle for a 27-0 lead thanks to 349 yards of offense.<br />
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When asked about the impressive first half execution, head coach Neal Weidman responded,<br />
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"Yes we did well. I think it was our speed."<br />
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You think?<br />
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"We were definitely a faster team then they were but that's our strong point this year," Weidman said. "Some year's you're big and some years you're fast."<br />
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Color the 2017 Pioneers fast.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i>Captain Nick Kinnon rips a Matt Mortellite <br />pass away from Amesbury's Patrick<br />Birmingham enroute to a 74 yard TD</i></td></tr>
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The Pioneers set the tone early when John Lee exploded for a 30 yard gain on a jet sweep on the first play of the game. It was the first of 15 Pioneer plays that went longer than 10 yards. They scored on runs of 38 (Tyler Murphy) and 25 yards (Jason Ndansi) and a 74 yard pass from Matt Mortellite to captain Nick Kinnon.<br />
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"In that first half four or five guys with speed made the plays," Weidman said.<br />
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And Amesbury just couldn't keep up.<br />
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<i>Second Team Action</i><br />
One of the key benefits of having the game locked up early was the ability to get some of the second teamers into the game. Weidman has done this through the years and it pays off by getting some valuable experience for varsity players who may not see much regular action.<br />
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Usually with a big lead, the Weidman will send out his first team for a series or two and then send in the backups. On Friday, Weidman wasted no time and sent his second team offense out to start the third quarter.<br />
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"I wanted them to get some meaningful time," he said. "Those kids are all a play away from being in the game so I wanted them to get that time where they're varsity players. The second offense did a nice job on that first series. We picked up a couple of first downs and kept the clock moving."<br />
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Backup quarterback Brett Cohee displayed some speed (there's that word again) and shiftiness picking up 53 yards on 11 carries against Amesbury's first defense.<br />
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<i>Not-so-special Teams</i><br />
From the "Picking Nits" department, the only downside on the night was in the kickoff return department. Amesbury had five opportunities and made the most of them. They had returns of 19, 30, 16, 25, and 30 yards for an average of 24 yards per return.<br />
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"They have a really good scheme," Weidman explained. "I like it a lot. They decide ahead of time and have their middle guy lead the way. It's a sideline return and you can tell which way they're going by seeing where the middle guy goes. But they do a good job of blocking everyone down. One time we got caught where they were returning left and our kicker called it right because he kicked that way. So one of our guys went around his block and then all the blocking was going that way so we created a giant gap. Plus they executed it well."<br />
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<i>Air Defense Force update</i><br />
The Pioneer Air Defense Force was tight again holding Indian quarterback Blake Bennett to 3 for 7 for 18 yards and an interception. For the season, opposing quarterbacks are 13 for 41 for 79 yards, no touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. That's an NFL passer rating of 6.05.<br />
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For comparison, Mortellite is 23 for 37 for 546 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. That's an NFL passer rating of 151.5. A perfect rating is 158.3.<br />
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<i>Shutout City</i><br />
The Pioneers have now posted shutouts in two of their first three games. They haven't done that to start the season since 1974 when they opened with a 20-13 win over Wayland then shut out North Andover 7-0 and Triton 26-0. Those would be their only two shutouts of the year but they would go on to post a 8-2 record. More on the 1974 season in a minute.<br />
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The two shutouts this year are the 100th and 101st in the history of the program. North Reading has been the most frequent victim, coming up with a goose egg against the Pioneers 13 times. Amesbury ranks second having been blanked 8 times.<br />
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<i>Data Points</i><br />
Captain Cooper Marengi's third PAT against Amesbury was the 600th in the history of the program. Of those, 276 or 46% have come in the last ten years under Weidman.<br />
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The win was the tenth straight over Amesbury and lifts Lynnfield's overall mark against the Indians to 30-15-1.<br />
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<i>Overtime Flashback Redux</i><br />
A tip of the helmet to a couple of eagle-eyed readers who noted a pair of overtime games I missed in last week's report.<br />
<br />
Tom Waisnor, Voice of the Pioneers, reminded me of the exciting overtime contest against Hamilton-Wenham in 2011 at the old Middle School field. I'm claiming that the traumatic nature of the game forced me to block it from my memory.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers were poised to knock off the defending champion Generals, leading 14-6 into the last minute of play. Elliot Burr capped a 64 yard General drive to cut the lead to 14-12 with 37 seconds left. He barreled in for the two to tie the game.<br />
<br />
The Generals had the first possession of the overtime and Andrew Kibarian got things started by sacking all league quarterback Trevor Lyons at the 15. But Lyons connected for a pass to get it to the three on second down, Burr got it to the one on third, and Lyons knifed in for the score on fourth down. He repeated the play for the two point conversion to make it 22-14.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers picked up one yard on first down on their possession, an incompletion on second and a completed pass from Mike Karavetsos to Alex Pascucci to the five on third down. But on fourth and goal from the five, Karavetsos' pass fell incomplete.<br />
<br />
The loss was even more bitter because the Pioneers appeared to pad their lead twice in the second half. The first was a controversial call in the endzone on an apparent touchdown catch by the Pioneers' Nico Varano. He and H-W defensive back Pete Duval came down with the ball together and the call should have gone Lynnfield's way since the offense should retain possession on a simultaneous catch, but the official ruled it an interception.<br />
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Early in the fourth, a 22 yard Karavetsos TD run was called back on a holding call.<br />
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Lynnfield built the lead on touchdowns by Kyle McGah and Tyler Palumbo. Palumbo's score came after ripping the ball from Burr and returning it 37 yards for the score. Alex Roper booted both PAT's.<br />
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And speaking of 1974, Glenn Listernick (LHS '74), wrote to tell me that the first ever Lynnfield overtime game came in that 1974 season against...wait for it...Hamilton Wenham.<br />
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The two teams battled to a scoreless tie and the Generals scored first in the overtime but missed the PAT. Glenn Dolbeare scored the tying touchdown on the Pioneers' possession and Alan Harrington banged through the extra point for the 7-6 win.<br />
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So for those keeping score at home, the Pioneers have played five overtime games and three of them have come against Hamilton- Wenham. And I think that brings us to date. Unless I missed another.<br />
<br />
Thanks to Tom and Glenn for keeping me honest.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Around the CAL Baker</i></b><br />
The Pioneer win over Amesbury was the only league action last week but all the other teams will begin CAL Baker play this weekend. Hamilton-Wenham (3-0) travels to Amesbury (0-3) while Manchester Essex (2-1) heads to Ipswich (1-2). Both games are on Friday night.<br />
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It's a bit early to handicap the race, but just as an fyi, the Pioneers and Generals wrap up the CAL Baker season in Lynnfield on October 20. Get your tickets early.<br />
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<b><i>D5 Update</i></b><br />
The Pioneers' win combined with Watertown's loss to Melrose vaulted Lynnfield into the top spot in the division. Swampscott remains undefeated and jumped into second place with a 48-6 beating of Winthrop. The Pioneers lead the Big Blue by a slim two points, .67 in the ratings, the difference being the two points Lynnfield earned by beating D4 Wayland. Watertown is lurking in third place and surprising Weston holds down the last home field playoff spot.<br />
<br />
However, Swampscott and Watertown have big risk/reward schedules in the final four weeks. The Big Blue have two 12 point games against teams in a higher division when they play Lynn English (currently 3-0) and Revere (currently 0-3).<br />
<br />
The Raiders have the biggest opportunity to cash in since they are in the Middlesex League and play 3 of their final four games against D4 teams - all 12 point games. They will play Burlington (0-3) this week than follow up with Wilmington (3-0), Stoneham (3-0) only a ten point game, and Wakefield (1-2). If they get on any type of winning streak they will be piling up more points than anyone in the division.<br />
<br />
All of the Pioneers' final four games are against teams in the same or lower division which are worth only 10 points. If the playoffs started this week, the Pioneers would be hosting Pentucket in game one.<br />
<br />
Week 3 Playoff Ratings<br />
<br />
1. Lynnfield 3-0; 12.67 (38 points)<br />
2. Swampscott 3-0; 12.00 (36 points)<br />
3. Watertown 2-1; 10.53 (32 points)<br />
4. Weston 2-1; 9.00 (27 points)<br />
5. Triton 1-2; 6.53 (20 points)<br />
6. Somerville 1-2; 6.40 (19 points)<br />
7. Newburyport 1-2; 6.13 (18 points)<br />
8. Pentucket 1-2; 4.00 (12 points)<br />
9. Bedford 0-3; 2.60 (8 points)<br />
10. Saugus 0-3; 2.40 (7 points)<br />
11. Amesbury 0-3; 2.33 (7 points)<br />
<br />
<b><i>Winthrop Preview</i></b><br />
The Pioneers will play their fourth home game in a row Friday night when they host the winless Winthrop Vikings (0-3).<br />
<br />
When we last saw the Vikes in the 2014 D4 North Championship game, Cam Rondeau was pilfering the football from a pile of Pioneers and Vikings as Winthrop was trying to score from the Lynnfield half yard line. Cam DeGeorge blew up a quarterback sneak and Rondeau picked up the loose ball and raced 99 yards the other way for a Lynnfield touchdown.<br />
<br />
Instead of of being up only 28-21, the Pioneers led 35-14 and effectively sealed the win and earned them a trip to Lowell to face Holliston in the D4 state semi-final.<br />
<br />
That was the first time Winthrop and Lynnfield met in football and they haven't played since.<br />
<br />
This will be a very different Viking team that comes to town from the battled tested, veteran Winthrop team that came into that 2014 game undefeated. The Pioneers will face the baby-faced Vikes this week. Head Coach Sean Driscoll has been saying this is the youngest team he has ever had in Winthrop.<br />
<br />
They will bring a 34 man roster, but with only 7 seniors and 7 juniors. Half the team (17) are freshmen. The bulk of the playing time goes to the juniors and seniors and ten of them play both ways. The only relief comes from two freshmen who play regularly. The Vikes played six freshmen in a 31-0 loss to Danvers in their opening game.<br />
<br />
Medford beat them 28-6 in week two and last week they fell to undefeated Swampscott 48-6. That score is a bit misleading since they scrappy Vikings trailed only 7-0 for most of the first half. A late Big Blue touchdown made it 14-0 at the break and the Vikings ran out of gas in the second half on a hot afternoon, giving up 34 points in the final two quarters.<br />
<br />
Jake Adamson is the quarterback and his favorite receiver is junior Matt Love. The lead running back is Feedle Small - probably the best name I have ever heard.<br />
<br />
The defense is led by linebackers Brett Sheehan, A.J. Massa, and Tyler Chuidina.<br />
<br />
Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-62253265763670035522017-09-20T18:27:00.000-04:002017-09-20T18:27:10.316-04:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report - Week 2<i><span style="font-size: large;">Wayland Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Update, Amesbury Preview</span></i><br />
<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<b><i>Wayland Leftovers</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>Endgame Rewind</i><br />
For those in attendance, you know what an exciting game the Pioneers and Warriors played Friday night. For those who weren't there, you missed out on truly outstanding high school football game.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">THUMBS UP for Pioneer captain Anthony Murphy</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">after scoring the tying and winning points against Wayland</span></div>
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The hectic finish was particularly wild, and if you're like me, most of it went by in a blur. I thought it would be a good idea to review those final crazy minutes of regulation and overtime now that we have had a chance to process what happened.<br />
<br />
To set the stage, the Pioneers had built a 20-6 halftime lead but were clearly on the ropes in the second half. The bigger Warriors had begun to wear down the Lynnfield defense who were on the field FOREVER. The numbers show just how long they were out there.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers had one offensive series in the third period. Wayland also only had one but theirs lasted for 6:45 of the 11 minute quarter. The fourth quarter was worse. The Warriors controlled the ball for 7:53 of the final quarter. In total in the second half, Wayland had possession for 13:38 compared to 7:22 for Lynnfield. They held the edge in plays 35-20.<br />
<br />
Things started to go sideways for the Pioneers at the end of their first drive of the second half. They took the kick and marched to the Wayland four yard line where they looked to be in good shape to take a three touchdown lead. Unfortunately, on third and goal, the aggressive Wayland defense blew up a Tyler Murphy run for a nine yard loss. On fourth and goal from the 13, Matt Mortellite sprinted out to the right but his receivers were covered so he took off for the end zone. He came up a yard short.<br />
<br />
Wayland took over on the one yard line and were promptly flagged for motion putting the ball on their own half yard line. Fourteen plays later - on the last play of the third quarter, Warrior quarterback Mason Bolivar got loose down the left sideline and sprinted all the way for a 46 yard score to cut the lead to 20-13.<br />
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The Pioneer came thisclose to answering on their first play of the fourth quarter when Mortellite hit captain Nick Kinnon down that same left sideline. Kinnon is not usually caught when behind the defense but Joey Lydon had the angle - and the speed - to run him down at the Wayland 20. The Pioneers picked up five more yards but turned the ball over on downs.<br />
<br />
Wayland then embarked on another mind-numbing 80 yard, 14 play march with Wellington Pereira plowing in from the one for the touchdown. Andy Brogan nailed the PAT and the game was tied with 1:58 left in the game.<br />
<br />
Then things got really interesting.<br />
<br />
A three yard gain from Anthony Murphy, a motion penalty, and three incomplete passes gave the Pioneers a fourth and 12 from their own 30 with 1:23 to play. Captain Cooper Marengi set up in punt formation but the snap went to the up man Sal Marotta who threw a pass in the left flat. Wayland defensed it perfectly and the pass fell incomplete. With 1:17 left in regulation, the Warriors were now 30 yards away from taking the lead.<br />
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"I thought they were going to try and block it," said head coach Neal Weidman of the fake punt attempt. "They lined up like they were coming but the two guys on the wing dropped back after the snap."<br />
<br />
The thing that saved the Pioneers was that Wayland had used up all five of their time outs. The clock was as big a nemesis as the Pioneers. Pereira carried twice to pick up the first down at the 16. With only 57 seconds remaining, Bolivar spiked the ball on first down to stop the clock.<br />
<br />
On second down, Manny Oliver knifed to the Lynnfield 11 yard line, but the Warriors were flagged for holding bringing the ball back to the 26. Bolivar picked up five yards on two carries but then spiked the ball on fourth down ending the threat.<br />
<br />
"You would have expected him to just throw it up into the end zone but it gets hectic at the end," Weidman said. "He had spiked one earlier and you forget about those. He probably thinks its third down because he forgot about the spike on first down."<br />
<br />
Mortellite took a knee, and we were headed for overtime.<br />
<br />
I've always wondered about the overtime rules because they seem to be different at different times. Weidman shed some light on that when he explained the meeting between him, Wayland coach Scott Parseghian and the referee.<br />
<br />
"The rules vary," said Weidman. "Both teams have to agree on them. They said no extra points so you have to go for two. They didn't give us much of a choice. You could choose to have a tie but we both wanted to have a winner. The referee just said we're going for two only because the OT can go forever if you have two guys that can kick."<br />
<br />
Weidman won the toss and elected to let Wayland have the first possession from the ten yard line.<br />
<br />
"If we go first you have to decide to kick the field goal or try to go for it," he explained. "If you're on defense first and they kick a field goal then you know what you have to do. If they score a touchdown, you have no choice but to go for the touchdown. If you stop them, you can be more conservative and try to kick the field goal. You always try to defer and play defense first to see what their score is so you know what you have to do."<br />
<br />
Wayland wasted little time getting into the endzone. Bolivar picked up two yards on first down. On second down, Periera took the hand off and was hit at the six yard line. He then literally carried seven Pioneers all six yards and into the endzone.<br />
<br />
"He is gigantic," said Weidman about the inability of the defense to stop him. "He outweighs most of our guys by 30 pounds, including our defensive linemen."<br />
<br />
On the two point conversion, Bolivar stepped back to pass. Warrior captain Sean Devlin lined up as the tight end on the right side. He blocked down briefly, released and the defense lost him in the wash. He cut to the left into the end zone and was wide open. Bolivar's pass hit him right in the numbers. I was standing right next to him and as the ball floated toward him, I looked down to write the note that the two point conversion was good. When I looked up, I saw the ref waving the pass incomplete and Devlin holding his head with both hands.<br />
<br />
The score was now 26-20 with the Pioneers about to get the ball.<br />
<br />
A swing pass from Mortellite to Anthony Murphy picked up three yards. His next two passes were incomplete forcing a fourth and goal from the seven. Kinnon got behind the defender in the left corner of the end zone but the Warrior defender clearly ran him over in an obvious pass interference. Two refs threw their flags.<br />
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"I give them a lot of credit for calling it," Weidman said. "A lot of times they'll bury the flags but he definitely interfered."<br />
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That gave the Pioneers new life and a first down at the 3.5 yard line. Anthony Murphy bulldozed to the one and then blasted in to tie the score at 26-26. They only needed the two point conversion to win.<br />
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Kinnon came in motion left to right and Mortellite and Anthony Murphy sprinted to the left on a read option run. The defensive end took the quarterback and Mortellite pitched to Murphy who dashed through the linebacker, who was late to the play, and into the end zone for the win.<br />
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"It's a read play," Weidman explained. "It all depends on what they do. When they ran with Kinnon on the motion, that took him out of the equation. If they didn't go with Kinnon, Mort would have handed to him. Once they ran with him, it turns into a front side read with the running back and the quarterback and Mort made the right read.<br />
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I asked Murphy after the game if he was going to be denied getting into the end zone on the play.<br />
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"Oh, no, definitely not," he replied. "I had it in my mind that I was getting in and there was no one that was going to stop me."<br />
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The captain was quick to praise Mortellite on the play.<br />
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"Mort is one of the smartest high school quarterbacks I've ever seen in my life," he said. "Every single play he does he does it with the smartest mindset you could possibly have. It's amazing."<br />
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Ultimately, the whole game was amazing.<br />
<br />
<i>Overtime Flashbacks</i><br />
There have only been three other overtime games in the 29 years I've been covering the Pioneers. The most recent occurred in 2009 in a playoff game that would have sent the Pioneers to the Super Bowl. Lynnfield faced Austin Prep in their first post season game in 24 years. Ironically that game also ended 20-20 in regulation.<br />
<br />
The Cougars had the first possession and the Pioneers held on the first three downs. On fourth down Austin's quarterback fumbled the snap but the officials ruled he recovered in the end zone for the score. The pass for two failed and the Pioneers had their shot trailing 26-20.<br />
<br />
Two runs by Gino Cohee sandwiched around a rush by captain George Hennessey got the Pioneers to the one and a half yard line. Cohee was stopped on fourth down on a play that would have been called back for an illegal formation penalty. Austin Prep went on to the Super Bowl and Lynnfield's Cinderella season came to an end.<br />
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The Pioneers played an overtime two years before that in 2007 in Gloucester against Manchester Essex. Lynnfield was in control with a 14-0 lead but the Hornets exploded for two scores in the final 2:28 to tie it up at 14-14. The Hornets scored on the second play of overtime to go up 21-14.<br />
<br />
On the Pioneers' first play in overtime, Chris Grassi hit (now assistant coach) Pat Lamusta for a short gain, but the running back was stripped (sorry Pat) and M-E recovered for the win.<br />
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The other overtime game was played in 1991 against Hamilton Wenham. It was the fourth game of the season and the defending champion Generals and the Pioneers came into the game undefeated. The Generals took a 7-0 lead but the Pioneers tied it up midway in the second when Greg Fellows picked off a pass, returned it 38 yards for the score, and David Picard nailed the extra point. The score would remain 7-7 until overtime.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers scored on the first play of overtime on a 10 yard naked reverse by quarterback Chris Sutera. The PAT was no good and the Pioneers led 13-7. General running back Mike McGowan fumbled on H-W's first play of overtime, but the General's recovered on the one foot line. Two plays later McGowan blasted in for the score to tie the game.<br />
<br />
McGowan was nearly automatic as a placekicker, so the crowd at the Middle School Field fully expected the Generals to walk away with a one point win. However McGowan's kick sailed wide right preserving the tie. In those days, the teams only had one set of downs in overtime to settle the score, so the game finished in a 13-13 tie.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers finished the season 9-1-1 and the tie likely cost Bill Adams' squad a shot at a Super Bowl berth. But on that day, the tie seemed more like a win.<br />
<br />
So in the the past three decades, the Pioneers' win Friday night is Lynnfield's only overtime win.<br />
<br />
<i>Quick Start</i><br />
The Pioneers are now 2-0, the fourth time Lynnfield has won their first two games in the Weidman Era. They did it in 2014 (Newburyport, Pentucket), 2013 (Newburyport, Saugus), 2010 (Manchester, Georgetown), and 2009 (Matignon, Georgetown). In three of those seasons ( 2009, 2013, 2014) they went on to win the league championship and made the playoffs.<br />
<br />
<i>Cleanup Crew</i><br />
After getting buried under a hail of penalty flags in week one, the Pioneers did much better against Wayland. They were called for three penalties for 20 yards.<br />
<br />
"We cleaned it up a lot," remarked Weidman. "It was much better this week."<br />
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Wayland, on the other hand, killed themselves with penalties. They were flagged 11 times for 75 yards including the huge pass interference call in the endzone in overtime.<br />
<br />
<i>Air Defense Force</i><br />
The Pioneers were tough to throw against again Friday night. Bolivar was 3 for 15 for 37 yards and threw a pair of interceptions. Jason Ndansi picked off the first and Peter Look hauled in the second in the end zone after a tip from Nick Kinnon. Last week they held Newburyport quarterback Owen Bradbury to 7 for 20 for 24 yards.<br />
<br />
In total, the Pioneer secondary of Kinnon, Look, Ndansi, Justin Ysalguez, and Tyler Murphy have held opposing quarterback to 10 for 35 (28.5%) for 39 yards and two interceptions. That's an NFL passer rating of 6.7. A perfect score is 153.7.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Around the CAL Baker</i></b><br />
The biggest story coming out of the Baker this week was the Hamilton Wenham 28-14 upset of a highly-touted North Reading team. Combined with their 21-0 whitewash of Bishop Fenwick last week, the Generals have made a strong statement that they will be a contender this year.<br />
<br />
They have a ton of weapons with experienced Billy Whelan at quarterback and two dangerous receiving threats in Cam Peach and Jake Lanciani. But it could be their defense that makes them such a threat. Shutting down the Crusaders and then holding the Hornets to a pair of touchdowns is truly impressive. They take on Greater Lawrence this weekend.<br />
<br />
In other Baker action, Ipswich, Man-Essex, and Amesbury all lost. The Tigers lost a tough one to Newburyport 10-7, M/E was swamped by Nantucket 32-7, and the Indians were nipped by Pentucket 23-20.<br />
<br />
Lynnfield and Amesbury have the Baker opening week stage to themselves as the other three squads have non league games.<br />
<br />
<b><i>D5 Update</i></b><br />
The Pioneers big win over D4 Wayland earned them 12 points and they picked up another 3 from the Newburyport win over Ipswich giving them a total of 25 points. Their 12.5 rating puts them in a tie with Watertown for the top spot in the division.<br />
<br />
Swampscott is also undefeated at 2-0 but they were both 10 point wins. They sit in third place with an 11.5 rating. Newburyport currently holds the fourth home field playoff position with a 1-1 record. Triton, Bedford, Saugus, and Amesbury are all still winless.<br />
<br />
Watertown has a big 12 point game this week against Melrose. A win over the Red Raiders would vault them into sole possession of first place.<br />
<br />
Week 2 Playoff Ratings<br />
<br />
1. Lynnfield - 12.5 (25 points)<br />
1. Watertown - 12.5 rating (25 points)<br />
3. Swampscott - 11.5 (23 points)<br />
4. Newburyport - 7.5 (15 points)<br />
5. Somerville - 7.2 (14.4 points)<br />
6. Weston - 5.5 (11 points)<br />
6. Pentucket - 5.5 (11 points)<br />
8. Triton - 2.2 (4.4 points)<br />
9. Bedford - 1.8 (3.6 points)<br />
10. Saugus - 1.6 (3.2 points)<br />
11. Amesbury - 1.5 (3 points)<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>Amesbury Preview</i></b><br />
The Pioneers begin their quest for a sixth straight CAL title Friday night when they open their CAL Baker schedule by hosting the Amesbury Indians.<br />
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Two streaks will be on the line. First, the Pioneers will be looking for their 25th straight league win when they kick it off against the Indians. They have run the table in league play for five straight years. Their last league loss came on Thanksgiving Day 2011 when they were thumped by North Reading 37-18.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers will also carry a nine game winning streak against Amesbury into the contest. They have beaten the Indians every year since 2009 including twice in 2012 when they upended Amesbury in a playoff to earn their Super Bowl berth.<br />
<br />
That streak nearly ended last year in the muck in Amesbury when a banged up Pioneer squad took a 21-6 lead but needed a clutch interception by Peter Look with 23 seconds left to preserve a 21-14 win.<br />
<br />
Amesbury comes into the game 0-2 after losses to Norwell (20-7) and Pentucket (23-20). The Indians are playing for new head coach Colin McQueen, making this the second time in three games the Pioneers will be facing a team under new management. McQueen was the Indians' defensive coordinator for the past two years and prior to that coached at Sanborn Regional in New Hampshire. He is attempting to rebuild a program that has gone 14-30 over the past four seasons after winning the CAL/NEC 3 Title and making the playoffs in 2012.<br />
<br />
The Indians are a young team with only eight seniors on their 41 man roster but a 19 man junior class can help fill that void. The returnees they do have bring a lot of experience starting with senior running backs Zach Levarity, Malik Benton, and Elijah Jackman. Junior Logan Burrill rounds out a solid stable of runners.<br />
<br />
McQueen uses them all in a throwback full house backfield where three backs line up in a row behind sophomore quarterback Blake Bennett. Needless to say the offense is run heavy. Against Pentucket the Indians ran 31 times for 132 yards and Bennett attempted only seven passes, completing five, but making them count for 114 yards. <br />
<br />
The defense is led by captain Connor Whitley who anchors the defensive line. Jackman leads the linebacking corps.<br />
<br />
Don't be fooled by their 0-2 record. They lost to a pair of perennially strong programs so may be better than their record indicates.<br />
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Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-35274629853524185472017-09-13T20:34:00.002-04:002017-09-13T20:34:47.000-04:00The Pioneer Gridblog Report - Week 1<i><span style="font-size: large;">Newburyport Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Update, Wayland Preview</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Newburyport Leftovers</b></i><br />
<br />
<i>Unsung Heroes</i><br />
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.)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HV4hMV-U4I4/WbWvM_Uc8rI/AAAAAAAABDo/hCc1wqJvsy0y78zqrMH9F4uxxmwfZdnTwCLcBGAs/s1600/fullsizeoutput_149f.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HV4hMV-U4I4/WbWvM_Uc8rI/AAAAAAAABDo/hCc1wqJvsy0y78zqrMH9F4uxxmwfZdnTwCLcBGAs/s320/fullsizeoutput_149f.jpeg" width="320" /></a>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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
Kudos to all who contributed to an offense that rolled to 410 yards of total offense.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
"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."<br />
<br />
Line coach Gino Fodero seems happy with his group, size or no size.<br />
<br />
"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."<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
"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."<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
"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."<br />
<br />
The point? The guys who score the points get the headlines and the ink, but the supporting cast make it all possible.<br />
<br />
<i>Red Flag</i><br />
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.<br />
<br />
"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."<br />
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<i>Data Points</i><br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<b><i>Baker League Review</i></b><br />
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.<br />
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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.<br />
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<b><i>D5 Update</i></b><br />
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.<br />
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The Week 1 Standings (rating in parentheses)<br />
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1. Somerville (12.00)<br />
2. Lynnfield (10.00)<br />
2. Watertown (10.00)<br />
2. Swampscott (10.00)<br />
5. Bedford (1.20)<br />
5. Triton (1.20)<br />
7. Amesbury (1.00)<br />
7. Newburyport (1.00)<br />
7. Pentucket (1.00)<br />
7. Saugus (1.00)<br />
7. Weston (1.00)<br />
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<b><i>Wayland Preview</i></b><br />
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.<br />
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When the Lynnfield football program began in 1958, the Pioneers were members of the Dual County league as were the Warriors. Wayland was Lynnfield's opponent in their fifth game all time, handing the Pioneers a 28-0 loss at the old Middle School Field.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm.<br />
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rTom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-86282442332612878302017-09-07T19:38:00.005-04:002017-09-07T19:38:59.970-04:00Buckle Up, It's Go Time!<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
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Don't be fooled by the continued summer temperatures earlier this week. You may be able to get another dip or two in the pool, but come Friday night, football season returns.<br />
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The 2017 Lynnfield Pioneers kick off the season with the first of four straight home games to begin the year. Last season we were talking about the lack of experience the Pioneers would have to overcome as the blue and gold went into the season with a serious tinge of green.<br />
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They stumbled out of the blocks with losses to Newburyport and Danvers, but turned things around and reeled off four straight league wins to capture their fifth consecutive CAL championship. They cruised past Northeast and came up short against powerful St. Mary's who went on to play for the Division 3A state crown at Gillette. The Pioneers dispatched Greater Lawrence before losing a 21-20 heartbreaker to North Reading on Thanksgiving Day to end their year at 6-4.<br />
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Not bad for a "rebuilding" year.<br />
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This year is decidedly different as the Pioneers are dripping with experience on both sides of the ball. Of the 18 players that will either start or see significant action, 15 are seniors who started last year or received serious playing time. Given that level of seasoning, how important is it for the Pioneers to get off to a faster start than last year?<br />
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"It'll be important if we don't and we don't recover from it," said head coach Neal Weidman, who will be completing his first decade leading the Lynnfield program. "If we can get better every week, than I don't know how important it is.<br />
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"Last year after the first two games we started to steadily improve," he continued. "We went into our third game (against Amesbury) battered. We were reaching down deep into the depth chart. When we pulled that one out, then we started to get a little healthier and all of a sudden we started to play a lot better. If we can continue to improve and not shoot ourselves in the foot, then we'll be good. But obviously we'd love to get off to a good start."<br />
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For a full preview of the Pioneers, check out my article in the Villager.<br />
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<b><i>Clippers sail into town</i></b><br />
Getting the quick start will mean avenging last season's 32-12 opening night loss to the Clippers in Newburyport. No doubt the seniors won't forget the exuberant celebration by the Clippers who acted like they had just won the Super Bowl. They went on to have a 4-6 season and one year head coach Mike Levine resigned to return to Texas.<br />
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The Clippers will come in under new head coach, former defensive coordinator and former captain Ben Smolski, who becomes Newburyport's third coach in three season. Long time head man Ed Gaudiano stepped down following the 2015 season.<br />
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Smolski is promising to return the Clippers to begin a "new era" of Clipper football.<br />
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"I grew up a Clipper," he told Connor Whooley of the Newburyport Daily News. "The value of being a Clipper was instilled in me from my father from a young age and it's basically a dream come true."<br />
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The article goes on to say Newburyport players have noted an "added intensity" during preseason camp, something Smolski would like to carry into the season.<br />
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The Clippers come in with a small, but top heavy roster with 16 of the 34 players being seniors. They are led by three year starting captains Myles Maloof, Matt Donlan, and Connor Smith. Maloof caught six passes for 98 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield in last year's win over the Pioneers. Running back Donte Harmon who tallied a pair of TD's in the victory also returns.<br />
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The one place Newburyport doesn't have experience is at quarterback. Rob Shay, who torched the Pioneers with 101 yards passing and a TD and 76 yards rushing and a touchdown, has graduated. That leaves senior Owen Bradbury and junior Thomas Murphy battling for the starting job. Bradbury has started one game in his career and may have the inside track.<br />
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Newburyport has been the one killjoy in the otherwise stellar success of Lynnfield football under Weidman. In the nine seasons Weidman has coached the Pioneers, Lynnfield has played 12 teams three or more times. Against the 11 non-Newburyport team, the Pioneers sport an eye-popping 55-17 record (.764 winning percentage). In nine games against the Clippers? 4-5.<br />
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The Pioneers did win three consecutive games prior to last year's defeat but all time, they are 11-33 against Newburyport.<br />
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<b><i>Division update</i></b><br />
While it's still way too early to think about the postseason, it should be noted that for the third year in row, the Pioneers will be in a new division for playoff purposes. Two years ago they had the second smallest enrollment of any team in Division 4. Last year, they had the second highest enrollment in Division 3A. This year, they will once again be the smallest school in their newest division: D5.<br />
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They rejoin many of their CAL brethren including Newburyport, Triton, Pentucket, and Amesbury. Also in the 11 team division is Somerville, Bedford, Weston, Watertown, Swampscott, and Saugus. Eight of the 11 will make the playoffs.<br />
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<b><i>Home sweet home</i></b><br />
Against the visiting Clippers, the Pioneers will look to take advantage of the home field advantage they have enjoyed at new Pioneer Stadium. Since the new field opened in 2014, the Pioneers are 13-3 at home having only lost to Watertown in the 2015 playoffs and to Danvers and North Reading last year.<br />
<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-62090671768991584862016-11-29T18:59:00.002-05:002016-11-29T18:59:38.585-05:00North Reading Leftovers<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
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Well you certainly got your money's worth.<br />
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I expected a wide-open shootout on Thanksgiving morning but the two defenses had something to say about that. Both teams moved the ball - the combined offense for the two teams was over 600 yards - but finding the end zone proved difficult.<br />
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In the end it came down to penalties (nullifying a Hornet TD and a Pioneer field goal from Liam Fabbrio, and a driving-killing unsportsmanlike penalty) and special teams (two field goals from NR's Bob O'Donnell, including a 40 yarder that would have been good from 45, a blocked punt, and a missed extra point).<br />
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Those are the types of things that often decide games between two evenly matched teams and make no mistake, on this day, the Pioneers and Hornets were equals.<br />
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The Pioneers understandably came into the game as underdogs to one of the best North Reading teams in 40 years. The Hornets made it to the D2A finals and finished 9-2, their best record in years. They are loaded with talent but it took everything they had and a few breaks to sneak out of town with a narrow win.<br />
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"That's a good team and we were right there," said Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman who suffered only his third Thanksgiving Day loss against six wins. "We actually had a chance to win."<br />
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But you also have to give North Reading credit. Trailing 7-3, things looked bleak for the Hornets <br />
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when their main offensive weapon, Matt McCarthy, left the game with what appeared to be an injured ankle. Things got even dicier for the visitors when Matt Mortellite and Louis Ellis hooked up for the 60 yard bomb to make it 14-3.<br />
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But they didn't fold.<br />
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With McCarthy watching from crutches on the sideline, captain John Merullo emerged from the shadows and led the Hornets to victory. He ran for over 100 yards and scored a touchdown in the second half and if you slipped on McCarthy's #25 jersey instead of his #33, you might not have known the difference. Big effort there from the senior.<br />
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The Pioneers wrapped up their season with a 6-4 mark going 6-2 after losing their first two games. Three of their four losses came against top quality teams in Danvers, St. Mary's, and North Reading.<br />
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Those three squads had a combined record of 29-4 a winning percentage of .879. St. Mary's is going to the Super Bowl, North Reading was one step away, and Danvers lost one step before that to the Hornets in the semi-finals. As for the other Pioneer loss? Newburyport in Newburyport. No more need be said.<br />
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So in a year in which the Pioneers returned only one starter, they won a league championship and finished with a winning record for the fifth year in a row. Not too shabby.<br />
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"We had a good year after those first two games," Weidman said to me after the game. "If you go back and watch the film from that first game it was like night and day. We were doing all kinds of crazy stuff. I think we improved a lot throughout the year."<br />
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Things look bright for the Pioneers for next year as they will be losing only seven of 22 starters. Not that there won't be some huge cleats to fill in captains Louis Ellis, Mike Stellato, Alex Boustris, and Kyle Hawes. But the coaching staff will have a talented pool of 18 seniors and 21 juniors to choose from. The 2017 season starts now.<br />
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<b><i>Perspective</i></b><br />
And now a word about freshman kicker Liam Fabbri. The ninth grader was visibly upset when the PAT try to tie the game slid just right of the goal post. That was a huge spot for the youngster but there was nothing wrong with his form on the kick. He hit is solid and it had plenty of distance.<br />
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But understand that was not the reason the Pioneers lost. As Weidman said after the game, "You can never say one play cost you the game. There are a ton of plays that decide a game."<br />
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You could argue Fabbri should never have been in that position. He more than did his job in the game. He nailed a 25 yard field goal in the first quarter that was erased on a holding call. He drilled two other PAT's, including one from 25 yards following the Pioneers' second touchdown. He banged it through once, but it was called back for holding. Then North Reading was called for offside. The spot came on the 15 and he drilled it through cleanly.<br />
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For the year, the freshman was reliable, connecting on 18 of 25 attempts. His 18 PAT's tied for the ninth most in a season and he now sits in 10th place all time for PAT's.<br />
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Dan Bronshvayg's record of 113 looks far away, but who knows?<br />
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<b><i>Passing Fancy</i></b><br />
Speaking of newcomers, quarterback Matt Mortellite certainly shined in his maiden voyage with the Pioneers. Coming from Malden Catholic, the junior had to learn the complicated spread offense from scratch, and he excelled.<br />
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He finished an outstanding season completing 128/208 (61.5%) for 1731 yards and 21 touchdown passes. He tied Danny Sullivan's 2014 record for most TD's in a season and finished 10 yards behind Sullivan in passing yards. His 128 completions were the most since 1989 (which is as far back as I've been keeping stats).<br />
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His NFL passer rating was 109.7 and puts him in the Pioneer Passing Pantheon behind Sullivan's eye-popping 129.0 in 2014 and Gino Cohee's 114.7 in 2009 and just ahead of Mike Karavetsos' 101.5 in 2012.<br />
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He ended with only six interceptions and two of those were Hail Mary desperation heaves at the end of both halves on Thursday. If not for those picks, his rating would have been 113.7.<br />
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Quite a debut. <br />
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<b><i>Better to Receive</i></b><br />
While we're on the topic of records, there is one more we need to note. Captain Louis Ellis hauled in two more touchdown passes on Thursday giving him seven on the season. That equalled the seven he caught in 2015 giving him 14 for his career and tying him with Jon Knee for most career TD catches. Knee did the trick in 2013-14.<br />
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Ellis' 603 yards is third best since 1989 behind Jeff Millinazzo's 789 in 2007 and Brian McBride's 720 in 2001. Nick Kinnon's 597 yards is fourth best.<br />
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Kinnon's eight TD catches were one shy of the record held by Lindsey Ross (1973) and Knee (2014).<br />
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<b>Scoring Leader</b><br />
Kinnon led the Pioneers in scoring this year with 74 points. Combined with the 36 he scored last season, he now has 110 career points, good for a 14th place tie with Todd Coviello (85-86). Frank Berardino (1958-61) sits atop the list with 262 points.<br />
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Ellis was second on the season with 46 points and his career total of 94 places him in 23rd on the all time Pioneer scoring list.<br />
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<b><i>Rivalry Update</i></b><br />
Thursday's game certainly lived up to past games in the series. It was the fifth game decided by a single point. The Pioneers won only one of them, a 14-13 win in 1990 (I hope you caught my story about this game in last week's Villager). North Reading has won the other four one point games: 13-12 in 2002 (a late game heartbreaker), 7-6 in 1980, and 3-2 (yep that's right) in 1966. Ironically, all five one-pointers were played in Lynnfield.<br />
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The win snapped a two game losing streak in the rivalry and was the 24th victory for the Hornets. It was North Reading's first win at Pioneer Stadium and their first win in Lynnfield since 2006. The Pioneers still lead the series 35-24 and have outscored North Reading 1000-797.<br />
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<b><i>Running for 10K</i></b><br />
Anthony Murphy's one yard blast allowed the Pioneers to reach another milestone - the 10,000 point mark. Lynnfield came into the game with 9,999 points all time and finished the game with 10,019. In the 592 games of the program, the Pioneers are averaging 17 points a game. They've allowed 9,048 or 15.2 points per game.<br />
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Their overall record now stands at 309-272-11.<br />
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That's it for now. Congrats to the Pioneers on another successful season.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-18689642101378831022016-11-22T18:43:00.001-05:002016-11-22T18:43:18.803-05:00North Reading Game Preview: Clash of Champions<br />
<i>By Tom Condardo</i><br />
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For the second year in a row the Pioneers will be playing in the Unofficial Cape Ann League Championship game. Last year it was Baker Champ Lynnfield against Kinney Champ Pentucket in an exciting 28-27 Sachem win.<br />
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Tomorrow, the five-time Baker/CAL-NEC4/CAL Small Champion Pioneers host the Kinney Co-Champion Hornets for supremacy in the overall CAL. Of course it's highly unofficial and no one cares or even mentions it but me, but still.<br />
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Both teams come into the game after successful championship seasons, the Pioneers at 6-3 after an 0-2 start and the Hornets at 8-2.<br />
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Both teams made brief playoff runs, Lynnfield bowing out in the section semi finals and North Reading lasting one round longer and losing in the sectional finals to a strong Marblehead squad.<br />
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Both can put points on the board in a hurry - the Pioneers averaging 32 points a game over their last six contests and the Hornets scoring at a 30 point per game clip in their last half dozen games.<br />
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But that's where the similarity ends. The methods of each offense vary significantly.<br />
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The Hornets are a run-first offense led by dynamic running back Matt McCarthy. North Reading has scored 39 touchdowns and 32 have come via the run - 18 from McCarthy and 8 from quarterback Kyle Bythrow. The Hornets have tallied only three passing TD's. They've run the ball 304 times and passed it only 20 times.<br />
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The Pioneers are more balanced scoring 15 rushing touchdowns (4 each from Anthony Murphy and <br />
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Nick Kinnon, and 3 from Tyler Murphy.) But quarterback Matt Mortellite has tossed 19 touchdown passes - 8 to Kinnon and 5 to co-captain Louis Ellis. They've had 221 running plays and 180 pass attempts.<br />
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There will be no surprises on what the Hornets want to do. McCarthy, who has gained over 1600 yards so far - will get the lion's share of the carries but the Pioneers will have to keep an eye on Bythrow who is averaging almost 10 carries a game.<br />
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The Pioneers have more offensive weapons with Mortellite throwing to a solid corps of receivers in Kinnon, Ellis, and co-capt Kyle Hawes. Anthony Murphy, Tyler Murphy (if he's able to go after suffering an injury against Greater Lawrence), and Kinnon will handle most of the ground game. If Tyler Murphy doesn't play, Justin Ysalguez could see significant action.<br />
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The wild card for the Pioneers could be Mortellite on the run. He's carried 55 times for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he has speed and could burn the Hornets if they don't pay attention.<br />
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The weather looks to be ugly with freezing rain on the menu, and that would tend to favor a running team like the Hornets. But the Pioneers have been able to throw in bad weather, something they have faced too many times already this year.<br />
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It should be a good matchup and the question will be which defense can slow down the other offense the best. If neither can, we could be looking at a shootout at Pioneer Stadium.<br />
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<b><i>Pioneers like home cooking</i></b><br />
The Pioneers come into the game winners of two straight against North Reading and four straight at home. The Hornets haven't won in Lynnfield since posting a 22-0 shutout at the Middle School field in 2006.<br />
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The Chestnut Street Rivalry is the longest for both teams. The Pioneers have played the Hornets every year since the program began in 1958. That first game was on the last week of October and since 1959, the game has been played on Thanksgiving.<br />
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The Hornets won that first game and then the Pioneers reeled off the next seven and 14 of the first 18 meetings. The series has been pretty even since then. The teams are 10-10 over the past two decades and the Pioneers hold a 21-19 edge over the past 40 years.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Playoff System Fallacy</i></b><br />
Oh well. Too bad the Thursday's game doesn't mean anything and no one is interested right? Wrong.<br />
<br />
The critics of the playoff system will tell you the Thanksgiving Day games have been devalued because teams that have been bounced from the playoffs or didn't make it in the first place are just playing out the string.<br />
<br />
I never understood this logic since what would you call it when a team loses its first three games with seven to go and has no chance of winning a league title - as unfortunately Lynnfield and North Reading and many others - have done too many times in their respective histories.<br />
<br />
The angst over the playoff system affecting the holiday games is simply hogwash. The Thanksgiving Day rivalries are normally long standing battles between neighboring towns and will ALWAYS mean something. That's the case whether both teams come in 1-9 or march in as champions of their respective leagues. And that will be the case tomorrow when the Pioneers and Hornets meet for the 59th time.<br />
<br />
So let's tee it up, hope the rain holds off, and get ready for what promises to be an exciting game.<br />
<br />
Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 10:30.<br />
<br />
That's it for now. Check back next week for my Leftovers post<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-10835339243188915032016-11-14T17:35:00.000-05:002016-11-14T17:35:16.106-05:00Greater Lawrence Leftovers<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
I don't want to say I told you so, but.....well, I told you so.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CWGAMz7oRk/WCo6AcicbcI/AAAAAAAABBs/RWi0Ty-3PrMK8mgrH8-rcuGj6Zqc_0T1gCLcB/s1600/Wakeup%2Bcall.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--CWGAMz7oRk/WCo6AcicbcI/AAAAAAAABBs/RWi0Ty-3PrMK8mgrH8-rcuGj6Zqc_0T1gCLcB/s1600/Wakeup%2Bcall.png" /></a></div>
After pouring their heart and soul into the D3A playoff semi-final against St Mary's, the Pioneers came out Saturday morning looking like they needed a massive shot of caffeine.<br />
<br />
It's to be expected really. In every other high school sport, you play the regular season and build up to the tournament and if you make it, you keep playing. If you don't make it, your season is over. Likewise once you're bounced from the playoffs, you're off to the next sports season.<br />
<br />
Football is different. Every team is going to play at least 10 games. Some will be pre-playoff and some will be post-playoff. There is no way around it unless you want to make the football season seven games and end it in October. No one would want that.<br />
<br />
Teams that don't make the playoffs continue on playing other non-playoff teams hoping to pick up a win or three before their big Thanksgiving Day rivalry game.<br />
<br />
It's actually a little harder for teams that make the playoffs. They have higher expectations with visions of Super Bowls dancing in their heads. Unfortunately, for all but 16 teams in the state, that dream will not be realized and they will be forced to deal with the massive letdown. For some, it comes after the first round. For others, the sectional semi-final or final, and for others, the state semi final.<br />
<br />
Whenever it happens, the air comes out of the balloon and coaches have to regroup and pump the team back up to play a few more games that won't lead to the Super Bowl.<br />
<br />
For the Pioneers, that came after the St. Mary's loss. And the crash was hard, as head coach Neal Weidman acknowledged after the Greater Lawrence win.<br />
<br />
"Practices weren't that good so I wasn't overly surprised," Weidman said after watching his team play in a haze for the first quarter and a half Saturday. "That first week after you lose in the playoff is sometimes tough to get them rallied back up. We just weren't ready to play today."<br />
<br />
The Pioneers managed only 10 yards of offense on their first three possessions - all three and outs. Meanwhile Greater Lawrence a team with a load of weapons, was rolling. The Reggies had the "advantage" of shaking off the cobwebs in a 47-13 rout of Winthrop last week. They came out flying and built up a 14-0 lead before the Pioneers slipped off their bedcovers.<br />
<br />
Fortunately for them, once they snapped out of it, they rolled over the Reggies with five straight touchdowns, four of them TD passes from Matt Mortellite - one to Anthony Murphy (who had the fifth TD on an eight yard run), one to Nick Kinnon, and two to Louis Ellis.<br />
<br />
The first one to Ellis was a circus catch that was a good a high school reception as you're going to see. But it probably wasn't the captain's best of the day. That came on the Pioneers' final scoring drive when Ellis leaped over the GL defender and snatched the ball away as he fell to the ground.<br />
<br />
Many of you are too young to remember, but the catch reminded me of <a href="http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/0ap2000000146990/Lynn-Swann-s-leap">this great Lynn Swann catch</a> in Super Bowl X in 1977. <br />
<br />
Speaking of the junior quarterback, he had another stellar performance completing 16 of 22 passes for 218 yards. His NFL passer rating was 143.5. For reference, a perfect score is 158.3. For the season, Mortellite has a passer rating of 117.8.<br />
<br />
<b>Birthday delay</b><br />
So I mentioned the delay in posting this was due to my grandson's first birthday party on Sunday. Here is a comparison shot of Jackson Condardo from Day 1 to Day 365. He's definitely growing into his Pioneer hat.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GgxYnmlg1jE/VkzGiugy5pI/AAAAAAAAA2g/JOj_dD23ClgDcaICv7bKmTLMZw7y0GmBACPcB/s1600/IMG_1738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GgxYnmlg1jE/VkzGiugy5pI/AAAAAAAAA2g/JOj_dD23ClgDcaICv7bKmTLMZw7y0GmBACPcB/s320/IMG_1738.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson Condardo 1 day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ocj_tRZ3uf8/WCo5YOr_CdI/AAAAAAAABBk/wMIW5VXFY3YfwrevfV1_L3fujPTD7onFgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ocj_tRZ3uf8/WCo5YOr_CdI/AAAAAAAABBk/wMIW5VXFY3YfwrevfV1_L3fujPTD7onFgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0079.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson Condardo 1 year</td></tr>
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That's it for now, check back next week for my preview of the big Thanksgiving Day game.</div>
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Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-71026596586127818112016-11-10T20:52:00.000-05:002016-11-10T20:52:00.166-05:00Greater Lawrence Game Preview: Hair of the Dog<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
1. Chew some fresh ginger or peppermint.<br />
2. Eat one or two bananas<br />
3. Drink a glass of fresh tomato juice with a bit of lemon juice along with a slice of plain toast.<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aVGIr05uYOc/WCUi7TY-wFI/AAAAAAAABBI/-T2RPbmcI9AuR4I7rJo1G1NvxPAM7JWjgCLcB/s1600/hangover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aVGIr05uYOc/WCUi7TY-wFI/AAAAAAAABBI/-T2RPbmcI9AuR4I7rJo1G1NvxPAM7JWjgCLcB/s200/hangover.jpeg" width="180" /></a><br />
Say what?<br />
<br />
Those are some simple home remedies for avoiding a hangover, and the Pioneers should consider one or two of them as they prepare for Saturday's game against Greater Lawrence. Or they could just partake of a hair of the dog that bit them - get back out there and play some football.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers and Neal Weidman's coaching staff poured their heart and soul into preparing for the playoff semi-final against St. Mary's last Friday night. Although they danced with the Spartans for a while, in the end they couldn't overcome one of the best teams in Eastern Mass.<br />
<br />
Now they have to get over it.<br />
<br />
There is a real danger in getting back up after a disappointing playoff loss and we've seen it play out from both sides of the fence in recent years.<br />
<br />
In 2013 following a hard fought divisional semi-final playoff loss to Bedford, the Pioneers came out flat as a pancake and fell behind Watertown 14-0. Weidman admitted the team had a "sluggish" week of practice and it looked like it carried over into the game.<br />
<br />
Luckily, Dan Sullivan hit Jon Knee with a 30 yard TD pass with four seconds left in the first half to cut the lead in half. That seemed to wake the Pioneers who stuffed a Watertown scoring bid on their first possession of the third quarter when Matt Kramich picked off a pass at the five yard line.<br />
<br />
Lynnfield then capped a 95 yard drive with a halfback option play when Jake Rourke hit Knee to cut the lead to 14-13. Not done tricking around, the Pioneers snapped directly to placekicker Dan Bronshvayg on the PAT who promptly found Austin Caswell cruising into the endzone to take a 15-14 lead.<br />
<br />
Watertown jumped back out to a 20-15 lead but Kramich got it right back for Lynnfield with a 93 yard kickoff return and the Pioneers held on for a 21-20 win.<br />
<br />
The Pioneers got to see the hangover affect from the other sideline last year when they faced Pentucket after both the Sachems and Lynnfield were eliminated in the first round. Pentucket suffered the bigger upset as they were the top seed and got knocked off by number eight Bedford.<br />
<br />
Lynnfield pulled it together after their disappointing loss to Watertown to jump out to a 21-0 halftime lead over a dazed Pentucket team. Jake McHugh hooked up with Kyle Hawes for the first score, Drew McCarthy ran one in from 41 yards for a second TD, and McHugh found Louis Ellis for a six yard score to give them the three touchdown lead at the half.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately Pentucket shook off the cobwebs in the second half and scored four times to only a single McCarthy score to escape with the 28-27 win.<br />
<br />
<b>Greater Lawrence Rolling</b><br />
The Pioneers can't afford to sleepwalk into this one on Saturday because if they do, the Reggies will run them over. Greater Lawrence comes into the game at 6-3 and shook off their upset playoff loss to Ipswich two weeks ago by thrashing Winthrop 47-13 last week.<br />
<br />
The Reggies, who finished as the third seed in D3A one spot ahead of the Pioneers, run a spread offense very similar to Lynnfield. They have two explosive skill players running it and the Pioneers are going to have to figure out a way to control them.<br />
<br />
Running back Ojany Belliard is their leading scorer with 130 points on 21 touchdowns, the fourth highest score in D3A. He's been on fire the last five weeks rushing for 959 yards and 15 touchdowns in five games - an average of almost 200 yards and 3 TD's per game.<br />
<br />
But the Pioneers can't sell out on Belliard or they will get torched by quarterback Kyle Vasconcellos who has been another potent weapon for the Reggies. In the last five games, Vasconcellos has run for 6 touchdowns, and completed 25 of 46 passes for 408 yards and 5 more TD's.<br />
<br />
The Reggies have had a solid season beating two seven win teams in Shawsheen and Mystic Valley, but they lost to Northeast and Ipswich, two teams the Pioneers handled fairly easily. The question is which team will show up on Saturday.<br />
<br />
This will be the first ever meeting between the schools, the second day game of the season for the Pioneers, their third game on natural grass, and their first morning game.<br />
<br />
Game time in Andover is at 10:30 am.<br />
<br />
That's it for now with one additional programming note. My Leftover post will be delayed since I will be spending Sunday in Western Mass celebrating my grandson's first birthday. I should have something up by Tuesday. Check back then. <br />
<br />
Directions to Greater Lawrence High School from Lynnfield High:<br />
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Lynnfield High School</h2>
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<span jstcache="1432">275 Essex Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940</span></div>
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<span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1374">Get on </span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="*1" jstcache="1374">I-95 S</span></div>
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<div class="directions-mode-step-container" jsinstance="*2" jstcache="1393" style="break-inside: avoid; position: relative;">
<div class="directions-mode-step" data-groupindex="0" data-pathindex="0" data-rapid="step_rap_0_0_2" data-stepindex="2" jsaction="mouseover:pane.trip-details.hoverStep;mouseout:pane.trip-details.unhoverStep;click:pane.trip-details.inspectStep;keydown:pane.trip-details.inspectStep" jsan="0.data-groupindex,0.data-pathindex,0.data-rapid,0.data-stepindex,0.jstrack,0.ved,0.jsaction,0.vet,t-Rw6KCt4MuTA,7.directions-mode-step" jstcache="1394" jstrack="5yElWMiZLcjojwS9jpGACQ" style="cursor: pointer; position: relative;" ved="0ahUKEwiIqenEyZ_QAhVI9IMKHT1HBJAQ9iQICygCMAA" vet="5952">
<div class="directions-mode-step-summary" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; padding: 20px 0px 20px 32px; position: relative; width: 322px;">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="dir-tt dir-tt-merge" jsan="7.dir-tt,7.dir-tt-merge,0.aria-hidden" jstcache="1398" style="height: 16px; left: 0px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 16px;">
<img height="630" jstcache="1399" src="https://maps.gstatic.com/tactile/directions/text_mode/maneuvers-2x.png" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: -143px;" width="19" /></div>
<div class="numbered-step focusable-step" role="button" tabindex="0">
<div class="numbered-step-content">
<span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="1" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="2" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="*3" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="last-step-in-group directions-mode-separator" jsan="7.last-step-in-group,t-X-p_f9PTD9w,7.directions-mode-separator" jstcache="1406" style="line-height: normal; padding-left: 32px; position: relative; transition: all 200ms; z-index: 1;">
<div class="directions-mode-line" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230);">
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-distance-time" jsan="7.directions-mode-distance-time" jstcache="1419" style="color: #777777; display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; padding-right: 5px; position: absolute; top: -7px; z-index: 1;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-group closed" data-groupindex="1" data-hideableid="hideable_nontransit_0_1" data-pathindex="0" id="group_0_1" jsan="7.directions-mode-group,0.data-groupindex,0.data-hideableid,0.data-pathindex,0.id,0.ved" jsinstance="1" jstcache="1369" ved="0ahUKEwiIqenEyZ_QAhVI9IMKHT1HBJAQ7FcIDSgBMAA">
<span jstcache="1372"><div class="directions-mode-group-summary" data-groupid="group_0_1" jsaction="click:pane.trip-details.toggleGroup;focus:pane.trip-details.highlightGroup;mouseover:pane.trip-details.highlightGroup;" jstcache="1373" style="background-clip: padding-box; cursor: pointer; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; padding-left: 38px; padding-top: 20px; position: relative;">
<button aria-expanded="false" aria-label=" Toggle step list " class="directions-group-disclose" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("//maps.gstatic.com/tactile/directions/text_mode/arrow-right_1x.png"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 24px; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 24px; left: 0px; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 20px 2px 0px 0px; opacity: 0.4; outline: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: -2px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 24px;"></button><div class="directions-mode-group-title" style="padding-bottom: 20px;">
<span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1374">Take </span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="1" jstcache="1374">I-93 N</span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="2" jstcache="1374"> to </span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="3" jstcache="1374">River Rd</span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="4" jstcache="1374"> in </span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="5" jstcache="1374">Andover</span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="6" jstcache="1374">. Take exit </span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="7" jstcache="1374">45</span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="8" jstcache="1374">from </span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="*9" jstcache="1374">I-93 N</span></div>
<div class="directions-mode-separator" jstcache="1376" style="line-height: normal; position: relative; transition: all 200ms; z-index: 1;">
<div class="directions-mode-distance-time" jstcache="1414" style="color: #777777; display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; padding-right: 5px; position: absolute; top: -7px; z-index: 1;">
<span jstcache="1415">17 min</span> (<span jstcache="1416">17.7 mi</span>)</div>
<div class="directions-mode-line" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230);">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</span><div class="hideable expand-print padded-hideable" id="hideable_nontransit_0_1" jsan="7.hideable,7.expand-print,7.padded-hideable,0.id" jstcache="1377" style="max-height: 0px; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; padding-left: 38px; transition-duration: 0ms; transition-property: max-height, opacity; visibility: hidden;">
<div jstcache="1378">
<div class="directions-mode-step-container" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1393" style="break-inside: avoid; position: relative;">
<div class="directions-mode-step" data-groupindex="1" data-pathindex="0" data-rapid="step_rap_0_1_0" data-stepindex="0" jsaction="mouseover:pane.trip-details.hoverStep;mouseout:pane.trip-details.unhoverStep;click:pane.trip-details.inspectStep;keydown:pane.trip-details.inspectStep" jsan="0.data-groupindex,0.data-pathindex,0.data-rapid,0.data-stepindex,0.jstrack,0.ved,0.jsaction,0.vet,t-Rw6KCt4MuTA,7.directions-mode-step" jstcache="1394" jstrack="5yElWMiZLcjojwS9jpGACQ" style="cursor: pointer; position: relative;" ved="0ahUKEwiIqenEyZ_QAhVI9IMKHT1HBJAQ9iQIDigAMAA" vet="5952">
<div class="directions-mode-step-summary" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; padding: 20px 0px 20px 32px; position: relative; width: 322px;">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="dir-tt dir-tt-merge" jsan="7.dir-tt,7.dir-tt-merge,0.aria-hidden" jstcache="1398" style="height: 16px; left: 0px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 16px;">
<img height="630" jstcache="1399" src="https://maps.gstatic.com/tactile/directions/text_mode/maneuvers-2x.png" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: -143px;" width="19" /></div>
<div class="numbered-step focusable-step" role="button" tabindex="0">
<div class="numbered-step-content">
<span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="*1" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-separator" jsan="t-X-p_f9PTD9w,7.directions-mode-separator" jstcache="1406" style="line-height: normal; padding-left: 32px; position: relative; transition: all 200ms; z-index: 1;">
<div class="directions-mode-line" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230);">
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-distance-time" jsan="7.directions-mode-distance-time" jstcache="1419" style="color: #777777; display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; padding-right: 5px; position: absolute; top: -7px; z-index: 1;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-step-container" jsinstance="1" jstcache="1393" style="break-inside: avoid; position: relative;">
<div class="directions-mode-step" data-groupindex="1" data-pathindex="0" data-rapid="step_rap_0_1_1" data-stepindex="1" jsaction="mouseover:pane.trip-details.hoverStep;mouseout:pane.trip-details.unhoverStep;click:pane.trip-details.inspectStep;keydown:pane.trip-details.inspectStep" jsan="0.data-groupindex,0.data-pathindex,0.data-rapid,0.data-stepindex,0.jstrack,0.ved,0.jsaction,0.vet,t-Rw6KCt4MuTA,7.directions-mode-step" jstcache="1394" jstrack="5yElWMiZLcjojwS9jpGACQ" style="cursor: pointer; position: relative;" ved="0ahUKEwiIqenEyZ_QAhVI9IMKHT1HBJAQ9iQIECgBMAA" vet="5952">
<div class="directions-mode-step-summary" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; padding: 20px 0px 20px 32px; position: relative; width: 322px;">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="dir-tt dir-tt-ramp-right" jsan="7.dir-tt,7.dir-tt-ramp-right,0.aria-hidden" jstcache="1398" style="height: 16px; left: 0px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 16px;">
<img height="630" jstcache="1399" src="https://maps.gstatic.com/tactile/directions/text_mode/maneuvers-2x.png" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: -429px;" width="19" /></div>
<div class="numbered-step focusable-step" role="button" tabindex="0">
<div class="numbered-step-content">
<span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="1" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="2" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="3" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="4" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="*5" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-separator" jsan="t-X-p_f9PTD9w,7.directions-mode-separator" jstcache="1406" style="line-height: normal; padding-left: 32px; position: relative; transition: all 200ms; z-index: 1;">
<div class="directions-mode-line" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230);">
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-distance-time" jsan="7.directions-mode-distance-time" jstcache="1419" style="color: #777777; display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; padding-right: 5px; position: absolute; top: -7px; z-index: 1;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-step-container" jsinstance="*2" jstcache="1393" style="break-inside: avoid; position: relative;">
<div class="directions-mode-step" data-groupindex="1" data-pathindex="0" data-rapid="step_rap_0_1_2" data-stepindex="2" jsaction="mouseover:pane.trip-details.hoverStep;mouseout:pane.trip-details.unhoverStep;click:pane.trip-details.inspectStep;keydown:pane.trip-details.inspectStep" jsan="0.data-groupindex,0.data-pathindex,0.data-rapid,0.data-stepindex,0.jstrack,0.ved,0.jsaction,0.vet,t-Rw6KCt4MuTA,7.directions-mode-step" jstcache="1394" jstrack="5yElWMiZLcjojwS9jpGACQ" style="cursor: pointer; position: relative;" ved="0ahUKEwiIqenEyZ_QAhVI9IMKHT1HBJAQ9iQIEigCMAA" vet="5952">
<div class="directions-mode-step-summary" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; padding: 20px 0px 20px 32px; position: relative; width: 322px;">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="dir-tt dir-tt-ramp-right" jsan="7.dir-tt,7.dir-tt-ramp-right,0.aria-hidden" jstcache="1398" style="height: 16px; left: 0px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 16px;">
<img height="630" jstcache="1399" src="https://maps.gstatic.com/tactile/directions/text_mode/maneuvers-2x.png" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: -429px;" width="19" /></div>
<div class="numbered-step focusable-step" role="button" tabindex="0">
<div class="numbered-step-content">
<span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="1" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="2" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="3" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="4" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="*5" jstcache="1400"><span class="renderable-component-text renderable-component-text-not-line renderable-component-bold" jsan="7.renderable-component-text,7.renderable-component-text-not-line,7.renderable-component-bold" jstcache="479" jsvs=""ltr";"></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="last-step-in-group directions-mode-separator" jsan="7.last-step-in-group,t-X-p_f9PTD9w,7.directions-mode-separator" jstcache="1406" style="line-height: normal; padding-left: 32px; position: relative; transition: all 200ms; z-index: 1;">
<div class="directions-mode-line" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230);">
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-distance-time" jsan="7.directions-mode-distance-time" jstcache="1419" style="color: #777777; display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; padding-right: 5px; position: absolute; top: -7px; z-index: 1;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="directions-mode-group closed" data-groupindex="2" data-hideableid="hideable_nontransit_0_2" data-pathindex="0" id="group_0_2" jsan="7.directions-mode-group,0.data-groupindex,0.data-hideableid,0.data-pathindex,0.id,0.ved" jsinstance="*2" jstcache="1369" ved="0ahUKEwiIqenEyZ_QAhVI9IMKHT1HBJAQ7FcIFCgCMAA">
<span jstcache="1372"><div class="directions-mode-group-summary" data-groupid="group_0_2" jsaction="click:pane.trip-details.toggleGroup;focus:pane.trip-details.highlightGroup;mouseover:pane.trip-details.highlightGroup;" jstcache="1373" style="background-clip: padding-box; cursor: pointer; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; padding-left: 38px; padding-top: 20px; position: relative;">
<button aria-expanded="false" aria-label=" Toggle step list " class="directions-group-disclose" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("//maps.gstatic.com/tactile/directions/text_mode/arrow-right_1x.png"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 24px; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 24px; left: 0px; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 20px 2px 0px 0px; opacity: 0.4; outline: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: -2px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 24px;"></button><div class="directions-mode-group-title" style="padding-bottom: 20px;">
<span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1374">Continue on </span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="1" jstcache="1374">River Rd</span><span class="renderable-component" jsinstance="*2" jstcache="1374"> to your destination</span></div>
<div class="directions-mode-separator" jstcache="1376" style="line-height: normal; position: relative; transition: all 200ms; z-index: 1;">
<div class="directions-mode-distance-time" jstcache="1414" style="color: #777777; display: inline-block; font-size: 11px; padding-right: 5px; position: absolute; top: -7px; z-index: 1;">
<span jstcache="1415">3 min</span> (<span jstcache="1416">0.8 mi</span>)</div>
<div class="directions-mode-line" style="border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230);">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</span><div class="hideable expand-print padded-hideable" id="hideable_nontransit_0_2" jsan="7.hideable,7.expand-print,7.padded-hideable,0.id" jstcache="1377" style="max-height: 0px; opacity: 0; overflow: hidden; padding-left: 38px; transition-duration: 0ms; transition-property: max-height, opacity; visibility: hidden;">
<div jstcache="1378">
<div class="directions-mode-step-container" jsinstance="0" jstcache="1393" style="break-inside: avoid; position: relative;">
<div class="directions-mode-step" data-groupindex="2" data-pathindex="0" data-rapid="step_rap_0_2_0" data-stepindex="0" jsaction="mouseover:pane.trip-details.hoverStep;mouseout:pane.trip-details.unhoverStep;click:pane.trip-details.inspectStep;keydown:pane.trip-details.inspectStep" jsan="0.data-groupindex,0.data-pathindex,0.data-rapid,0.data-stepindex,0.jstrack,0.ved,0.jsaction,0.vet,t-Rw6KCt4MuTA,7.directions-mode-step" jstcache="1394" jstrack="5yElWMiZLcjojwS9jpGACQ" style="cursor: pointer; position: relative;" ved="0ahUKEwiIqenEyZ_QAhVI9IMKHT1HBJAQ9iQIFSgAMAA" vet="5952">
<div class="directions-mode-step-summary" style="box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; padding: 20px 0px 20px 32px; position: relative; width: 322px;">
<div aria-hidden="true" class="dir-tt dir-tt-turn-left" jsan="7.dir-tt,7.dir-tt-turn-left,0.aria-hidden" jstcache="1398" style="height: 16px; left: 0px; margin: 20px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 16px;">
<img height="630" jstcache="1399" src="https://maps.gstatic.com/tactile/directions/text_mode/maneuvers-2x.png" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: -413px;" width="19" /></div>
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Greater Lawrence Technical School</h2>
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<span jstcache="1432">57 River Road, Andover, MA 01810</span></div>
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-89231711759433666732016-11-06T17:54:00.000-05:002016-11-06T17:54:08.939-05:00St. Mary's Leftovers<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
It was a few days after Halloween, but still appropriate that the Pioneers played the role of a zombie football team Friday night. No matter how many times St. Mary's tried to bury them, the Pioneers kept rising from the dead in a ruthless pursuit of the Spartans.<br />
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In the end, they finally succumbed, but not before throwing a real scare into the Spartans. In fact, St. Mary's coach Matt Durgin told Steve Krause of the Daily Item that Lynnfield gave his Spartans their toughest test of the season.<br />
<br />
"That's the best anyone's played against us all season probably," Durgin was quoted in Krause's article."<br />
<br />
The Pioneers forced St. Mary's to play their starters the entire game, something no one else has been able to do. They gave the Spartans all they could handle, but when I asked head coach Neal Weidman if battling tough made him feel any better he replied, "Not really. It doesn't make it any better when you give them a great game and you lose."<br />
<br />
As for pure entertainment value, the fans certainly got their money's worth.<br />
<br />
There used to an old joke where someone would say they went to a prize fight and a hockey game broke out. On Friday night, Pioneer fans went to a football game and a track meet, aerial circus, and a little MMA broke out.<br />
<br />
The teams combined for 686 yards of offense, 68 points, 9 touchdowns, and six two point conversions. And believe it or not, the defense wasn't that bad. The offenses were just that good.<br />
<br />
The Spartans did most of their damage on the ground, breaking long plays with the dynamic running of Calvin Johnson, Abraham Toe, and James Brumfield. Toe went out with an ankle injury early but Brumfield stepped in and picked up 67 yards and a score. Johnson was other-worldly, virtually unstoppable and uncatchable when he got to the edge. He rolled for 246 yards and five touchdowns.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the Spartans clamped down on the Pioneer running game, holding them to only 74 yards rushing. So the Pioneers went to plan B which was airing it out. Quarterback Matt Mortellite fired it up 42 times connecting on 26 of them for 245 yards, three TD's, and three two-point conversions. (More on some of those stats in a minute.)<br />
<br />
Weidman was impressed with a couple of changes the Spartan coaching staff made, one of which helped foil the Pioneers opening drive. After falling behind 8-0, the Pioneers moved the ball from their own 25 to the Spartan 40 and looked to be in good shape. They were then flagged for a motion call and the Spartans adjusted their defensive approach.<br />
<br />
"They stopped rushing the passer," explained Weidman. "Instead they just had their tall kids start reading the quarterback and put their hands up and they got a couple of batted balls in a row. That was a smart move."<br />
<br />
The two blocks ended the first drive.<br />
<br />
Stopping the explosive St. Mary's double wing is nearly impossible so the Pioneers needed to match them score for score. They nearly did, but in the end came up a few scores short.<br />
<br />
"Unfortunately we shot ourselves in the foot offensively in the first half," Weidman said. "That's the way it is. When you play good teams, that stuff just can't happen."<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Big Time</i></b><br />
The Spartans clearly had the size advantage, making the Pioneers' effort to hang with them in the trenches even more impressive. Freshman TE/LB Matt Cross is 6'7" 215, Lineman Cam Sakowich is 6'4" 230, Lineman Liam Reddy, a beast all night, is 6'2, 270 and TE/DL Patrick Henry (no, not the "give me liberty" guy) is 6'3, 260.<br />
<br />
Now we know what Pioneer opponents felt like the past few years when Lynnfield always came out with the significant size edge.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Two-pointers</i></b><br />
St. Mary's either doesn't have or chooses not to use a placekicker and always goes for the two point conversion. That forces the opposition to match them and the Pioneers did just that picking up three-two pointers on Mortellite passes to co-captains Louis Ellis and Kyle Hawes and one to Nick Kinnon. With the hat trick, Mortellite tied the record for most two point conversion tosses in a single game.<br />
<br />
The record was set in 1961 in a 30-6 win over Westford Academy. In that game, quarterback Steve Mucica tossed two to Laurie Bleiler and one to Frank Berardino.<br />
<br />
To find the last game in which the Pioneers picked up three two pointers you have to go back 36 years to 1980 when Jim Dolbeare ran for three conversions in a 36-20 win over Masco.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Airing It Out</i></b><br />
The Pioneers threw an incredible 44 passes in the game - 42 by Mortellite and 2 by Kinnon. That's the most since I've been keeping stats - 1989 - and my guess is that it's the most all time. The most passes before this was in 2009 when Gino Cohee (32), Chris Grassi (4) and A. J. Roberto (1) combined for 37 in a 28-7 loss to Wilmington.<br />
<br />
Just to show how the high school game as changed in the past twenty years, in 1998 Pioneer quarterbacks Kris Borkowski (92), Jim Motzkin (17) and Charlie Shove (2) combined for 111 pass attempts FOR THE SEASON! They completed 34 for a total of 468 yards for the year.<br />
<br />
Mortellite completed 8 fewer passes for 223 fewer yards in Friday night's game than the 1998 team did for the entire year. It was certainly a different brand of football.<br />
<br />
<b><i>9K</i></b><br />
James Brumfield's 50 yard touchdown run Friday night was the 9000th point scored against the Pioneers in the history of the program. The tally now stands at 9013 against in 59 seasons.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Next Up: Greater Lawrence</i></b><br />
The Pioneers will play their final game before Thanksgiving on Saturday morning at 10:30 in West Andover against 6-3 Greater Lawrence. Check back Thursday night for my preview post of the game against the Reggies.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-46532829437345629752016-11-03T18:52:00.001-04:002016-11-03T18:52:29.856-04:00St. Mary's Playoff Game Preview: The Juggernaut Awaits<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
In 2007, the high flying New England Patriots rolled into Super Bowl XLII with a unblemished 18-0 record hoping to become the first team in NFL history to go undefeated in a 19 game season. The New York Giants, 10-6 in the regular season and barely making it into the playoffs as a NFC wildcard, came into the game as a 12 point underdog. The result: Thanks to the miraculous "Helmet Catch" by David Tyree, the Giants edged the Pats 17-14 to become Super Bowl Champions.<br />
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In 1980, the Soviet Union came into the Olympics having won the gold medal in six of the seven previous games. They also had won 12 of the prior 15 World Championship tournaments. In the prior four Olympics, the Soviets went 27-1-1 and outscored the opposition 175-44.<br />
<br />
In head to head matchups, the Soviets outscored the U.S. 27-8. In 1979, The Soviets went 5-3-1 against an NHL All Star team. The U. S. team was made up of a group of college players 5-10 years younger then the Russians. The Americans were 1000-1 underdogs to beat the Soviet Union. The result: The U. S. upset the Soviet machine 4-3 and went on to win the Gold Medal two days later.<br />
<br />
In 1977, the Pioneers under head coach Bill Rodan had struggled through their first eight games and sported a 2-6 record. Week eight was the low point as the Pioneers suffered their most lopsided loss of the year, a 27-8 beating at the hands of Ipswich. And things were about to get worse. In their final game before Thanksgiving, the Pioneers had to face the undefeated Newburyport Clippers, the CAL juggernaut at the time.<br />
<br />
The Clippers sailed onto Pioneer Field at the Lynnfield Middle School not only with a perfect 8-0 record, but winners of 38 straight games - at the time the longest winning streak in the state. No one gave the Pioneers a chance and they were expected to roll over for Newburyport in what was expected to be an easy 39th win in a row.<br />
<br />
The Pioneer defense played their best game of the year. They held the Clippers to zero first downs in the opening quarter and 13 total yards in the first half. The home team mounted a 50 yard drive in the second quarter and Eric Hansen, the fifth leading scorer in LHS history, bulled in from the two to give the Pioneers a 6-0 lead. .<br />
<br />
The Clippers threatened several times in the second half, marching to the Lynnfield 13 yard line once and recovering a fumble at the Pioneer six another time. Both bids ended with interceptions by Rich Erb and the Pioneers held on for a monumental 6-0 upset win over the stunned Clippers.<br />
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My point? You have to play the games.<br />
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The Pioneers come into Friday night's game against undefeated St. Mary's as prohibitive underdogs. The Spartans have eviscerated every team in its path on the way to eight straight wins. They are averaging 42 points a game while allowing only 8. Their smallest margin of victory was 26 in a 38-12 win over Lynn English.<br />
<br />
As Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman said to me, "no one has come close to them yet."<br />
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"Looking at the scores they're obviously deserving of the top seed," Weidman continued. "We'll have to have a good week of practice and play a fantastic game obviously."<br />
<br />
Although the Spartans present a monumental road block, let's look ahead to what this game means for the Pioneers. Number two seed Shawsheen and number three seed Greater Lawrence were both knocked off last weekend. That means if the number four seed Pioneers can pull the upset over the top seeded Spartans, they would host the winner of the Ipswich-Stoneham game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.<br />
<br />
With the new alignment, Western Mass does not have a Division 3A leaving only winners of the North, South, and Central so there is rotating bye in the state semi finals. This year the bye happens to go the the North winner who will therefore head straight to the Super Bowl to face the winner of the South-Central semi-final.<br />
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Bottom line? Let's play the game.<br />
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<b><i>Double Trouble</i></b><br />
The Spartans run a double wing offense with tight splits, reminiscent of the Holliston "War" package the Pioneers faced in the D4 Semi-Finals in 2014. The Spartan offense is led by a pair of dynamic running backs in Abraham Toe and Calvin Johnson. Johnson is the second leading scorer in D3A with 137 points and 21 touchdowns. Toe is fifth with 96 points on 12 TDs.<br />
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Quarterback Marcus Atkins rarely throws but when he does, he's usually looking for one of those two out of the backfield. That's a weapon they use when the defense sells out to stop the devastating running game.<br />
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If you want to get a preview of the double wing offense, check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NBNB6BTeBA">this You Tube clip</a>. It's what you'll be seeing a lot of on Friday night.<br />
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<b><i>Double Vision</i></b><br />
Speaking of Holliston, they are a reasonable facsimile of St. Mary's, especially on defense. They are not overly big but fast, quick, and athletic. Holliston was able to bottle up the Lynnfield spread offense by funneling everything to the outside and getting the Pioneers to run sideways and then using their team speed to blow up the play. Expect St. Mary's to try something similar.<br />
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<b><i>Schedule Comparison</i></b><br />
It's tough to compare the schedules of Lynnfield and St. Mary's but here goes. The combined record of the Pioneer opponents is 29-26 with 3 having winning records, 1 at .500, and 3 with losing marks. They played 3 teams from a higher division, 3 in their own division, and 1 in a lower division. Five of their opponents made the playoffs and three are still alive playing in this weekend's division semi-finals.<br />
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The combined record of the Spartans' opponents is 25-38 with three having winning records and five having losing marks. They played 5 teams from a higher division, 2 in their own division, and 1 in a lower division. Four of their opponents made the playoffs and three are still alive playing in the semi finals this weekend.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>Rubber Match</i></b><br />
This will be the third meeting between the schools. In 1991 under head coach Bill Adams, the Pioneers whitewashed the Spartans 36-0. Twenty years later in 2011, St. Mary's returned the favor to the Weidman-led Pioneers with a 40-16 win.<br />
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Game time at Manning Field in Lynn is 7 pm.<br />
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That's it for now. Check back Sunday night for my Leftovers post.<br />
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<br />Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-33990523651486279502016-10-30T15:09:00.000-04:002016-10-30T15:09:58.027-04:00Northeast Leftovers<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
The tortoise and the hare is an appropriate analogy for Friday night's playoff game that saw the Pioneers advance to the D3A semi-finals.<br />
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But according to Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman, the slow down, ground and pound, slow motion wing T attack was not developed specifically for this game.<br />
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"That's just what they do," the coach said. "And they're good at it."<br />
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You think?<br />
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Northeast had a four to one advantage in time of possession and first downs. The Pioneers had the ball for less than 10 minutes of game time - less than a quarter of the game. But playing keepaway was only part of the equation if the Knights hoped to win the game. The other part was stopping the Pioneers when they DID have the ball, and they never could do that.<br />
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Special teams played a key role in the win, with captain Kyle Hawes punt return for a score getting the Pioneers on the board early, and captain Mike Stellato's blocked punt leading to a 5 yard drive for the score that iced the game at 27-6.<br />
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In between, the Pioneers burned the Knights on quick strikes, scoring on four touchdown drives of less than a minute and a half - two of them less than 30 seconds.<br />
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Despite the lopsided final score, Weidman wasn't happy with the way the game began, with the Pioneers running only six plays in the first half.<br />
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"Exactly how it started was exactly how we didn't want it to start," Weidman said of Northeast's two long drives that resulted in one score. "We didn't have a ton of offensive plays and we knew they were going to try and control the ball and the clock and they were able to do that. But we kind of recovered from that after the first quarter and a half."<br />
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Northeast was able to cut the Pioneer lead to 7-6 on a long drive that saw the Knights gash the Lynnfield defense. But after that drive, the Pioneers shut out the Knights until the fourth quarter when Weidman emptied his bench. Northeast's first offense marched 70 yards against the Pioneers' second and third teams for their second score.<br />
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"We made some adjustments after that first drive," said Weidman. "Guys were getting themselves caught up in the wash by not playing sound technique defensively."<br />
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Weidman acknowledged the key in playing a team with a patient offense is to get ahead early.<br />
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"It's important," the coach said. "It they are able to control the ball and go right down and score and then they force you to punt or get a turnover and they control the ball again and score again, the next thing you know you're down two scores with no time left in the half. It's important to get on the board quickly.<br />
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The Pioneers did that and the reward is a date with St. Mary's Friday night. Gulp. But we talk more about them later in the week.<br />
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<b><i>Well Rested</i></b><br />
Weidman noted that with the lack of offensive plays, the Pioneers didn't have to use much of its arsenal.<br />
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"We were able to use a bunch of different guys which is nice because it makes it a little bit tougher to defend us," he said. "We didn't have the ball much so we really didn't throw it much but the one time we did we had the big play. We didn't use our outside receivers at all and they are some of our better players.<br />
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<b><i>More from Mort</i></b><br />
Quarterback Matt Mortellite only had to throw three times, but completed two for 76 yards including a beautiful pass to Nick Kinnon on the 66 yard TD strike. Mortellite also showed off his wheels scooting through the Knight defense on a nifty 15 yard TD run. Weidman is impressed with the progress his quarterback is making.<br />
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"He's getting more and more comfortable knowing what to do," the coach said. "That's half the battle. The beginning of the season we just had to get him up to speed. He started from zero. If you're a freshman or sophomore in the system you at least get some of it. To come in your junior year and never see any of it is not typical."<br />
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<b><i>Milestone TD</i></b><br />
Speaking of the quarterback, the Mortellite to Kinnon hookup was the 350th touchdown pass in the history of LHS football. 119 of them have come in the Weidman era - the past nine season since 2008. For perspective, in the first 30 years of the program - 1958 to 1987 - there were 122 touchdown passes.<br />
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<b><i>Happy Returns</i></b><br />
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Hawes punt return for a score was the first since Jon Knee did the trick against Georgetown in 2014. It was the 32nd punt return TD in LHS history.<br />
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Coincidentally, Knee caught his second TD in as many game last weekend for Macalester College in a 48-36 win over Cornell. He collected his first collegiate TD the week before against Beloite. The sophomore has caught 20 passes for 296 yards this season for the 7-2 Scots. He's also returned 7 punts but as yet to break one.<br />
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<b><i>Playoff Action</i></b><br />
The win ups Lynnfield's playoff record in the Weidman Era to 6-5. This is the fifth straight year and sixth of the past nine seasons the Pioneers have made the playoffs.<br />
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<b><i>Home Cooking</i></b><br />
The victory improves Lynnfield's record at Pioneer Stadium to 12-2. The only two losses since the stadium opened in 2014 was the 25-17 loss to Watertown in the first round of the playoffs last year and the 30-14 loss to Danvers this year.<br />
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That's it for now. Check back Thursday night for my preview of the St. Mary's game.Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-69259910398710092072016-10-27T19:56:00.000-04:002016-10-27T19:56:08.776-04:00Northeast Playoff Game Preview: Knight Night<br />
<i>By Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
Ever since I began covering the Pioneers in 1989 (yikes), the preseason would end with a Labor Day scrimmage against Northeast Metro Tech (or as it was known in the early days, Northeast Voke).<br />
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Playing the Golden Knights right before the season started always offered a good gauge of where the Pioneers stood in their preparation. Northeast was always a tough, hard nosed team and if Lynnfield was able to hold their own or dominate, they were usually in for a strong season. If the Knights pushed them around, the Pioneers were likely in for a long season.<br />
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For the first time in probably three decades, that scrimmage didn't take place this year. Northeast head coach Don Heres felt that since realignment placed the Pioneers and Knights in the same division, it might be better to skip the annual practice game. Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman agreed and the scrimmage was scratched.<br />
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"It was Donny more than me," Weidman told me. "He said if we're going to be in the same division, maybe we shouldn't scrimmage each other."<br />
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Well Friday night promises to be a little (a lot?) colder than the first weekend in September, but the <br />
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traditional rivalry will continue...just with a lot more at stake. And instead of wearing practice jerseys with no numbers (specifically to confound me I suspect), the Pioneers will be in full uniform since this is Round 1 of the Division 3A playoffs.<br />
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"This will be different," Weidman said. "We've always had a friendly relationship as far scrimmaging and trying to make each other better. We stay in contact throughout the year. It'll definitely be different playing them in a real game."<br />
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And other than a two month delay, not much else has changed. The Knights are still big and tough and come in to Pioneer stadium with a 5-2 mark.<br />
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All the years of scrimmaging doesn't necessarily give the Pioneers much of an advantage.<br />
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"Offensively they do some of the same things they've always done," said Weidman.<br />
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But defensively they have a different look thanks to their new defensive coordinator - LHS head lacrosse coach Joe Papagni. Papagni is a former Pioneer coordinator and was on the same staff with Weidman under Bill Adams. He'll be coaching against some of his lacrosse charges which should make for some interesting interplay.<br />
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The two teams finished in a near photo finish in the playoff rankings, with the Pioneers gaining the home field thanks to a single point out of the 83 they collected. You can thank Newburport for its upset of Masco earlier in the year for the one point that put the game here Friday night instead of in Wakefield on Saturday afternoon. Lynnfield finished with a 13.83 rating to a 13.71 rating for Northeast. It can't get any closer than that.<br />
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The game will feature a clash of styles when the wide open Pioneer offense faces off against the run-heavy, ground and pound, run game of the Knights.<br />
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The Knights run a wing T with some variations.<br />
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"They are probably more like an Amesbury than a Pentucket," Weidman said referring to a pair of CAL teams than run the Wing T. "They've got some big bruisers and try to keep pounding it. They're pretty big and their backs (Scott Peary and Austin Perrin) are big too. They have good sized linemen. Size wise probably similar to us."<br />
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"Tough to tell who they compare to just watching them on film," Weidman continued. "They'd be right there with Cape Ann Small teams."<br />
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The Knights opened the season with a 21-12 loss to Manchester Essex, a team the Pioneers beat 47-14. But don't let that score fool you. This is a different Northeast team than the one that played in that game.<br />
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"That was early in the year and they shot themselves in the foot a little fumbling inside the five once or twice," Weidman said. "They had a couple of opportunities that they missed out on."<br />
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Northeast bounced back with a huge 52-12 beating of Chelsea and followed that with wins over North Quincy 14-8 and Greater Lawrence 36-20. GL finished ahead of both Lynnfield and Northeast and come into the playoffs as the third seed in the division.<br />
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The Knights fell hard to Shawsheen, the second seed in the division, 34-8, but finished the year strong with wins over Whittier 42-8 and Lynn Tech 36-26.<br />
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"It's the playoffs now and we're going to have to step our game up," the coach summed up. "We have to be motivated to play and play with some emotion. That's what everyone is going to be doing now."<br />
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That's it for now. Check back Sunday night for my Leftovers post.Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-13059292516551561062016-10-23T20:27:00.003-04:002016-10-23T20:27:36.407-04:00Hamilton-Wenham Leftovers<i><br /></i>
<i>By Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YY6y_C4XKQ4/WA1Ss226zkI/AAAAAAAAA-o/5Y69oQYtkDAH_4iTfqBLqyqgDfy4zz6QACLcB/s1600/five%2Bcrowns.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YY6y_C4XKQ4/WA1Ss226zkI/AAAAAAAAA-o/5Y69oQYtkDAH_4iTfqBLqyqgDfy4zz6QACLcB/s1600/five%2Bcrowns.jpeg" /></a>Six titles in nine seasons, the last five in a row. Pretty impressive performance by the Pioneers under head coach Neal Weidman and his outstanding staff. Weidman and his staff have built a powerhouse program over the past decade and they have done some of their best work this season, molding a young, talented group into another champion.<br />
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Weidman doesn't like to talk about year after year success, instead choosing to focus on the season at hand - the current group he is working with.<br />
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"This is another team," the coach told me after the HW clincher Saturday afternoon. "A lot of people thought that maybe this team wouldn't be able to do it so I'm happy and proud of them."<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Drive for Five. Captains celebrate the Pioneers' fifth straight</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">league championsip. (l to r) Mike Stellato, Kyle Hawes</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Alex Boustris, and Louis Ellis</span></div>
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"We definitely needed some experience," Weidman said about beginning this season's team. "We didn't have any to start the year. We had a lot of new guys playing. It takes time sometimes. We were patient and they were patient and now we're starting to come together."<br />
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After an 0-2 start with losses to Newburyport (4th seed in D3) and Danvers (3rd seed in D2A), the Pioneers ran the CAL Baker table and now at 4-2, and earned the fourth seed in D3A. The Pioneers have made the playoffs all four years of this new format, and begin their post season quest when they host Northeast Friday night.<br />
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The Pioneers have compiled a 68-29 mark in nine seasons under Weidman - a .701 winning percentage - the best of any football coach in LHS history. It's been an impressive run and should be recognized as such. The coaches and the 2016 edition are to be congratulated for a job well done.<br />
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<b><i>Second Half Dominance</i></b><br />
The Pioneers were in control for much of the game against HW except for the last half of the second quarter. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Generals began knifing through the Pioneer defense on their lone scoring drive. The marched 57 yards on 12 plays - collecting half of their total 113 yards of offense on the day.<br />
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I asked Weidman if the Generals were doing something different on that drive to allow them to have success all of a sudden.<br />
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"Not really," he replied. "They just grabbed the momentum and we didn't do a good job of grabbing it back right away. I was happy with our second half effort considering they had the momentum going into the half. Maybe it was one of those things where the half came at the right time. Just to slow it down a bit."<br />
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The second half was truly dominated by the Pioneers.<br />
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Nursing a 12-7 lead to start, they snuffed out the Generals' first drive of the third quarter and then marched 95 yards for a score. Quarterback Matt Mortellite had a 32 yard completion to captain Kyle Hawes to start the drive and Tyler Murphy chipped in with runs of 18 and five yards. Mortellite capped it with a swing pass to Nick Kinnon who scooted down the left sideline to make it 18-7.<br />
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Then captain Mike Stellato and the defense clamped down, holding the Generals to 15 total yards and one first down the rest of the way. The biggest play came on a fourth and half yard at Lynnfield 30. General Christos Meimeteas attacked the line looked for a hole to get the first down but instead found Harry Collins who wrapped him in a bear hug. Cooper Marengi quickly joined in to keep Meimeteas from reaching the first down marker.<br />
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<b><i>Quick Thinking</i></b><br />
That big stop led to what Weidman called the turning point of the game.<br />
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After the fourth down stop, the Pioneers were looking at a three and out to start the fourth quarter. Stellato went back into punt formation in a steady rain. I'll let him take it from there.<br />
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"It was a high snap and I managed to keep possession of it," the big lineman said. "I started to run for the first down and I dodged one kid and I saw (captain) Louis (Ellis) break into the flat so I decided to throw it off to him and we got lucky with the penalty."<br />
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Indeed the the Generals were flagged for pass interference giving the Pioneers a first down. Some chirping from the HW defense tacked on an additional 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and the Pioneers were in business at the HW 45. Eight plays later Kinnon, lining up in the wildcat, took the snap, eluded General Jake Lanciani, and sprinted into the corner of the endzone for the touchdown to make it 25-7.<br />
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The heady play by Stellato was key to keeping the drive alive.<br />
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"He kept his head on that play," Weidman said. "It's always good to have a senior captain back there. He'll be talking about that one for a while."<br />
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<b><i>Steady Improvement</i></b><br />
Weidman talked the past few weeks about the continued improvement of his team. There's no question the team that played Saturday is very different from the one that opened the season in Newburyport. The numbers bear that out dramatically.<br />
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In the first three games against Newburyport, Danvers, and Ipswich, the Pioneers averaged 15.6 points and a total of 216 yards of offense. In the last three games against Amesbury, Manchester-Essex, and Hamilton-Wenham, they have doubled that output, amassing an average of 412 yards of offense good for 33 points per game. The Pioneers have exceed 300 yards of offense in the last three games.<br />
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The improvement has been even more dramatic on the defensive side of the ball. In the first three games the Pioneers allowed an average of 314 yards and 25.3 points per game. In the last three, they've tightened up considerably, allowing only 162 yards and 9 points per game. The first team defense is even better, allowing only two touchdowns in the last three games.<br />
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"We've come a long way from the first couple of week where we caught blocks and missed tackles," Weidman said of his defense. "They've made a conscious effort to eliminate those things by working at it in practice."<br />
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<b><i>Mighty Mort</i></b><br />
Mortellite is putting together quite a season in his first year as the Pioneers' quarterback. He was 11 for 17 for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns in the clincher against the Generals. His passer rating using the NFL formula was 147.3. A perfect rating is 158.3<br />
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For the season, the junior is 69 for 107 (64%) for 967 yards, 11 touchdowns - tops in D3A - and only 3 interceptions. His total passer rating is 116.3.<br />
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HW coach Jim Pugh, who left Masco at the end of the 2014 season, helped out at Malden Catholic last year and worked with Mortellite as a sophomore there. Following Saturday's game, Pugh told Phil Stacey of the Salem News that he saw the potential of the young quarterback.<br />
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"Matt's a great kid," Pugh told Stacey. "He's done a great job for them."<br />
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Weidman has also spoken about Mortellite's ability to come up to speed in a very different - and difficult - system than the one he operated in at MC. The performance on the field has proven both Weidman and Pugh to be correct in their assessment.<br />
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<b><i>Stormy Weather</i></b><br />
Saturday was the third game out of six that the Pioneers have had to splash to victory - Ipswich and Amesbury being the other two. The early forecast for Friday's playoff game? 90% chance of showers. Good omen?<br />
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<b><i>Streaking</i></b><br />
The win was the fifth straight over HW. The Pioneers have outscored the Generals 175-29 in that stretch.<br />
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<b><i>Playoff Patter</i></b><br />
Some interesting tidbits that came out of the playoff seedings announced Sunday morning.<br />
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North Reading, which wasn't happy about being elevated to Division 2A, ended up with the second seed and will host Bedford Friday night. They finished their pre-playoff schedule with a 6-1 mark, their only loss coming to Masco.<br />
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Triton, coached by former Pioneer offensive coordinator and captain Pat Sheehan finished with a 5-2 mark, good enough for the second seed in Division 2. They will host Swampscott Friday night.<br />
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And in an interesting twist, Newburyport, who finished with a 2-4 record, actually earned a home playoff game finishing as the fourth seed. The reason for their high point total was their tough schedule. They earned 27 opponent points for wins against the four-win Pioneers and five-win Masco. They piled up the points even in their losses to Ipswich (4 points), North Reading (6), Triton (5), and Pentucket (3). Their 45 opponent points allowed them to leap Pentucket and be able to host them even though the Sachems beat Newburyport 21-19 earlier this year. The combined record of the Clippers' opponents was 27-14.<br />
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That's it for now. Check back Thursday night for me Northeast game preview.Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1205825215554028536.post-64468766397744243602016-10-20T18:48:00.000-04:002016-10-20T18:48:05.162-04:00Hamilton-Wenham Game Preview: Aerial Circus<br />
<i>by Tom Condardo</i><br />
<br />
When you put the division's top two leading passers and top receiver on the field, chances are you're going to see a lot of footballs in the air. That promises to be the case on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers and the Generals tangle in Hamilton.<br />
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HW's Billy Whelan and the Pioneers' Matt Mortellite sit tied atop Division 3A with nine touchdown passes each. (Although the Globe missed a couple of Mortellite's and have him listed with only seven).<br />
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The Generals' Cam Peach is the division's leading TD pass receiver with six. Peach has also thrown a couple of TD passes to Whelan. The Pioneers' TD receptions are spread out a bit more with captain Louis Ellis and Nick Kinnon having three apiece and Kyle Hawes with 2.<br />
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Needless to say, both teams like to get some air under the ball. You've heard of Deflategate? This will be more like Inflategate.<br />
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As is usual in big games, it will come down to which defense is able to shut down the other's offense and in this case it means getting pressure on the quarterback and covering some talented receivers. Whichever team is able to do that will clearly have the upper hand.<br />
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The game is huge for both teams. For the Pioneers, a win gives them their fifth straight league championship and a shot at a home playoff game. For the Generals, a victory keeps their title hopes alive. A loss and they could fall out of the playoffs entirely.<br />
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The Generals started slow with losses to Bishop Fenwick and North Reading, two powerhouses who have a combined 10-2 record. HW then reeled off three consecutive wins against Chelsea, Man-Essex, and Georgetown, three teams with a combined 6-11 record. They stumbled last week against Amesbury as the Indians picked up their first win of the year despite a late flurry by the Generals.<br />
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"They have a group of really good athletes with a real good passing game," head coach Neal Weidman told me when assessing the Generals. "They have four or five guys that can do things with the ball. They rely a lot on the pass."<br />
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The Generals showed some different looks this year under new coach Jim Pugh who returns to the sidelines after a year off. He coached Masco for 26 years amassing 178 wins, seven CAL championships and making two trips to the Super Bowl. Instead of the straight power I HW ran under former coach Andrew Morency, they feature more multiple-I sets.<br />
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"Jim and his staff have done a nice job of using their talent and finding ways to get them the ball," Weidman continued. "They are completely different on both sides of the ball."<br />
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The Generals made it to the Super Bowl in 2011 but have hovered around .500 since combining for a 20-23 mark over the past four seasons including a disappointing 3-8 last year. Pugh is trying to bring his winning ways from Masco and reenergize the program and it seems to be working.<br />
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With playoff and title hopes on the line, they should present a formidable foe for the Pioneers on Saturday.<br />
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<b><i>Streaking</i></b><br />
The Pioneers have won four straight over the Generals by a combined score of 143-22. Overall, the rivalry is about as even as it can get with Lynnfield holding a 22-10-1 edge since the teams began playing in 1973.<br />
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Lynnfield didn't fare quite as well against Pugh when he was a Masco. From 1989 to 2005, the Pioneers faced the Pugh-coached Chieftains 17 times with Masco holding a 13-4 advantage including the last nine times the schools met.<br />
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<b><i>Hoarders</i></b><br />
The Pioneers and Generals are the only two teams to hold the CAL Small title since 2009. Lynnfield won it in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. HW captured the championship in 2010 and 2011. One of them will make keep the stranglehold going for an eighth straight year.<br />
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That's it for now. Check back Sunday night for my Leftovers post.Tom Condardohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373943940929651446noreply@blogger.com0