by Tom Condardo
Thom Connors of Amesbury and the Pioneers' Neal Weidman are two head coaches with a lot in common.
Connors, beginning his 11th season leading the Indians, took over an Amesbury program in 2003 that was coming off successive seasons of 1-9, 0-11, 0-10. That's 1-30 for those keeping score at home. The Indians tripled that three-year win total in Connors' first season going 3-8. He got them to a competitive level in 2004, 2005, and 2006 going 15-17.
Weidman followed a similar path. He took over a Pioneer program that had gone 5-38 the four previous seasons before he took over. His success slope was a bit quicker, as Lynnfield went 3-8 in Weidman's initial campaign, then won a title and a post season berth in year two. They just missed in 2010, had a 5-6 year in 2011, then rebounded with another championship last year capped by a trip to Gillette Stadium for the Division 3A Super Bowl. His record through last week is 38-21.
Traveling that same coaching terrain may be the reason Weidman and Connors have bonded over the years.
"I really like Thom and his staff," Weidman told me. "They've been good to us. My first year he said some nice things to me when I was down and out a little bit. He said, 'just keep doing it. Keep going.'
"He said when he first took over he would actually say, today we want to get three first downs in the first half," Weidman continued. "That would be a goal. We have a nice friendly rivalry. Our kids get along pretty well. They've always been really appreciative of each other.
The closeness has translated to the field and some dramatic games over the past few years. Here's a recap of the tight contests played between the teams from 2007-2011. The winner of those five games all had to come from behind - twice in the third quarter and three times in the fourth.
The same pattern held for their first meeting last season when the Pioneers fell behind in Amesbury 21-0 and 27-12 only to roar back with two TD's in the third and two in the fourth to take a 31-27 decision. The two teams met in the playoffs last year and ironically that was the most lopsided game between the two in six years. The Indian hung tough trailing 14-7 at the half, but the Pioneers blew it open in the second half to win 35-14. That was Lynnfield's fifth straight win over Amesbury.
Indians Struggling Early
Which brings us to this week's CAL Small league opener. The Indians come into town battered and bruised after suffering big losses to Triton 40-7 and Pentucket 42-7. Connors said in all his preseason preview interviews that his main concern was lack of depth, and unfortunately for the Indians that has proven to be prophetic.
Amesbury graduated 16 seniors including four All Leaguers and two All League Honorable Mentions. This year's 35 man roster features only 19 upperclassmen (11 seniors and 8 juniors). More than half the varsity roster is made up of sophomores. The Indians are inexperienced on defense - Connors has said only two players on that side of the ball have experience - and that has shown up in their first two games.
The one place the Indians do have experience is on the line where they start five seniors. However, they are on the smaller side, averaging 6' 195 lbs. They'll be facing a Pioneer line that goes 6'2" 245.
Both Triton and Pentucket dominated the line of scrimmage against the Indians rushing for a combined 483 yards and holding Amesbury to a total of 136 yards on the ground in the two games. With such limited success on the ground, the Indians have gone to the air. Senior quarterback Mac Short, shifting from receiver where he played last year, has completed 13 of 31 for 189 yards, 1 TD and 3 interceptions. His favorite target is Pat Scanlon, who at 6'4"175 makes a nice, big target. The Pioneers will have to account for Scanlon when the Indians have the ball.
Short and running back Ben Cullen are similar backs - small and quick. Short is 5'8 190 lb and Cullen is 5'7" 165 lbs. But if they get into open space, they can be dangerous.
Indians Always Tough
Weidman is still expecting another battle with Amesbury, despite the numbers and the results of the Indians' first two games.
"We've had some great games with them," the coach said. "I don't know how they have room for another rivalry with Triton, Pentucket, and Newburyport, but we've become a non-river River Rival."
What makes the Indians so dangerous is that this is a must win game for them if they hope to earn one of the top eight spots in the 16 team Division Four North playoffs. With their two non-league losses, the chances of Amesbury snagging a wild card spot are slim, so their only way in is to finish first or second in the league. So despite being 0-2, they are still alive if they can do well in the league. Upsetting the Pioneers at home could propel them on one of the patented runs that Connors' coached Amesbury teams are known for.
CAL Preview
As for the league, I spoke to both Weidman and H-W coach Andrew Morency, and they both feel the CAL Small will be competitive.
"I think it's an even league," Morency said. "Lynnfield is always tough. We have a shot."
"There's quite a bit of parity," Weidman told me. "Amesbury and H-W have been good historically. They'll be tough games. I see Ipswich has had a couple of lopsided scores but we play them up there and that's always been a tussle for us. Georgetown seems to be playing well especially offensively -they're scoring a lot of points. I saw Manchester and they looked pretty good offensively as well."
We move from the theoretical to the actual starting this weekend. In addition to the Pioneers/Indians game, Ipswich travels to Hamilton Wenham and Georgetown visits Manchester-Essex in two Thanksgiving Preview games. We'll obviously know a lot more after those three contests.
That's it for now. Check back on Saturday for my first reaction to the Amesbury game.
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