by Tom Condardo
Some things are best done quickly just to get them over with. Ripping off a bandage, eating your brussels sprouts, visiting the in-laws. You know, just do them and move on.
Opening the 2013 football season against Newburyport kind of feels like that for the Pioneers. Not that this won't be a competitive game - it should be - it's just that things don't seem to go well for the local eleven when these two squads meet.
The next worst winning percentage against a long time Pioneer opponent is .389 (14-22) against North Andover which has more to do with the relative sizes of the schools than anything else. Next is Ipswich at .409 (18-26).
The Pioneers are 5-15 at home against the Clippers and 3-17 in Newburyport. They've lost three in a row to the Clippers, eight of their last nine, and 19 of their last 21. On the brighter side, they are 2-3 in the last five home games, and home is where we'll be for this opening game Saturday.
Expect a typical big, fast Clipper team to sail onto Pioneer Field for this one.
"One of these years I'd like to go scout them and say, 'hey, they're not that good,'" said Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman.
This doesn't appear to be that year.
Newburyport is coming off a 6-5 mark last year and will be looking to make some noise in the newly configured CAL Large. They are in the same Division 4 North as the Pioneers so although this is a non-league game, it could have huge ramifications when it comes to power ratings and wild card berths for the playoffs.
New Look
The Clippers will have a different look this year as head coach Ed Gaudiano will be without his two long time coordinators. On offense, former Clipper Ryan McCarthy has moved on to Triton. That paid immediate dividends for former Pioneer Pat Sheehan who saw his Viking offense explode in a 33-7 win over Swampscott last week.
So for the first time in a while, Gaudiano will be calling his own plays. He has also tweaked the offense a bit moving from a pro style pass first offense to more of an option attack. Weidman doesn't see the difference as being too dramatic.
"The offense that they ran before had the same concepts," Weidman said. "They're just doing it out of different formations. They're in the I more instead of the pistol. But the schemes are the same."
Prolific passer Connor Wile has moved on and sophomore Michael Shay and junior J. J. Bajko were in a battle for the starting quarterback spot.
Defensively, Gaudiano's other right hand man Bob Clark has moved from his defensive coordinator post to being the Athletic Director at Newburyport High. Former Clipper Mike Smolski has taken over DC role and plans on keeping the same philosophy as Clark. As always, look for the Clippers to be aggressive and quick to the ball.
Opposites Attract?
Interestingly enough, the Pioneers and Clippers seem to be directly opposite when it comes to their development so far this year. Gaudiano is concerned about his offense and will be looking for his defense to keep the Clippers afloat early in the season.
During the scrimmages, the Pioneer offense seemed to be ahead of the defense, so Weidman might be looking for his offense to lead the way while the defense gets sorted out. It could end up being strength on strength when the teams collide on Saturday morning.
In any event, Weidman is anxious for the season to get started.
"I'm ready to get going and I think the kids are too," he said, referring to the extra week to the start of the season. "The extra week is good for us. We kind of had time to hit all the little things to make sure we don't miss anything which is good. But it's longer than I expected it to be. It's time."
If you haven't seen it yet, my full preview of the 2013 Pioneers is in this week's Villager.
And don't forget, I'll be tweeting in-game updates so you can follow me at @condardogrdblog (there's no "I" in team or in @condardogrdblog).
That's it for now. Check back Saturday after the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment