by Tom Condardo
It's tough to quibble about a 5-0 start, but there is a disturbing trend that has emerged so far this season.
Sluggish starts.
It reared its ugly head again this week when Georgetown took the early momentum with a quick 7-0 lead. If not for the offensive pass interference penalty, it could have been a 14-0 hole.
And this week isn't the first time. Despite outscoring their five opponents 179-48, the Pioneers have actually trailed at some point in three of those games. At the end of the first quarter in their five games, Lynnfield has been tied three times and led by a touchdown in two others.
Here's another way to look at it: They have led their opponents 35-21 total after the first quarter. That means they have outscored the opposition 144-27 in the other three periods. Still another view: Opponents have scored almost as many points in the first quarter (21) as they have in the rest of the game (27).
There is no question the Pioneers have a load of talent this season as seen by their lopsided domination. And once they get their motor revved up, they are nearly unstoppable. However, if they're not careful, these false starts could come back to haunt them as the competition improves.
"It doesn't work," Weidman told me about coming out not really ready to play. "Every time we've tried to do it, it fails every single time.
"We have to fix the mistakes first," the coach went on when asked what you get out of a game like the Georgetown contest. "You can say what you want to the kids, but until it happens to them they don't get it. Hopefully that's a wake up call. You can tell them that they have to be ready to play all the time, but until you get smacked in the face a little bit, they don't always see it."
"At halftime we talked about it," Weidman said specifically about the game against the Royals. "There was no screaming or yelling. We just talked about what it means to be ready to play all the time. What it means to prepare properly and play with emotion - not just today but moving forward. It wasn't really a ton of X's and O's adjustments. They weren't trying to do it. It's just the way it is.
"Then we just came out for the kickoff return and they were ready to play."
Penalty Kills
Before we get on to the good stuff, one more downer. Lots of yellow flags for the Pioneers in the game against the Royals. The Pioneers were hit with eight penalties for 75 yards. That was actually four more yards than Georgetown's total offensive output for the day (71).
Worthy Opponents
You have to admire the Royals for their effort Saturday. Coming into the game against an undefeated opponent, having lost 14 games in a row and staring across at a sideline with twice as many players as you have, it might have been easy to pack it in. But they didn't. They came out snarling and punched the Pioneers right in the mouth.
Eventually, they just didn't have enough horsepower to contain a very talented Pioneer team, but they certainly gave it their best shot and never quit, right until the end.
"They did a good job," Weidman said after the game. "They outplayed us the whole first quarter. They're not bad, they're just thin. They have a couple of big kids and they have some skill guys too. Plus they're physical. It's just tough to be physical for four quarters without many guys. This particular year we outman them. They outplayed us early but we were lucky to be up in the score."
The Royals have 37 players listed on their roster and that includes 13 freshmen and an 8th grader. That makes it tough to compete when the Pioneers come in with 57 sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
The win is the fifth straight over Georgetown and gives Lynnfield a 5-3 edge over the Royals all time. The Royals won the first three meetings between the schools from 2006-2008 by a combined score of 49-26.
Slinging Sully
Quarterback Danny Sullivan, back in action after sitting out last week's game, was red hot in the first half. His first pass was picked off on a nice play by Coopers Marten, but after that, Sullivan was perfect.
Following the pick, he went 9 for 9 for 89 yards, a touchdown and a two point conversion. He was particular masterful in the final drive of the first half marching the Pioneers 74 yards in nine plays completing seven straight passes.
McGah in Charge
Simple game plan. Give the ball to McGah. That's what it seemed like on the Pioneers' first scoring drive. They started on their own 41 and scored nine plays later when McGah bulldozed in from the one. He carried seven times for 59 yards, essentially accounting for the whole drive on his own. The other two carries were a one yard gain by Sullivan and a one yard loss by Jake Rourke.
In addition to his 12 rushing touchdowns so far this year, McGah has 609 yards on 74 carries - an impressive 8.2 yard per carry average.
Three for 40
The Pioneers scored 40 or more points for the third straight week. That's only been done twice before in Lynnfield High history.
In 2010, the Pioneers did it with wins over Bishop Fenwick (42-21), Cathedral (40-0), and Danvers (40-18). The juggernaut 1960 team had a five game 40+ point streak with consecutive wins over Wayland (60-0), Lynn Trade (60-6), Bedford (50-6), Westford (50-0) and Ashland (60-0).
Five for Five Club
With their 5-0 start, the Pioneers matched a feat accomplished by only nine other Lynnfield teams. The 2010 team was the only team in the past 20 years to pull it off. Before that, the 1991 Pioneers were the last team to turn the trick. The combined record of those teams was 77-11-1 and included five league champions.
Odd and Ends
- The Pioneers have now won eight straight league games. They are 20-9 in league games since 2008.
- The win was the Pioneers fourth straight road win
That's it for now. Check back tomorrow when I'll take a look around the CAL Small and have a Division Four North Power Ranking update.
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