by Tom Condardo
The Pioneers have seen a variety of offenses this year. They've faced the old school Triple Option of Saugus, the modified Wing of Amesbury, a version of the I option/Pistol from Newburyport, and the currently popular Spread from Manchester-Essex, Ipswich and Georgetown. The closest thing to a"traditional" offense the Pioneers have run into is the Hamilton-Wenham I. But the Generals spiced it up with a passing game as Jack Clay ended up attempting 22 passes.
When the Pioneers kick it off against Stoneham on Saturday in the first ever playoff game to be played in Lynnfield, they'll be stepping back in time to good old fashioned smash mouth football. The Spartans feature the tried and true power running game with two backs usually in an I formation and sometimes split. Five interior linemen and a tight end or two try to smash holes in the defense as a lonely, neglected wide out hangs out around the hash marks.
Former Pioneer head coaches Bill Rodan and Bill Adams would have no trouble recognizing the Spartan offense since it's a close cousin to the Pioneer power running teams of the 70's and 80's.
Stoneham runs the ball 95% of the time and with good reason. A solid offensive line opens holes for
As you read in my Villager preview, McPherson (9 TD's) and Louis (8 TD's) have accounted for nearly all the points scored by the Spartans. And the offensive line doesn't need to give them much room as they both can break to daylight quickly.
The Pioneer opponent they most resemble is the Bishop Feehan team Lynnfield faced in the Division 3A Super Bowl last December. The Spartans line up, say this is what we plan to do, now try to stop us. BF was very similar. In the Super Bowl, of their 46 plays, 44 were runs. Unless Stoneham installs some surprising, last minute wrinkles, expect the same this Saturday.
The Spartans have only scored 146 points (compared to the Pioneers' 248) and 136 have come on the ground. Owens has one passing touchdown and one passing two point conversion. And speaking of conversions, don't look for many PAT tries. After the 20 Stoneham touchdowns, they've attempted a kick for the point only four times. The other 16 times they went for two, converting 12 times.
Needless to say, the key for the Pioneers will be stopping the run. If they do, the Spartans won't have many options. If they don't, the home team could be in for a long afternoon.
Pioneers Stout Run Defense
So far, the Pioneers have done a good job stopping the run with the glaring exception of the Saugus Triple Option. The Sachems rolled over the Pioneers for 316 rushing yards. The other six Lynnfield opponents have managed a total of 489 yards, an 81.5 yard per game average. H-W had the the second most succesful day running the football against the Pioneers, picking up 161 yards on 30 carries, a 5.3 yard per carry average.
That's a bit disconcerting since they were the only opponent that ran from a similar I formation as Stoneham. The difference is the Pioneers also had to defend the Generals passing game with four solid receiving threats. It doesn't appear the Spartans will be able to match that component of the General offense, so the Pioneers should be able to focus on stopping the run.
Defensively, the Spartans run a similar defense to the Pioneers, with a nose guard and two tackles as down linemen and two ends/outside linebackers and two middle backers. They've been effective, allowing only 129 points, or 18.4 per game (compared to the Pioneers' 48 total points, a 6.9 per game average). With the Pioneers coming in averaging over 35 per game and never having been held to less than 21, something will have to give on Saturday.
"They will pose a challenge," Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman said of the Spartan defense.
Stoneham comes into the game with a 3-4 record and is ranked 96th in the Boston Globe Top 100. The Pioneers are ranked 27th.
"Their record is absolutely deceptive," Weidman told me. "They beat some good teams like Wakefield and Burlington. And they lost a couple of close games to some other good teams."
Home Cooking
By virtue of their number two seed, the Pioneers get to play a home game, and they've been particularly tough at Pioneer Field. They've won nine straight at home and are 23-3 on their home field since the start of the 2009 season. Their only losses were 27-14 to Newburyport in 2011 and back to back losses in 2012 to Manchester-Essex 7-6 and H-W 22-14 in overtime.
"It's nice to have a home game," said Weidman. "Hopefully it will be somewhat of an advantage."
The Pioneers have a few other advantages including team depth, something they've enjoyed in every game this year. They will trot out 57 seniors, juniors, and sophomores, and Weidman has the luxury of running people in and out to keep everyone fresh. The Spartans have only 33 players in that category and 12 of them are sophomores. They have 12 seniors on the squad.
Lynnfield also has an edge in big game experience. The Pioneers played two post season games last season, so they shouldn't be affected by the bigger stage of the playoffs.
There is no question this should be the toughest test of the season for the Pioneers this year. If they should get past the Spartans, they'll be hosting a division semi-final game next weekend. The Spartans will certainly have something to say about that.
Stoneham fans plan on arriving by bus, so the joint should be jumping by kickoff.
Game time for this Division Four North quarterfinal is 2:30.
That's it for now. Check back after the game.
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