North Reading Game Preview: Rivalry Renewed

by Tom Condardo

So is anyone going to the game Thursday?

I didn't think so.

Opponents of the new playoff system warned us that it would take away from the annual rivalry games on Thanksgiving so no one is really interested in the 56th meeting (55th on the holiday) between North Reading (6-4) and Lynnfield (9-1) right?

Sure the Hornets are upset that injuries derailed their league season and forced them out of the playoffs despite having a higher power ranking and having shut out eighth place seed Hamilton Wenham. The fact that they would like nothing better than to knock off the CAL Baker division champs and extract a measure of revenge for last year's championship game loss doesn't mean anything to anyone does it?

And seeing if the Pioneers can keep their championship trophy untarnished by defeating a colossally motivated opponent won't be that compelling will it? Or finding out whether the Pioneers can reach double digit wins for only the second time in school history? Or watching Kyle McGah try to break the all time school scoring record?

Or cheering on the seniors (20 from Lynnfield and 11 from North Reading) who'll be suiting up for the final time as high school players doesn't mean anything, right?

Yea, who cares. Let's just not go. The playoffs ruined everything.

Not.

Okay, sarcasm switch flipped off.

There are some legitimate concerns with the playoff format that I'm sure will be tweaked as time goes on. But the criticism that it would take away the enthusiasm and excitement of the Thanksgiving Day games was always bunk. The playoff system was great and gave many teams a chance to play in a meaningful game with the hope (distant as it may have been for some) of playing for a state championship. But for all but 12 teams, that dream is now over, which is fine.

It's time for the real second season.

So let's get serious about this. Last year when the Pioneers and Hornets tangled for the league title and a trip to the playoffs was a rare occurrence. The last time it happened before then was in 1978. It was like the Haley's Comet of high school football. To expect the Thanksgiving Day game to have an impact on a championship or post season berth on a regular basis is naive.

But it doesn't matter. The game between the Pioneers and Hornets has almost never meant anything but

Chestnut Street bragging rights.

In the past 25 years, the game had a possible impact for either squad on the league title race exactly....three times. In 1991, the Pioneers came into the game 8-1-1 with an outside chance at the CAL crown if they could beat the Hornets (which they did 27-10) and some other things between Newburyport, Hamilton Wenham and Ipswich happened (they didn't) so Lynnfield settled for second place.

We waited 18 years for the next time the game meant anything for the standings, and it was a tenuous one at that. In 2009, the Pioneers travelled to North Reading with a 9-1 record, already having clinched a playoff spot. They needed the win to take outright possession of the CAL Small championship. Even if they had lost, they would have been co-champs with Newburyport. They would have still gone on to the playoffs because of their win over the Clippers earlier in the season.

The third time it had a bearing on the title was last year.

Other than that, it was just two archrivals battling it out on a holiday morning. I've been there for the last 37 of them (omg!) and I don't remember a time when Arthur Kenney Field or Pioneer Field wasn't ringed with fans cheering them on. Some of those years was a battle between teams that had won only one or two games. It didn't take away one bit. These Pioneer-Hornet games on Thanksgiving Day are always going to mean something regardless of the teams' records or place in the standings.

And by the way, even if there had been no playoff system in place this year, the game on Thursday would still be for bragging rights only. Because of enrollment changes, Amesbury moved down into the CAL Baker and North Reading moved up to the CAL Kinney, so the two rivals aren't even in the same league anymore. Again, it doesn't matter.

Bottom line: enjoy the game for what it likely will be - an emotional contest between two long term rivals on what is shaping up to be a chilly, windy, Thanksgiving morning. Not having a title or playoff berth on the line is irrelevant. I can guarantee it means the world to those players on the field. And that's the way it should be.

Clash of Styles
So what can we expect from this game? For the third straight year, it will offer us another classic contrast in styles.

The Hornets will roll out their tight splits, old-timey, relentless run heavy, single wing offense that features three yards and a cloud of crushed Fieldturf over and over again until your eyes start to bleed. Their goal is to hold the ball as long as they can and keep the other team off the field.

The Pioneers will counter with their up tempo, hi-tech, ADD-injected spread offense that will attack through the air if the Hornets load up on the run, or will counterpunch on the ground if NR takes away the passing game.

You know what the Hornets are going to do. Bunch up and run the wing, and hand the ball to C. J. McCarthy who has scored 156 of the Hornets 268 points (58%). The Hornets' next three scorers are Ryan Sanborn (30), Blake Tamlyn-Hayden (26) and placekicker Angelo Disanto (20).

Only eight North Reading players have scored this year and 39 of their 41 touchdowns have come on the ground. They've thrown two TD passes, kicked 20 PAT's, and run for a two point conversion.

Meanwhile, you never know where the Lynnfield scoring will come from. Sixteen different Pioneers have tallied points this season led by captain Kyle McGah's 102. He needs 16 more to tie the school scoring record held by Frank Berardino who has 262. McGah is at 246 right now. Other leading Pioneer scorers are Jake Rourke (38), captain Matt Kramich (36), kicker Daniel Bronshvayg (25), and Jon Knee (24).

The Pioneers have scored in a number of different ways. They have 30 rushing TD's, 9 passing TD's (5 from Danny Sullivan), 3 kickoff return TD's, an interception return TD, a fumble recovery TD. They've kicked 29 PAT's, picked up 2 passing two point conversions and rushed for a two-pointer.

The two teams have scored a total of 578 points, or an average of 58 per game. The Pioneers have scored over 40 points three times, over 30 four times. They have been held to less than 21 points only once - the 14-7 playoff loss to Bedford. The Hornets have scored over 40 three times - their last three games and over 30 once. They've been held to a single score only once, by Newburyport.

So does that mean we can expect a shootout on the artificial turf in North Reading? History says no.

The Pioneers average 16 ppg against North Reading and have scored over 30 points only three times. Their largest output was in a 42-14 win in 1970.

The Hornets average 13 ppg against Lynnfield and have scored over 30 points 6 times. Their biggest scoring display came in 1994 in a 47-20 blowout.

Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman summed it up.

"If both sides execute, it comes down to who can stand up to it the most," the coach said. "It really comes down to the players."

Flip Side
I asked Hornet offensive coordinator Ed Melanson for his thoughts on the game.

"Going against the Lynnfield defense is scary," Melanson said. "They have two D-ends that are nine feet tall, a nose guard that looks like a brick wall, all of the linebackers are big and well coached and the D-backs are smart and cover well. I see no weak point."

I asked him about the last two meetings between the teams where in 2011 his offense rolled for 339 yards but last year was held to 145.

"I think it's a punch, counter punch kind of thing," the coach said. "I think in 2011, like a lot of teams, Lynnfield maybe was not completely sure on how to attack us. After all, you don't see the single wing every day. Also, if I remember correctly, there were some injuries to Lynnfield that year and we also got some nice breaks.

"Last year Lynnfield had a game under their belts against us," Melanson continued. "They adjusted their attack and did very well. As for an advantage or disadvantage to seeing the offense again, I think it's the same as with any fundamentally sound offense. As an example, there are spread teams that can't get out of their own way and spread teams that can't be stopped. A lot of it comes down to players in combination with a solid game plan. After coaching as long as I have, I can tell you that week in and week out coaches know what the other teams run, their tendencies, and build a game plan to stop it.

"Lynnfield will come into the game with a solid plan to stop us and we will try to do the same to them," he went on. "It's a great rivalry between Lynnfield and North Reading and I feel there is mutual respect, the kids know each other, the crowds are always great and I am looking forward to the game."

Both Sides Now
North Reading's Sanborn, the Hornet's second leading scorer, is the son of former LHS running back Mark Sanborn who played for the Pioneers from 1980-82. Sanborn the Father is tied for 44th on the all time LHS scoring list with 60 points. He scored 54 of those his senior year in 1982. So unless young Ryan comes up with a huge day on Thursday, Pater will have single season bragging rights at the Thanksgiving Day dinner table. Dad also had a pair of TD's against the Hornets in his senior year in a 26-6 Pioneer win.

Streaky
The Pioneers hold a 33-22 edge in the series, but overall the matchup has proven to be one of streaks. The Pioneers won 7 of the first 8 and 15 of the first 19 games. Beginning in 1977, the Hornets rattled off five straight during which North Reading won three straight CAL championships. The Pioneers countered with five straight from 1982 to 1986. From 1987 to 2007, North Reading was 12-9 including four straight from 2004 to 2007. Lynnfield has turned that around in the Neal Weidman era, winning four of the past five games.

Turf's Up
After playing on grass surfaces for the first nine games of this year, the Pioneers finish up with their second straight game on artificial turf when they play in North Reading Thursday. According to my highly unofficial count (trying to remember who installed their turf when can be tricky), the Pioneers have played 15 games on the fake stuff in school history. The win last week in Watertown gives them a 8-7 record overall on turf. You can file that in the useless information folder.

Future Perfect
While we've been absorbed by the Varsity's 9-1 record and playoff run,

the Young Pioneer JV's have been under the radar quietly putting together an undefeated 9-0 campaign. Here is a recap of their season:

2013 Pioneer Junior Varsity
(Photo by Tracy Karavetsos)

Lynnfield 45 Chelsea 0
Lynnfield 22 Newburyport 0
Lynnfield 32 Winchester 0
Lynnfield 32 Amesbury 28
Lynnfield 24 Hamilton-Wenham 14
Lynnfield 44 Ipswich 12
Lynnfield 36 Masconomet 14
Lynnfield 21 Pentucket 2
Lynnfield 14 North Reading 8

Check out some of those opponents. Wins over Masco, Pentucket, Winchester (Divison 3), and nemesis Newburyport are nothing to sneeze at. Then topping it off with a 14-8 win over North Reading was particularly special.

The boys outscored their opponents 270-78 and posted three shutouts. The defense would tell you four since Pentucket only managed a safety against them.

The highly successful season bodes well for the Pioneers going forward. Congratulation to the boys and head coach Vinnie Calderone and his staff of Jeff Gannon, John Bossi, and Tom DiPaolo.

Final Bow
Twenty seniors from the LHS Class of 2014 will play their final game on Thursday morning. Heading in to the contest they have 23 wins in their three varsity seasons (2011-12-13). A win against North Reading would give them 24 and tie them with the Classes of 2012 and 1963 for second most wins by a senior class. The Class of 1988 tops the list with 25 wins against only six losses. The Pioneers won back to back CAL Championships in 1985 and 86, a feat that was matched by this year's seniors who followed up last season's CAL/NEC 4 title with the CAL Baker crown this year.

Suiting up for the last time as Pioneers will be captains Kyle McGah, Anthony Costa, Matt Kramich & Dom Costa along with Shyheim Cole, Franc Kalanderi, Austin Caswell, Ryan Battaglia, Kenny Grant, Ken Julian, Nick Bucci, Ryan Devoe, Efstratios Hios, Pierce James, Matt Connelly, Joe Dias, Alex Ganter, Anthony Vaccaro, Kevin Nunez, and Jacob Dalton.

That's it for now. Bundle up and enjoy the game (forecast calls for 31 degrees and a 28 mph wind roaring down Park St).

Happy Thanksgiving to all and check back after the game.