by Tom Condardo
It was a small step, but a very impressive one as the Pioneers kicked off their summer campaign Sunday,
June 29 by winning the St. Anselm 7 v 7 passing tournament in Manchester, N.
H. The Pioneers topped 23 other teams from Massachusetts and New Hampshire in
the tournament which consists of passing offense and defense only.
"We made it to the semi's a couple of times in the past," said head coach Neal Weidman. "It's not real football but the biggest thing was just seeing them compete."
The tournament consisted of four groups of six teams each. Lynnfield was placed in Group 3 with Andover, North Middlesex, New Hampton Prep, Pembroke, and Dracut.
Group 1 included Swampscott, Lawrence, Londonderry 1, Memorial, Billerica, and All Day Football (mostly players from Tewksbury).
Group 2 was Danvers, North Andover, Watertown, Alvirne, Haverhill, and Ipswich.
Group 4 was comprised of Londonderry 2, ConVal, Triton, Central Catholic, Bridgewater Raynham, and Melrose.
Each team played four games within their group and the top two teams in each group advanced to the playoffs. The Pioneers won their group with a 3-1 record.
The Pioneers opened strong by routing Pembroke 34-12 and New Hampton 40-20. They ran into a tough Dracut team and lost 26-20 in overtime in their third contest. The Pioneers took on undefeated Andover in their last group game knowing they had to win to advance to the playoffs. They outgunned the Warriors 44-34 in a shootout to finish 3-1 winning the group thanks to that head to head win.
Lynnfield kept rolling in the first round of the playoffs soundly beating Alvirne 42-22. In the semi's they came up against a familiar nemesis in All Day Football.
"We lost to them in the semi finals last year so the kids wanted to beat them this year," said Weidman. "It got a little chippy but we didn't back down. We ended up winning 26-16 which was awesome."
The championship came down to a rematch with Andover who ran through the other side of the tournament bracket. The Pioneers prevailed again, this time by a 26-22 count, to take the crown.
Jon Knee, one of the Pioneer’s three tri captains for the upcoming season, was named tournament MVP. Quarterback Danny Sullivan and defensive standout Cam Rondeau, the other two Pioneer captains, also played well, according to Weidman.
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| Tournament Champs (Photo by Robin Kinnon) Head coach Neal Weidman, Steve Kinnon, David Adams, Louis Ellis, Jake Rourke, Chad Martin, Jon Knee, Alex Soden, Danny Sullivan, Drew McCarthy, Dan Bronshvayg, Cam Rondeau, Kyle Hawes, Drew Balestrieri, Ricky Johnson, Rob DeBonis, Jack McHugh, Evan Battaglia. |
"We made it to the semi's a couple of times in the past," said head coach Neal Weidman. "It's not real football but the biggest thing was just seeing them compete."
The tournament consisted of four groups of six teams each. Lynnfield was placed in Group 3 with Andover, North Middlesex, New Hampton Prep, Pembroke, and Dracut.
Group 1 included Swampscott, Lawrence, Londonderry 1, Memorial, Billerica, and All Day Football (mostly players from Tewksbury).
Group 2 was Danvers, North Andover, Watertown, Alvirne, Haverhill, and Ipswich.
Group 4 was comprised of Londonderry 2, ConVal, Triton, Central Catholic, Bridgewater Raynham, and Melrose.
Each team played four games within their group and the top two teams in each group advanced to the playoffs. The Pioneers won their group with a 3-1 record.
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| Tournament MVP Jon Knee (Photo by Pat Rondeau) |
Lynnfield kept rolling in the first round of the playoffs soundly beating Alvirne 42-22. In the semi's they came up against a familiar nemesis in All Day Football.
"We lost to them in the semi finals last year so the kids wanted to beat them this year," said Weidman. "It got a little chippy but we didn't back down. We ended up winning 26-16 which was awesome."
The championship came down to a rematch with Andover who ran through the other side of the tournament bracket. The Pioneers prevailed again, this time by a 26-22 count, to take the crown.
Jon Knee, one of the Pioneer’s three tri captains for the upcoming season, was named tournament MVP. Quarterback Danny Sullivan and defensive standout Cam Rondeau, the other two Pioneer captains, also played well, according to Weidman.
“Sully played great,” said Weidman. “He just has such a clue as to what’s going on out there. He called all the plays. When Jake McHugh and Louis Ellis went in at quarterback they called their own plays too. The quarterbacks ran the show the whole time.
"The linebackers ran the show on defense as well,"Weidman continued. "We didn't change up much.
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| Pioneer captains (l to r) Danny Sullivan, Jon Knee, Cam Rondeau (Photo by Pat Rondeau) |
"There were 19 or 20 guys there and they all played well," Weidman said.
Weidman was also pleased with a lot of the younger players.
"Some guys that haven't played a ton that we know we're counting on look like they want to play this year," said Weidman. "I think they said 'you know what, it's my turn.' But it's 7 on 7. We have to wait until we get the pads on to know for sure but a couple of guys that have been working at it look like they want to get themselves some time on the field."
The Pioneers have competed in the tournament for the five years it has been in existence, but this is the first time they have won it all.
Lynnfield will also be competing in the tough 40 team East Regional of the Underarmour 7 v 7 tournament at Bishop Fenwick on July 26.
"Some guys that haven't played a ton that we know we're counting on look like they want to play this year," said Weidman. "I think they said 'you know what, it's my turn.' But it's 7 on 7. We have to wait until we get the pads on to know for sure but a couple of guys that have been working at it look like they want to get themselves some time on the field."
The Pioneers have competed in the tournament for the five years it has been in existence, but this is the first time they have won it all.
Lynnfield will also be competing in the tough 40 team East Regional of the Underarmour 7 v 7 tournament at Bishop Fenwick on July 26.
Bishop Fenwick Schedule Update
Here are the times and opponents for the Pioneers for the July 7 v 7 league games at Bishop Fenwick:
Tuesday evening, July 8 - 6:20 pm vs Triton; 6:50 pm vs Billerica
Tuesday evening, July 29 - 6:20 pm vs Pinegree; 6:50 pm vs. Danvers
Field Update
Photos taken Wednesday July 2:
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| Playing Field view from far end of parking lot towards high school (here comes the gravel!) |
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| Future Site of Coach Weidman's inspirational halftime speeches |
That's it for now. Check back periodically for updates throughout the summer.
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