Around the CAL Baker: Week 7

by Tom Condardo

Only one week to go in the regular season and things have sorted themselves out in the Baker. The Pioneers took the crown and Hamilton-Wenham has clinched second place. The drama now shifts to the playoff rankings which we'll discuss shortly. But first a look at the standings.




Two winless teams picked up their first victories of the season last week. Amesbury did it in style slamming the young Georgetown Royals 40-6. That outburst surpassed their total offensive output of 37 points heading into the game. They will try to make it two in a row this week when they host Manchester-Essex. The Royals will unfortunately welcome an angry Hamilton-Wenham squad still smarting from their loss to the Pioneers.

The shocker of the week took place in Ipswich where the winless Hornets pulled the upset of the year in upending what appeared to be a Tiger team on a roll. Ipswich was technically still in the playoff hunt with a chance to finish second if they could have beaten M/E and then upset the Pioneers this week.

Unfortunately they appeared to come out flat and hurt themselves with penalties. The Tigers couldn't carry the momentum of wins over Amesbury and Georgetown into the game. The two teams played a scoreless first quarter but Ipswich broke the ice on a 5 yard TD run by Charlie Gillis. M/E answered quickly on a 56 yard Craig Carter run. Carter then tossed a 48 yard TD pass to Hunter Flood to give them a 14-7 lead. Ipswich tied it at 14-14 with six minutes left when quarterback Vinnie Martineau in for the injured Jake Long hit Robbie Glavin with a 20 yard TD pass.

The scored remained tied until 19 second left when M/E kicker Patrick McTiernan lined up for a game winning 30 yard field goal attempt. The kick was wide left, but Ipswich was flagged for roughing the kicker. Instead of trying another field goal, the Hornets went for it and Carter hit Jake Rich with a 6 yard score for the win.

That set up the winner take all battle in Hamilton Saturday.

The Hornets will try to make it two in a row against the Indians and the Tigers come calling Friday night to take on the Pioneers.

Division 4 North Power Rankings



There is still one week to go but the only suspense seems to be the actual seedings in Division Four North. Seven of the eight spots appear to be locked up. The only thing to be decided seems to be whether Saugus or Swampscott captures the eighth spot. If Swampscott wins, they will finish in second in the NEC Large and get an automatic bid, shutting out a Saugus team that's had a great season. If the Big Blue lose to Beverly, then Saugus will be in.

Who finishes where depends on a lot of games to be played over the weekend. Here's what we know. Winthrop and Watertown will finish one, two in some order. If the Pioneers beat Ipswich, they appear to be locked into either third of fourth so will have a home game in the first round. A loss to the Tigers could drop them as low as seventh.

The big game is in Byfield where Triton takes on Masco for the Kinney League title. A win by Pat Sheehan's Vikings will give them at least 27 points and depending on what else happens could vault them past Lynnfield, even if the Pioneers win. A loss and the Vikes could drop as low as seventh.

The most likely case if the Pioneers win would be a home game in the first round against either Triton, Weston, Saugus, or Arlington Catholic,

Everyone should have their Twitter followers up to date to keep track of the action.

That's it for now. Check back on Thursday for a preview of the Ipswich game.