Holliston State Semi-Final Game Preview: Something's Gotta Give

by Tom Condardo

Less filling. Tastes great.

Those of a certain age remember those commercials where retired athletes would argue over what was the best feature of Miller Lite beer. Was it because it was less filling or because it tasted great.

We're faced with a similar question when debating the merits of this Pioneer football team. Have they run the table so far because of an explosive offense (36.5 points per game) or their stifling defense (4.7 ppg)?

The offense has clearly been flammable and the point total could have been even greater if they hadn't pulled off the accelerator for many of their early season games. But the defense has been truly impressive.

For those who want to resurrect the "schedule issue" again, let's just look at the playoffs.

Saugus came into the quarterfinals averaging 36.1 points per game. Pioneers held them to 6
Swampscott came into the semi-finals averaging 21.3. Pioneers held them to 7
Winthrop came into the finals averaging 27.1. Pioneers held them to 14.

Can they do the same thing to Holliston who come in averaging 39.8 ppg? No question this will be their toughest test of the year.

This is where the "tastes great" comes in. If the defense struggles against the high powered Panthers, the Pioneers have an offense that can keep up. That can turn this one into a shootout in a hurry. Weather is great so the fans could be in for a treat.

The Panthers come in undefeated, ranked number five in the Globe Top 20. The Pioneers come in undefeated at #12.

Something's gotta give.

Dynamic Duo
The scouting report for the Panthers is a fairly short one. Follow Nick Athy (#12) and Zach Elkinson (#3) and chances are you'll find the ball. Holliston is far from a two man team but those two are certainly always in the middle of the action.

The Panthers have scored 398 points. Athy is the leading scorer in Division 4 with 178 points. Elkinson comes in at #13 with 90 points. That 268 points is 67% of their scoring. They are both great athletes and the Pioneers need to find a way to slow them down if they hope to win this one.

Change of Pace
One thing to look for is Holliston's presto-chango act as far as their offense is concerned. They run a spread just like the Pioneers with Athy at the controls. But then at some point they morph into a double wing similar to Saugus or North Reading. When they go into that formation, Athy converts to running back. Regardless of the formation, the goal is to get the ball into Athy's hands.

Renewal?
For those of you who read my article in the Villager this week, you know that this isn't the first time the Pioneers and Panthers have met. Lynnfield travelled to Holliston in the fourth game of their young varsity career in 1958 and came away with a 22-16 win, the first win ever for LHS.

Co-captain Bill Burbank and Eddie Mintiens ran strong behind an aggressive Pioneer offensive line of Co-Captain Dan Connelly, Jerry DiPietro, Mike Melchionda, Bill English, and Dave Farrar to pace the win. Burbank scored a pair of touchdowns and a two point conversion while Mintiens scored a TD and a conversion to account for the Pioneer scoring.

Lynnfield led 14-2 at the half with Holliston's only points coming on a safety. Burbank's second TD in the third made it 22-2 and iced the game. Holistic scored twice more, but the game was never in doubt. Harry Hunt of the Wakefield Item reported that "as a climax to the afternoon, the band, cheerleaders, and majorettes led the team in a victory parade through the center of town."

Familiar Digs
Finally, the game will be played at Cawley Stadium, site of the Pioneers' playoff win in 2012. Kyle McGah scored four touchdowns as Lynnfield routed Amesbury 35-14 to advance to the Super Bowl at Gillette.

Underdogs
The Pioneers appear to be pulling on the underdog jerseys in this one. The ESPN Boston boys Brendan Hall and Scott Barboza are both predicting a Panther win. Hall has Holliston winning 24-14 while Barboza has the Panthers 33-27.

Hall feels Holliston "has too much speed to handle" and Barboza likes the Panthers "athletes on the perimeter" a little bit better.

Here's a link to the full discussion. Holliston-Lynnfield discussion goes from 3:50 to 5:13 of the broadcast.

On the other hand, Danny Ventura of the Boston Herald is going with the Pioneers. "Just a hunch that this Lynnfield team might be a tad better than people think."

That's it for now. Check back Sunday night and enjoy the game!