North Reading Leftovers

By Tom Condardo

It all began in West Newbury on a broiling gridiron set to 95 degrees and ended 12 weeks later and 60 degrees colder on the brand new snow-covered turf at LHS. In between we witnessed some of the most impressive high school football played in Lynnfield in over 50 years.

It's always tough to compare teams from different era's, but when the tally of all time great Pioneer teams is compiled, it will be tough not to have the 2014 edition right near the top. The litany of their accomplishments is long and illustrious: third straight league championship, three playoff wins, division title, 400 points scored while allowing only 73 including five shutouts. They scored 30 or more points in 10 of their 12 games, including three of four playoff games.

It was certainly a year to savor.

The frosting (pun intended) on the cake was a complete 35-0 blowout of North Reading on
Thanksgiving that cleansed the pallet of the disappointing loss to the "H" team last week. Check out the Villager this week for my game story and the details on all the records and notable team and individual achievements of this year's squad. For those who don't get the physical paper, you can view it online here.

Today, let's look back as some other tidbits from the holiday clash.

Yeoman's Work

Mike Karavetsos doing his part to
clear the field prior to the game

Kudos to the many parents and others who picked up shovels to help at least clear the yard lines and markers, and Pioneer logo for the game. Even Field Committee chairperson Arthur Bourque, who was instrumental in getting the field built, was out there driving the little truck used in the snow removal operation. Yes it was messy but the overnight snowfall was definitely more than what was expected and the snow added another exciting element to the game. It also made for some great pictures, said the selfish reporter/photographer.

Oh, Say!
The day got off to a spectacular start with a spine tingling rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by LHS's Janet Sokolow. It was the perfect kickoff to the festivities.

Rough Start
It was a tough day for Pioneer captain Cam Rondeau who was hit while recovering a fumble on the opening kick. He suffered a hip/back injury and couldn't play the rest of the game. He did make a ceremonial appearance at the end of the game so he could be recognized, but it was a disappointing way to end a stellar career. However, that should take nothing away from an outstanding career. Among is many accomplishments, one that really stands out is the number of interceptions he had. You can never say never, but it's hard to imagine anyone equalling the 15 picks he had over the past three years.

Flipping Coin
Despite all the success this year, there was one area this year where the Pioneers came up losers. They lost the coin toss to North Reading on Thursday, giving them a final record of 5-7 in the coin toss department for the season.

Hornet Future Bright
North Reading may have taken it on the chin Thursday, but they'll be back. They return their entire backfield of David Smith, Nic O'Connell, Matt McCarthy, and John Merullo. They also get back linemen Kevin Farrelly, Mike Quarantiello, and Robert O'Donnell. They should be in good shape for next season.

The big question is what head coach Jeff Wall will do with the offense. Even though Ed Melanson resigned after the second game, the Hornets continued to run his single wing. But without the guru behind an offense that is not widely used, will North Reading revert to a more conventional offense and if so, how will that effect them?

Ball Control
Amazingly, despite the conditions and the fact that the Hornets ran the ball 48 out of 49 snaps and the Pioneers ran it 35 times, there were no lost fumbles. The only turnover was a Hornet interception of a Danny Sullivan pass. Credit to both teams that they took care of the pigskin in adverse conditions.

Margin Call
A couple of notes on margin of victory. The Pioneers 35 point win was the largest in the history of the series. Both teams have had 30 point wins - the Hornets beating the Pioneers 30-0 in 1977 and Lynnfield winning 38-8 in 1972.

And the Pioneers finished the year with a 327 point overall margin of victory, the best in the state.

Broken Wing
The Pioneers controlled the wing much the way they did in 2012 when they held the Hornets to 145 yards rushing. They held them to 155 this year, only 129 until the backups came in to bulk up the numbers. They managed only five first downs in the first half and only one in the second half until the final JV drive.

Also, it was the first time the Pioneers have shut out the Hornets since Weidman's first season in 2008 when Lynnfield posted a 21-0 win. The last North Reading shutout came in 2006 when they blanked the Pioneers 22-0.

Passing Fancy
For those keeping score at home, the Hornets attempted one pass on the day - a Matt McCarthy aerial that fell incomplete.

Winner, Winner

Pioneer take their traditional final walk of
the field following the win

With the win, Weidman now sports a 5-2 mark against the Hornets. Overall, the Pioneers hold a 34-23 edge in the series.

Speaking of winning, the Pioneers' 11-1 mark gives them a winning percentage of .917, second best all time behind the undefeated 9-0 1960 team. Though only head coach for seven years, Weidman teams now hold four of the top 10 winning percentages all time. In addition to this year, his teams come in 7th (2009 10-2), T9th (2013 9-2), and T9th (2010 9-2).

Security Plan
The Pioneers finished the season with an unheard of turnover differential of 25-10. They picked off 14 interceptions and recovered 11 fumbles. Their opponents had only five interceptions and five fumble recoveries.

Dynamic Duo
Rondeau and Jon Knee formed the perfect set of receivers in helping Danny Sullivan set a new single season record of 21 TD passes. The pair had nearly identical final stats. Knee caught 30 passes for 704 yards and nine TD's. Rondeau had 31 catches, for 711 yards and eight TDs.

Different Era
This year's Pioneers also set the mark for most touchdowns in a season with 57 edging the 1960 powerhouse who tallied 55. But just to show the difference from then to now in how high school football is played, the 1960 team didn't kick a single PAT that year compared to the 47 Dan Bronshvayg booted this year. That team, however, did pound in 30 two-point conversions.

Finally thanks to everyone for reading and following along. I know there is a loyal base out there and it makes putting this together worthwhile.

I'll be back with my final post on the top plays of the year but until then enjoy the holiday season.