by Tom Condardo
So if you've been reading any of the daily papers you are being led to believe that Lynnfield is on Mars and Swampscott is on Pluto as far as football is concerned with no connections at all. It's true this will be the first official meeting between the schools, but if you read my game preview in this week's Villager, you know they are far from strangers.
Let's start with the fact that the head coach Neal Weidman's high-octane spread offense was the result of the close ties between the Pioneers and Big Blue.
The original connection is obviously former Lynnfield head coach and AD Bill Adams who terrorized opponents as a two way lineman for Swampscott under legendary coach Stan Bondelevich in the late 1960's. Adams went on to have a stellar career at Holy Cross and moved into the NFL where he played for the Buffalo Bills with O. J. Simpson.
It was Adams, along with Weidman, who decided to switch from the Pioneers' traditional Power I offense in 2006. To help make the transition, he dug back into his Big Blue roots and sought the advice of Swampscott coach Steve Dembowksi, one of the few teams running the spread at the time.
"I'm old fashioned, but I know when I have to change," Adams told me that preseason. "We scrimmaged Swampscott last year and I began talking to their coaching staff. They are one of the smaller teams in their league (Northeast Conference) and they have been competitive using this offense. It makes the game exciting and fun for the kids. (The Swampscott staff) convinced me this is a way for small schools to compete. It was getting harder and harder to get back to the line of scrimmage with the I."
Making the decision easier for Adams was the fact that he had the perfect assistant coach to run the spread in Weidman. The former Division III standout quarterback set 17 school records at Ithaca College including the mark for career passing yards (4,129).
The rest, as they say, is history. Below is a chart of the Pioneers' points per game average since 2000.
That tells the tale. The freshmen class that first year would go on to win the first Pioneer championship in 22 years when they took the CAL Small crown in 2009.
It's hard to imagine the Pioneers keeping up their current torrid scoring streak, but their 36.9 ppt would be second only to the legendary 1960 team that averaged 45.6 points per game. Last's year's squad checked in at 31.4 ppg.
Helping to launch the spread in Lynnfield was only the beginning of the relationship between the Pioneers and Big Blue. Weidman and Dembowski have stayed close. For a number of years they ran the 7 v 7 Tournament that was eventually absorbed into the now gigantic Under Armour 7 v 7 tournament held all over Eastern Mass.
Still Close
The two coaches still stay in touch.
"We have a long history with them," Weidman told me after last week's game. "Not so much this year and last year, but prior to that he and I would talk after every game about what worked, what didn't work, and what we each liked. We would discuss things like 'when you played so and so I saw this, what were you doing there?"
I asked him if the two would talk this week prior to the game.
"Probably not," he chuckled. "We'll talk, but not about football."
So when the two teams meet on Friday, it will be the next generation of Adams' on the field - Pioneer captain David Adams - but he won't be wearing Big Blue. Instead he'll be wearing Blue and (some) Gold trying to disrupt the offense he knows so well.
Little Connection
One final connection and not a football one.
Lynnfield and Swampscott have had an intense rivalry in District 16 Little League over the past 15 years, and the seniors on both teams can harken back to 2009 when the squads met in the District Final.
Tom Waisnor, the Voice of the Pioneers, reminded me that captain Danny Sullivan, Jake Rourke, and Al McLachlan played on that team against Swampscott which had current football team members quarterback Devin Conroy and Ryan Cresta.
Lynnfield won that game and the District Championship 6-1.
Timely Contrast
Despite the similarities, there is a least one distinct difference between the teams. The Big Blue has been dubbed "The Cardiac Kids" for their four straight come from behind wins, including last week's upset of Watertown. They trailed 21-10 going into the final quarter and roared back to take an impressive 24-21 win.
Daily Item reporter Kevin Doyle tells me that during their four game winning streak, the Big Blue has led for about a total of four minutes.
By contrast, the Pioneers have had a virtual hand ride all season. In fact in their eight games totaling 352 minutes, they have trailed for 7 minutes and 7 seconds. The only time they were behind all season was in the second quarter of the opener against Pentucket when Pat Freiermuth hit Jeff Porter with a 35 yard TD pass. That gave the Sachems a 7-0 lead with 10:51 left in the half. The Pioneers tied it up at the 3:44 mark of the quarter on a nine yard run by Rourke and Dan Bronshvayg's first PAT of the season. The Pioneers have never trailed again this season - a total of 30 quarters of football.
Dangerous Foe
Despite the records, Swampscott will be a dangerous team Friday night. They are peaking at the right time and at this point have to feel invincible. No lead has been safe with them and the Pioneers will have their hands full.
Conroy is a good runner but he can also hurt you through the air. He has passed for over 800 yards and 10 TDs. Cresta is the leading receiver with 19 catches for just over 200 yards and four TD's. Frank DiLisio has a pair of touchdown catches.
Mike Faia, a Rourke-like bull runner, leads the Swampscott rushing attack with 525 yards. Jordan James has chipped in with 350.
Coach's Corner
Once again I reached out to Triton head coach Pat Sheehan for his scouting report since his Vikings beat Swampscott 15-0 on opening day back in September.
"Swampscott has gotten much better since we saw them in week one. I saw them live against Beverly for their third out of fourth come from behind win. They are very well coached. Their defense is very aggressive and well prepared by Tom Tone (former North Reading Offensive Coordinator and quarterback). They are a base 4-3 team but use multiple pressures, coverages, and fronts.
"Offensively they can score points. They have the best screen game in the state throwing wide receiver screens, running back screens, fake screens, etc. That is difficult to defend alone and now they have a new identity and commitment to the running attack. Between the quarterback Conroy and a big, bruising running back in Faia, head coach Steve Dembowski has stayed very patient with the run game recently. It has paid dividends as the passing game has opened up for Conroy and his receivers when it's crunch time.
"They will struggle with Lynnfield's size, speed, and physicality but they will be prepared. If it's a close game in the fourth quarter, Swampscott will be right where they want to be."
Scribbler's Corner
I also asked Doyle for his take on the Big Blue.
"Having seen them four times, I can tell you this. Conroy is a focal point. Very elusive, extends plays with his feet and is a dangerous runner and good passer. Faia is a straight ahead guy with very good open field speed. He's a key at linebacker.
"Cresta is the top receiver, more of a control guy rather than big play. Also a good return guy and plays defensive back.
"Jordan James is the second running back and stud at linebacker. Mark Rittibon anchors the offensive line and is a key on the defensive line. Dante Ceccarelli is the second receiver and a standout at defensive end.
"They are primarily a senior team and not very deep. But they are patient and have great resilience. They are very good at onside kicks, having executed them late in each of their past two games to trigger game-winning drives."
All The Little Birdies
According to my Social Media Editor Tom Waisnor, there appears to be a fair amount of chirping coming from the north surrounding the game. Here are a few of the tweets wafting down.
This one resurrects the refrain questioning the Pioneers' schedule:
Here's one from a Big Blue rooter predicting that Swampscott will score more points in this game than the Pioneers have allowed all year and will take a 28-21 win.
Here's one warning of a Swampscott upset.
And finally, expect a big crowd from the visitors. Rumor has it they delivered four busloads of fans to Watertown last week. Here's a tweet reminding people about signups. Note the hashtag.
That's it for now. Nothing left but to play the game. Check back Sunday for my Leftovers post.
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