by Tom Condardo
You never know what happens in the private domain of the football locker room, but reading between the lines of what head coach Neal Weidman told me after the game Friday night, the Pioneer locker room wasn't a fun place to be following last Saturday night's loss to Danvers.
Something tells me it wasn't an enjoyable afternoon at the movies for the boys.
"Honestly after watching the film, they realized they missed out on a golden opportunity last week," Weidman continued. "Hopefully they'll remember that as the season goes on so they don't miss out on any more."
They certainly remembered Friday night in their Baker League opener. The Pioneers played like a team that couldn't wait to get their hands on Amesbury. They came out roaring and turned the Indians every which way but loose. The Indians were slowed a bit by an injury that hampered quarterback Adam Incontri, but that really wasn't the difference in the game.
And don't be fooled. The Indians aren't as bad as the Pioneers made them look Friday night. Amesbury hung with Triton and lost on the final drive of the game and played undefeated Pentucket even for a half. It would surprise me if Amesbury wasn't in the thick of things in the Baker right until the end. Unfortunately for them, they happened to catch the Pioneers at the absolute wrong time, suffering from a huge Danvers hangover.
"The game couldn't get here fast enough after losing last Saturday," said Weidman, likely echoing the thoughts of his team. "We had a much better week top to bottom. Every kid grades 10-12 did a much better job and realized the importance. Tuesday and Wednesday were really good practices for us."
And it clearly showed up at game time on Friday.
"We had much better execution (Friday night)," Weidman said, in the understatement of the season so far.
As I've said in the past, that's the benefit of playing a quality opponent. Even in defeat there are valuable lessons to be learned. And if some heads get a bit large for some helmets as the year goes on, Weidman can always stage a repeat performance of the Danvers Filmfest.
Film Tips
Film study was beneficial for the Pioneers in another way this week, especially when it came to attacking the Indian defense. The efficiency with which the Pioneers were able to roll through Amesbury was quite impressive, but was obviously no accident.
"There were some things we thought we could do and all three we wanted to use on the first drive were successful," Weidman told me. "There were things we went in thinking if we got what we thought we were going to get (from the Amesbury defense) we could do. Doing them was good because as late as pregame warmups we had guys not doing it the way we wanted them to do it."
The 50 yard pass from Jake McHugh to captain Drew McCarthy was also something that was preplanned.
"That was something we thought we might be able to do and it's great when those things work," Weidman said.
Coming Attractions
And keeping with the movie theme, Pioneer fans got a sneak preview of what's to come thanks to the first half explosion Friday night. Leading 34-0 at the half, Weidman left his starting O line in for one more drive to start the second half, and sophomore Andrew DePalma took advantage of the opportunity. Running hard and slicing through the Amesbury starting defense, the sophomore carried four times for 39 of the 62 yard drive including the last two for the score. Sophomore quarterback Nick Kinnon picked up the other 23 yards on a bootleg down the right side.
From there it was all backups, all the time, for the Pioneers. The Indians kept their first team on the field until the last drive of the game, but didn't fare any better than they did against the Pioneer starters.
Kinnon picked off an interception, Steven Vaccaro and Jack Razzaboni recovered fumbles as the backup troops kept the shutout intact. The Pioneer second and third teams picked up 55 yards in the final three drives, holding the Indian starters to 29 yards. The Amesbury JV's came on for the final drive and actually did better, collecting 35 of the Indians' total 102 yards on the night. They also picked up two of Amesbury's five first downs.
Weidman rotated in a stable of young running backs in the second half. Cameron Lilley (six carries/17 yards), Nathan Drislane (five carries/15 yards), and Anthony Murphy (6 carries/0 yards) alternated running the ball on the final three drives.
The Pioneers other sophomore quarterback Justin Ysalguez handled things from midway in the third until the end and picked up 14 yards on a pair of carries.
Line coach Gino Fodera was able to get all his linemen into the game. The second team O line of sophomore Harry Collins, sophomore Kenny Babine, sophomore Zack Huynh, senior Matt Giannasca, and senior Steven Vaccaro didn't miss a beat against the Indian starters. And there was no significant drop off when Fodera sent in junior Zack Karavetsos, senior Paul Foukas, and sophomore E. J. Umlah.
Fodera was able to get in every defensive lineman including junior James Ofori, senior Nick Fiorentino, junior Nate Wester, sophomore Jack Daly, sophomore Michael Natola, along with Collins, Babine, Umlah, and Foukas.
"I though they played really well," Weidman said of the backups. "They played clean especially those first two drives where they picked up five or six first downs. They didn't have any penalties which sometimes happens when you start putting the second team in. It wasn't sloppy. It was great to see them have some success like that.
"We had three or four kids run the ball hard," the coach continued. "Both sophomore quarterbacks could run. I didn't give them the green light to do that but we got a sneak peak at Justin and Nick on a couple of long runs. Hopefully when they become upperclassmen we'll figure out a way to use them both at the same time."
That is one of the understated benefits of having a blow out win. Getting everyone involved with real game experience is invaluable and pays off down the road.
Goose Eggs
Speaking of shutouts, the whitewash of Amesbury was the Pioneers' ninth shutout since the beginning of 2013 - a 26 game span. For perspective, during a 110 game stretch from 2003 to 2012, Lynnfield posted 10 shutouts. That included a 53 game stretch from 2004 up to Thanksgiving of 2008 when the Pioneers weren't able to get a single shutout. That drought was bookended by a 28-0 blanking of North Reading in 2003 and a 21-0 shutout of the Hornets in 2008.
Mirror Image
In a rare oddity, the first two drives of the game were exactly the same in terms of field position. After receiving the opening kick, Amesbury was held to a three and out and forced to punt from their own 28. The kick rolled dead on the Lynnfield 41. Six plays later, McCarthy cruised into the end zone for a six yard TD.
The Pioneers forced another three and out on the Indians' next possession and they were forced to punt from...their own 28. The kick rolled dead on....the Lynnfield 41. Six plays later, captain Drew Balestrieri blasted in for the touchdown from the two yard line.
Back to back 31 yard punts. Back to back 59 yard, six play touchdown drives.
No Favorites
I asked Weidman whether he was happier with his offense or defense in the first two quarters.
"We scored on every possession of the first half and they only got on first down, so I'm pretty happy with both," he replied.
Playmakers
When watching a game and a team finds itself in third and long, the announcers will often day "they don't have a play for third and X." Well the Pioneers apparently have one.
Late in the second quarter, a loss on a swing pass and two false start penalties put the Pioneers in a third and 21 from the Amesbury 32. No worries. Pull out the 32 yard bomb play from McHugh to Louis Ellis for the touchdown. Done and done.
That's it for now. Check back on Tuesday night when I'll review opening week Baker League action and also take a first look at the Division Four North Playoff standings.
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