by Tom Condardo
And the beat goes on.
We had a little problem on the launching pad Friday night, but once a few technical details were worked out, it was all systems go for the Pioneers as they routed the Clippers 33-6 in the opener at Pioneer Stadium.
So how many of you were concerned when the Pioneers ended the first quarter - gulp - in a scoreless tie? Everyone's become accustomed to a barrage of points in the early going so it was a bit unsettling to see the game tied after 11 minutes.
Even head coach Neal Weidman wasn't sure how this would come out. Things eventually turned around and the offense finally poured it on. I asked the coach if he expected the offense to be so prolific against the Clippers.
"Well we weren't that prolific in the first quarter," he responded. "I was a little concerned that it was going to continue but they just started to settle down and play and react more and just do things like they practiced."
"We ask a lot of them," Weidman said of his squad. "We make them learn a lot of stuff so they're trying to think on the run and at the beginning of the game it was going a bit too fast. They slowed down the game after that first quarter and were fine.McCarthy's the Man
A reporter suggested Weidman showed a lot of faith giving the ball right back to Drew McCarthy after he was stripped on the first play of the game.
"He's a senior captain," Weidman said. "He was going back out there. One carry wasn't going to change anything."
Did the coach say anything to his running back?
"Yea I told him to stop fumbling," Weidman said.
I pointed out that McCarthy looked a lot stronger this year and Weidman agreed. "No doubt he got stronger. He's not big to begin with but he's fast and he definitely put on some muscle in the offseason. He worked really hard."
McCarthy atoned for the early miscue by rushing for 82 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns in just over two quarters of play.
Dominating Defense
Although the offense sputtered at the start, the defense came out ready to play. Two sacks on the first two Clipper series set the tone as the Newburyport quarterbacks were never able to get anything going in the passing game. They ended up completing one pass for six yards, but lost 35 on sacks for a net minus-29 passing.
"The pass rush was good," Weidman said after the game. "It makes it a lot easier to cover when they don't have as much time to throw."
"They put in all the work and that's what it's for," Weidman said of the performance of the defense. "You're going to work that hard in the offseason and lift weights and practice for three weeks leading up to it. You don't want to go out and lay an egg when it's game time. They want their chance in the spotlight."
Dandy Debut
It was an impressive first performance for quarterback Jake McHugh. Although he's had a lot of experience as a sophomore and junior - 4 TD's rushing and one passing TD - Friday night was the first time it was his show. He warmed to the task as the night went on.
In two plus quarters of play, McHugh connected on his first five passes and finished 11 for 16 for 220 yards and a touchdown. His NFL passer rating was 132.3.
"Teams have always been pretty consistent in trying to take the run away from us so we're going to have to pass before we run it," Weidman said.
Also shining in his first extended action was Louis Ellis, the 6'3" 200 lb receiver who made several highlight reel catches against the Clippers. He caught six passes for 112 yards including a 36 yard TD hookup with McHugh.
Double Trouble
They may not be Gronk and Scott Chandler, but the Pioneers twin tight ends in captains CJ Finn (6'2" 220) and Drew Balestrieri (6'0" 210) promise to give some opponent defensive coordinators headaches this season.
When the Pioneers go into their double tight package, they can run, but they can also throw. They demonstrated that against the Clippers as McHugh connected with both for long gains to get the first touchdown drive started. Add in Ellis on the outside, and covering these big receivers will be a challenge for Pioneer opponents.
Clipper head coach Ed Gaudiano told Newburyport Daily News reporter James Pouliot that the key to the game was the ability of the Pioneers "to come out with two tight ends and run the ball. They go stronger up front. I thought we were hanging in them with the momentum for a while. We were fighting with them. But teams give us two tight ends, you have trouble."
Tale of Two Punts
Speaking of Finn, he experienced the highs and lows of his punting chores against the Clippers. His first kick netted 12 yards as it veered out of bounds. He more than made up for it on his next kick which boomed 52 yards and was downed at the Clipper two yard line. That one paid immediate dividends when Cooper Marengi and Matt Giannasca pinned Clipper running back Quinn Stott in the end zone for a safety.
It was 33rd safety in the history of the school and the first since 2009 when the Pioneers notched two against North Reading. One was a jailbreak team safety and Tyler Surette pulled off the other.
Backup Plan
In what has become a pleasant habit, the Pioneers were able to get almost two quarters of work for their backups as the starters took a seat following the first drive of the second half. Being able to provide varsity experience for non-starters is the way to build a program and the Pioneers have been able to do that for a few years now.
"That would be a nice trend," Weidman admitted. "Hopefully we can continue to do that and get some of those guys varsity action and get them ready.
Pre-time out?
Can you call time out before time is ever in? Apparently so.
At least that was the case Friday night. After the Pioneers won the toss and elected to defer - as usual - the two teams lined up for the kickoff. But before the official whistled Bronshvayg the okay to kick, Newburyport called time out and pulled their return team to the sideline for some last -last minute instructions. In 40 years of covering high school football, I had never seen that happen.
Tide Turning
The win by the Pioneers gives them three straight over the Clippers, the first time in the series they've been able to do accomplish that feat. Weidman now has a 4-4 record against Newburyport, the only Lynnfield coach without a losing record against the Clippers.
Bill Rodan, the winningest coach in LHS history with 101 wins, was 3-9 against Newburyport. Bill Adams was 4-14, and Scott Brennan was 0-5.
Kick the Habit
Dan Bronshvayg's 36 yard field goal was the second in as many years against the Clippers. It was the 20th field goal in LHS history and he attempted a second in the fourth quarter but it drifted just wide left. The senior's two career field goals puts him in a five way tie for second place. Steve Ullian holds the record with six career three-pointers from 2008-2010.
Not So Special
The one area of the Pioneers' game that Weidman plans to work on is special teams. the Pioneers had two TD returns called back on penalties - a 85 yarder from Evan Battaglia and a 64 yarder by Nick Kinnon. they also allowed 106 yards in kick returns.
"The kickoff team needs to work a little bit more which is tough," explained Weidman. "Special teams is probably the hardest thing to emulate in practice."
Home Cooking
This was the 13th straight non-playoff home win for the Pioneers. The last time they lost a regular season game was a 7-6 defeat to Manchester Essex in 2011.
Opposing View
We'll leave the final comment to Clipper coach Ed Gaudiano.
"You run into Lynnfield on opening night, it's an eye opener," he told the Daily News.
That's it for now. Check back tomorrow night when I take a look around at other Baker League team action.
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