Georgetown Leftovers

by Tom Condardo

Enjoy it. Savor it. Cherish it.

The Pioneers clinched their fourth straight league title Friday night, something that has never been done in the history of LHS football, continuing the amazing streak of success for the Lynnfield football program under head coach Neal Weidman.

From 1960-62 the Pioneers captured three straight Dual County title but they weren't able to get that fourth crown. The seniors on this team have never known anything but winning championships since they entered high school. That's unheard of.

"I don't think (the kids) realize it," Weidman said when asked if he thought his players knew how special the continued winning is. "They were never a part of it when they weren't winning."

Unfortunately, I was. And it was tough times. Which is why a part of me empathizes with the Georgetown players and staff who obviously had no chance against the bigger, more experienced, more talented Pioneers.

For many years, Lynnfield WAS that Georgetown team. I've covered two winless seasons, three one-win seasons, and four two-win seasons. There were many games going in I knew the Pioneers had no chance - especially going against CAL behemoths like Masco, North Andover, and Wilmington.

I spent many nights trying to pull a few positives out of another rout. That final touchdown the Royals put up with no time remaining would have been the lead in my story if I was covering that game for Georgetown. Those kids never quit and desperately wanted to score. They could have easily packed it in but they didn't and they deserve credit for it.

Which is why these good old days of Lynnfield football are so enjoyable for those of us who remember when things weren't so rosy. And that included head coach Neal Weidman, who was on the staff of some of those outgunned teams of the late 1990's and early 2000's.

I asked him if he ever thought he'd see a day when a league title wasn't enough for a Lynnfield team. That it was just a stepping stone to bigger and better things and more important playoff games ahead.

"No I didn't," he replied. "We've been very fortunate. We've had a whole bunch of good groups of kids come through. We've been fortunate picking up auxiliary kids along the way. Kids that weren't necessarily football players that were good athletes that decided to play. Seniors who came out to play for their only year that panned out. We've had a couple of transfers that came back that worked out."

He also pointed out the importance of the continuity of the same coaching staff, something the Pioneers have enjoyed over this long stretch of success.

"We've been together for a long time," Weidman said. "And it's not just the actual football piece but the fact that the kids show up every day and know that it's going to be the same guys out there that they can count on - whether it's football or outside of football. It's just a good thing that they know it's the same group of people going to be there every day."

Big Goals
The fourth title is important and worthy of celebration but Weidman was quick to point out that it's only the beginning and the team has bigger goals in mind.

"Each season is different," Weidman said. "If all we were capable of was winning the league then you would look at it differently. Or if you weren't sure you were capable of winning the league and you won it, then that's something you hang your hat on.

"With this particular team this year, they would like to do more than just win the league," he continued. "That's good to have those goals because it's not going to be easy. The (Divison Four) North is going to be very tough. It reminds me of 2013 when almost all eight teams could have won it. 2013 was ridiculously competitive. I think this year will be pretty similar."

The Pioneers currently sit with the third seed and if the season ended today, they would be taking on Pat Sheenan's Triton team in the first round with the winner of that round likely travelling to North Reading for a round two game.

Sound interesting?

Making It Count
The Pioneer defense was outstanding again, regardless of who they put on the field. They were particularly strong with their pass defense. The Royals had 15 consecutive incomplete passes throughout the game. Their only completion came on the last play of the game when Jimmy Sherman found Nick Calvani in the endzone for the lone Georgetown score.

The TD snapped a 15 quarter scoreless streak for the Lynnfield defense. It was the fourth touchdown the Royals have scored against the Pioneers in the past seven games.

Milking the Clock
One way to try to beat a high scoring team like the Pioneers is to keep the ball away from them. That means winning the time of possession battle. That was one area Georgetown excelled. They had the TOP edge over the Pioneers 31:56 to 12:04.

I had to go back three times to make sure that was correct. Lynnfield had the ball for only 12 minutes, meaning they scored a point every 17 seconds of game time they had the ball. They had scoring "drives" of nine and ten seconds. In the second half, the Pioneers ran off only nine plays and had the ball for less than five minutes of game time.

The Royals put together an epic drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters, taking 18 plays to march from their own 16 to the Lynnfield nine where they stalled. They attempted a 33 yard field goal that fell short. The drive consumed 12:24.

Forty-Something
Last week I gave you some stats on the Pioneers scoring over 30 points. Their over 40 performances are even more impressive. With their 42 point outburst Friday night, The Pioneers have now score 40 or more points 14 times in the 63 games and 5 1/2 seasons since 2010. In the 503 games and 52 seasons from 1958 to 2009 Lynnfield scored 40 or more points...14 times.

6-Pack
Dan Bronshvayg nailed six extra points against Georgetown and it was the 4th time he's done it. He did it against Manchester Essex in 2013 and 2014, and again against Georgetown last year. The record for most PAT's in a game in seven, held by Scott Milne who did it against Masco in a 55-0 win in 1985.

The Lynnfield 300
Lost in the ceremony and celebration Friday night was the fact that the victory was the 300th in the history of the school. The Pioneers now sit with a 300-266-11 record. It took LHS only 155 games to get to their first 100 wins. They reached that with a win over Wayland in 1976. They needed 168 more games to get to their 200th win which came in 1992 with a Thanksgiving Day win over North Reading.  It took 23 more years and 243 games to get the third 100 wins, with 60 of them coming in the last eight years of the Weidman Era.



Military Tribute
The tribute to the military was an outstanding experience for those in attendance and kudos to Kathy Balestrieri and the Lynnfield Pioneer Football Club for putting it together. I asked Weidman how he came up with the idea.

"I’d heard about the uniforms before and I realized one day last year that Al MacLachlan, Kevin Lee and Chris O’Neil from last year's team were going into the military," Weidman said. "Plus Rob Debonis went to Mass Maritime and I started thinking about other former players in the military like Dan Ashwell, Steve Ullian, and Joe and George Hennessey going into the Green Berets and I said 'wow we’ve had quite a few kids in it.' I sent a letter to the guy at Riddell and found out it would cost a total of $400 and we could use the uniforms once a year for five years. I asked the parents and they said that was something that they would definitely like to contribute to.

"I told the players before the game that as much as they complain about going to school that they have to go to school but there are kids across the world that aren't allowed to go to school," he said. "It was special."

Celebrating Sonny

There was also a nice tribute to Lynnfield Youth Football player Benjamin "Sonny" Tropeano before the game. The ten year old tragically and suddenly passed away this past July. The team presented the Tropeano family with the special camo jersey number 55, the number Sonny wore in youth football. His brothers Nick, Joe, and Tony - all former Pioneer football players - were on hand as part of the ceremony.

The Pioneers all wore stickers on their helmets with the number 55 in blue on a orange background. Orange - Sonny's favorite color - was on full display throughout Pioneer Stadium.

"Joe, Tony, and Nick all played," said Weidman. "I really empathize with Mr. and Mrs. Tropeano. I can't imagine what they're going through."

That's it for now. Check back Tuesday night when I'll take a look at action around the Baker League review the Division Four North playoff race.