by Tom Condardo
We all know football is a team game and you can't win without talented players working together on both sides of the ball. As we head into the playoffs, that's what you see from every opponent, and Watertown is no exception. And although the Raiders are talented across the board, one player stands out. Pioneer fans, meet Deon Smith.
"He is an unbelievable athlete," Weidman said of the junior who transferred back to Watertown from BB&N."
But as dangerous as Smith is, Weidman says there is another weapon the Pioneers have to prepare for
"(Rimsa) is probably a little under rated," said Weidman. "He's fast but he runs really hard."
Rimsa also anchors a tough Watertown linebacking corp.
"He's tough, he's mean, and he gets after it," Weidman told me. "All their linebackers are really good."
Familiar Offense, New Look Defense
When the Pioneers beat Watertown 22-21 in 2013, the Raiders played a pro style offense to take advantage of quarterback Nick Giordano and a stable of outstanding receivers. With Smith at the helm this year, Watertown has transformed into a run-heavy attack to take advantage of Smith and Rimsa.
Weidman said the offense they run is similar to the triple option that Saugus ran in the opening playoff game last year. The Sachems featured quarterback Justin Winn and Dan Cacciola. The Pioneers were able to contain that duo in a 42-6 rout holding Winn to 48 yards and no TD's. Cacciola found more running room picking up 148 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Most of that came between the 20's and 34 of those yards came on one run on the Sachem's first drive.
"Watertown really runs what Saugus ran last year," Weidman told me. "The difference is Watertown has a little better passing game since their quarterback can throw it a little bit. (Cacciola) was super-athletic but this fullback (Rimsa) is super tough."
The defense the Raiders use is a bit different than what the Pioneers usually face.
"They play a hard press cover two which could cause some problems for us," Weidman told me. "They play a 4-3 and like to keep all seven in. When we play two tight end sets at least one of the safeties will also be down so they'll be seven plus in the box. They're pretty good."
Tough Schedule
The Raiders come in with a 4-3 record, but don't be fooled by that. They play in the Middlesex League Freedom division with every team but Stoneham being in Division 3. After starting the season with wins over D4 Arlington Catholic 38-35 (with Smith scoring four times in the second half to lead the way) and Mount Pleasant RI 31-0, the Raiders had to play four consecutive D3 schools.
They beat 2-5 Wakefield 20-14 then lost three straight to powerhouse Melrose (28-7), Burlington (21-17), and Wilmington (20-6), three teams with a combined record of 15-6. They needed a win against Stoneham to make the playoffs and upended the Spartans 21-14.
They played particular well against undefeated Melrose, the #1 seed in Divison 3 Northwest. It was only 14-7 until the fourth quarter when Melrose finally wore down the Raiders and put them away with a Pick-Six and a late touchdown.
That bring up an area where the Pioneers should have an advantage: depth. Where Lynnfield runs in a number of players on both sides of the ball, eight of the Raiders appear to be on the field all game - offense, defense, and special teams. In a tight, hard fought game, that could make a difference.
Kicking X Factor
With two evenly matched teams, it could come down to the kicking game and two of the best around will be going at it. Watertown has attempted five field goals and made four with sophomore Conor Kennel hitting three of them- one from 37 yards. The Pioneers counter with the best placekicker in LHS history in Dan Bronshvayg. he's 47 for 49 on PAT's and 2 for 3 on field goals, the longest from 36 yards.
Where the Raiders seem to love booting for three, Weidman is not quite so enamored of the play.
"I prefer to get seven personally," Weidman said. "but sometimes those 3's add up especially if you don't convert on fourth down. That's one of those things where you have to feel out if three is going to be enough or are you going to have only a few chances to get seven. Playing against a good team sometimes your chances of getting seven are few and far between. Sometimes you have to take them when you can get them depending on how the game is going."
New Level
"Now it gets tough, which is good," Weidman said about starting the playoffs. "The kids know when you go to the playoffs you're going to be playing good teams. They know you don't have a second chance now. You play as well as you can possibly play and you prepare as well as you possibly can and unfortunately it's one of those things when things can go your way or sometimes they don't. You have to do what you can to prepare yourself and not worry about the things you can't control."
Not to look too far ahead, but the winner of this game will likely be headed to North Reading next week for a semi-final matchup. The Hornets are heavy favorites to eliminate the Cinderella Ipswich Tigers on Saturday, so things could get interesting if the Pioneers can get past Watertown.
Online Preview
I wrote an in depth preview of the game for this week's Villager, but due to a technical glitch it didn't make it into the paper. It has been posted on line at the Villager site and you can access it here. Villager subscribers have free access and for those of you who don't subscribe why don't you? This would be a good time to get a subscription so you can follow my game stories and photos every week.
That's it for now. Check back Sunday night for some Leftovers.
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