Around the CAL Baker: Week 1

by Tom Condardo

It was a rough week for the CAL Baker teams as four of the five teams, including the Pioneers, suffered defeat in opening week non-league contests.

We'll take a quick look at the three non-Lynnfield games and I'll also review the division ratings and provide a brief explanation on how they are calculated.  But first the new standings.



Man-Essex was the only Baker squad to post a win in week 1, holding off the Northeast Knights 21-12 in Manchester. Robbie Sarmanian led the way for the Hornets rushing for 168 yards and two scores. Dan Rodier picked up 93 yards as the Hornet running game was operating in full force.

The Hornets scored first on a 2 yard Sarmanian run but the Knights roared back with a six yard run to cut the lead to 7-6. Rodier scored on a one yard blast to put M/E up 14-6 and then stretched it to 21-6 on Sarmanian's eight yard run. Northeast added a late score but it was too little too late.

The Hornets host Saugus Friday night.

Ipswich came up with an impressive performance in a losing effort against a tough North Reading team Friday night. The Tigers hung with the Hornets for a while going in at the break down only 7-0. NR pulled away to a 21-6 lead before the Tigers scored late to account for the final score.

Ipswich hosts Newburyport Friday night.

North Reading is loaded this year with all-everything running back Matt McCarthy leading the way. If the Tigers can play with them, they promise to be a tough matchup once CAL Baker play begins.

Amesbury got hammered by Norwell 44-6 and added injury to insult when they lost senior captain/quarterback Garret Collins early in the game. It is not known when or if Collins will return from the leg injury. Things don't get any easier this week when the Indians host Pentucket.

Hamilton-Wenham struggled in their debut under new coach Jim Pugh, getting whitewashed by Bishop Fenwick 22-0. The Crusaders scored on their first two possessions of the game and the first time they touched the ball after the half in a dominating performance. The Generals managed under 100 of offense and only six first downs. H/W will host North Reading on Saturday.

Division 3A North
While league play doesn't begin for two weeks, the post season playoff battle has already begun. Only three division teams won this week so the Pioneers can take some solace in that. Here is a look at the playoff standings after the first week of play.

The class of the division is powerhouse St. Mary's which is rated #19 in the Globe's EMass Top 20, an impressive ranking for a D3A team. Stoneham can pile up the points quickly since they play in the Middlesex League which is made up of mostly D3 and D2A teams. Same for Winthrop which is in the Northeast Conference, again comprised of mostly D3 and D2A teams.

The Pioneers' next two games - Danvers and Amesbury - are against teams in a higher division so a win in either one will get them 12 points.

The top eight teams advance to the playoffs. In the first round it's 1v8, 2v6, 3v6, and 4v5 with the team with the higher rating getting the home field. Winners move on to the next round. Losers will be matched up against teams that have either been eliminated from the playoffs or who didn't make it to fill out their final two games. Those matchups are set by a committee based on competitiveness and geography.

Here is a quick primer on how the points are calculated:

You earn "own points" for a win - 10 points for a win in your division, 12 points for a win over a higher division.

You earn "opponent points" as follows: 3 points for a win by teams you have beaten and 1 point for teams that have defeated you. For example, the Pioneers' only point comes from Newburyport's one win. For every game the Clippers win from here on out, the Pioneers pick up a point.

Take the point total and divide by the number of games played to come up with a final power rating.

The teams will begin to separate as the season moves on so it will definitely get more interesting.

That's it for now. Check back Thursday for my Danvers game preview.