Danvers Game Preview: Home Invasion

by Tom Condardo

In the 1990's and most of the 2000's, it was a regular occurrence for the Pioneers to go into a game as decided underdogs. A lack of numbers and a tough CAL schedule against the Masco's, North Andover's, and Wilmington's of the world combined to put the Pioneers at a distinct disadvantage.

In more recent years, it's been the Lynnfield opponents that were fighting uphill against the powerhouse Pioneers. That won't quite be the case tomorrow night when the talented Danvers Falcons soar into town to help Lynnfield kick off their 59th home opener, the third at Pioneer Stadium.

The Falcons are coming off the best season in the history of their program, going 8-4, winning the Division 3N championship and making it to the state semi finals before losing to Melrose 24-7. They come back determined to make it to the D2A Super Bowl, and they just might have the horses to do it.

They opened the season last week with a 27-7 win over Winthrop in a game that was tied 7-7 early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored three straight times to pull out the win on a night when many of their players were suffering from a stomach bug according to the game story in the Salem News.

Senior Laden
As was the case last week, the young Pioneers will face a much more experienced squad as Danvers

features 20 seniors on its 52 man roster. Leading the way is all-everything Matt Andreas who at various times will be at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. Last season Andreas ran for over 800 yards and 10 touchdowns, threw for over 300 yards and four TD's, and caught 10 passes.
Andreas helped key the turnaround against Winthrop, rushing for nearly 150 of his 175 yards in the second half.

The Falcons started junior Justin Mullaney at quarterback in place of injured senior Dean Borders who is expected back for tomorrow night's game. Another explosive weapon for Danvers is junior speedster Tahg Coakley who scored on runs of 47 and 24 yards in the fourth quarter against Winthrop.

The Pioneers will also be giving away some size as the Falcons line is anchored by 5'11 260 lb Bruno Abbatessa and 6'1 235 lb Brad Anderson.

The Pioneers played Newburyport evenly at times before being tripped up with costly penalties and miscues, but they will have to step it up significantly if they hope to upset Danvers.

Lynnfield is 10-1 at Pioneer Stadium since it opened in 2014 with their only loss coming last year in the playoffs against Watertown. The Pioneers have won four straight home openers and six of their last seven.

Time Warp
Danvers put together a tremendous season last year but were nearly tripped up by the Pioneers in the second game of the season. Lynnfield was leading 15-0 late in the second quarter when a bizarre sequence of events turned the tide.

With the line of scrimmage at the Lynnfield 33 yard line, Danvers snapped the ball with five seconds left in the second quarter and the Pioneers broke up a pass at the Lynnfield 11 yard line, appearing to end the half. The game clock showed 0:00 and we all know the game clock is never official. However, before the play, head coach Neal Weidman confirmed that five seconds was indeed official.

Despite all zeroes staring the officials in the face, they ruled there was still one second left on the clock. Which meant that the play - snap, fade back, let receiver run 22 yards down field, break up pass - took only four seconds.

You knew what was going to happen on the bonus play and it did. Borders heaved a Hail Mary into the endzone and Mike Nestor came down with it for a 33 yard TD. The Pioneers went into the half leading 15-7 and momentum shifted to the Falcons.

Andreas scored on a one yard plunge in the third to cut the lead to 15-14 and then scored a short TD in the fourth for the game winner. It was a bitter 22-15 loss in a game that was well in hand.

Spirited Rivalry
This will be only the sixth meeting between the schools, but they have managed to squeeze a lot of exciting football into the previous five meetings.

The Pioneers upset the Falcons in 2009 in a steady rain in Danvers in a statement game that you could point to as a turning point in the program. Quarterback Gino Cohee carried 25 times for 193 yards and a touchdown to pace the victory.

Lynnfield was just beginning to pull things together and a solid win over a good opponent was the shot of confidence the Pioneers needed. The win lifted them to 4-1 and they ran the table from there finishing the regular season 10-1 and earning their first playoff appearance in 23 years. The Cinderella season ended in Reading when the Pioneers were upended in the playoff game by Austin Prep 26-20 in overtime.

The Falcons and Pioneers collided in a explosive fireworks display in 2011 when Danvers outlasted the Pioneers 42-35 in a back and forth affair. The teams combined for nearly 900 yards of offense. Lynnfield fell behind 14-0, then roared ahead 21-14, trailed 28-21 and 35-21 before closing to 35-28. Danvers put it away with their sixth touchdown of the night and the Pioneers fifth TD wasn't enough to close the gap.

Quarterback Mike Karavetsos was immense in the game, completing 13 of 19 for 240 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 105 and a touchdown and a two point conversion.

Let's hope for another exciting one tomorrow night.

That's it for now. Check back Sunday night for my Leftovers post.