Around the CAL Baker: Week 4

By Tom Condardo

There was one other Baker League game this week and the teams are beginning to separate. We'll take a look at last week's action and also review the Division 3A playoff race. But first, the updated Baker Standings.



Hamilton-Wenham won its second straight overall and first Baker League game with a convincing 43-20 win over Manchester-Essex, who has now lost two in a row after a fast start. The game was tight for the first quarter but the Generals blew it open in the second to take a 28-7 halftime lead and never looked back.

Quarterback Billy Whelan continues to impress as he threw three TD passes and ran for two more to pace the General attack. Cam Peach caught a pair of touchdown passes and Jake Lanciani had one. Christos Meimeteas rushed for another score.

Robbie Sarmanian, Charlie Otterbein, and Dan Rodier tallied rushing touchdowns for the Hornets.

M/E comes to Lynnfield Friday night to face the Pioneers while Hamilton Wenham travels to Georgetown to take on the Royals.

Amesbury remained winless as they fell to the Triton buzzsaw 35-14 Friday night. The undefeated Vikes jumped out to leads of 14-0 and 21-7 but the Indians clawed back on a touchdown pass from Blake Bennet to Logan Burrill and a Nolan Gouin 13 yard run to make it 21-14 in the third. Triton then scored twice to put the game away.

Amesbury comes back to the Baker this week when they travel to Ipswich to take on the Tigers.

Division 3A Playoff Race



The Pioneers remained in seventh place in the D3A power rankings and would travel to Stoneham or Shawsheen if the playoffs started this week. St. Mary's, Stoneham, and Shawsheen all won again to cement their hold on the top three spots. Northeast and Greater Lawrence exchanged position four and five thanks to the Knights 36-26 win over GL last week. Ipswich fell from sixth to eighth as a result of their loss to the Pioneers, but Hamilton Wenham leapfrogged into sixth past Lynnfield after their victory over two-win Manchester Essex. Winthrop creeped into the race with a win over Salem, picking up 12 points for beating a team in a higher division. Whittier, Matignon/St. Joe's, and Boston Latin all remained winless.

The Pioneers have a 16 point game coming up this Friday against the Hornets and they are guaranteed at least three opponent points since Amesbury plays Ipswich and the Pioneers have beaten both. St. Mary's and Stoneham both have 12 point games this week.

Hamilton Wenham can pick up 19 points this week when they face Georgetown who is 3-1 playing a non-CAL schedule. Northeast and Greater Lawrence have tough games this weekend with GL facing Essex Tech and Northeast taking on Shawsheen. Winthrop has a 12 point game against Gloucester.

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