by Tom Condardo
Hamilton-Wenham Leftovers, Around the CAL Baker, D5 Update, Bedford Playoff Update
Hamilton-Wenham Leftovers
As I finished my postgame interview with head coach Neal Weidman, I stopped to jot down some notes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the coach's 12 year old son Hudson sauntering over, casually flipping a football to himself.
"Rough game, huh?" he said to his Dad, matter-of-factly.
From the mouth of babes.
Rough would be one word you could use to describe the devastating loss to the Generals Friday night. Others would be stunning, shocking, surprising, unexpected, stupifying. I could go on and on but you get the picture.
Everyone expected a tight, to-the-final-whistle battle between two undefeated, evenly matched teams fighting for a league title. That one of them would lose was not the issue. The 7-7 halftime score was a bit low for two high-powered offenses, but not out of the ordinary for this type of game.
It was the way the second half came apart at the seams for the home team that was so startling. There's another word. No one saw that coming.
"We were bound to have one of these sooner or later," Weidman said after the game. "It's unfortunate but it is kind of where it is. When you do that against a good team, you lose.
The scope of the loss was historic, as far as recent Pioneer football history is concerned. If you read my Villager article you saw that a Lynnfield football team hasn't lost by 28 points since a 49-21 defeat at the hands of North Andover in 2007 - a year before Weidman took over as head coach.
The Pioneers haven't given up 28 straight points since 2008 when Saugus turned a 21-14 halftime lead into a 49-14 second half bulge with four straight TD's. The Pioneers scored a pair of late TD's to make it a 49-28 final.
It's been 28 games since the Lynnfield failed to score in double digits, that coming in the 26-0 loss to Holliston in the D4 title game in 2014. It's been 59 regular season games since the Pioneers failed to score 10 or more points. The last regular season game they scored in single digits was a 14-7 loss to Bishop Fenwick in 2012.
The win also snaps a 27-game league winning streak that dates back to 2011. Their last CAL league loss came at the hands of Manchester-Essex, 7-6. Also on Senior Day.
Road to loss started in first half
But to get to the heart of what happened Friday night, you must look beyond the second half. The seeds of the defeat were sown in the first half, when the Pioneers failed to put away the Generals when they had the chance.
The Pioneers realistically could have scored four times in the first half.
Drive #1: Took the opening kick and marched from their own 38 to the H-W 14. Big play on the drive was a six yard run by captain Anthony Murphy for a first down on fourth and two from the Lynnfield 46. On third and two from the 14 there was no gain on a run, then a killer false start penalty. Incomplete pass on fourth down, turnover on downs.
Drive #3: 71 yards, 7 plays, Matt Mortellite to captain Nick Kinnon 24 yard TD pass for the score. Big play on the drive was a 21 run run by Mortellite.
Drive #4: Interception by Jason Ndansi -his fifth of the season - at the Lynnfield 32 and an impressive 40 yard runback to the HW 28. two runs for four yards and two incomplete passes, turnover on downs.
Drive #5: Interception by Ndansi in the end zone - his sixth of the season. With only 33 seconds left the Pioneers motored 67 yards in three plays to get a first down at the HW 13. Big play on the drive, a 43 yard pass from Mortellite to Peter Look. With seconds on the clock, incomplete pass in the end zone as time runs out in the half.
Meanwhile, on Drive #2, the Pioneers moved quickly from their own 23 to the HW 48 but then fumbled. The Generals scored six plays later.
So instead of being up 28-7 or 21-7 or even 14-7, the two teams went in at the half tied 7-7.
If the Pioneers had a two or three TD lead, the Generals would have likely had to go to their passing game. Although it is formidable, it also plays right into the teeth of the Pioneers' defensive strength. Instead, HW patiently pounded the running game - an area the Pioneers have struggled with lately.
The Generals then marched down the field to open the third quarter moving 52 yards in nine plays, throwing only twice and handing it off to sophomore running back Ian Coffey six times. The Lynnfield fumble on the first play of the following drive gave the Generals another short field and they ate it up in two plays with Cam Peach bulldozing the final 27 yards to make it 21-7.
The Generals would throw the ball only one more time in their final 17 plays, but that one was a 40 yard TD pass on a fourth and 17.
Another key factor: the Generals converted both Pioneer turnovers into touchdowns while Lynnfield wasn't able to capitalize on the two turnovers committed by HW.
"We never really got anything going," Weidman said. "We had a hard time getting off the field on defense and then not hanging on to the ball at all on offense. It was a combination. We got outplayed on both sides."
Defensive Demon
Ndansi's two interceptions gives him six for the season. He not only had two picks but also made a super over the shoulder knockdown of a sure TD pass.
His performance this year puts him in some lofty company when it comes to defensive back play. Cam Rondeau set the standard in recent years with an amazing 15 picks in three years. He had 4 as a sophomore, 6 as a junior and 5 as a senior. In 2013, Rondeau's junior year, Matt Kramich also had 6 picks. The Pioneers had an eyepopping 18 interceptions that season.
Battlefield Promotion
With captain Cooper Marengi out with an ankle injury, Kinnon was called on to do the placekicking and converted his only PAT try after scoring the Pioneers' lone TD. The seven points gives him 151 for his career and lifts him into a seventh place tie on the Lynnfield alltime scoring list with Dan Veinot (99-00).
Data Points
- The loss snaps a five game winning streak against Hamilton-Wenham. The Pioneers now lead the series 23-21-1.
- The Pioneers lost two fumbles in the game. They had lost only one in the first six games.
Around the CAL Baker
With the win, the Generals have earned at least a share of the Baker title for the first time since they won it in 2010 & 2011. To win it outright, HW will have to beat Ipswich on Thanksgiving Day. Should the Tigers spring the upset, Ipswich, Hamilton-Wenham, and Lynnfield will all be tied at 3-1 which will likely make them Tri-Champs so technically the Pioneers' five year championship string is not over. The Tigers have not tasted the league championship since 2006 when they went 5-0 in league play and went on to win the Super Bowl.
If there were a playoff game on the line, the normal tiebreaker would be points allowed, so the Pioneers would likely be on the short end of that stick having giving up a combined 64 points to the Tigers and Generals.
In the only other Baker action last week, Manchester Essex picked up its first league win with a 35-14 victory over Amesbury. The win also allowed the Hornets to squeeze into the Division 7 playoffs as the eight seed. Their reward? A first round date with St. Mary's of Lynn - although how in heaven's name St. Mary's is in D7 is anybody's guess.
The Standings
Hamilton-Wenham 3-0 (7-0 overall)
Lynnfield 3-1 (6-1)
Ipswich 2-1 (4-3)
Manchester-Essex 1-3 (3-4)
Amesbury 0-4 (0-7)
D5 Update
As discussed here last week, despite the loss, the Pioneers were able to hold on to the top spot in Division 5 by the tips of their fingernails. The margin was a razor thin six-tenths of a point over Somerville 111-110.4. There were no upsets last week and the Pioneers picked up 16 opponent points thanks to wins by Man-Essex, Ipswich, and Wayland. They also got one point each for seven HW wins adding another 7 points to the pile. They needed every single one of them.
The Pioneers can thank their CAL foes who in the past years haven't been able to deliver many opponent points but this year Ipswich, Man-Essex, and Newburyport came up with 10 wins, good enough for 30 points, 27% of Lynnfield's total.
Surging Somerville - again why they are in D5 is another subject for another day - roars into the playoffs off four straight wins. Swampscott's wins over winless Winthrop and one-win Saugus in the last two weeks proved fatal and caused them to slip into third place.
Weston took the fourth spot, taking advantage of the system playing an independent schedule piling up points against two teams from D8, one from D7, two from D6, and two from D4.
Newburyport, Watertown, Triton, and Bedford round out the playoff field.
On Friday night, the Pioneers will host Bedford and Pat Sheehan's Triton Vikings will travel to Somerville. On Saturday, Swampscott faces Watertown, a dangerous six seed who didn't finish higher mostly because they play a D4 schedule in the tough Middlesex League, and Newburyport will play Weston in Wellesley because the Wildcats' field is under construction.
Should the Pioneers take care of business Friday, they would either face Weston, or host Newburyport in a rematch of opening night.
Final Playoff Rankings
1. Lynnfield 6-1; 15.86 (111 points)
2. Somerville 5-2; 15.77 (110.4)
3. Swampscott 6-1; 15.20 (106.4)
4. Weston 5-2; 14.94 (104.6)
5. Newburyport 3-3; 11.50 (69)
6. Watertown 3-4; 10.89 (76.2)
7. Triton 2-5; 8.77 (61.4)
8. Bedford 2-5; 6.94 (48.6)
9. Saugus 1-6; 6.43 (45.0)
10. Pentucket 1-5; 4.83 (29.0)
11. Amesbury 0-7; 4.14 (29.0)
Bedford Playoff Preview
When last we saw Bedford, it was the 2013 Division 4 North Semi-Finals in the final game ever played at the Middle School Field. It was a fitting finale for the place the Pioneers called home for 56 years as the Pioneers and Buccaneers battered each other for four bruising quarters.
The Pioneers led 7-0 heading into the fourth quarter but Bedford finished the game with two scoring drives to end the Pioneer's playoff run. The Buccaneers' outstanding tailback Olan Abner punched in the winning TD with nine seconds to go to hand the Pioneers their first loss of the season.
The Pioneers scored first in the second quarter after a bizarre turnover. Bedford's return man caught a C. J. Finn punt at the 25 and appeared to try to pitch it to a teammate when Jon Knee picked it off and danced into the end zone for an apparent touchdown. The officials ruled that it was a muff, which can't be advances, not a lateral and gave the ball to Lynnfield at the Bedford 25.
Four plays later Kyle McGah barreled in from the 11 for the touchdown. Dan Bronshvayg added the point after.
Lynnfield shut out Bedford's run heavy offense for the first three quarters but then wore down. The Bucs tied the score on a 25 yard sweep with just over eight minutes to go in the game setting up the game winner in the final seconds.
"That's exactly the type of game we though it would be," Weidman told me after the hard fought contest. "They were exactly who we thought they were - fast on defense and grinding on offense."
It was one of the hardest hitting, physical games I have seen since I've been covering high school football.
Which brings us to Friday night. The Bucs team that comes to town bears little resemblance to that big, veteran Bedford team of 2013. The young squad with eight seniors, 14 juniors, and 13 sophomores that comes in under new head coach Tom Tone finished the regular season 2-5 to take the final D5 playoff spot.
But don't let their record fool you. The Bucs played a tough schedule with five of their seven games coming against teams in higher divisions. Their five losses have come against teams with a combined record of 22-12.
Their season unfolded as follows:
Oliver Ames (D3) 32 Bedford 21
Wilmington (D4) 41 Bedford 13
Cardinal Spellman (D6) 30 Bedford 6
Newton South (D2) 22 Bedford 7
Bedford 30 Boston Latin (D4) 0
Bedford 32 Atlantis Charter (D8) 7
Wayland (D4) 41 Bedford 18
The only common opponent is Wayland who the Pioneers defeated 28-26 in OT in Week 2. The Warriors exploded for four touchdowns in just over seven minutes to put the game away early in the 41-18 rout.
Bedford runs a spread offense similar to the Pioneers with sophomore quarterback Gregory Cormier at the control. They lost starting signal caller Panayiotis Kapanides to a broken thumb in the second game of the year against Wilmington.
Cormier likes to sling the ball around and picked up 230 yards passing against Wayland as two Bedford quarterbacks threw 33 passes in the game completing 20. Captain Toby Hart is a favorite receiver. Myles Francis is the feature running back.
The game is another Dual County League reunion as the Pioneers and Bucs faced each other 13 times between 1960 and 1972 as members of the DCL. Lynnfield holds a 8-5-2 edge over all.
Tone, the Bedford head coach, will have no trouble finding Lynnfield, although he may head for the Middle School instead of Pioneer Stadium. Tone is a former North Reading quarterback and faced the Pioneers in three Thanksgiving Day games from 1998 to 2000.
He was 2 for 11 for 27 yards and a two point conversion and picked up 26 yards as a sophomore in the Hornets 14-6 win in 1998. As a junior in 1999, Tone was one for 4 for 34 yards and one TD and an interception with one carry for minus one yard in a 28-12 North Reading win. The Pioneers finally got him in an exciting 2000 game. He was 10 for 22 for 191 yards and 2 TD's and 19 yards rushing, but he threw three interceptions, the last one in the end zone to Dan Veinot to preserve a 29-23 Lynnfield win.
Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 pm.
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