Top Five: The Most Exciting Thanksgiving Day Games of the Past 35 Years

I have been covering either Lynnfield or North Reading football since 1976. That means this Thanksgiving, I will be attending my 36th battle between the two rivals.

To get in the spirit of the 54th meeting between the schools, I thought I'd take a look back and pick out my personal selections as the most exciting North Reading-Lynnfield games that I have seen.

I know there were several exciting Turkey Day games prior to 1976, but for today, I decided we'd consider only the ones I have seen personally.

There were some classic battles between the two teams over the last 35 years. Some were for championships and some were simply for Chestnut Street bragging rights. Either way, they rewarded the traditionally large crowds that annually come out for the big game.

So time to fire up the LHS Football Wayback Machine. Here in reverse order is my personal Top Five Most Exciting North Reading-Lynnfield games.


Number 5: 1990 - Holding On 14-13

Both Lynnfield and North Reading came into the 1990 game with losing records. The Pioneers were 2-7 and the Hornets were 3-6. Steve Migliero put the Pioneers up 6-0 in the first period on a two yard run. The Hornets answered back in the second when  quarterback Chris Hansen scampered in from the four yard line. Aldo Vittozzi added the point to give North Reading a 7-6 lead.

That's the way it stayed until early in the fourth period when Todd Guido plunged in from the three to give Lynnfield a 12-7 lead. Chris Sutera hit Mike Accomando with the two point conversion to make it 14-7.

With just over a minute to play, Hansen hit Stephen Burt with a 42 yard bomb to get the Hornets to within one at 14-13.  North Reading went for the win but a blitzing Chris Sheehan hurried Hansen and Sutera knocked down the pass to preserve the win.

Number 4: 2002 - Stung at the Buzzer 13-12

The excitement for the 2002 game started when Mother Nature dumped an early season snow storm just before Thanksgiving. The DPW along with the football team and other volunteers worked all day Wednesday to clear the field for the holiday morning game.

Their efforts were not in vain as the large crowd that turned out at the Middle School field were treated to a real nailbiter.

The Hornets were running a double wing in 2002 and they took the opening kick and drove 78 yards over the snow covered field to take a 6-0 lead. Jamie Solomon and Chris Bryant helped the Pioneers get in gear late in the first half. Quarterback Mike Parizale connected with Andy Poor and Jared Polansky to get the Pioneers to the NR three yard line. But the Hornets stuffed Polansky at the one to preserve their 6-0 lead.

The Pioneers broke through on the opening drive of the second half when Chris Stivers took a reverse handoff and sprinted 53 yards for the score. The PAT try was wide but the score was now tied at 6-6.

Lynnfield took the lead in the fourth quarter on a clock eating drive capped by a six yard Bryant run to give the Pioneers a 12-6 lead with three minutes to play.

The Hornets began their final drive at their own 39 and methodically moved down the field. They got to the Lynnfield two yard line with 20 seconds left. Quarterback Steve Labo took the snap, tried to find a receiver, could not, tucked it under his arm and plowed into the endzone for what appeared to be the tying touchdown. However, the Hornets were flagged for illegal motion which nullified the score and pushed them back to the seven yard line with seven seconds left in the game.

The final play of the game was one of the most bizarre in North Reading-Lynnfield history. Labo took the snap and handed off to John Murphy who was immediately grabbed by Matt Talis for what appeared to be the game winning tackle.

In desperation, Murphy shoveled the ball to Labo who was just standing at the three yard line watching Murphy getting stopped. Finding the ball in his hands, he turned and stumbled into the endzone with no time remaining to tie the score. Labo then drilled the extra point for the 13-12 win over the stunned Pioneers.

Number 3: 1981 - Another Stunning Comeback Defeat 20-15

The Pioneers were heavily favored in this one, coming into the game 6-3 to North Reading's 3-6. The game was billed as a defensive struggle, but the Hornets came out fired up and scored first. Mark Tremblay bulled in from the two and Brian Jones added the PAT and NR led 7-0.

The Hornets made it 14-0 midway in the second when Les Montford hit Jeff Hull with a ten yard scoring strike. The Pioneers got on the board late in the half when Andy Nekoroski plowed in from the two yard line. Nekoroski added the two point conversion and Lynnfield trailed 14-8 at the half.

The Pioneers appeared to right the ship with under three minutes to play when quarterback Scott Sanborn tossed a screen pass to Nekoroski who zigged and zagged his way to a 62 yard touchdown. Joe Krieger added the PAT to take a 15-14 lead with only 2:57 left in the game.

But the Hornets were not done. Billy Germano returned the kick to the 38 and a late hit call on the Pioneers gave NR the ball at midfield. On the next play, Montford found David Lee down the right sideline for a 51 yard strike to get the Hornets to the Lynnfield two yard line. Two plays later, Montford slashed into the endzone for the score. Jones missed the PAT but the Hornets led 20-15 with less than a minute to play.

The Pioneers did not quit. Sanborn hit Jeff Perkins for 28 yards and a head slap penalty on the Hornets moved the ball to the NR 29 yard line with less than 30 seconds to play. But the Pioneers could get no further and Sanborn was sacked on the final play of the game to seal the Hornet victory.

Number 2: 2000 - Veinot leads the way 29-23

This was one of the highest scoring Lynnfield-North Reading games and get my vote as the second mod exciting in the past 35 years.

Tailback Danny Veinot was the story in this one as the outstanding runner finished with 277 yards and scored all four Lynnfield touchdowns and 27 of the Pioneers' 29 points.

Veinot got the Pioneers on the board on their first drive with a four yard run. He booted the PAT and Lynnfield led 7-0. The Hornets answered when quarterback Tom Tone hit A. J. Richardson for a 43 yard TD to tie the score at 7-7.

On the first play following the NR touchdown, Veinot responded with a 63 yard run and PAT to give the Pioneers the lead at 14-7.

The Pioneers appeared to be taking control but quarterback Jimmy Motzkin turned an ankle and had to leave the game. But Veinot was hitting on all cylinders and scooted 38 yards for another TD. Backup QB Mike Parziale hit Brian McBride with the two point conversion and the Pioneers appeared to be in control 22-7.

The Pioneers cut into the lead when Tone his Matt Cecchini for a 22 yard TD pass to make it 22-13 at the half. The Hornets then began to stop the Pioneer offense and crept closer in the third when Drew Canan scored from the three to make it 22-20.

The Hornets were driving again, but Veinot went to work on the other side of the ball and picked off a Tone pass to end the threat. At this point, Motzkin reentered the game and seemed to energize the Pioneers.

Motzkin hit Drew Barraford and McBride on consecutive passes to get the Pioneers to the NR 14 yard line. Veinot took it in from there to give the Pioneers some breathing room at 29-20.

The Hornets nailed a field goal on their next possession to make it 29-23. But the Hornets would not go away quietly. They got the ball back with 1:57 left in the game and marched to the Pioneer 21 yard line. On fourth down, with 23 second left, Tone attempted one last pass into the endzone. It was picked off by...guess who...Dan Veinot to preserve the win.

Number 1: 1980 - For All the Marbles 7-6

This was the most exciting Pioneer-Hornet game I have witnessed not only because of the play on the field, but also because of the stakes involved.

The Hornets came into the game as the two time defending CAL Champs with a 7-1 league record (8-1 overall). The Pioneers were 6-1-1 in the CAL and 6-2-1 overall. If they beat the Hornets and Amesbury could knock off Newburyport, the Pioneers would take the crown.

So this was in affect a CAL championship game.

The two teams battled through a scoreless tie as the day started cold then warmed up turning the Middle School field into a quagmire. With 1:14 left in the game, Andy Nekoroski plowed in from the three to give the Pioneers a 6-0 lead.

Playing like the champs they were, the Hornets came back. Warren McNeill hit Jeff Hull on two post patterns to get the ball to the Lynnfield three yard line. With only 23 seconds to play in the game, Billy Welch bulled in from the one to tie the score. Marco Vittozzi nailed the PAT to seal the win and sew up a third straight CAL Championship for the Hornets.

If it makes anyone feel better, the Clippers beat Amesbury 26-6 so even if the Pioneers had held on, they would not have earned a piece of the title.

So there it is. My top five.

Who knows. Maybe 2011 can crack the list on Thursday.

That's it for now. Check back Monday night for my North Reading game preview.

The 1986 Super Pioneers: Tiger Tamers Clinch a Tie

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the only Pioneer team to make it to the Super Bowl, I am taking a week by week look back at the Super 1986 season.

LHS Football Wayback Machine

November 15, 1986

After the stunning comeback against Hamilton-Wenham the previous week, there was little doubt that the Pioneers had shaken off their late season slump and were ready to claim their crown. 

But there was another huge battle to be fought, this time against the Ipswich Tigers, who came into town with the same 6-1 league record as the Pioneers. The game was to be the defacto CAL Title game.

Both teams had explosive offenses, but it was the Pioneer defense that controlled this one. They held the high-powered Tigers to only a single touchdown, their lowest output of the year. After what the Pioneers had done the week before, there would be no denying the revived Lynnfield squad.

"That game was the test," Pioneer head coach Bill Adams said of the H-W game in a 1996 interview on the 10th anniversary of the 1986 season. "That was definitely the turnaround game for the season."

Against the Tigers, Adams and his coaching staff pulled out all the stops according to the game account in the Villager by David Angelini. After a scoreless first period, the Pioneers jumped out to a lead early in the second after a "diving fumble recovery" by lineman Chris Loomos. Jay Kelleher than took a reverse handoff after a fake pitch at the Ipswich 24 and cruised easily into the endzone. Dave Frontero added the extra point and Lynnfield led 7-0.

Ipswich cut the lead to 7-6 on a 93 yard bomb shortly thereafter. They missed the PAT but had clawed to within a point. That would be as close as they would get.

The Pioneers then embarked on a 76 yard touchdown march consisting of 10 straight running plays, most by co-captain Todd Coviello. Then on the 11th play of the drive, with the Ipswich defense sucked in to stop Coviello one more time, the senior stopped and tossed a pass to a wide open quarterback Frontero at the 12 yard line. Frontero followed that with a TD pass to David Callahan. The point after was blocked, but the Pioneers took a 13-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Pioneers exploded into the second half when Jason Mochi took the opening kick and motored 74 yards for a quick six for the home team. Frontero then hit  Callahan for the two point conversion and the Pioneers led 21-6. 

Loomos, co-captain Darrell Carty and John Dean led a swarming Lynnfield defense that continued to smother the Tigers. 

From there Coviello took over. His first carry of the quarter went for 68 yards and then two plays later he punched it in for this 11th touchdown of the year. That  made it 27-6 and the declawing of the Tigers was complete.

Carty recoverd a fumble at midfield early in the fourth quarter to end an Ipswich threat, and then the Pioneer ground and pound offense ate up seven minutes of clock to seal the deal.

"We dominated the line both ways," Adams told Angelini after the game. "The team played a complete game. We went all four quarters."

The win lifted the Pioneers to 8-1 overall and clinched a tie for the CAL title at 7-1. The only team with a better record in Division Three was Lincoln Sudbury, a team Lynnfield would learn more about later in the season.

The only thing standing in the way of capturing the crown was the 2-7 North Reading Hornets, who would be coming to town on Thanksgiving morning. Also on the line, if things broke right could be a Super Bowl bid.

Adams was not taking the struggling Hornets lightly.

"We have no reason to be overconfident going into the game," the coach said. "North Reading has won a couple of games in the past few weeks and they've put a lot of points on the board."

Next: Going for it all against the Hornets.

If you played on or were involved with the 1986 team and would like to share a memory, please pass it on to me at tcondardo@gmail.com