UPDATE: Gridmen defeat Newburyport 44-21, wins fifth straight following senior night victory over Triton

MADUX IOVINELLI had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown in Lynnfield’s 38-3 win over Triton on Senior Night at LHS. (Kiera Mallett Photo)

 

 

After press time:
Lynnfield defeats Newburyport 44-21 (Oct. 18)

 

By JAMES CRANNEY

LYNNFIELD – The Pioneers have come a long way since week one.

Following their 21-6 season-opening loss to North Attleboro, Lynnfield has rattled off three straight wins and outscored their opponents 104-25.

Last Friday night, the Pioneers improved to 4-1 on senior night with a 38-3 win over Triton, who fell to 3-2.

A slow Pioneer start shared a comparable feel to the Amesbury game the week prior. It also yielded a similar result, as Lynnfield ran away with the victory in the end.

After electing to receive the opening kickoff, the Vikings offense took the field starting at their own 31-yard line. A 10-yard pass play from Braylon Lupa to Carl Lucy began the drive, but the Vikings turned to the ground game for the remainder of the series. Averaging over 4 yards per carry, Triton took nearly 7 minutes off the clock marching into Pioneer territory.

Facing 4^th and 6 at Lynnfield’s 17-yard line, the Vikings tried fooling the home team with a play action pass. Lupa rolled right then dumped it off again to Lucy. The Triton receiver put his head down as he raced towards the first down marker.  Before he could reach the line to gain, senior captain Jesse Dorman came in like a missile and knocked the receiver out of bounds.

The Pioneer defense had done their job, but were soon on their heels again.

A high-powered Lynnfield offense struggled on their first possession, punting after just three plays.

Triton’s senior captain Jayden Torres returned the Pioneer punt all the way to Lynnfield’s 11-yard line. With their backs against the wall, the defense stood their ground and forced the Vikings to settle for a 37-yard field goal.

Trailing 3-0 early in the 2^nd quarter, Lynnfield finally found their offensive footing.

Senior captain quarterback Tyler Adamo (9-14, 117 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns) got things rolling distributing the ball to receivers Dan Lemieux (1 catch, 10 receiving yards), Madux Iovinelli (5 catches, 75 receiving yards, 1 TD) and Jesse Dorman (2 catches, 27 receiving yards). The Pioneers advanced the ball inside Triton’s 10-yard line, but settled for a 26-yard Massimo LoGrasso (1/1 field goals, 5/5 PAT’s) field goal to tie the game.

Sometimes in a tight contest, one big play can change everything. Tied 3-3 late in the 2^nd quarter, Lynnfield would get that play and open the floodgates.

With just 3:27 remaining before halftime, the Vikings were forced to punt near midfield. That is when Iovinelli came flying off the edge and swatted the Triton punt deep into the backfield. The ball was continuously kicked around until finally being downed at the Vikings’ 5-yard line. 

“Huge play by Madux,” commented Pioneers head coach Pat Lamusta on the blocked punt. “I didn’t even think he was within the air space to block it. We were backed up earlier playing defense in our red zone twice, but after that punt block, we finally had some good starting field position.”

When it came to their location on the field along with newfound momentum, Lynnfield took full advantage.

On the very first play following the blocked punt, Adamo dropped a screen pass left for senior receiver Spencer D’Augusta (2 carries, 1 catch, 10 rushing yards, 5 receiving yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 receiving touchdown) who took it in for the 5-yard score.

A Triton three-and-out handed the ball back to a hungry Pioneer offense which only needed one play again to score more points.

At the Vikings 37-yard line, Adamo got a Triton cornerback to bite on a pump fake before lofting a high pass for Iovinelli. After changing the game with the blocked punt, Iovinelli’s 37-yard touchdown reception now gave Lynnfield a 17-3 commanding lead going into the locker room.

In the second half, Triton’s chance to get back in the game was thwarted early when junior linebacker Nick Kelter jumped on a fumbled Vikings ball. D’Augusta got his second touchdown and a 13-yard scoring run from senior captain Jared Bernabei (5 carries, 28 rushing yards, 1 TD) would put the final nail in Triton’s coffin.

With both benches emptied, the Pioneers were able to let some future varsity starters take meaningful snaps. Following junior quarterback Matt Tracy’s 13-yard touchdown run, the final horn sounded with Lynnfield sending the seniors off victorious.

While the 38-3 senior night win was another step in the right direction, there is still much to be cleaned up. As the game went on in the second half, there were several instances by both teams of pushing and jawing proceeding plays. The Pioneers ended the night committing nine penalties costing them a total of 90 yards.

“Definitely want to clean up the penalties and work on that for sure,” stated Lamusta after the game. “It’s a mindset thing. We’re very fortunate we have athletic competitive guys we just need to work on harnessing the energy and not getting baited into the ticky-tack stuff.”

If Lynnfield wants to make it five wins in a row next Friday night at 2-3 Newburyport, avoiding penalties and playing disciplined football will be critical. A win is still a win though, and doing it on senior night always makes it a little more special.

‘These seniors, they play all over the field,” said the coach. “They’re a really great, athletic group and they’re so competitive, so I was really happy that they got this one.”