Published in the February 10, 2016 edition
IT WAS A proud moment for Pioneer captains Cam DeGeorge and CJ Finn to gather at the LHS gymnasium and sign their college football letters of intent with support from their families. From left, Cam’s mother, Lisa DeGeorge and Cam DeGeorge, who will attend UConn, and CJ Finn, who will attend Assumption, with his father, Chris Finn, and his sister, Alexis Finn. (Tom Condardo Photo)
By TOM CONDARDO
LYNNFIELD — Orange may be the new black, but Lynnfield football captain Cam DeGeorge will be sticking with navy blue when he moves on to college ball next season.
DeGeorge, who had verbally committed to Syracuse in the fall, changed plans when Orange head coach Scott Shafer was dismissed following the 2015 season. Instead, DeGeorge has opted for the University of Connecticut, signing his letter of intent to play for the Huskies last Wednesday in a ceremony held in the Pioneeers’ gymnasium.
“Between the coaching change and some family matters I wanted to be closer to home,” said DeGeorge, a 6’5”, 275-pounder who was a four-year starter for the Pioneers. “With the entire coaching staff gone, everyone I had built a relationship with at Syracuse was no longer there. That made it easier for me to switch.”
DONNING their new college hats, Cam DeGeorge (left) and CJ Finn (right) flank Pioneer coach Neal Weidman, the man who guided their solid high school football careers for the past four years. (Tom Condardo Photo)
DeGeorge was heavily recruited, getting offers from Rutgers, NC State, Wake Forest, Purdue and UMass.
“It was a difficult choice,” said DeGeorge who was one of two offensive linemen in the highly touted Husky recruiting class. “I just thought the UConn coaching staff and facilities would be better for me personally.”
DeGeorge is one of only a few Pioneers ever to go on to play at a Division 1 power conference.
“It will be a lot of hard work and I’ll definitely be challenged a lot more, but I’m ready for it,” he said.
Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman agrees.
“His size and athleticism makes him a little bit different than most kids in the area,” he said. “That’s a real individual thing as far as who’s capable of doing that. A lot of things have to go right. Ability and size also is a big part of it. You have to fit the mold.”
Finn to Assumption
Also signing his letter of intent on Wednesday was Pioneer captain CJ Finn who is heading for Assumption College in Worcester. Finn said the competitive atmosphere there was a key in making his decision.
“Being around a bunch of competitors makes you work harder and at Assumption that’s what I found,” said Finn, who will be playing linebacker for the Greyhounds. “They really want to win. The kids there are really close and it’s more of a family than some of the other programs.”
Finn will be reunited with former Pioneer captain DJ DeGeorge, brother of Cam, who will be a junior at Assumption next fall. Finn had also considered going to Bentley.
“The program at Assumption seemed like a better fit,” he said. “That was the biggest factor.”
“CJ is super smart and totally reliable,” Weidman said of his four-year starter. “He played a ton of football at middle linebacker and never missed any time.”
Both Cam DeGeorge and Finn were instrumental in a stellar run that saw the Pioneers compile a 37-9 record over four years, win four straight league championships, a Division 4 North title, and make a trip to the Super Bowl.
“It was a great experience,” said DeGeorge. “It started off coming in as a freshman going to the Super Bowl and every year it just got better and better. The team just kept getting closer and it was a lot of fun.”
“It was definitely great,” agreed Finn. “A bunch of guys that loved each other and loved winning. I wouldn’t change the guys I played with or the coaching staff for the world. It was a great four years.”
“This is awesome,” Weidman said of the signing day ceremony at LHS. “I’m really proud of them. They’re two great kids, always willing to help anywhere they could.”
Several other Pioneers will continue their playing careers next year at the college level. Captain Drew Balestrieri is heading to Salve Regina. Captain Drew McCarthy, Evan Battaglia, Trevor Caswell, and Jake McHugh are still undecided.
“We’re getting a lot more traffic from recruiters now,” said Weidman. “It’s increased tenfold since I started. We’ve had a really good group of kids and have sent a lot of them to play college football relative to years’ past. More and more kids are interested in moving on. Hopefully part of that is because of the experience they have playing in high school and they don’t want to let it go.”
