Published in the December 30, 2015 edition
PRESENTED special awards at the annual Pioneer football team banquet were, from left: Drew Balestrieri, Drew McCarthy, Cam DeGeorge, Alex Soden, CJ Finn, Dan Bronshvayg and Spencer Balian. (Tom Condardo Photo)
By TOM CONDARDO
LYNNFIELD — Befitting a team than rolled through an undefeated league schedule and outscored its Baker Division opponents 195-15, the Lynnfield Pioneers dominated the Cape Ann League’s All League awards.
The awards were presented at the team’s recent breakup banquet. CJ Finn became the fourth straight Pioneer to win the League MVP award. Cam DeGeorge was named Lineman of the Year while Drew McCarthy earned Offensive Player of the Year honors. Drew Balestrieri and Spencer Balian were also named CAL All-League.
Earning All-League Honorable Mention for the four-time Baker Division champs were seniors Jake McHugh, Evan Battaglia, Trevor Caswell, Brendan Rothwell, Max Robert, Alex Soden, Easie Philantrope, Ricky Johnson and Dan Bronshvayg, as well as junior Louis Ellis.
EARNING CAL All-League football honors for their accomplishments during the 2015 season were, from left: Drew Balestrieri, Drew McCarthy, Cam DeGeorge, CJ Finn and Spencer Balian. (Tom Condardo Photo)
Lynnfield is now 20-0 in its last four league campaigns and has established a league record of 34-6 overall in the past four years.
Weidman and assistant coaches John O’Brien, Gino Fodera, Chris Sakelakos, Fern Lavoie, Pat Lamusta, Vin Calderone and Ryan Sheehan presented a variety of awards to the players.
DeGeorge, a four-year starter who will be headed to Syracuse in the fall, has been named All-Scholastic by three newspapers, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald and the Daily Item. He was also named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Team awards went to Finn (Most Valuable Player), McCarthy (Offensive Player of the Year), and Dan Bronshvayg, who took the Special Teams Player of the Year honor for the second year in a row.
Other awards were earned by Balestrieri (Coaches’ Award), Bronshvayg (LAA Scholar Athlete and Lynnfield Pioneer Football Club Scholar), Soden (12th Man), Balian (Unsung Hero) and Finn (Wakefield Co-op Bank Scholarship).
Games balls for the eight Pioneer wins this year were presented to Battaglia (Newburyport), Caswell (Amesbury), Robert (Manchester-Essex), Johnson (Georgetown), McHugh (Hamilton-Wenham), Philantrope (Ipswich), Rothwell (Triton), and McCarthy, Balian, Balestrieri, DeGeorge, Finn (North Reading).
Weidman also announced that captains for the 2016 season would be Ellis, Kyle Hawes, Mike Stellato and Alex Boustris.
