25th straight league victory for Lynnfield

Published in the September 27, 2017 edition

E.J. UMLAH (79) wrestles Amesbury running back Zach Levarity to the turf after a short gain. (Tom Condardo Photo)

By TOM CONDARDO

LYNNFIELD — You’ll have to excuse the Amesbury Indians if last Friday night’s game at Pioneer stadium seemed like a blur. For them it was, as the speedy Pioneers struck early and often, racing to a 27-0 halftime lead and cruising home from there for their third win of the year.

The Indians (0-3) spent the first two quarters haplessly chasing the much faster Pioneers and mostly watching as the home team sped into the end zone on their first four possessions of the game. It should have been five but the officials inexplicably ended the first half with the Pioneers at the one yard line and 29 seconds showing on the clock.

The win was the 25th straight league victory for the Pioneers who once again sit atop the CAL Baker standings. It was Lynnfield’s 10th consecutive win over Amesbury. The Pioneers piled up 421 yards on the misty night and 349 of them came in the blowout first half.

“We were ready to go right from the beginning,” head coach Neal Weidman said of his squad’s first half explosion. “A couple of guys made some big plays right off the bat. It was good to come out with a win. That’s obviously what we were hoping for and moving forward hopefully we can keep that going.

Fast start

The Pioneers wasted little time putting this one away. After forcing an Amesbury punt on their first possession, Lynnfield took over at their own 27. They quickly sliced through the Indian defense on big chunk gains from John Lee (30-yard run), Matt Mortellite (14-yard run), and captain Anthony Murphy (runs of eight and nine yards), and a 17-yard Mortellite to Lee pass. Anthony Murphy (11 carries, 59 yards) did the honors from the three. Captain Cooper Marengi added the first of his three PAT’s and the Pioneers led 7-0.

Lynnfield again stopped the Indians and took over on downs at their own 28-yard line. This time it took only three plays to reach the end zone. Mortellite hit Tyler Murphy on a 34-yard hookup to start the drive. After being stopped for no gain, Tyler Murphy (6 carries, 78 yards) scampered around the left end for a 38-yard TD run to make it 13-0.

The Pioneers then forced another punt and set up shop on their own 20. Three plays later Mortellite (5 for 6 for 135 yards) found Captain Nick Kinnon (2 catches, 80 yards) who snatched the ball away from the Amesbury defender and raced to the end zone to complete a 74-yard touchdown play. That made it 20-0 as the first quarter ended.

The home team picked up right where they left off on their opening drive of the second quarter. A third down sack by Zach Huynh forced a punt and Kinnon put them in great field position with a 27-yard return to the Indian 23. Five plays later, Jason Ndansi scooted down the left sideline to make it 27-0 midway in the second.

“In the first half four or five of our guys with speed all made plays,” said Weidman. “We were definitely a faster team than they are but that’s our strength this year.”

Meanwhile, the Pioneer defense was again impenetrable, posting their second shutout in three games and holding Amesbury to 98 total yards. The Ndansi brothers took care of the turnovers with Jason picking off an interception and Justin recovering a fumble.

Second half backup time

Weidman opened the third quarter with his second team offense as the starters got a chance to sit out the rest of the game.

“I wanted (the second team) to get some meaningful time,” Weidman explained. “They are all a play away from being in the game. They did a nice job picking up a few first downs and keeping the clock moving.”

The Pioneers got inside the 25 twice but couldn’t punch it in. Amesbury got as deep as the Lynnfield 29 but could get no further.

THIS WEEK: Winthrop

The Pioneers host Winthrop Friday night in a non-league clash in their fourth straight home game. It will be only the second meeting ever with the Vikings. In their only other game, The Pioneers beat Winthrop 35-14 in the Division 4 North final in 2014.

The Vikings are struggling through a rebuilding year and come into the game 0-3 after losing to Danvers (31-0), Medford (26-8), and Swampscott (48-6). The have only seven seniors on the team and play three freshmen regularly.

Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 p.m.