Third straight shutout gives Weidman 60th win as Lynnfield head coach
Published in the October 14, 2015 edition
CAPTAIN CJ Finn (11) and Evan Battaglia (21) team up to stop Hornet running back Chris Carr (29) in Friday’s 32-0 shut out. (Tom Condardo Photo)
By TOM CONDARDO
MANCHESTER — Scores don’t always tell the whole story and that was certainly the case in the Pioneers’ 32-0 win over Manchester-Essex last Friday night. The final score looked nearly identical to the 31-0 win over Ipswich last week but, in reality, the two games were much different.
Playing in a steady drizzle for the second week in a row, the Pioneers had to fight off a determined Hornet team with a roster of only 30. The Pioneers scored on their first two possessions, then the Hornets stiffened and held the Pioneers to a 12-0 halftime lead.
Where last week head coach Neal Weidman was able to unload his bench in the second half, this week his starters needed until deep into the final quarter to finally nail this one down.
“We knew they were big and fast with a lot of seniors,” Weidman said of the Hornets (3-2, 2-1 Baker). “They have speed, they’re athletic and they’re pretty tough.”
PIONEER Matt Giannasca (64) wraps up Hornet Robbie Sarmanian (8) for a loss in Friday night’s victory. (Tom Condardo Photo)
Weidman’s 60th win
The win was the 60th for Weidman at LHS (see separate story), but that wasn’t foremost on the coach’s mind. “I don’t keep track of those things,” the coach said. “It’s nice but it’s more important that we won the game and took over first place in our league.”
The win lifts the Pioneers to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the CAL Baker with a chance to clinch a fourth straight league title next week against Georgetown. It was the Pioneers’ 18th straight league win going back to 2012.
The defense was on top of its game again, posting its third straight shutout. The Pioneers bottled up the Hornet Wing T offense, forcing three and outs on their first four possessions and allowing only two first downs in the first half, one on a facemask penalty. Overall the Pioneers held the Hornets to 66 yards of net offense.
“The defense has been playing well and we needed it tonight,” said Weidman.
ALEX SODEN led the Pioneers in rushing with 51 yards and two TDs in eight carries in the win over M-E. (Tom Condardo Photo)
Stalling offense
That’s because the offense sputtered after a crisp start. Alex Soden capped the Pioneers’ first two drives with runs of one and three yards. The Hornets blocked Dan Bronshvayg’s PAT on the first score and quarterback Jake McHugh was sacked on a two point conversion try on the second, leaving Lynnfield with a 12-0 lead. Their next three drives died deep in Hornet territory as the Pioneers failed to cash in from the M-E 25, 30 and 20.
“We kept shooting ourselves in the foot there in the first half,” Weidman said. “We scored two in a row and looked like we were going in again but some bad snaps, penalties and a fumble hurt us.”
Kinnon scores 82-yard TD
Sophomore Nick Kinnon got things turned around in a hurry when he took the second half kickoff and rocketed 82 yards for the score. A snap-hold snafu snuffed out the PAT try but the Pioneers still led 18-0.
Lynnfield pulled away early in the fourth with two quick scoring drives. After a bad snap and poor punt gave the Pioneers the ball at the M-E 26, Captain Drew Balestrieri carried four straight times on the same play to blast his way into the end zone from the 1. Bronshvayg’s kick was good to increase the lead to 25-0. Kinnon put the icing on the cake with a nifty 31-yard sprint down the left sideline to make it 31-0.
“Kinnon’s kick return was key,” Weidman said of the sophomore’s TD return. “It gave us the spark we needed. He plays with a lot of energy.”
“We need to handle adversity a little better,” Weidman said when asked what improvements need to be made with his squad. “We lost our composure there for a bit and it took us a while to get it back.”
This week: Georgetown
The Pioneers return to face winless Georgetown this Friday night with a chance to clinch the Baker League title. The Royals have struggled under new head coach Eric McCarthy, having scored only three touchdowns in five games. They are giving up almost 35 points a game.
The Pioneers have stormed through their Baker schedule so far, winning their three games by a combined 104-0 count. They’ve allowed a total of 201 yards and 11 first downs in the three wins.
Game time at Pioneer Stadium is 7 p.m.
