By TOM CONDARDO
LYNNFIELD — On October 18, 1958, the Pioneers traveled to Holliston and beat the Panthers 22-16 for the first-ever varsity football win for LHS. Fifty-seven years and 293 Pioneer wins later, the two schools will face off again this Saturday with the EMass Division 4 Championship and a Super Bowl trip to Gillette Stadium on the line.
The reunion at Cawley Stadium in Lowell nearly six decades later will feature two undefeated squads with high-octane offenses, stingy defenses, and a mission on their minds. After losing in the D4 North semi-finals last year, the Pioneers have kept a single-minded focus on their goal this season. They’ve plowed through the regular season and three playoff games while obliterating the opposition by a 365-47 count.
In Holliston, the Pioneers will find a team similarly driven. The Panthers lost in the Division 4 South finals last year and rededicated themselves to advancing further this season. They have been successful so far, outscoring their 10 opponents 398-165. They earned their trip to the state semi-finals with a convincing 35-13 win over a Middleborough team that also went into the game undefeated.
“They’re good,” said Pioneer head coach Neal Weidman. “They’re super athletic and are really fast on both sides of the ball. They’re good across the board.”
Weidman and his staff have extra homework this week prepping for Holliston as the Panthers run two distinct offenses, switching at will throughout the game. Against Middleborough, they started with a wide-open spread offense similar to the one that the Pioneers run. By the second quarter, they were running a run-heavy double wing similar to Winthrop, with tight splits like North Reading.
Regardless of the formation, their goal is clear: Get the ball into the hands of senior captain Nick Athy. He is dangerous running or throwing out of the spread and at 6’0” and 193, turns into a brutal running back in the double wing. He’s big and strong and tough to bring down and unlike anyone the Pioneers have faced this season.
Offensively, the Panthers come in averaging just under 40 points per game, slightly higher than the Pioneers’ 36.5. Lynnfield appears to have the edge on defense, allowing only 4.7 points per game to Holliston’s 16.5. Winthrop has been the only team to score more than once against the Pioneers. Three teams have scored twice on the Panthers and five teams have tallied three times.
For the Pioneers to advance to Gillette, their stellar defense will have to contain Athy and shut down both versions of the Panther offense. Game time at Cawley Stadium is 1:30 p.m.
