Lynnfield outlasts Ipswich

LYNNFIELD ? Lynnfield’s football team took a ride on a roller coaster Saturday morning. The Pioneers’ 13 unanswered points proved to be enough in a 13-7 win over Ipswich.”We are still a pretty young team,” Pioneers coach Neal Weidman said. “I think we really need to learn how to finish a team off. It’s great that they stepped up and held onto this.”It was a lackluster start for Lynnfield. The Tigers meticulously marched down the field on their first drive. It took 15 plays and virtually the entire first quarter. The drive culminated when Sean McHugh hooked up with Jim Cadogan for a seven-yard touchdown pass.After both teams swapped four-and-outs, the Pioneers mounted a methodical drive of their own and took away all of the game’s momentum. Twelve plays later, the Pioneers scored on a perfectly executed reverse by Chris Grassi.During the drive, Gino Cohee began to take over the game with his legs. The sophomore quarterback was simply brilliant, rushing for 147 yards on 22 carries, headlining a three-headed rushing attack that also featured Grassi and Ben Salisbury.”We went into the game expecting to have a balanced attack (on offense),” said Weidman. “But the game called for us to run the ball.”The Pioneers scored again with 31 seconds left in the first half. Cohee rolled out to his left on third and goal and found A.J. Roberto over the middle, in the back of the end zone.The second half was all about defense for the Pioneers. Ipswich had the ball on 4th-and-1 at the two-yard line with 1:24 remaining in the third quarter. However, Lynnfield kept the Tigers out of the end zone as Cadogan was stuffed trying to run up the middle.Two plays later, Cohee gave the Pioneers a lot of breathing room. After faking an inside handoff to Salisbury, he tore off a 50-yard run, though Lynnfield was unable to score on the drive.After a botched snap on a punt, Ipswich got one last chance in the red zone in the closing minutes of the game. However, the Pioneers’ defense again stood strong.Eric Inglese had a strong second half defensively, making a pair of huge tackles in the backfield.