Item Football 2009: Returnees leave Lynnfield feeling some optimism

Last Thanksgiving, the Lynnfield High football team got something to say thanks about: a 21-0 victory over North Reading.”Winning the last game of the year was obviously a nice way to finish last year and start off this year,” second-year Lynnfield coach Neal Weidman said. “It was a close game, if you look at the stats.”The touchdown stats were encouraging for the Pioneers, as the three players who scored – Chris Grassi, Gino Cohee and A.J. Roberto – are all back for the 2009 season.Overall, the Pioneers struggled in 2008, going 3-8. The coach said he is optimistic that last season provided valuable experience to his team.”I’d say we’re kind of a combination of being a little bigger by being a little older, and a little more athletic by being a bit older,” Weidman said.The season begins Saturday at home against Matignon. Lynnfield plays in the Cape Ann League/Small, and the schedule includes non-league games against Cathedral, Triton, Wilmington and Danvers.”The CAL/Small was really good last year, and it will be good again this year,” Weidman said. Asked which school is the team to beat in the CAL/Small in 2009, Weidman said, “It could be any number of teams.”The team has four captains for 2009: George and Joe Hennessy, John Leydon, and Jack Inglese. Other returning starters are Grassi, Nick Roberts, Dante Padovani, and Tim LaMusta, and juniors Roberto, Cohee, and Evan Panzero.Cohee, Grassi and Roberto are all vying for the quarterback spot, and each can play wide receiver and linebacker as well. They can also run the ball, as can both George Hennessy and Jeff Gannon.”Hopefully, a bunch of guys will step up (on offense) so we don’t have any one person burdened,” Weidman said, “and so we can spread out and make other teams defend a bunch of people.”On defense, George and Joe Hennessy, Roberto and Panzero are all returning starters, and the defensive backfield includes Roberts, LaMusta, and Grassi.Steve Ullian is the kicker on the team, while LaMusta is the punter.Between 45 and 50 players have come out for the team.”Our strengths, hopefully, are experience and leadership,” Weidman said. “We have quite a few seniors for us.” As for weaknesses, the coach said, “There’s always stuff to work on,” adding that consistency is “probably the biggest.”The team scrimmaged Pope John and Mystic Valley on Saturday, Aug. 29, and also scheduled scrimmages against Salem on Tuesday, Sept. 1, and the Northeast Voke on Saturday, Sept. 5.Asked how the Pope John and Mystic Valley scrimmages turned out, the coach said, “Fine. We played a lot of guys. We tried to play everyone on the team so we could get a look, including freshmen.”This is Weidman’s sophomore season as a head coach, but he has plenty of experience on the sidelines. Of last season, he said, “I had an idea of what to expect. I’d have liked to win some more games. We took some steps in the right direction.”