Lynnfield brings home CAL title

It had been 23 long years since Lynnfield’s football team could call itself conference champions, but the wait is over. The Pioneers captured the Cape Ann League Small crown after dispatching Hamilton-Wenham, 21-3.”I’m very happy for the kids,” Lynnfield’s coach Neal Weidman said as a Gatorade shower rained down on his back. “There were a lot of people (who worked hard to get us to this point). But most of all we earned this because the kids wanted to work at it.”As the score indicates, there was no doubt that Lynnfield was the better team on the field on Sunday, but the game did not go as smoothly as Weidman and the Pioneers envisioned. Lynnfield racked up 80 yards in penalties and an illegal shift nullified a 97-yard touchdown pass from Gino Cohee to Tyler Surette. The Pioneers also committed three turnovers: two fumbles on special teams and an interception.”We definitely did not play our best game,” said Weidman. “Hopefully now that (winning the conference) is behind us we will play better down the stretch and in the playoffs.”George Hennessey got the scoring started for Lynnfield. The senior capped off a six-play, 83-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The senior had a nice day amassing 81 yards on six carries to go along with the touchdown.Cohee’s outstanding 2010 campaign continued as the junior quarterback scored his 14th rushing touchdown of the season in the second quarter. He ran 45 yards on the day and went 9-for-16 for 117 yards through the air.While Lynnfield struggled a bit on offense at least with discipline (the squad gained 280 total yards), its defensive unit had an outstanding game. Junior Evan Panzero was absolutely dominating in the middle of the defensive line. Statistically he finished the day with nine tackles including a fourth quarter sack. Even on plays where Panzero didn’t make the tackle he was creating havoc and was the catalyst for the Pioneers holding the Generals to only 49 yards on 29 carries.”(Panzero) really did have a great game,” said Weidman. “He was one of many kids who had been sick all week.”The week’s most heroic performance came from Freddy Shove who was playing with a heavy heart after tragically losing a sibling earlier in the week. The sophomore turned in a superb performance on defense, defending a pair of passes (including one that he almost intercepted) and he made four tackles.”For him to play that well under these circumstances is truly a tribute to him,” said Weidman.Lynnfield held the Generals to only 124 yards of total offense. Seniors Chris Grassi and Nick Roberts each intercepted a Dylan Keith pass.The Pioneers final score came when Grassi threw his only pass of the game. He hooked up with fellow senior Surette, who got a little redemption after having the long touchdown pass taken away from him earlier in the game.