READING – Punting has become a huge issue this year. When do you punt? When do you not punt? Why do you not punt?We heard about it ad nauseam after the New England Patriots lost to the Indianapolis Colts last month. And the folks from Lynnfield might be asking today why their team didn’t attempt to put Austin Prep inside the 10-yard line as the Pioneers clung to a one-point lead in a game they eventually lost, 26-20, in overtime to the Cougars.Click here for a photo gallery.The win puts Austin Prep into its first-ever Super Bowl, where the Cougars will play Holliston Saturday (9) in the Division 3A matchup at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.The scenario: This was a classic back-and-forth game, with each team answering the other’s scores until the very end. And when Gino Cohee went in from the one-yard line with 1:05 left in the third quarter, Lynnfield had a 13-12 lead.On the first series of the fourth quarter, Lynnfield’s Joe Hennessey blocked an Austin Prep punt, giving the Pioneers (10-2) excellent field position at the AP 37. With the quarters only 10 minutes long, it gave Lynnfield an excellent opportunity not only to kill some time off the clock, but also to, perhaps, put more points on the board and seal the deal.However, Austin Prep held, and on third-and-five from the 32, a Cohee pass fell incomplete. After trying to draw the Cougars offside in an attempt to make a first down, Lynnfield called a timeout and came back with another pass play – which also fell incomplete, giving the Cougars the ball at their own 32.”I thought about punting,” said Lynnfield coach Neal Weidman, “but there were a couple of things to consider. First, I didn’t want them, if they were going to score, to do it with too little time left on the clock; and second, if it goes into the end zone, they get the ball on the 20, and it’s not that much of a swing.”I’ll take my chances on a fourth-and-five from the 32 any time,” Weidman said. “We get a first down there, we can take a lot of time off the clock.”To his credit, Weidman’s strategy didn’t exactly fail. Austin Prep did score, thanks mainly to the running and receiving of nifty running back Ray Acciavatti (22-for-136 on the ground; and 3-for-50 catching the ball). He did all the work on the drive, and Matt Mulcahy put it in from the one-yard line with 2:10 left in the game. Acciavatti converted on the rush, and it was 20-13 Austin Prep and – at that point – things looked mighty bleak indeed for the Pioneers.But hold the phone. Austin Prep tried a squib kick and Lynnfield got it at midfield. It only took two plays for the Pioneers to tie it up: A 20-yard pass from Cohee to Michael Pescione; and an acrobatic 30-yard reception by Tyler Surrette.Still, with 1:45 to go, Lynnfield couldn’t rest easily. Austin Prep marched right back down the field, and got to the Pioneer 22 before launching a desperation field goal attempt that not only was no good, but could have easily resulted in the game-winning TD for Lynnfield. A Pioneer player picked it up and ran with it all the way to the Lynnfield 37 before Austin Prep finally made the tackle.In overtime, the Cougars had a horseshoe somewhere on the grounds at Reading Memorial Stadium. The overtime format puts each team at the 10-yard line with four tries to score. If teams score touchdowns, they must go for the two-point conversion.”That’s so you won’t keep having overtime after overtime,” said Weidman, who has one of the area’s better kickers (Steve Ullian) on his roster.The Cougars got it down to the one-yard line in three plays, and on the fourth-down play, quarterback J.R. Richard fumbled the snap. But he was able to pick it up and lunge forward to the end zone for the touchdown that gave Austin Prep a 26-20 lead.The Pioneers got it down to the 11/2-yard-line by the fourth down of their series, but Cohee, lining up in the shotgun, couldn’t get back to the line of scrimmage. Mulcahy met him about two yards in the backfield and dropped him for the loss ? an