Lynnfield football wins on road against Fenwick

PEABODY – There’s nothing like making a good impression when you visit someone’s home, and that’s exactly what the Lynnfield football team did last night against Fenwick. The Pioneers scored on the game’s opening kickoff, and had a 21-0 edge after the first period. They trounced the Crusaders, 42-21, at Donaldson Field.Lynnfield42Fenwick21 Returner Rick Berardino gathered Ryan Lipka’s boot at his 5, and found open field straight ahead through the middle of the turf. After he made his way past midfield, he outraced Lipka at the Fenwick 40, and into the end zone for the game’s first points.”Ricky just hit the hole hard at full speed, and he busted right through,” said Lynnfield coach Neil Weidman, whose team improved to 3-0. “He’s been quite a playmaker for us all season.”The Crusaders (0-3) put together a sustained drive when they got possession, but were unable to advance past midfield. Pioneers back Jeff Gannon (10-73) picked up ten yards over two carries and a first down at the Fenwick 40. Quarterback Gino Cohee (6-10-0-127) hit teammate A.J. Roberto on a short screen along the right side, and Roberto stayed along the far sidelines, outrunning the coverage to improve Lynnfield’s margin to 14-0 less than five minutes in.After Fenwick went three-and-out, Cohee led the Pioneers to another score. Consecutive runs by the quarterback gave the team a first down at the Crusaders 38. He again teamed with Roberto, first on a short eight-yarder to the 30, which was followed by a 20-yard strike to the 10. Cohee scored three plays later to increase the lead to 21-0 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.”We had all kinds of schemes to try to stop him, but whether it’s through running or passing, he can hurt you either way,” said Fenwick coach Dave Woods of Cohee. “We just didn’t have an answer for him.”The Crusaders couldn’t come up with any answers for the Pioneers in the second, either. After Fenwick went three-and-out early in the stanza, Lynnfield regained possession at Fenwick’s 43. Two plays was all it took for the team to score. Gannon took a pitch from Cohee, cut left and along the sidelines, before being brought down at the 7. Gannon scored on the following play to give the team a 28-0 advantage.The Pioneers closed the scoring in the half with just under five minutes remaining. Taking over at Fenwick’s 44, Cohee connected with receiver Steve Ullian for 30 yards to the Crusaders 14. Back Michael Thomas gained 11 yards to the 3, and found his way into the end zone on the next play for a 35-0 halftime edge.”They have an incredible amount of team speed,” said Woods of the Pioneers. “They do a good job with it, and that’s been one of our weaknesses (stopping other teams’ speed).”Fenwick duplicated Lynnfield’s feat of scoring on the opening kickoff, when returner Bill Klemczuk ran back Ullian’s kick 87 yards beginning the second half to put the Crusaders on the board. Cohee scored his second touchdown on the Pioneers’ next possession.Crusaders quarterback Bret Kidik (18-32-2-164) fired a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns (to Klemczuk and Lipka, respectively) to end the scoring.