Lynnfield blanks Chelsea to keep the ball rolling

CHELSEA – Having completed the non-league portion of its schedule a perfect 6-0 with last night’s 28-0 whitewash of Chelsea in a driving rain at Memorial Stadium, the Lynnfield High football team can now turn its attention to its pursuit of a second straight Cape Ann Small championship and a return to the post-season.Lynnfield28Chelsea0 The quest begins next Friday night at Amesbury. While coach Neal Weidman in September identified the Indians as a major obstacle on the path toward a successful title defense, he added last night that the league as a whole is playing solid football.”We need to clean some things up as we head into the league. Amesbury is good and we go to Amesbury and then Newburyport. We’re 6-0 and they [the players] need to know there is plenty of room for improvement,” Weidman said. “They have specific goals they want to accomplish and they’re smart enough to know the first six games are not going to get them to where they want to be.”Despite the outcome, Chelsea (2-4) held the Pioneers’ high-powered attack in check for long stretches while becoming the first team to hold Lynnfield to fewer than 30 points in a game this season. For the most part, the Red Devils stacked 10 players within five yards of the scrimmage line and dared Lynnfield to go over the top, which they did with little success. The Pioneers maintained control by churning out 218 rushing yards and cashing in on several Chelsea turnovers.Lynnfield put two scores on the board in the game’s first four minutes. The Pioneers opened the game with a 6-play, 60-yard scoring drive finished off by Rick Berardino’s 29-yard scoring dash around the right side on an option pitch with just 2:56 expired. Two plays after Lynnfield recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, AJ Roberto bounced in from five yards out then hauled in the two-point conversion pass from quarterback Gino Cohee for a 14-0 edge with 7:38 left in the first quarter.The remainder of the game devolved into a series of turnovers and missed opportunities. The Pioneers’ defense dominated throughout, limiting the hosts to a net minus-7 yards of offense and two first downs. Chelsea never advanced beyond the Lynnfield 45-yardline and the Pioneers’ Andrew Kiberian, Jonathan Roberto and DJ DeGeorge all had sacks of beleaguered Chelsea quarterback Jordan Virellas.The Pioneers put it away early in the third period when Jeff Gannon (7 carries, 41 yards) rumbled in from six yards for the first of his two TDs and added the two-point conversion for a 22-0 lead. Berardino’s diving interception at the Chelsea 45 set up the score.Gannon finished the scoring with 7:31 to play, slicing in from nine yards on the first play after the Red Devils mishandled a punt snap.”This was a good test – they played us tough on defense and had a good combination of speed and size. We know we have to get better and clean some things up,” Weidman concluded.