Lynnfield defeats Ipswich

IPSWICH – On a classic New England fall evening, Lynnfield managed to put together just enough offense and defense to defeat host Ipswich, 13-6.Lynnfield (4-3) struggled with the upstart Tigers (1-5) for the majority of the game and needed some big plays on both offense and defense to wrest control of the game.”They play us very tough every year,” said Lynnfield coach Neal Weidman. “They are a scrappy team who comes to play every week. They have some very tough kids.”For the Pioneers, junior quarterback Michael Karavetsos was instrumental in the win. Coming out of the half down 6-0, Karavetsos helped to get a stagnant Lynnfield offense moving, grinding out tough rushing yards and also finding Alexander Pascucci on a 28-yard post.Lynnfield took a 7-6 lead on a Karavetsos 30-yard rush, where on a quarterback draw Karavetsos was able to find a seam through the Ipswich line and break down the hashmarks for a score. Karavetsos finished the game with 74 yards rushing.In the fourth quarter, Karavetsos completed the big play pass that Lynnfield had been looking for all game, finding a wide-open Nicola Varano for a 53-yard touchdown.In the first half, Ipswich managed to eat up the clock with misdirection runs in between the tackles and power sweeps. On the Tigers’ second possession of the game, already leading on a Derek Chamberlain two-yard touchdown, the offense was moving steadily downfield when Pascucci fully extended to make an interception and snuff out momentum.In the second half, the Lynnfield defense buckled down to force Ipswich into two three-and-outs and two losses of possession on downs. The defense was led by Jonathan Roberto and Terin O’Neil.”We were able to pick it up a bit in the second half,” said Weidman. “In the first (half) they were blocking well and in the second half we managed to start to get off of some of those blocks.”In a curious moment to end the game, with Ipswich moving the ball and 20 seconds remaining in the game, the Tigers gained four yards on a Louis Galanis rush. The third down play was still a yard short of the first down; however, the Ipswich offense lost track of downs and rushed back to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball on fourth down. The play gave the Pioneers possession and the victory.