Big fourth quarter dooms Lynnfield in 37-18 loss to North Reading

NO. READING – Given the circumstances, the Lynnfield High football team hung in there perhaps longer than anyone could have reasonably expected Thanksgiving morning at Kenney Field.Click here for a photo gallery of this game.Undermanned and further wounded by an injury to junior quarterback Mike Karavetsos early in the second quarter, the Pioneers nursed an 18-16 lead into the fourth quarter. However, they couldn’t close the deal as a 21-point North Reading outburst carried the Hornets (4-1, 7-3) to a 37-18 win, their first in the series since 2007, and second place in the final NEC/CAL Tier 4 standings.North Reading’s Single Wing attack wore down the Pioneers. Powered by junior back Carl Lipani’s monster effort (40 carries, 214 yards, 4 TDs), the Hornets held substantial edges in total offense (353-177), rushing yardage (340-75), first downs (19-6) and time of possession (26:22-17:38).”We tried to pull it off with a little smoke and mirrors and it worked for awhile,” said Lynnfield coach Neal Weidman, whose club finished 5-6. “The game plan was good initially, but they (North Reading) went to some other things and we just couldn’t get enough three-and-outs. I thought we kept fighting and hung in there as long as we could.”Lynnfield actually raced out to a 12-0 lead, putting two scores on the board before the Hornets’ offense saw the field. Set up by Steve Yobaccio’s game-opening 58-yard kickoff return, Karavetsos swept the left side for a 32-yard touchdown run and an immediate 6-0 lead.Anthony Costa then recovered a North Reading fumble at the Hornets’ 30 on the ensuing kickoff and capped the drive by hauling in Karavetsos’s 5-yard TD flip that put the Pioneers up, 12-0, with 7:30 left in the opening quarter.Once it gained traction, North Reading’s offense began to impose its will. Turned back on downs at the Lynnfield 14 early in the second quarter, the Hornets got on the board two minutes later. Lipani’s 44-yard dash preceded his own 1-yard scoring run and Eric Valenti’s PAT made it 12-7 with 7:09 left in the half.”We just told the kids to be patient, to grind it out three and four yards at a shot,” said North Reading coach Jeff Wall.Karavetsos (possible concussion) was injured on Lynnfield’s next possession and didn’t return. With junior Alex Roper (mononucleosis) – the Pioneers’ back-up QB, starting outside linebacker and place-kicker – also out, the Pioners turned to freshman Dan Sullivan and sophomore Matthew Kramich the rest of the way.”We thrust those kids into a no-win situation but, you know what, they didn’t do a bad job,” Weidman said.The Pioneers recorded another red zone stop, turning back Lipani on four consecutive carries from inside the two, but only delayed the inevitable as Lynnfield’s Kyle McGah was dropped for a safety, closing the gap to 12-9.North Reading then chewed but all but the final five seconds of the first half with a 60-yard scoring drive that featured Lipani’s 13-yard completion to Charles McCarthy. Lipani powered in from the four and Valenti’s PAT sent the Hornets off with a 16-12 lead at the break.After the Lynnfield defense forced a punt to start the second half, Sullivan’s perfectly-thrown ball found Alexander Pascucci sprinting through a seam in the North Reading secondary for an 80-yard catch-and-run that nudged the Pionners ahead, 18-16.Two scores 50 seconds apart put North Reading ahead for good early in the fourth quarter. Lipani’s eight-yard go-ahead score and two-point rush was set up by McCarthy’s 18-yard pick-up on an old school Statue of Liberty play. McCarthy then returned an interception 14 yards for a score, stretching the lead to 30-18. Lipani’s four-yard TD finished the scoring with 4:47 remaining.