Karavetsos leads Lynnfield past Ipswich

LYNNFIELD – Senior quarterback Michael Karavetsos ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead Lynnfield (4-2, 1-0) past Ipswich (1-6, 0-1), 34-6, at Pioneer Field.On an unusually warm late October Saturday afternoon, the Pioneers’ defense set the tone early by picking off a pass from Ipswich quarterback Kyle Blomster. Linebacker Tyler Palumbo stepped in front of a pass and nearly returned it for a touchdown. The pesky Tigers defense held Lynnfield on downs inside the 10-yard line.After holding Ipswich to a three-and-out deep in its own territory on the following series, Lynnfield received the ball at the Tigers’ 35. On third-and-2, Karavetsos took the snap and immediately ran to the outside. Karavetsos then cut inside on the far side of the field and outraced the Ipswich defense into the end zone for the score.”Karavetsos played well,” said Lynnfield head coach Neal Weidman. “The offensive line played well too.”Lynnfield took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter when Karavetsos had a 23-yard touchdown scamper on another 3rd-and-short play. The score came after Lynnfield blocked an Ipswich punt and the Pioneers recovered at the Ipswich 32.”There was a big difference between a 7-point and 14-point advantage,” explained Weidman. “We got the ball after the half.”In the second half, Lynnfield was able to pull away. On the Pioneers’ first possession, Karavetsos hit senior wide receiver Andrew Gallo for a 63-yard pass where Gallo was tackled just short of the goal line. Junior running back Kyle McGah went untouched into the end zone on the next play to give the Pioneers a commanding three-possession advantage.”We hit some big passes that were needed,” said Weidman. “The pass to Gallo softened up the defense.”The Pioneers added another touchdown in the third quarter when junior halfback Anthony Costa ran in from 15 yards out.”We took chances blitzing when we were down in the second half,” said Ipswich head coach Ted Flaherty.Ipswich was able to get on the scoreboard late in the third quarter when Blomster found Chris McCormack in the middle of the end zone for a 15-yard pass.Karavetsos tossed a touchdown pass to Alex Pascucci in the fourth quarter to wrap up the scoring for the day.The Lynnfield defense held the dangerous Ipswich running game to 78 yards. The Pioneers defense also had three interceptions. When Ipswich scored, the special teams blocked the extra point attempt. In the first half, Lynnfield stopped the Tigers’ offense at the Lynnfield 44 when the score was 7-0.Lynnfield now looks forward to continuing its strong play in the Division 3A section of the Cape Ann/Northeastern Conference.