Pioneers overpower Amesbury, 35-14

LOWELL – Lynnfield turned Tuesday night’s much-anticipated playoff battle with Amesbury into its own showcase as the CAL/NEC Tier 4 champion rolled to a Div. 3A North title, 35-14, at Cawley Stadium.The Pioneers, who came from behind to win the regular-season meeting between the teams, 31-27, dominated in all phases this time, playing what coach Neal Weidman characterized as “our best game of the season.”Lynnfield (9-2) will now play for the Div. 3A title Saturday night at Gillette Stadium (8 p.m.) against Bishop Feehan. CAL/NEC champion Amesbury finished 9-3.”Smash and Dash” – junior running back Kyle McGah (4 TDs, 158 yards rushing) and senior quarterback Mike Karavetsos (TD, 118 yards) – were back at it as the Pioneers rushed for 306 yards behind a stellar performance by the offensive line of Connor Lordon, Dominic Costa, Andrew Kibarian, Dwight DeGeorge and Cameron DeGeorge.Meanwhile, the defense limited Amesbury’s potent offense (28.8 ppg) to 157 net yards and forced four turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble recovery by junior defensive back Matt Kramich.”Matt had a great game and our defense was fantastic once again against an offense that scored a ton of points against good teams,” Weidman said. “Our goal was to keep their offense off the field by controlling the ball and we were able to do that. Our offensive line has just kept getting better and better all season.”Following an exchange of punts to open the game, the Pioneers covered 51 yards entirely on the ground with McGah plowing in from five yards out and Alex Roper adding the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 3:50 left in the period.Less than a minute later, Kramich intercepted a tipped Matt Talbot pass at his own 31. Karavetsos’ 22-yard scamper kicked off a punishing 69-yard drive during which the Pioneers’ offensive line dominated. McGah capped it from 17 yards, sweeping right and flattening one would-be tackler at the 15 before running through another at the two for the score. Roper’s kick extended the lead to 14-0 with 1:19 left in the quarter.Amesbury countered with a 15-play, 70-yard drive sparked by Talbot’s 21-yard run. The drive was extended by a Lynnfield pass interference with Amesbury facing 4th-and-8 at the Lynnfield 13. The Indians’ Ben Cullen swept in from a yard out and Mac Short’s kick made it 14-7 with five minutes left in the half.The Pioneers re-asserted control on their opening possession of the second half, rolling 67 yards in eight plays with McGah scoring his third from the night from three yards. Roper’s kick made it 21-7.Lynnfield put it away on Karavetsos’ five-yard run early in the fourth quarter. McGah added his fourth from a yard out with 3:39 to play. Amesbury tackled on a late score on Talbot’s three-yard pass to Tommy Connors.”The four turnovers were huge. We beat a good team twice, which says something about how far we’ve come. It’s our best all-around game of the year,” Weidman concluded.