Lynnfield, Swampscott expect tough game

As the crow flies, Swampscott and Lynnfield aren’t that far apart, but when it comes to football, the two teams really have little in common other than the fact they’ll be battling it out Friday night at Lynnfield (7) for the right to advance in the Division 4 playoffs.
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The 8-0 Pioneers are coming off a lopsided 42-6 win over Saugus last weekend and Swampscott is waiting to exhale after a heart-stopping, 24-21, come-from-behind win over Watertown last Friday.
Both coaches, Lynnfield’s Neal Weidman and Swampscott’s Steve Dembowski, are expecting a tough game.
?What we have to do is be ready for anything,” Weidman said. “They’re probably going to do some things we haven’t seen or they haven’t done yet. They’re good at doing that stuff. We have to be ready for the stuff we really haven’t seen and we’ll have to adjust accordingly.”
The Big Blue are a tale of two halves, having lost their first four games and won their last four with enough comebacks, fourth quarter dramatic plays and heroics to keep even the crankiest fan happy.
?We’ve been a fourth quarter team lately,” Dembowski said. ‘We’ve been resilient. We’re working hard and kind of grinding it out. We’ve basically been in play-off mode since week five ? We’re just embracing the opportunities and responding to the challenge.”
Dembowski said in the first four games “we found every way to lose we could and in the last four, we’ve found every way to win.”
Weidman sees an opponent that’s hitting its stride when it counts.
?They’re peaking at the right time,” Weidman said. “That’s half the battle ? who’s playing well at the time and they’re playing their best football of the year.”
Lynnfield hasn’t exactly rested on its laurels. The Pioneers have been steamrolling the opposition from day one this season. In eight games they’ve outscored “the other guys” 295-26.
?They’re so strong on both sides of the ball. They’ve given up 26 points in eight games,” Dembowski said. “They obviously have the most impressive defense we’ve had to deal with.”
Lynnfield will have an impressive array of options. Quarterback Dan Sullivan came into the playoffs with nearly 1,000 yards passing and 12 touchdowns. Jake Rourke, who started the playoffs with 511 yards rushing, added three touchdowns against Saugus, and Cam Rondeau and Jon Knee are racking up some good receiving numbers.
The Big Blue don’t have anyone with huge numbers, but they have guys who have been getting the job done. Quarterback Devin Conroy has 827 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. Ryan Cresta is the leading receiver with 19 catches for 208 yards and four touchdowns. Frank DiLisio has 18 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Faia leads the Big Blue in rushing with 528 yards and Jordan James has 351 yards on the ground.
?I think they’re really well balanced,” Weidman said. “They spread the ball around. You really can’t key on anyone and that makes it difficult to defend. They also have very good team defense.”
?Right now everyone is in the same boat. If you lose, you’re out,” Dembowski said. ‘We’re not afraid of losing because we weren’t supposed to be in the tournament to begin with ? We’ve lost some games we should have won and won some we should have lost. I feel like we’re battle tested.”