LYNNFIELD — There’s no place like home.
Just ask Lynnfield football coach Pat Lamusta, whose Pioneers returned home Friday night after four winless weeks on the road and gave their fans what they have been waiting for all season – a 36-6 win against Manchester-Essex at Pioneer Stadium.
“It was a profound sense of relief to say the least,” said Lamusta. “We’ve lost two games this year by a combined three points, so we’ve been right there but you still get nervous and you’re constantly trying to figure it out. It feels great to finally figure out how to do that. The kids needed it, we all needed it, so I’m happy for them.”
The Hornets came into the game allowing an average of 30.5 points per game. That’s what the doctor ordered for Lynnfield, which has struggled to produce consistently on offense.
The Pioneers offensive line of Hunter Allain, Liam Farrell, Mike Julian, Cole Moretti and Justin Ndansi was the star of the show, allowing the Pioneers’ running game to keep the Hornets guessing.
The Pioneers defense wasn’t too shabby either, forcing five Hornets fumbles (3 recovered by Lynnfield) and an interception by John Lee.
“The offensive line was fantastic tonight, and really opened up holes for our running backs,” Lamusta said.
Quarterback Clayton Marengi (9-of-16, 72 yards) ran for one touchdown and threw for another, while running back Jaret Simpson (13 carries, 66 yards) scored two rushing touchdowns and quarterback Brett Cohee also scored, his from 30 yards out to cap the scoring for the Pioneers (1-4).
A Hornets’ fumble on their first play from scrimmage gave the Pioneers the ball at midfield. But the Hornets defense forced a three-and-out to force a punt by Anthony Floramo but the Hornets couldn’t hold onto the ball and fumbled it away, with junior Khad Connell recovering at the Hornets’ 10. Four plays later, Marengi ran it in on a 4th-and goal from the 4-yard line to give the Pioneers a 6-0 lead. Blake Peters added a 2-point conversion to bump the lead to 8-0.
In the second quarter, Lynnfield’s defense held firm and got the ball back for the Pioneers on downs at the 50. Lynnfield needed seven plays to find the end zone again, this time on a 1-yard plunge by Simpson. Peters added the extra point to make it 15-0.
The Hornets got on the board on their next possession on a 25-yard scamper up the middle by Gavin Glass (8 carries, 48 yards) to cut the deficit to 15-6, then recovered an onside kick at the Pioneer 47 with 2:58 to go in the half. But after Lynnfield’s defense forced another 3-and-out and punt, giving the ball back to the Pioneers at their 15 with 1:51 left. Marengi took the team all the way down to the Hornets’ 21 where, facing 4th-and-10 with 12 seconds left in the half, he connected with Jack Ford for 16 yards to the 5 with 4.6 ticks on the clock, then found Ford over the middle in the end zone to make it a 22-6 game (Peters kick).
“We saw something there so we came out with an empty backfield and just executed the play,” said Lamusta. “That was one of them, a huge drive to get that score to end the half.”
The Pioneers kept their foot on the gas in the second half before going to the bench to close out the game. Their final two scores were set up by consecutive punt returns by John Lee, whose 42-yard return late in the third quarter set up Simpson’s 8-yard touchdown rush. In the fourth, Lee’s 40-yard return set up Cohee’s score from 30 yards out.
The Pioneers host Ipswich next Friday night (7).
