LYNNFIELD — It just wasn’t Lynnfield’s night.
A slow defensive start mixed in with Amesbury’s relentless ground game ended the Lynnfield football team’s postseason run with a 30-23 loss in Friday’s Division 5 North semifinal at Pioneer Stadium.
“We weren’t able to stop the run on third downs and we couldn’t convert on third downs,” Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta said. “The third down game, on both sides of the ball, hurt us. It was the type of game where whoever made two or three more plays was going to win.”
Lynnfield defeated Amesbury 34-24 during the regular season, but the No. 3 Pioneers didn’t look past the No. 7 Indians.
“Hats off to (Amesbury) coach (Colin) McQueen,” Lamusta said. “Amesbury played tough. They played tough defense. They ran the ball well. That’s what they do. That’s their identity.
“But our guys fought. They played hard. It came down to the wire. I give our guys credit.”
Quarterback Clayton Marengi (14-of-28 on pass attempts) drove Lynnfield’s offense with 220 passing yards and three touchdown passes. In the process, Marengi broke Lynnfield’s single-season passing yards record. The previous record was held by Matt Mortellite.
“Clay’s the leader of our offense,” Lamusta said. “He’s a tremendous athlete. It was a pleasure to put the ball in his hands last year. This year he grew and got better and better each game. I’m happy I have two more games with him because not only is he a great athlete but he’s a great person.”
Jack Ford (seven catches, 148 yards) reeled in two touchdowns and John Lee (two catches, 34 yards) caught one.
The Pioneers didn’t get off to an ideal start. Lynnfield surrendered two touchdowns in the first quarter- an 8-yard quarterback keeper from Troy Hamel on the opening drive and Brady Dore’s 53-yard scamper three minutes later. Amesbury tacked on both 2-point conversions- the first on Kyle Donovan’s rush and the second on Hayden Ayotte’s catch. Marengi put Lynnfield on the board in between Amesbury’s touchdowns with a 43-yard pass to Ford. Marengi hit Bakari Mitchell in the corner of the end zone for the conversion.
“We were hoping to win the toss and score first,” Lamusta said. “That didn’t happen. They scored fast. If we have to play from behind, I’ll take our offense. But their defense played well.”
Down 16-8 in the second quarter, Lynnfield recaptured the momentum with a safety on a muffed snap after punter Trent Balian pinned the Indians on their own 1-yard line. The Pioneers proceeded to knot the score at 16-16 on Marengi’s 40-yard toss to Ford. Blake Peters tacked on the PAT to give the Pioneers their first lead at 17-16.
But Amesbury had the last big play of the half on Hamel’s 13-yard touchdown throw to Kyle Donovan (conversion failed), and Lynnfield trailed 22-17 at halftime.
Both offenses slowed down in the third quarter. Amesbury turned the ball over on downs at Lynnfield’s 24 and the Pioneers fell short on 4th-and-inches from their own 39, keeping it a 22-17 game heading into the fourth quarter.
Dore’s 3-yard plunge bumped Amesbury’s lead to 30-17 with 11:13 remaining (Hamel conversion rush). Lynnfield punched back on Lee’s 17-yard touchdown grab (PAT missed), closing the gap to 30-23.
Marengi’s 17-yard toss to Lee set the Pioneers up at midfield with 2:30 remaining. But Amesbury locked down in coverage on four consecutive pass attempts, the last of which escaped Ford’s outstretched hands for a turnover on downs.
The Indians ran their way through two Lynnfield timeouts in the final minutes for the 30-23 win.
Lynnfield now shifts into the non-tournament bracket for next weekend’s game (TBA).
“We have to pick ourselves up,” Lamusta said. “We still have to play hard and play with pride. It’s a matter of redirecting that negative energy into positive energy.”
