BYFIELD — The Lynnfield football team needed to dig deep to pull out a win over the weekend, and in the end the Pioneers made just enough plays to outlast Cape Ann League foe Triton in a 30-22 win in double overtime Saturday afternoon.
“That was one of the wildest finishes and one of the most memorable games I’ve had in my time as a head coach,” said Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta. “There were just so many 50-50 plays and so many close moments, and our guys just stepped up in the big moments and really earned this win. I really have to take my hat off to (coach) Ryan McCarthy and the Triton football team, because they’ve improved a lot and they battled us until the final second.”
Running back DJ Capachietti rushed for 40 yards and two touchdowns in the win, while quarterback Austin Sutera completed 13-of-20 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns while also adding 54 rushing yards. Receivers Bakari Mitchell (five receptions for 43 yards) and Jack Ford (four receptions for 50 yards) each caught one touchdown in the win, while Blake Peters added three receptions for 34 yards.
With his touchdown catch, Ford now moves into fifth place on the all-time scoring list for Lynnfield High School football with 181 points — passing Eric Hansen (Class of 1978). He’s now one point behind Gino Cohee (Class of 2010) for fourth place.
It was Triton who struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a touchdown pass from Kyle Odoy to Jared Leonard in the first quarter. Lynnfield answered back with a two-yard touchdown run from Capachietti in the second quarter, but then Triton marched 76 yards the other way to take a 14-6 lead — a score that held until the fourth quarter.
Then the fireworks started.
After making a critical stop in the red zone on the defensive end, Lynnfield came right back and scored with 30 seconds remaining on Capachietti’s second touchdown run of the game. After Sutera found Ford for the two-point conversion, the score was tied 14-14 and the game went to overtime.
On the first overtime possession, Lynnfield struck first when Sutera connected with Ford on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Sutera then found Peters on the two-point conversion, which made it 22-14 Pioneers.
But Triton wasn’t done. For the second time in the game, Odoy hooked up with Leonard for a touchdown on fourth down to keep the game alive. The two connected again on the two-point play, and it was time for a second overtime with the score tied at 22-22.
Once again, Lynnfield responded. This time, Sutera found Mitchell on a three-yard touchdown pass, and after a two-point connection between Sutera and Peters, it was 30-22 Lynnfield.
The defense stepped up from there, coming up with four critical stops to keep Triton out of the end zone and secure the victory.
Lynnfield (5-1) wraps up its season Friday afternoon (4:30) on the road at rival North Reading.
“It’s a big game, especially for the seniors,” said Lamusta. “The guys really want to go out with a big win over North Reading, because in their time here the Thanksgiving Day game hasn’t gone how we’ve wanted. We want to take back the rivalry, and these guys are going to hit it hard in practice this week to get ready for Friday.”
