LYNNFIELD — After ending its season, the Lynnfield football team celebrated all that it accomplished in 2021 at a banquet held at Lynnfield Middle School Tuesday evening.
The program handed out 14 awards to varsity players who made an impact on and off the field for Lynnfield. Among them was senior Spencer Riley, who took home the team’s Most Valuable Player Award as well as the “Gusto” Defensive Award.
“Spencer (Riley) was just a real sideline-to-sideline guy,” said Lynnfield head coach Pat Lamusta. “Physical on defense and he played with so much passion and grit. Even as a junior or sophomore, he had an opportunity to run the ball. His junior year, he beat Triton with a pick-six. Fast forward to now and he literally has the game of his life on Thanksgiving, making people miss, breaking tackles and getting four rushing touchdowns. You couldn’t cap off a senior season better than how Spencer did on Thanksgiving.”
The Pioneers also handed out awards to players who might not get the recognition that they deserve. Devin O’Connor was named Scout Team Player of the Year and Gabe Schmitz received the Unsung Hero Award. Also, Donald Sylvester took home the 12th Man Award, Steven Dreher won the Commitment Award and Brian Ellis was honored with the Courage Award.
Lynnfield honored the team’s best players in each phase of the game. Michael O’Brien was named Offensive Player of the Year, while Jack Phelps was named Defensive Player of the Year. The Pioneers also honored Rupert Thomas as the Special Teams Player of the Year and Nicolas Marcinowski was named Lineman of the Year.
Mekhi Peters took home the Coaches Award, and it’s no surprise with the praise that Lamusta had for the senior.
“This season we saw him cause mayhem for other teams,” Lamusta said of Peters. “Playing the nose guard, they almost had to double-team him on every play. He would just take up blocks and he would change the line of scrimmage for the defense. He allowed us to really control games by being that focal point of the defensive line and just as a person, as a captain, he grew into that leadership role.”
The football team also honored its players who did well in the classroom with O’Brien and Robert Marley taking home academic honors.
Lynnfield also named its captains for the 2022 season; Marley and Dreher will be leading the Pioneers along with Charles Capachietti, James Sharkey and Chase Goldberg.
“They are just a hardworking and committed group of players,” said Lamusta. “They also do a nice job in the classroom, all those guys. They are not only setting an example in the weight room, on the field, and all those things, they are doing it in school as well. That’s the type of leadership that you really hope you have, where they are doing great things on the field, but they are also doing great things in the classroom and in the community too.”
While the 2022 season is a long way ahead, Lamusta is expecting a more experienced team when Lynnfield hits the field next fall.
“There will be a lot of guys coming back with game experience,” he said. “I think we will have some depth and I think we will be able to really do a lot of things on defense and offense because we will have guys coming back with game experience.”
