LYNNFIELD — With his back against the wall, Pioneer’s quarterback Tyler Adamo needed to deliver on a 4th and 10 from Amesbury’s 20-yard line.
He did so with style.
Down 16-14 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Adamo lofted a ball to the back left corner of the end zone where junior receiver Joey Cucciniello was waiting. Adamo saw the one-on-one matchup and trusted his receiver to come down with the ball. The catch was never in doubt and Cucciniello tapped both feet in bounds to put Lynnfield back on top for good.
Cuccinello’s touchdown was the difference and the Pioneers beat a previously undefeated Amesbury squad by a score of 27-16 Friday night at Pioneer Stadium.
Fans stormed the field and Head Coach Pat Lamusta received an ice water shower as his team celebrated. The win was huge, not only because the Pioneers had taken down an undefeated Amesbury team, but because the game had been dedicated to Sonny Tropeano.
Sonny was a star Lynnfield youth football player who passed away in elementary school from a rare form of lung cancer. His passing rocked the Lynnfield community, and he would have been a senior at Lynnfield High this year. In honor of Sonny, the team sported special uniforms with Tropeano on each of the players’ nameplates. The color orange was added to the uniforms to commemorate his favorite color.
Just before the game, the Tropeano family received a framed Lynnfield football jersey with the Tropeano nameplate as a gift to remember Sonny by.
The giant victory against Amesbury was all for Sonny, and members of the family exchanged hugs with coaches and players after the game in what was a very emotional night at the high school.
“We came into it emotional, but it was that right type of emotional,” Lamusta said. “This was a whole community coming together. The kids spearheaded this effort, our seniors and captains spearheaded the idea of having a tribute to Sonny. They took the lead and I just tried to fill in the pieces.”
After a questionable Amesbury onside kick attempt to begin the game, Lynnfield wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. On the very first snap of the game, Adamo dropped back to pass when he pump-faked to his left and turned back to launch a ball downfield to a wide open Jack Calichman for 40 yards. This set Lynnfield up with a first and goal from the 10-yard line.
Amado found James Sharkey for a toe-tapping touchdown after scrambling out of the pocket. A pass from Adamo to Madux Iovinelli on the two-point conversion attempt made it an 8-0 ballgame early in the first.
Amesbury came close to firing back on its opening possession. On fourth and two, Amesbury got Lynnfield to fall for the play action, and had a wide open receiver for what would have been a 30-yard gain, but he couldn’t hold on to the ball. Amesbury turned it over on downs.
After a Charles Capachietti interception later in the second quarter, Adamo and Iovinelli showed their chemistry on the ensuing possession. The very next play after the interception, Adamo lobbed up a 28-yard pass into the end zone to the big-bodied receiver who outmuscled the defensive back to come down with the ball. The score gave Lynnfield a 14-0 advantage after a failed two-point conversion.
To that point, Lynnfield had shut down Amesbury’s ground game, and the offense couldn’t get anything going until a miscommunication in the Lynnfield secondary allowed tight end Andrew Baker to scamper for an 85-yard touchdown with four minutes remaining in the half. A successful two-point conversion for Amesbury cut it to a one possession game heading into halftime.
The second half wasn’t perfect for Lynnfield, but the defense came through in big ways. Amesbury took a two point lead in the third quarter, but Lynnfield never wavered and roared back to score two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth. Amesbury had a few late chances to get back into the game, but a James Sharkey interception sealed it for Lynnfield.
It was an incredible win for a Lynnfield team that just keeps finding ways to come out victorious, and Lamusta talked about how special it was to win for Sonny.
“It was a blessing. The kids played well against an awesome Amesbury team,” he said. “I’ve known the Tropeano’s forever. We wanted to find a way to commemorate Sonny, raise money for cancer awareness, and really celebrate that fight against cancer, but also commemorate a teammate.”
Lamusta hopes to have his team wear the jerseys a few more times this season in Sonny’s name. The Pioneer’s are now 5-2 on the season and play Triton Regional at home next Friday at 6:30 p.m.
