Lynnfield, meet St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s, meet Lynnfield. The last time these two teams faced off was in 2016 – the Spartans took care of business, 44-24. No current players were a part of that history, but fanbases don’t forget. Friday evening at Manning Field, the Pioneers look to escape victorious.
The No. 6 Pioneers are 6-3, defeating Bellingham 38-7 in front of their home faithful last Friday. On the same night, No. 3 St. Mary’s also crossed the 30-point threshold in its 37-13 win over Archbishop Williams. With so many points, and the teams being just a 25-minute car ride away, it’s time to look at five things to watch out for once the opening kickoff flies through the air.
1: Lynnfield’s momentum
The Pioneers began their season 2-2, but since then, Lynnfield turned its season around and has won four of its last five games. Most notably, the Pioneers took down a previously-undefeated Amesbury team in late October, 27-16. Six wins is Lynnfield’s highest win total since 2019, and the Pioneers have scored 157 points over their last five games – a 31.4 average. So, despite St. Mary’s higher rank, the Pioneers look to take their momentum onto Manning Field.
2. David Brown
Spartans’ running back David Brown is a fast, explosive, and smart runner. He’s been on opposing teams’ watch-lists for a long time, but his last two games have been taken to a higher level. Brown has scored nine touchdowns during the two-game stretch – some down the middle, others bounced to the outside, and all of them contributing to St. Mary’s recent dominance. He has the ability to find small openings behind his blockers, and can also race past the secondary at any given moment – exemplified this past Friday when he bolted 71 yards to the endzone against the Bishops.
3. The dual-threat Pioneers
Great teams can win on the ground, and through the air. That’s the case for the Pioneers who have scored 244 points this season. The two-headed monster of James Sharkey and Robert Marley has been effective since Lynnfield’s opening game against Saugus where Sharkey averaged 8.2 yards per carry, while Marley averaged 8.5. Marley has not only been strong, but also efficient. He ran for 87 yards on just nine carries against Marblehead, 77 yards on six carries against Pentucket, and nearly reached 100 yards against Triton on 11 carries. Similarly to his team as a whole, he’s been hot, scoring touchdowns in each of his last two games. That said, watch out for Lynnfield quarterback Tyler Amado as well. On Friday, he threw for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns – Joey Cucciniello hauled in two of them.
4. A sophomore star
St. Mary’s quarterback Tyler Guy, a Lynn native, has made the most of his snaps this season. Whether it was last Friday when Brown performed two spin moves to elude pursuing Bishops – much to the delight of the Spartan faithful – or consistently showing he can plant his feet and deliver crisp passes downfield, there are many ways Guy can hurt a defense. He’s also mentally tough. After the Spartans’ only loss this season – an overtime heartbreaker against Bishop Fenwick – Guy responded the next week with four touchdowns over Bishop Stang. Since then, St. Mary’s has won five in a row with Guy leading the offense.
5. Location & weather
St. Mary’s has only lost one game at Manning Field this season; the Pioneers hold a mediocre 2-1 record on the road. That should give the Spartans some confidence once they jog out of the locker room in front of their fans in navy blue. The weather often changes, but as of now, there’s a chance of rain in Lynn on Friday — that makes Sharkey, Marley, Brown, Guy, and other runners more of a factor. Ball security and calling timely passing plays will also be high priorities. To fans on both sides – if there is rain – all you have to do is bring a rain jacket and enjoy the show.
Joey Barrett can be reached at [email protected]
