LYNNFIELD — This one is going to hurt for a very long time. The Lynnfield football team had victory in its grasp Friday night against the visiting Watertown Raiders in the Division 5 North final, leading by 10 points after a 29-yard touchdown run by Tyler Murphy put the Pioneers on top, 34-24, with 3:16 to play in the game.
That was as good as it got for the Pioneers, whose hopes were dashed by Watertown with two touchdowns in the last 75 seconds of the game to erase the deficit and win, 38-34 to punch its ticket to next weekend’s semifinals.
A 5-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Nick McDermott to 6’5″ receiver John Korte capped a 56-yard Raiders’ drive in just six plays to pull the Raiders to within three, 34-31, with 1:15 to play.
Raiders’ kicker Conor Kennelly then executed an onside kick to perfection, and six plays later, facing a second-and-5 from the Pioneer 6-yard line with 17 seconds to go in regulation, McDermott won a foot race into the end zone to give the Raiders the lead for good, 37-34. Kennelly, who already had one 37-yard field goal under his belt, and also a near miss from 48-yards, added the extra point to make it a four-point game.
Lynnfield’s Peter Look took the ensuing kickoff at the five and lateraled to Nick Kinnon, but Kinnon was taken down at the Lynnfield 35, and that was that.
“They got a perfect hop right to a 6’5″ kid,” said Lynnfield coach Neal Weidman. “Their kicking game was a huge advantage to them. We played fairly well the entire game but unfortunately we just couldn’t get the ball back to run out the clock at the end. We had a couple of turnovers and the penalties also hurt.”
Watertown won the field position battle in the first half, starting three of its five drives from inside the Pioneer 35, while Lynnfield started four of its five drives from no better than its 20. Trailing 3-0 after Kennelly’s 37-yard field goal, Lynnfield quarterback Matt Mortellite found John Lee wide open from 38-yards out (Kinnon kick) to make it 7-3 with 2:04 left in the first quarter.
The Raiders regained the lead, 17-7, with scores on their next two possessions, and, after forcing a Lynnfield punt, were threatening to put the game out of reach after driving to the Pioneers’ 23 with under two minutes left in the half, but fumbled the ball away with Justin Ysalguez recovering.
Lynnfield drove 79 yards in 25 seconds and pulled to within three, 17-14, on a 7-yard scamper by Tyler Murphy.
The Pioneers opened the second half with their best field position of the game, starting at their 40 after a 20-yard kickoff return by Jaret Simpson. Four plays later, Mortellite hit Jason Ndansi with a 44-yard strike (Kinnon kick) to put the Pioneers on top, 21-17.
The Pioneers bumped the lead to 28-17 on a 6-yard plunge by Anthony Murphy with 5:33 left in the third quarter. Murphy was a workhorse on the 50-yard drive, picking up 46 yards on six carries.
Watertown answered with a 19-yard McDermott to Kennelly strike to close to 28-24.
The Pioneers got the ball back on their 31 after Kennelly’s missed field goal with 6:11 to go and drove 69 yards in 10 plays to bump the lead to 10, 34-24, on Tyler Murphy’s score. They converted two big third down plays on passes from Mortellite to Ndansi to keep the drive going, but it wasn’t enough.
“We had made a couple of big catches and a couple of big first downs to keep the drive going and then we scored but we just couldn’t make them use enough time on their first drive at the end,” said Weidman. “Now all we have left is to play for pride on Thanksgiving Day.”
The Pioneers will visit North Reading on Nov. 23 at 10:30.