GEORGETOWN — The Lynnfield football team put together a solid effort in all three phases Thursday evening, as the Pioneers took down Georgetown by a score of 35-14 in a non-playoff game at Georgetown Middle-High School.
“It may not have been pretty at times, but we went out there and made enough plays to take home the win,” said Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta. “We had a good week in practice and we really wanted to come out and win this one, so it was great to get a good performance from everyone. “
The ground attack was once again prominent for the Pioneers, as junior James Sharkey was the game’s high rusher with 130 yards and a touchdown. Senior captain Spencer Riley had another big night with 73 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while junior Robert Marley rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown.
But one of the true tests of the evening was slowing down Georgetown’s high-powered passing attack. In the more than 40 plays Georgetown ran on the night, the Royals only ran the ball twice.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Georgetown; that’s an impressive offense,” said Lamusta. “But our goal coming in was to go out there, use our speed and make place. We had a discipline week of practice and we executed the game plan the way we needed to.”
It was an ugly start to the game for both teams, as the two sides exchanged turnovers in the opening minutes. But after an interception from Jack Phelps, the Pioneers set themselves up in Royals territory.
It took seven plays to find the end zone from there, with Riley capping off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to make it a 7-0 game.
But after Tracy threw an interception in his own territory early in the second quarter, Georgetown took advantage. Senior quarterback Anthony Plumb aired one out on the first play and found senior receiver Jack Lucido for a 32-yard touchdown; then the two connected on the two-point conversion to take a one-point lead.
After losing the ball due to a fumble on the ensuing drive, Lynnfield finally started to build some momentum again when Anthony Attubato picked off a pass for the Pioneers. Riley busted a 24-yard run on the first play of the drive and Marley finished things off, eventually running one in from 11 yards out to retake the lead. After Tracy hit Joey Cucciniello for the two-pointer, Lynnfield took a 15-8 lead into the halftime break.
The Pioneers then started off the third quarter with a bang, getting a 29-yard touchdown run from Sharkey just 44 seconds into the frame. Riley added two more touchdown runs before the quarter was over, and the Pioneers coasted to the victory in the fourth.
Lynnfield (4-5) returns to the field Thanksgiving morning (10:30) when it hosts rival North Reading.
“It’s always a big one against North Reading, and they’re a very strong team this year,” said Lamusta. “We know that we’re going to have to be a lot better than we were in this game if we want to come away with the win and take back Thanksgiving.”