Hamilton-Wenham Runs Away From Lynnfield

Tied at 7 entering the second half, Hamilton-Wenham coach Jim Pugh knew what to expect from Lynnfield in the game's final 22 minutes.

"I said to the kids at halftime 7-7, this is what they've been in the last three weeks that we've seen them. Then they come out in the second half and take it to teams," said Pugh about a Lynnfield team that was behind in the first half of its last two games, only to roar back and win on the way to a 6-0 record.

But Friday night in Lynnfield was different. It was Hamilton-Wenham that put on a second-half show, outscoring the hosts, 28-0, on the way to a 35-7 win that puts the Generals at 7-0, and one Thanksgiving win away from the Cape Ann League Baker title. With the MIAA playoff pairings announced on Sunday, Hamilton-Wenham will be the top seed in Division 6 North. Lynnfield falls to 6-1 and will be either the first or second seed in Division 5, pending other results.

"We knew that physically we could match up with them," said Pugh. "Our offensive line and defensive line did a great job. Putting pressure on the quarterback, forcing some turnovers, it was great."

The second half started with the Generals going on a 10-play, 53-yard scoring drive the culminated in junior Billy Whelan's 3-yard touchdown run on fourth and goal. The drive consumed a little over 5 minutes and also included one of the stars of the game, sophomore running back Ian Coffey (20 carries, 153 yards), who had 33 of those yards on the drive.

Lynnfield fumbled on its first play of the second half and the Generals had the ball on the Pioneers' 43. Whelan hit Jake Lanciani for 22 yards and on the next play Cam Peach ran it in from 21 yards out. With 5:04 left in the third quarter H-W had run 12 plays to Lynnfield's one, and the score was 21-7. It didn't get any better for the Pioneers on the next series, with Lynnfield going three-and-out.

Offensively for Lynnfield, passes had been caught in the first six weeks of the season were being dropped, balls that were normally secured were being fumbled. It wasn't what the Pioneers had in mind.

H-W took over on its own 26 and on its next three plays Coffey ran for 31, 20, and 10 yards. Phillip Durgin added three more yards before Coffey took it in from 10 yards out. It was now 28-7 and that's how the quarter ended.

In case there was any doubt, H-W started the fourth quarter with a 7-play drive, capped off by a 40-yard scoring pass from Whelan to Durgin. Whelan's two touchdown passes give him 12 for the season.

"Billy did a great job and he does all the time," said Pugh. "He's a leader, he's a winner."

Normally the opening drive of a game isn't the difference but you could make a case that Lynnfield's failure to score after a 14-play drive that lasted nearly 7 minutes was huge. When a pass on 4th-and-7 from the 19 fell incomplete, Hamilton-Wenham had dodged a bullet and the first quarter ended scoreless.

Lynnfield gave H-W its first opportunity when it fumbled on its first series of the second quarter. On the play a number of Lynnfield players had the opportunity to fall on the loose ball but instead it was the Generals who recovered. Six plays later Whelan hit Lanciani for a 15-yard scoring pass to make it 7-0.

Lynnfield scored its only touchdown on its next possession when Matt Mortellite threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Nicholas Kinnon to tie it at 7-7. For Mortellite, it was his 12th touchdown pass this year and 35th of his career. The career total surpasses Gino Cohe (class of 2011) as the school's all-time leader. And going into halftime tied 7-7 there were plenty of reasons to believe he could add to that total. Hamilton-Wenham had other ideas.

"The kids were excited. They wanted to come here and kick some butt and they did," said Pugh, who earned his 192nd win in a career that started in 1989. "If we play like this we're tough to beat. It was a great win."