Friday night’s game between visiting Triton and Lynnfield may not have been the prettiest football game you’ve ever seen, but the Pioneers made the most of their opportunities to come away with a 38-3 win on Senior Night.
The game was penalty-ridden with the teams combining for 20 penalties, including several on both sides for unsportsmanlike conduct. Lynnfield was flagged nine times for 90 yards and the Vikings 11 times for 125 yards.
Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta was pleased to get a win, but said something has to be done about penalties.
“Yes, I’m proud of them for playing hard and playing physical and it was a great win for the seniors,” Lamusta said. “But we have to clean up the penalty stuff.”
The Pioneers spotted the Vikings a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but after that, it was all Lynnfield, which ran off 38 unanswered points to improve to 4-1.
Quarterback Tyler Adamo (13-for-17, 135 yards) threw for two touchdowns. Spenser D’Augusta ran for one score and caught an Adamo pass for another. Madux Iovinelli (37-yard reception), Jared Bernabei (5-yard run), and Matt Tracy (8-yard run) also scored.
Massimo LoGrasso (5-of-5 extra points) was pure perfection on extra points for a third straight week. He also converted a 26-yard field goal to tie the game, 3-3, with 8:12 remaining in the first half.
Defensively, Ben Gazit shined, finishing with six tackles.
Lynnfield closed out the first half with two touchdowns in a combined 14 seconds (two plays) to lead, 17-3, at halftime.
Iovinelli (6 catches, 85 yards) set up the first score when he blocked a Triton punt, giving the Pioneers possession at the Vikings’ 5-yard line. Adamo needed just one play to find D’Augusta (2 catches, 15 yards) in the endzone to make it 10-3 after LoGrasso’s PAT.
After forcing a Vikings’ punt, Lynnfield was given strong field position at the Triton 37. Adamo fed Iovinelli flying down the right sideline on the next play to bump the lead to 17-3 with a little more than a minute to go in the half.
The third quarter was ugly — that’s about all you can say about it. Through the first nine minutes alone, the teams combined for 10 penalties.
On its first possession of the second half, Lynnfield drove to the Triton 39 only to stall, forcing a punt. The Vikings took over on their 24, only to fumble the ball away on their second play of the drive. Nick Kelter (2 carries, 7 yards, TD) recovered the ball at the Triton 22. Two plays later, D’Augusta (2 carries, 10 yards) ran it in from the 5-yard line to bump the Pioneers’ lead to 24-3.
On its ensuing possession, Triton went for it on fourth down from its 26 but fumbled the snap, returning the ball to Lynnfield just 19 yards from the promised land. Two plays later, Bernabei (5 carries, 28 yards) made it 31-3 with a 5-yard scamper with 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Quarterback Matt Tracy (3 carries, 36 yards) capped the scoring with a 9-yard keeper with less than two minutes to go in the game. Jesse Dorman (2 catches, 27 yards) and Lucas Deraps (2 carries, 8 yards) also contributed to the stats column.
Lamusta had some special words to say about the seniors, adding they came out of the town’s youth program “as really great football players who came to us with a really competitive spirit.”
The Pioneers’ next game is Friday night at Newburyport’s James T. Stehlin Field at World War Memorial Stadium (6:30 p.m.). This will be the second straight year the Pioneers play in Newburyport.
“Playing at Newburyport is an exciting place to play, but we really wanted it as a home game because it was our turn to be at home,” Lamusta said. “Things got shifted around by the league, so we are going back up there in back-to-back years. Our players are looking forward to it regardless. It will be a competitive game for sure.”