Lynnfield defense makes the key play late to top Pentucket

LYNNFIELD — Something special is happening in Lynnfield.

The Pioneers defense stepped up for the second straight week, returning an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for a 13-7 victory over Pentucket in a Cape Ann League contest.

“I don’t even know where to start with the defense,” said Lynnfield coach Patrick Lamusta. “They’ve just been playing great. Sometimes we bend a little bit, but we have seniors all over the field. … The senior leadership on senior night with that defense. I’m very proud of them.”

The ability for Lynnfield (3-0) to pressure upfront caused havoc all night for Pentucket in its first game of the season due to COVID protocols. The team finished with eight tackles for loss, including three sacks.

“It definitely is a pressure defense,” Lamusta said about the team’s ability to get after the QB and the ball. “It’s just a matter of deciding when to apply it and where to apply it from and we definitely have the players that can do it.”

The biggest pressure of the night came with the game tied 7-all and the Pioneers forced junior Chase Dwight out of the pocket and junior Spencer Riley read the pass perfectly and took it back 17 yards giving Lynnfield a 13-7 lead with 3:25 left in the game.

“(Riley) plays sideline to sideline,” said Lamusta. “He is tremendous. We are just excited to see what he can do and we are fortunate that we have a whole other year with him too.”

From there, the defense forced a three-and-out around midfield and the offense came out to run out the clock with senior DJ Capachietti stepping out at the Pentucket 1-yard line with about 1:20 left. A couple of kneel downs then ran out the clock.

The one hiccup for the defense came late in the final minutes of the first half as the Sachems scored with 17 seconds left at a drive that started at their own 21. A three-yard pass from Dwight to junior William Sutton capped off the drive to tie it up 7-7 at the half.

The offense for Lynnfield started out strong in the first half as senior Austin Sutera connected with senior wideout Jack Ford for a 55-yard score to go up 7-0 just 2:15 into the contest, but was unable to find the end zone the rest of the way.

“Teams are going to blitz us,” Lamusta said about the chunk play to get that score. “We are just going to keep on working and get better at pass protection (to get more).”

Sutera finished 10-of-18 for 127 yards with a TD and an interception, while Ford grabbed two passes for 72 yards while also having a key tackle for loss in the second quarter with Pentucket driving in the red zone.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3lTOJ41