Published November 28, 2018

By JAMES CRANNEY

LYNNFIELD — It was cold. Really cold. In one of the most bitterly frigid Thanksgivings in recent memory, the 3-7 Lynnfield Pioneers went head-to-head with the familiar 5-5 North Reading Hornets. There was no conference title on the line, no potential trips to the Super Bowl, just two teams who don’t like each other. The Hornets jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead and continued to shut down the Lynnfield offense in the second half as North Reading left town with a 32-0 victory in the 60th annual Thanksgiving Day game. 

Following a short Pioneer punt, North Reading began their first offensive series at their opponents’ 29 yard line. When faced with a 4th-and-2, Lynnfield’s defense could not get the Hornets off the field when senior quarterback Matt Solecki scrambled to his left for the 9-yard pickup. On the very next play, Solecki would call his number again scampering off to the end zone for a 12-yard rushing touchdown.

Lynnfield’s next offensive possession would begin as a promising one. Junior receiver John Lee moved the chains on a 6-yard rush, but the offense stalled from there. North Reading picked up right where they left off when they got the ball back. On a 2nd-and-7 near midfield, Hornet senior captain tailback Alex D’Ambrosio stiff-armed a Lynnfield tackler and took off for a 44-yard pickup. Solecki then faked the handoff to D’Ambrosio and once again took the rock into the end zone.

“We knew the North Reading run game was going to be tough and we knew we were going to have our hands full,” said Lynnfield head coach Pat Lamusta after the game. “If you can’t neutralize them in the trenches it just gives those guys too much room to run.”

JUNIOR John Lee looks to avoid a North Reading tackler on Thanksgiving Day. (John Friberg Photo)

With 4:50 left before halftime, the Hornets rushing attack continued to slice through Lynnfield’s defense. D’Ambrosio and Jack Keller helped carry the load to the edge of Lynnfield’s red zone. With 33 seconds remaining on a crucial 4th-and-4, Solecki rolled to his right and hit junior receiver Matthew Luciano for a 23-yard pickup. Two plays later, with only 16 seconds left, came the play that broke the Pioneers’ back. Solecki dropped back and connected with receiver Mike Mikula on his right. Mikula then executed a perfect hook and ladder pitch back to lineman Mike Sheridan, who rumbled into the end zone for a 20-0 lead.

“They caught us,” admitted coach Lamusta on the trick play. “You always see a few trick plays on Thanksgiving. It was a good play and they executed it well.”

On the first play of the second half, Pioneer defensive back Aidan McCormack lit up D’Ambrosio at the line of scrimmage which fired up the Lynnfield sideline. Unfortunately, it did not translate to the other Pioneer players on the field. For the remainder of the game, Lynnfield would produce zero points on offense and wouldn’t fare any better on defense. North Reading scored its fourth touchdown on a 76-yard screen pass to Mikula. With just under seven minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, the Hornets would put up the game’s last score when Jack Keller took a handoff to the house from 45 yards out.

The final would be 32-0 in favor of the Hornets, Lynnfield’s third consecutive Thanksgiving loss to their archrivals. Coach Lamusta tipped his cap to the opposition stating, “North Reading had a great team this year and they definitely came ready to play, it just didn’t go our way.”

A tough end to a tough season for the Pioneers. Despite not reaching all of their goals, this Lynnfield program never failed in showing heart. Time after time when games would be out of reach, you would never see any Pioneers on the field dogging it or showing anything less than a hundred percent. When asked what the offseason message to the team would be, coach Lamusta’s answer was simple but powerful:

“Work hard in the offseason. Remember this feeling.”