It’s easy for coaches and fans of football to outsmart themselves.
You need look no further than Bill Belichick for evidence of that. The coach of the most talented team in the NFL effectively angered the ever-growing anti-Patriots population earlier this season when he got caught videotaping another team’s signals.
There’s a reason people were mad. It wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t allowed. And it made what most people like to think is a simple game into a very complicated one.
Belichick probably wasn’t the first to cheat, and he certainly wasn’t the first to outsmart himself.
Bringing it back to the local scene, it’s been nice to see teams get rewarded for keeping the game simple this season.
Triton, a team that entered last week’s game against Ipswich without a win or a point scored, reaped the benefits of simplifying the game.
Too many coaches | when their offenses are struggling | try to trick their opponents. You’ll see gadget plays, deep passes, reverses, double reverses | basically anything other than a conventional high school offense.
That’s a sign of panic.
And Triton didn’t panic.
The Vikings appeared to come out against Ipswich with one motto: Beat the guy in front of you.
On offense, that starts with the offensive line. And Triton’s offensive line came to play. Time and time again Brenden O’Neil charged through holes to soften the defense for track star Billy Tindle. Eventually Ipswich wore down and the Viking backs combined to account for 129 yards and three touchdowns.
No trick plays, no gadgets. Beat the guy in front of you.
They didn’t make the game more complicated than it needed to be. They went back to the fundamentals and perfected them.
Another local team, Amesbury, enters this weekend’s game much the same way Triton did one week ago. Things may look bleak with an 0-3 start and a better-than-expected Lynnfield squad coming to town this week. But Triton showed last week a miracle is not needed to get back on track.
Just a return to the basics.
Onto the quick-hit version of the picks:
Tonight’s games
Hamilton-Wenham (2-1) at Newburyport (2-2), 7 p.m, World War Memorial Stadium
Looking at Newburyport’s schedule, this is the toughest remaining game. After tonight, the Clippers play at Lawrence (1-3), at North Reading (3-1), home against North Andover (2-2) and Ipswich (0-4), at Lynnfield (1-3) and home against Amesbury (0-3) on Thanksgiving. So Clippers fans: When I see you tonight, remember I’m picking the home team to go 5-1 the rest of the way.
Final score: Hamilton-Wenham 20, Newburyport 14
Lynnfield (1-3) at Amesbury (0-3), 7 p.m., Landry Stadium
Sometimes I think building a winning program occurs in steps. First, you have to lose so that you can be hungry to win. Then you have to win a couple games to raise the expectations. Then you have to enter a season with high hopes and suffer a setback | a little reminder to stay hungry. And then you establish a winning tradition. I think Amesbury’s in that area where the players entered the season with high expectations, and they were happy to be mentioned as a CAL contender. Now they’ve lost three straight, and they’re realizing predictions mean nothing. They’re back to being hungry. That’s where they need to be.
Final score: Amesbury 27, Lynnfield 6
Triton (1-3) at North Andover (2-2), 7 p.m., Walsh StadiumI said Triton would start a two-game winning streak last week, and look where we are one week later. Halfway to the promised land. Now I’d feel a lot better if North Andover didn’t beat North Reading last week, but I think Triton’s win was the kind of season-changing, catch-all-the-breaks game the team needed. So I’m not going back on my prediction now.
Final score: Triton 21, North Andover 20
Tomorrow’s games
Shawsheen (4-0) at Georgetown (2-1), 2 p.m., Georgetown High
Shawsheen doesn’t lose in the Commonwealth Conference. End of story. That being said, I’m sold on Georgetown after that convincing win over Whittier last week. How convinced? I won’t pick them to lose again after this one.
Final score: Shawsheen 21, Georgetown 8
Roxbury Latin (0-2) at Govenor’s Academy (2-0), 3:45 p.m., Governor’s Academy
Governor’s Academy beat Roxbury Latin, 28-7, last fall. And beyond that, here’s what you need to know about Roxbury Latin. The school was founded in 1645 and is located in West Roxbury. The school’s endowment is estimated at $143.8 million | the largest of any boys school in the United States. Students have an average SAT score of 2230 on the 2400 point scale.
Final score: Governor’s Academy 28, Roxbury Latin 6
Pentucket (3-1) at Lawrence (1-3), 7 p.m., Lawrence High
Pentucket is 2-0 and soon to be 3-0 in night games. So why don’t the Sachems play at night every week? Because their home field doesn’t have lights. So why don’t they have lights installed so they can go undefeated? Well, they’ll have to win at Wilmington Nov. 9 (7 p.m.) to make that argument.
Final score: Pentucket 34, Lawrence 13
Last week’s record: 3-2
Season record: 12-5
