Tag Archives: Jimmy Conway

October 15, 2011 · 8:26 pm

Newburyport Recovers to Defeat Ipswich 34-14 in Football

Peyton Primack (62) takes a recovered fumble into the end zone for a first play score for Ipswich.

QB Connor Wile was sacked on the first play but recovered to throw three TD passes and a 2 point conversion.

(Newburyport) One play in the Newburyport Clippers didn’t know what hit them…………especially quarterback Connor Wile. The Clipper QB ended up on all fours as the visiting Ipswich Tigers celebrated in the end zone.

That was the start but thereafter the Clippers straightened out their pass protection and scored at will to defeat Ipswich, 34-14, at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

But if you want to lose a quarterback, allow a full-speed defender a clean shot from the QB’s blindside as he‘s back to pass. But that’s what happened and the hit caused Connor to fumble. Tiger Peyton Primack found the loose ball and took it 25 yards into the end zone. Brenden Gallagher’s extra point kick (Nick Andreas hold) put Ipswich (1-4) in front 7-0.

This all turned out to be very misleading. The thoughts that Newburyport might be less inclined to pass or that their offense would be limited, vanished by halftime. For by then the Clippers (4-2) had put up four touchdowns – two on the ground and two in the air – and were in command, 27-14.

Tyler Martin (32) goes 47 yards for first quarter touchdown.

Connor’s protection was superb after that first disastrous play and the only times he went down were when he decided to scramble.

Newburyport operated out of the shotgun most of the time and spread the field with receivers (Brett & Colton Fontaine, Ian Michaels, and Jimmy Conway) that every scout (I saw Triton in the stands) is well aware of. When Ipswich over-concentrated on pass defense the Clippers ran speedy Tyler Martin up the inside. On this day, Ipswich was seriously burned by both forms of attack.

Tyler Martin got them first. On a 3rd-and-21 from the Ipswich 47, NHS sent Tyler up the middle on a draw play. Tyler stayed in the middle briefly and then cut right and sped to the end zone. Brandon Trego’s kick was good (Tyler held). So 3 ½ minutes into the first quarter, the Clippers were even.

Clear sailing for Brett Fontaine (3 TD catches) as Tiger defenders Louis Galanis (10) and Pat Curran collide.

Next possession, Newburyport struck through the air. A harmless looking pass in the flat to Brett Fontaine did the trick. The Tigers’ first defender (John Elnagger) missed the tackle and the next two defenders (Pat Curran and Louis Galanis) took each other out – Louis slipped into Pat. Brett ended up with a clear 65-yard route to the end zone.

Brandon Trego’s kick was wide but Newburyport was ahead, 13-7, with 4:19 left in the first quarter.

Next possession, Newburyport moved deep into Ipswich territory early in the second quarter. They reached the Tiger 7 before a Connor Wile pass intended for Brett Fontaine ended up in defender Nate Glaster’s hands. Off the fast sophomore went down the left sideline on a 93-yard TD run. Brenden Gallagher’s kick gave Ipswich a shocking, 14-13, lead with 9:10 left until halftime.

Nate Glaster (80) finishes a 93 yard interception return touchdown.

The thought at the time that Newburyport was just overly pass happy and needed to shelf that attack never seemed to be a consideration for the NHS staff.

The Clippers moved back down the field with a collection of passes and rushes. A pass interference call helped greatly. Tyler Martin provided the finishing touch with a 6-yard burst up the middle. The kick was missed but Newburyport was ahead, 19-14, with 5:43 until the half.

A bit of trickery by Ipswich (fake punt by Louis Galanis) got them into Newburyport territory but the defense refused to give up any big plays from the line of scrimmage and the Clippers took over late in the half.

Again it was passes that quickly moved the Clippers close. Connor Wile connected with Brett Fontaine for the score on the right side in the last minute from 8 yards away. The pattern looked a lot similar to the one that had resulted in an Ipswich interception (TD) at the start of the quarter.

The Clippers went for two points. They faked Tyler Martin up the middle (I was fooled by it!) and then Connor hit a very wide open Jimmy Conway in the right corner of the end zone. This gave NHS a 27-14 lead at the half.

The second half started with turnover, turnover, and turnover. Connor Wile was intercepted (Nate Glaster) while Ipswich fumbled twice. The second Tiger fumble was recovered by Tyler Souther at the Ipswich 12. Way too delectable field position for the Clipper offense on this day.

Brett Fontaine catches TD pass despite face mask infraction in third quarter.

NHS struck quickly as Connor hit Brett in the end zone. Brett hung on despite suffering one of the more blatant face mask penalties you’ll ever see. Brandon Trego kicked the extra point to put the Clippers further ahead, 34-14, with 7:34 left in the third quarter. And that turned out to be the final score as a lot of clean jerseys were seen the rest of the way.

Credit Newburyport for sticking with a passing attack throughout the game. Credit center Kyle Monahan for enabling the Clippers to function out of shotgun formation with a game of clean snaps.

Connor Wile might be a little tougher than your average high school quarterback. In the winter he’ll be seen playing hockey and in the spring catching for the NHS baseball team. Point? He’s no stranger to contact!

The weather was full of surprises. A half hour before game time it was pouring. Thereafter we saw clouds and even some sun………only in New England.

The Clippers face Saugus at NHS next on Friday night (7PM). Ipswich gets Lynnfield at home on the same night. The rest of the way the games are league games.

Quarterback Nick Andreas sits on sideline with trainer Nicole Tougas and IHS coach Ted Flaherty.

Tiger freshman quarterback Nick Andreas was hit hard in the third quarter and didn’t return. Sophomore Kyle Blomster took over the rest of the way.

Clipper junior Tyler Cusack was hit hard during kickoff coverage in the second half and didn’t return.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures. I own the mistakes but I try hard to avoid them.)

The pictures will enlarge to normal size if you click on them. Enjoy.

Newburyport sky

Brenden Gallagher (13)

Brett Fontaine (10) and Chris Desmond (50)

Louis Galanis (10 and Trevor Pituck (55)

Jimmy Conway flies after hit.

Peter Moutevelis (20)

Hamilton-Wenham Stays Undefeated Downing Newburyport 18-6

HW punter Shane Jenkins leaps to catch a high snap in the 4th quarter.

NHS quarterback Connor Wile scrambles on 4th-and-8 in the fourth quarter.

(Newburyport) The Hamilton-Wenham Generals (3-0) continued undefeated with an 18-6 win over the Newburyport Clippers (2-1) on Friday under the lights and a persistent mist.

The final score is misleading because Newburyport showed right from the start that they could make yards against Hamilton-Wenham. In fact, the Clippers scored on their first series (Jimmy Conway 12 yard pass from Connor Wile). After that, despite good field position most of the time, the end zone eluded the home team. Contributing to the lack of scoring were; mishandled snaps, penalties, and failure to convert 4th down opportunities.

On the other hand, HW was much more consistent on offense and much more diverse. They scored one touchdown (Trevor Lyons) on the outside, another on the inside (Elliott Burr), and a third in the air (Pete Duval).

The two biggest plays, in my opinion, happened in the fourth quarter.

In the first one, the Generals (ahead 12-6) were forced to punt from their side of the field with five minutes left in the game. Certainly the wet condition were a factor as the snap was high to HW punter Shane Jenkins. The 6’2” senior leaped to make a one-handed snag and came down to get off a good punt. If that snap had gone over his head, or been fumbled, the Clippers would have been set up very deep in HW territory with a chance to move in for at least a tie.

The second big play was a defensive stop by HW. Clinging to a 12-6 lead with 3 ½ minutes left, HW defended the Clippers into a 4th-and-8. On the next play, QB Connor Wile wanted to pass but ended up scrambling up the middle because of HW pressure. A measurement showed that he ended up inches from a drive-continuing first down.

The Generals followed that 4th down stop with a march that ended in the Clipper end zone as QB Trevor Lyons completed a 23-yard pass to Pete Duval with 1:49 left to seal the win (18-6) for HW.

Referee signals Jimmy Conway (#23) TD in first quarter.

The Clippers’ lone TD covered 12 yards as Jimmy Conway made a leaping catch near the middle of the end zone at 3:59 of the first quarter. Brandon Trego’s extra point attempt was blocked.

Elliott Burr (112 yards – 1 TD) converted a 4th-and-2 to keep an early second quarter HW drive going. Quarterback Trevor Lyons finished the drive with a clean 5-yard sweep right after faking a handoff to Elliott Burr. Matt Putur’s rush for extra points failed.

Tied 6-6, the Generals struck again in the second quarter. Consecutive carries on the inside by Elliott Burr ended when he crossed the goal line on a 2-yard carry with 4:19 left. Another failed rush followed for extra points but HW still led, 12-6.

HW quarterback Trevor Lyons sweeps right untouched for 5-yard TD in second quarter.

The visitors would build on that lead late in the 4th quarter. The Pete Duval catch produced the points but it was a long sweep down the left sidelines by QB Lyons that set HW up at the Newburyport 25.

Brett Fontaine recovered a fumble in the end zone in the third quarter.

HW hosts Amesbury (2-1) on October 1st (Saturday) at 2:30PM.

Newburyport entertains North Andover (2-1) on September 30th (Friday) at 7PM.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures. I am doing my best to be accurate.)

Clicking on any of the pictures enlarges them to normal size.

Elliott Burr – 112 yards – 1 TD

game-time conditions

Trevor Lyons handoff to Elliott Burr in 2nd

QB Trevor Lyons throws from the pocket in 3rd.

Brett Fontaine (#10) recovers fumble in 3rd.

Tyler Martin (#32) in traffic in 4th

Connor Wile pressured by Matt Vogus (#77)

Matt Putur (#21) finds hole.

Clipper Tyler Cusack (#21) has Matt Putur (#21) on one side and Taylor Drinkwater (#55) on the other.

Pete Duval – TD reception

Trevor Lyons sweep in 4th

Newburyport Defeats Pioneer Valley 9-4 to Win Massachusetts Division 3 State Baseball Title

Newburyport Clippers – 2011 Massachusetts Division 3 baseball champs

Dave Cusack, Connor Wile, Brett Fontaine, and Jimmy Conway await the championship trophy presentation.

(Lynn) The Newburyport Clippers are the Massachusetts Division 3 state champs in baseball for 2011.

The Clippers (23-5) put together a thirteen game winning streak, including six in the state tournament, to win their first baseball state title ever at Fraser Field in Lynn on Saturday afternoon.

Their opponent in the finals was Pioneer Valley from Northfield – winner of the West.

The final score was, 9-4, but trust me, this game didn’t get “comfortable” until Newburyport survived a scary top of the sixth and then put up two insurance runs in the bottom half of the six to get that final-score, five run lead.

Clipper coach Bill Pettingell arrives for his final game.

Clipper coach Bill Pettingell gets to walk away from a 40-year career with a storybook ending. The team’s goal to get him his 600th win kept their attention in the early part of the season and the desire to get him a state title kept their attention the rest of the way.

I recall reading that he said that this team was “special” and a great team to finish with. I passed it off as “coach speak,” figuring you’d expect a coach to be positive about the team he has. But it turns out that this team was special and showed us all that it had what it takes to end up champions. Good for them!

Let me get that scary top of the sixth out of the way first. The Panthers (18-8) were down 7-4. Derek Thayer started the inning with a bullet down the 3rd baseline. Clipper third baseman Drew Carter made the play of the game with a backhand stab and a strong throw to first. Drew’s defense looked real important when Newburyport starter Brett Fontaine walked the next two batters before pinch hitter Nick Peduzzi flaired a single to right to load the bases. That put Pioneer Valley into “one-swing” territory with the top of their order coming up. However, Brett (11th win) struck out Jordan Stempel (he had singled the inning before) and got Casey Blanchard (he had tripled the inning before) to fly harmlessly to left and the threat was over.

Brett retired the side in order in the seventh with right fielder Sam Barlow handling Joey Larson’s fly for the final out.

Celebrating begins after the final out.

After that there was a Clipper pile-up, team handshakes, medal handouts, and trophy celebration. And to think, some folks chose the Bruins parade in Boston over this!

The Clippers put plenty of pressure on the Panther defense all game long. They ended up with eleven hits but it was their aggressiveness on the base paths that forced Pioneer Valley into, what turned out to be, errors and bad decisions.

In the second inning, Dave Cusack (part of state champion hockey team in 2009-10) singled to drive in one run but rounded first and drew a throw that allowed a second run to score.

In the third inning, Jimmy Conway hit was looked like a double play ball but hustled to first. The throw to first was dropped by Joey Larson giving Newburyport an unearned run as Matt Mottola scored from second.

Pioneer Valley starter Kyle Platner leads off first after driving in the Panthers first run.

In the fourth inning, more pressure came Pioneer Valley’s way. Sam Barlow led off with a single and Dave Cusack reached on a bunt single. With both base runners in motion, Colby Morris also bunted. Third baseman Tyler O’Brien made a wild throw to first and two runners scored.

There’s three unearned runs in the first five the Clippers scored.

Things started well for the Panthers. In the first they had a single by Casey Blanchard (2 hits/2 runs/1 RBI). He reached second on the first of Brett Fontaine’s two balks and scored on a single by Panther starter Kyle Platner.

The Clippers took the lead, 2-1, in the second and later 3-1 in the third on the Panthers’ unsuccessful double play.

Tom Malooly scores on a passed ball in the 4th.

Things got a bit ugly for Newburyport in the fourth inning. A single (Tom Malooly), a passed ball (Connor Wile), a fielder’s choice, and another passed ball, gave Pioneer Valley its second run.

The Clippers responded with four in their fourth to boost the lead to, 7-2. The mishandled bunt I mentioned before was followed by a Matt Mottola triple to deep center which drove in the third run (Colby Morris) of the inning. Brett Fontaine’s infield grounder delivered Matt Mottola with the fourth run.

Now down 7-2, the Panthers picked up two in the top of the fifth. Jordan Stempel singled and reached 3B on a passed ball. Casey Blanchard’s triple to right center drove in Jordan. An infield grounder by Kyle Platner brought in Casey.

Matt Mottola sails home in the third inning.

But that would be the last of the runs for Pioneer Valley. They seriously threatened in the next inning (sixth) but ended with the bases loaded.

The Clippers put up the “breathe easier” two runs in the sixth inning. Two walks (Colby Morris and Matt Mottola) off Panther reliever Cory Serviss set the stage for a Brett Fontaine single to left. Colby scored on that single and Matt reached home when Jimmy Conway singled as well.

Pioneer Valley left Northfield at 8:15AM and arrived at least 1 ½ hours before game time.

Dave Cusack in rundown in second inning that led to a run.

That “game time” thing will be a memory from this contest. The game was supposed to start at noon. Everyone was in place at noon except the umpires. You and I have been to less important games and not had officials show up but this was the state finals! Three umpires made an appearance eventually and the game started at 12:40.

I asked an MIAA official afterwards about the umpire situation. He said that he had no idea where the scheduled umpires were. Could they have gone to the Lowell Spinners park??

He told me that there was an umpire on hand who was working for the MIAA in a different assignment at Fraser so they enlisted him. Then they made a call to Swampscott and got a father/son team to ump. The father/son team were college umpires. The MIAA rep said they (the MIAA) were lucky that these guys were home.

Replacement umpires arrive at 12:40

The umps got a derisive cheer when they arrived but they deserved a warm welcome for filling in on short notice.

The weather was great. Plenty of sun and a nice breeze.

Matt Mottola was two-for-two, scored three runs, and had an RBI.

Ryan O’Connor warmed up in the bottom of the sixth just in case.

An important part in the Clipper victory was the fact that they played the North final last Saturday after that big rain delay. The other sections (South/Central/West) postponed their finals and had to scramble to make up the games. Newburyport was thus able to have its two superb pitchers (Ryan O’Connor and Brett Fontaine) pitch the state semifinal and state final on normal rest. Pioneer Valley wasn’t able to do that.

(I collect my own statistics, take my own pictures, and draw my own conclusions. I apologize in advance for mistakes.)

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