Amesbury Loses In Close Game Against Greater Lawrence
November 28, 2007
It was the first post season appearance for any Amesbury high school team, a great accomplishment for both the players and the coaching staff.
Read Dan Guttenplan’s coverage of the game in today’s Newburyport Daily News for more details.
Congratulations to the Amesbury Indians football team for a great year!
Amesbury To Play Greater Lawrence Today in Division 3A Semifinals
November 27, 2007
The Amesbury Indians (5 -5) earned the right to play in today’s Semifinal playoff game as a result of their victory over Newburyport (17-12) on Thanksgiving Day.
Amesbury and Newburyport finished the season as co-champions with identical 4-1 records in the Cape Ann League Small Division Conference, but the Amesbury Indians moved on to the playoff round because of their win over Newburyport in head-to-head competition.
Post Mortem Coverage of Amesbury vs Newburyport Game
November 23, 2007
Boston Globe: Amesbury Enjoys A Surprise Berthday
Boston Herald: Amesbury Capitalizes
Daily News of Newburyport: Amesbury Clinches First-Ever Post Season Berth
Here are my thoughts on the game:
Intangibles: When they introduced the Newburyport Girls Soccer Championship team to the crowd before the game, it looked like a good harbinger of things to come for the Clippers as the girls team is the penultimate example of mental toughness and how to keep your focus as demonstrated in their march to the Massachusetts Division 3 Girls Soccer State Championship this fall.
The mental toughness factor is huge in team sports and this factor played out in Amesbury’s favor yesterday. The Amesbury team played with far more emotion and intensity throughout the game than Newburyport showed.
Sloppy Play on Special Teams and the Offensive Side of the Ball: There were a lot of sloppy plays by Newburyport in both halves of the game. The Newburyport defense, however, was solid and dominant in the second half. Poor special teams play dogged the Clippers all day and put Amesbury in good field position for most of the game. Newburyport had far too many “3rd and long” sitauations that they couldn’t convert throughout the game and especially in the second half.
Lack of Big Plays: Amesbury had all of the big plays and managed to keep the few drives going that they needed to win the game. Of course, when your opposition turns the ball over five times and commits a bunch of penalties, you don’t really need to mount many successul drives to win the game. If Newburyport had been able to convert on a few of their 3rd down plays it could have been a different outcome.
Joe Clancy’s Absence: Regardless of what people say, his absence was a huge factor in this game. Newburyport sputtered on offense when Joe Clancy wasn’t in as the quaterback, it was like night and day!
Much of the sloppiness in the Clipper’s offense was due to having to play without an experienced quaterback in their most important game of the year. Newburyport was put in this position due to a very questionable suspension decision on Joe Clancy (there are lots of rumors about what happened and who was involved) that occurred at the Lynnfield game and that did have a major impact on yesterday’s game.
Amesbury Indians Feast On Clipper Turnovers and Penalties
November 22, 2007
For the second year in a row, Newburyport came out of it with a weak offensive performance. Joe Clancy’s absence on the playing field was a huge factor as for the most part Newburyport’s offense wasn’t performing smoothly when it counted most. They couldn’t pull off the one or two small plays that they needed over the course of the game that could have changed the game’s outcome in their favor.
Amesbury’s offense really wasn’t much better and Newburyport’s defense, which played a very strong second half, kept them contained for most of the game , but they feasted on five Clipper turnovers and a cluster of Clipper illegal motion penalties. The turnovers really crushed Newburyport’s chances throughout the game.
This game was decided by the Newburyport turnovers and the Clippers’s inability to maintain potential scoring drives deep in Amesbury territory throughout most of the game and the second half in particular. Amesbury only mustered two first downs in the second half and Newburyport was living on the Amesbury side of the field for most of the second half, but couldn’t sustain crucial scoring drives when it mattered.
It’s going to be a long Turkey Day in the Clipper Nation this afternoon.
Turkey Day Football in Greater Newburyport
November 21, 2007
Tomorrow morning is the “mother lode” for local attendance at high school football games in our region. It is our “Homecoming” and signature event. Unlike other regions of the country, particularly the south, where high school football draws fans in droves to every game, the Thanksgiving Day game in our region, for the most part, is the only game of the season that draws people to the stadiums and football fields.
The Thanksgiving Day game is usually the only game that you have to think about going early to get a good seat in the stands, even if the weather is ugly. It’s amazing to read and listen to the stories from years gone by when thousands of fans attended each and every game.
Dan Guttenplan of the Daily News of Newburyport sizes up tomorrow’s games in his article in today’s issue. Check it out for the details.
Here are tomorrow’s games (all at 10:00 am)
- Amesbury at Newburyport
- Pentucket at Triton
- Manchester Essex at Georgetown
As usual, the Amesbury vs Newburyport matchup should be interesting, especially since Newburyport’s quarterback will not be playing due to a one game suspension handed out for an altercation that occurred near the end of the Newburyport/Lynnfield game. Both of these schools have a fierce and oftentimes borderline/out of control level of rivalry.
This year Amesbury came out of the gate on the slow side, but managed to be only one game behind Newburyport in the Cape Ann League small division coming in to tomorrow’s game. The winner will take home the Cape Ann League Small Division title and will move on to play the Commonwealth Conference League Champion on tuesday.
From the Newburyport side of the Merrimac River, there are lots of rumors swirling around the community concerning Joe Clancy’s suspension and how it was handled (or not handled) by the MIAA.
More fuel for the fire.
This will be a fiercely contested game!
Ipswich: Mercury Brewing Looking To Hire A Brewer
November 20, 2007
Responsibilities will include: Brewing, Cellarwork, and assisting in packaging.
Ideal applicants will have some experience in all aspects of brewing, but we will train the right person.
We offer paid heath insurance, paid vacation and a 401k plan. Pay depending on experience.
Please send resumes to Dan Lipke at:dhlipke@hotmail.com
Graf Rink Public Skate & Toy Drive For Pettengill House
November 20, 2007
Any patron who brings in one new, unwrapped gift suitable for a child (tot through teen) will be admitted into Public Skating free of charge.
Donations may be dropped off at the Graf Rink at any time if you are not able to attend on December 16th. All toys will be donated to the Pettengill House in Salisbury. The Pettengill House reaches out and supports families in need in the greater Salisbury area.
Please contact Nikki in the Graf Rink office (978) 462-8112 with any questions. Thank you for supporting the Graf Rink and our local community!
Killer Whales Sighted in the Bahamas
November 19, 2007
MVF was using a plane to survey bonefishing flats in the Bahamian ecosystem when the spotter on the plane noticed something in the waters from an altitude of 1000 feet. When they descended to check it, out they realized that it was a pod of killer whales. The whales dove back below the surface when they heard the plane approaching.
The MVF personnel were able to take a few photographs of the killer whales. According to the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization there have only been about five killer whale sightings prior to this in the past 20 years.
You can read the article and see one of the photographs at the MVF website and blog.
Newburyport Girls Soccer Team First Since 2001 To Win A State Championship
November 19, 2007
Newburyport now has its first State Championship since 2001!
The Newburyport High School girls soccer team won the Mass. Division 3 State Championship on saturday with their 3-2 victory against Bromfield High School at Cawley Stadium in Lowell. The team went out a winner with a come from behind victory on the winning goal by Taylor Bresnahan with only 39 seconds left in regulation time.
The Newburyport girls soccer team made the front page (photo and article) of today’s Newburyport Daily News. Don Guttenplan and John Shimer of the Newburyport Daily News provide great coverage of both the Championship game and the team in today’s edition of the paper.
The Sunday Boston Globe also had a nice article by Julian Benbow and photo gallery (8 photos).
The Newburyport Clippers girls soccer team finished up the season with the following record:
21 Wins - 1 Loss - 1 Tie
Not too shabby!
Congratulations Clippers!
Newburyport Girls Soccer Team Division 3 Mass State Champions
November 17, 2007
Congratulations to the Newburyport High School Girls Soccer team, the 2007 Massachusetts Division 3 State Champions!
In today’s championship game played at Cawley Stadium in Lowell, the Newburyport Clippers dominated much of the play on the field against the Bromfield Trojans of Harvard, MA, but could not break the game open due to the outstanding play of the Bromfield goalie. The Clippers won the game 3-2.
The Bromfield goalie was impressive in her play and did her part to keep her team in the game. Newburyport scored first about about 30 minutes into the game and Bromfield tied the score with less than two minutes to go in the first half.
In the second half, the Bromfield goalie continued her fine performance against the Clippers. She was aggressive around the net and snuffed out many potential Newburyport scoring opportunities. The Bromfield Trojans played with lot of energy early in the second half and were riding the momentum from their last minute score in the first half.
Bromfield, hanging tough with Newburyport for most of the second half, took the lead, 2-1, with about 10 minutes left in the game. The Bromfield team made good on the few quality shots that they had against the Clippers. Unfortunately they didn’t have enough shots as much of the play was occurring in Bromfield’s defensive zone.
After a time out, Newburyport Clippers put together an impressive drive and put a lot of pressure on Bromfield. Laura Muise tied the score at 2-2 with a beautiful,laser shot of a kick from the sideline area of the field that went into the net in the top left-hand corner of the net. I’d describe it as a “top shelf” goal!
Newburyport was energized after the goal and applied constant pressure on the field. The Clippers scored again about a minute later, but the goal was disallowed because a Newburyport player had stepped out of bounds when putting the ball back into play. The Clippers were unfazed over the call and played with the same intensity that they have carried with them throughout this season. The winning goal was scored by Taylor Bresnahan with less than two minutes left in the game.
The Newburyport Clippers were impressive in the last 20 minutes of the game as they really turned it on and showed how hard they play. It was a well played and exciting game to watch from the stands. What a way to end the season!
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