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Triton, Amesbury searching for first wins tonight

Friday, September, 28 By Dan Guttenplan
Sports editor

It's the story of two football programs and how players and coaches are dealing with losing.

More than a month ago, the Triton football team opened training camp hoping to carry the momentum of last year's Thanksgiving Day victory over Pentucket.

At the time, that holiday upset seemed to be a sign of two programs moving in separate directions. The Pentucket loss sealed its first losing season since 1998 also the last time Triton beat the Sachems on Thanksgiving. The Triton victory appeared to give a young team hope for a Cape Ann League Large title this fall.

Fast-forward one month, and the Vikings are 0-3 and still in search of their first points. They opened the season with consecutive 14-0 losses to Greater Lawrence and North Reading and added salt to the wound with a 26-0 loss to Newburyport last week.

Now, with winless Ipswich coming to town tonight (7 p.m.), it appears to be the perfect opportunity for the Vikings to change the momentum of their season.

"We don't see it that way," Triton coach Shawn McElligott said. "You can't look at a team's record, and you can't look at the schedule. We look at what they give us as far as size and speed and the type of schemes they run. What type of headaches will they give us?"

The Amesbury football team can relate to Triton's plight. The Indians also registered an apparent program-changing victory last Thanksgiving with a 20-0 shutout of Newburyport.

Again, it appeared to be the sign of two programs moving in different directions. The Clippers completed a 3-8 campaign, while a historically inferior Amesbury program posted its first .500 season in the Thom Connors era.

Now Amesbury finds itself 0-2 after losses to Lawrence and Pentucket. Both were winnable games as the Indians took a 7-0 lead into the half at Lawrence and a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter against Pentucket.

So the feeling isn't one of confidence on the Amesbury sideline as the Indians prepare for undefeated Wilmington tonight (7 p.m.).

"We're frustrated as a team," Indians linebacker and tight end Steve Serwon said. "We know we have talent. We're working hard, but it hasn't come through. We're hoping to get that first win soon."

The difference in the programs' winless start may be the manner in which the teams are losing.

Triton has struggled to generate any semblance of offense this season. The Vikings average 84.3 rushing yards per game and 15.3 yards passing. They have 11 turnovers. And they ran out of time in their attempt to score their first points last week against Newburyport's second-team defense.

But no one can call the Vikings quitters.

The squad has allowed a total of seven points in the first half. And the 18.0 points-allowed-per-game average is second to Newburyport among local teams.

And the squad can still boast an 0-0 record in its CAL Large division.

"The kids remain positive," McElligott said. "They aren't letting down. Win or lose, we can always look for that. Our kids are playing hard, and they showed that in every game. No one can say these kids aren't trying."

Amesbury, on the other hand, is struggling to finish games, and perhaps that stems from a history of being the underdog. But there is plenty of reason for optimism. The Indians proved they can compete with CAL Large squads in their losses to Lawrence and Pentucket, justifying their beliefs that they have a chance for a CAL Small title.

Even this week's game against Wilmington is not technically a "must-win game." The CAL Small schedule starts against Lynnfield next week in what will be a string of five CAL Small games in six weeks.

"We still think our goals are in reach," Serwon said. "We played a couple good teams, but it doesn't mean we can't accomplish what we set out to do in the beginning of the season. We need to get that first win, and then morale will boost and we'll start playing well."