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BYFIELD | Pentucket foiled Triton's game plan yesterday morning and proved once and for all that the Sachems are far more than the Nate Bunnell Show.

Yes, Bunnell scored three touchdowns in Pentucket's decisive 28-0 victory before a Thanksgiving crowd of more than 1,000 to cap a fine 8-3 season for the Sachems, but at least Triton (1-10) succeeded in slowing down the senior running back.

After 25 years of coaching at Pentucket, an era in Steve Hayden's career is coming to a close.

No, the coach is not retiring, but after coaching his son the past two seasons on the varsity team, Steve Jr. will be playing his last game for his dad along with the rest of the class of 2008.

Any signs of complacency in the Pentucket Regional football camp the past couple weeks have been silenced by one simple score:

Triton 26, Pentucket 20.

The Sachems watched a run of seven straight Thanksgiving morning wins over Triton snapped on Pentucket's home turf last fall.

Where: Triton Stadium, Byfield

Date: Thursday, Nov. 22

Time: 10 a.m.

Coaches: Shawn McElligott, Triton; Steve Hayden, Pentucket

Captains: Triton: Matt Emerzian, Sr. QB, Jeff Andrews, Sr. OL, Zach Welch, Sr. OL; Pentucket: Steve Jenkins, Sr. OL/LB, Justin Bolla, Sr. TE/DE

WILMINGTON | This game was worthy of determining the Cape Ann League's best as the 1,500 in attendance would attest.

After a shocking upset of Masconomet last week opened the door, Pentucket struggled as fullback Nate Bunnell became a marked man as did second option Chris Modlish. The Sachems also suffered a pair of turnovers, but their defense did more than its share to keep things close.

He toils in relative anonymity in coach Steve Hayden's run-till-you-can't wing-T attack.

But when Pentucket needed him in Sunday's shocker over Masconomet, Jordan Silva came up huge.

The opposition was not surprised.

WEST NEWBURY | Pentucket Regional football standout Nathan Bunnell initially didn't grasp the magnitude of his team's accomplishment against highly-regarded Masconomet yesterday.

"I think it's one of our biggest wins of the year," said Bunnell, who clobbered the Masco defense with 136 yards in 17 carries in the Sachems' stirring 21-14 triumph.

By aggressively shadowing Pentucket's standout running back Nate Bunnell and mixing in an effective passing game, Lynnfield knew what it would need to do to succeed. And the Pioneers added a pair of fumble recoveries and a successful onside kick to their arsenal.

North Andover's game plan was to mix things on the offensive side. But, by the second half, the blueprint centered around Matt Burckhardt's ability to grind out yardage and valuable time off the clock.

The Sachems are part of a four-way free-for-all in the CAL Large with Wilmington, Masco and North Andover.

Coach Steve Hayden says:

Midseason Mr. Reliable: "Nate Bunnell. He's got a lot of ability, and he's brought out the best in a lot of other kids on this team."