The Art of Amesbury

By Evan Mugford
staff writer

November 29, 2008 12:15 am

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AMESBURY — It's indisputable. The Amesbury Indians are the best football team in the Cape Ann League Small, and they're going to the post-season.

Such a statement was set in stone on Thanksgiving, when the Indians used their usual punishing ground game and cloaking defensive pressure to keep the Newburyport Clippers on their heels for the vast majority of Thursday's most sought after CAL matchup.

Despite a momentum swinging four-yard touchdown pass from Clipper quarterback Joe Clancy to wideout Kyle LeBlanc, the Indians persevered, 22-7, using their stifling defense and lofty running attack to pick apart the Newburyport defensive unit, eventually sealing the game thanks to a two-yard run by co-captain Kevin Johnston and the systematic boot of Bill Medvitz.

And again, it's indisputable in stating that 2008 has been the year of the Indian.

Amesbury finished the year with a remarkable 10-1 record, the lone blemish coming from the cleats of the Georgetown Royals (8-2), and though the Indians, the Clippers, and the Royals all technically share the CAL small title, there's no refuting who the all-around best and most complete team was.

Averaging 29.3 points per game and allowing 14.3, Amesbury was a model of consistency.

Even after losing to Georgetown in the fifth game of the season, 15-14, a contest deemed as the be-all, end-all for the CAL small division, the Indians rolled on, albeit not as easily as their first four contests.

They squeaked by a strong Pentucket (7-4) squad, 24-21, and edged a valiant Lynnfield (3-8) team, 13-12, before they finally regrouped and began dissecting opponents with the skill of a surgeon. In the final four games of the season, the Indians played like men possessed, out-scoring their counterparts 130-54.

As cohesive a team as you're likely to find, Amesbury ruled with an iron fist thanks to defensive efforts from the likes of senior co-captain Kyle Mroz and his line of immovable objects.

"This year has just been great," Mroz said. "When we were freshmen, we had a great year going 10-0-1. Even from back then we had high expectations, and to win as seniors and realize what we always believed, it's just incredible.

"This whole team is just a great group of friends. We never fought; we never bickered. We were always a team."

The offense, a frightening juggernaut of rolling thunder, was consistently brought to screeching life in part to the relentlessly spinning wheels of senior co-captains Kevin Johnston (21 total TDs, 916 rushing yds, 94 receiving yds), Jared Flannigan (12 total TDs, 542 passing yds with 5 TDs, 557 rushing yds), Steve Serwon (204 receiving yds, 2 TDs), and junior Jesse Burrell (9 total TDs, 812 rushing yds, 193 receiving yds) — a group of talent Amesbury may be hard-pressed to emulate.

"It was just the greatest feeling in the world," said Johnston, who was explaining what it was like to win two straight CAL titles and finish his career on top. "The team just never gave up. That Georgetown loss had us reeling, but we never quit. We kept at it and continued to play the way we knew how."

Akin to how the Newburyport Clippers came on strong at the end of the 2008 season, the Amesbury Indians won their last three games of the 2007 season to not only put themselves in contention to win the CAL title but to also make a trip to the postseason.

Though the Indians lost to Greater Lawrence in a hotly contested battle, 19-16, coach Thom Connors explained that his team never truly left the field that day.

"The kids just took it to themselves to get ready for next season," Connors said. "And when they came in for training camp, it really showed how much work they had put in during the offseason. Everyone was in great shape. These kids were in playing shape in August.

"The season was just a testament to how well they prepared themselves. We played it one game at a time, stayed away from the hype, and it's all paid off."

A prime example and one of the more vocal leaders on the Indians is Serwon, who, like Mroz, attests that the character and the unity of the team was the most integral component for their success.

"Everyone on this team carries one another," Serwon said. "We all worked so hard to be where we're at, and to win a CAL title as a senior is just awesome.

"We're all such great friends, and they way we have continued to work together is probably why we've been so successful. It may sound silly, but it's the truth."

The 2008 Indians, a group of battle-worn friends and athletic play-makers, have earned the right to continue their season, and come Tuesday at 5:15 in Lowell, the Commonwealth Athletic Conference large champs, Whittier Tech (8-2), the Indians' preseason scrimmage partners, will stand steadfast in the way of Amesbury's path for glory.

"We don't know much about them just yet," said Connors, who will be trading tapes with Whittier coaches this weekend. "From the scrimmages, which don't really tell you much, they generally run a double wing offense and an eight-man front defense. Come Sunday and Monday, we'll be able to have some full-contact scrimmages and really get going for this matchup."