Chase Frisoli rans rampant as North Attleborough barrels past Reading and into Division 3 Super Bowl - The Boston Globe


Chase Frisoli rans rampant as North Attleborough barrels past Reading and into Division 3 Super Bowl - The Boston Globe

And now, it's on to a familiar foe -- Mansfield, one of their most storied rivals, which ended Walpole's Cinderella run earlier in the evening in the other semifinal.

"Oh, it's Mansfield? Wow! OK," he exclaimed. "I grew up with a lot of those kids. We had a chance at them earlier this year, it's going to be a lot of fun."

"That was awesome," said North coach Mike Strachan of Frisoli's performance. "He's been doing that all year. He's really peaking at the right time. We probably haven't run him enough all year, but he took the team on his shoulders tonight and did an unbelievable job."

In lieu of star captain Ryan Bannon, sidelined with an ankle injury but hopeful to play in the state final, the Big Red unfurled a slew of heavy backfield sets early, with 255-pound fullback Frank Strachan and 275-pound lineman Reid Clemente flanking Frisoli.

The original game plan was to attack the flats and take downfield shots when they could against a Rockets defense that hadn't surrendered more than 28 points in a game all year. But after the first carry, a Corey Rufino counter that easily picked up a first down, Frisoli said "we saw a gaping hole."

"We saw our guys mauling them," Frisoli said. "We knew we could handle them up front. It wasn't even the game plan to stay heavy, but we just kept riding it because it was working."

And ride they did. As a team, the Big Red totaled 51 carries and 436 yards rushing, averaging just under nine yards per attempt. They attempted just three passes, all completions, including a 33-yard touchdown to Brady Paradis that made it 28-6 just before halftime.

Frisoli made his first two scores look easy as he patiently waited for daylight on read options that stretched the Reading defense horizontally to make it 14-0.

Reading's elusive quarterback Jack Murphy (290 total yards, 3 TDs) got one back when he found Brady Comenos alone deep downfield for a 57-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Murphy made the play of the night when he scrambled loose up the middle and broke to the pylon for a 29-yard score that cut the lead to 28-12 early in the third.

But the Big Red managed to do enough to stifle him at the right moments, including a Patrick Hamilton fumble recovery in the red zone with seven minutes left that all but sealed it.

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