North Attleboro hadn’t overwhelmed Mansfield on their house turf since 2015.
The streak resulted in memorable style final Friday evening.
Chris Frisoli threw a 10-yard landing move to Aidan Conrad in time beyond regulation and the protection held the fort as soon as once more to present North Attleboro a wild 27-21 victory over Mansfield. For head coach Mike Strachan, who took over as head coach of the Red Rocketeers in April, it was a particular evening in additional methods than one.
“Mansfield has always been a big rival,” mentioned Strachan, who spent 9 years as head coach at Attleboro earlier than accepting the North Attleboro job in April. “They’ve always been the top team in the Kelley-Rex, always had successful seasons and Mike Redding is such a good coach. Finally being able to beat them was very nice, let’s just say the bus ride home wasn’t quiet. It was a very satisfying win for the players.”
While Strachan has a brand new title in North Attleboro, he’s greater than nicely conscious of the varsity’s custom of soccer excellence by way of the years. A 1986 graduate of North Attleboro, Strachan performed for the legendary Ray Beaupre earlier than heading off to Stonehill College.
He coached in Europe earlier than returning house the place he spent 10 years as Framingham State, the ultimate seven as head coach earlier than getting the Attleboro job in 2013. Strachan may need been away from North Attleboro, however the Red Rocketeer blood at all times flowed by way of him.
“I grew up here and the expectations were always high,” Strachan mentioned. “There was always pressure to win and that goes back to Coach Beaupre and Coach (Bob) Guthrie.”
Those targets remained excessive as Paul Sullivan and Don Johnson stored the Red Rocketeers at or close to the highest of the heap. Johnson led North Attleboro to the Div. 3 state championship recreation final yr earlier than retiring. Strachan credit the seniors largely for making the teaching transition a seamless one thus far.
“Greg Berthiaume, Nathan Schultz, Zachary Gallagher, Jack Munley, Aidan Conrad, Kaden Leary and all the seniors — those guys are very special,” Strachan mentioned. “They are very coachable, they really enjoy playing for each other, they check off all the boxes that you’re looking for. It’s a very focused group that really does take things one practice at a time.”
The season opened in effective style as North Attleboro avenged a 24-10 loss to Bishop Feehan by rolling to a 28-6 victory over the Shamrocks, setting the stage for Redemption Tour Part 2. North Attleboro and Mansfield staged the most effective video games of the 2021 season, the groups going to double time beyond regulation earlier than the Hornets prevailed, 31-29.
It appeared like North Attleboro was going to go 2-for-2 in paybacks when it drove into the crimson zone within the waning moments of regulation, solely to have a possible game-winning discipline purpose try miss. Overtime isn’t one thing a coach needs to take care of however Strachan felt his staff was greater than able to being as much as the duty.
“I really felt good about everything,” Strachan mentioned. “Mansfield won the toss and elected to go to defense. Our offense played well all night, we stayed patient which I think we did. Our defense played well, had two goal line stands, including one to win the game.”
Sweet 16
1. CATHOLIC MEMORIAL (1-0): Knights confirmed little rust in coasting previous LaSalle by 40 within the season opener.
2. XAVERIAN (2-0): Hawks shall be examined this week on the street at King Philip.
3. CENTRAL CATHOLIC (1-1): Give the Raiders loads of credit score for bouncing again after a lopsided season-opening loss to defeat a top-five St. John’s Prep squad.
4. MILFORD (2-0): Scarlet Hawks flip in one other strong efficiency in opposition to Wellesley.
5. ST. JOHN’S PREP (1-1): Back to the drafting board for the Eagles.
6. READING (2-0): Rockets journey south and depart with a hard-fought win over Barnstable.
7. KING PHILIP (2-0): Another week, one other shutout for the Warriors protection.
8. ANDOVER (2-0): The second of three Merrimack Valley Conference Large groups within the Sweet 16.
9. NORTH ATTLEBORO (2-0): Back-to-back wins over Bishop Feehan and Mansfield definitely opened our eyes.
10. MANSFIELD (1-1): Tough time beyond regulation loss to North Attleboro drops the Hornets a number of spots within the rankings.
11. MILTON (2-0): Wildcats jumped out of the gates in opposition to Framingham earlier than coasting within the second half.
12. METHUEN (2-0): Solid street victory for the Rangers to maneuver to 2-0 on the younger season.
13. FRANKLIN (2-0): Excellent all-around effort on each side of the ball in opposition to Brockton.
14. DUXBURY (2-0): Safe to say the Dragons had been greater than fired up for a crack at Scituate.
15. MARBLEHEAD (2-0): Magicians struggled for a half with Lynnfield earlier than rallying within the second half.
16. EVERETT (1-1): Crimson Tide reply from a gap loss with a straightforward victory over Somerville.
Source: www.bostonherald.com