IPSWICH — There were only 51 seconds left in the first half the first time the North Reading football team got on the scoreboard at Jack Welch Stadium last night.
But behind a dominant effort from their linemen and junior running back Carl Lipani, they made sure the points came much more frequently over the final 22 minutes of play.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Lipani rushed the ball 36 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns in the Hornets' Single Wing offense as the visitors wore down Ipswich High in a 32-14 triumph.
"They owed the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively. It was very impressive," said Ipswich head coach Ted Flaherty, whose team (3-6) saw their slim hopes of competing for the Northeastern Conference/Cape Ann League Tier 4 crown slip away with their second league loss.
"Every play they run is a like a wedge, and it was tough to see that No. 44 (Lipani) behind those big linemen. He runs low to the ground, he's patient and hits the hole extremely well."
The Tigers had drawn first blood when freshman quarterback Nick Andreas hooked up with Louis Galanis on a 55-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Galanis, a senior, made a spectacular outstretched catch and sailed into the end zone for a 6-0 lead.
But by the time the home team scored again on Peter Moutevelis' 82-yard kickoff return in the final stanza, North Reading had started to pull away.
Lipani scored on runs of 5, 50 and 45 yards as North Reading (6-3) expanded on a 7-6 halftime edge by running the ball at will in the second half. Junior Michael Moscaritolo fell on a fumble in the end zone for another touchdown while captain Eric Valenti booted a 25-yard field goal and three extra points.
In all, the Hornets — who were minus three starters due to injury — rushed for 348 yards and secured themselves their first winning season in eight years.
"We had to rely on some seniors who hadn't seen much of the field this season, and they came up big," said North Reading head coach Jeff Wall, whose team, which had just one victory a year ago, has now won six games in a season for the first time since 1999.
"(Lipani) runs hard that way every day, in practice or a game. He's a nightmare for our scout team. I told him beforehand he might get the ball 50 times in this one, so he was ready."
