MEDFIELD — No staff this season had come remotely near slowing down Medfield’s high-octane offense.
However with its season on the road, North Studying stopped the Warriors of their tracks.
The fifth-seeded Hornets shut out No. 4 Medfield within the second half to assist erase a 13-point halftime deficit and are available away with an exhilarating 21-20 Division 5 quarterfinal win Friday night time at Calvin George Fisher Area.
“The children performed nice basic, staff protection,” stated North Studying head coach Ed Blum because the Hornets advance to the state semifinal to face No. 1 Shawsheen. “They usually simply dug deep and made lots of performs. It was unimaginable.”
North Studying (9-1) held Medfield (9-1), which constructed a 20-7 lead on the break thanks to 3 dashing touchdowns from three completely different gamers, to only one first down over the Warriors first three drives of the second half.
The Hornets even contained Brady McCormack, who eclipsed 2,000 yards dashing on the season within the recreation, and by no means let the star senior operating again break one in all his patented lengthy runs.
The defensive efficiency allowed the Hornets to chop into Medfield’s lead as Otto Indelicato made it 20-14 with 5:14 left within the third quarter when he took a snap because the wildcat quarterback and plunged into the tip zone from a yard out for his second dashing landing of that style of the night time.
The dynamic duo of quarterback Jason Berry and Gavin Brady — Berry’s high wideout — received going within the second half for North Studying, too.
The Hornets sliced Medfield’s protection with bubble screens after which on the primary play of the fourth quarter, Berry (19-for-25, 224 yards) faked a toss earlier than pitching it to Brady (7 catches, 100 yards), who scampered 13 yards for a rating. Xander Villarroel’s further level gave the Hornets the lead.
“It was a fantastic design play,” Brady stated. “Nice blocking by the linemen, simply nice offensive execution to get the job completed.”
North Studying’s protection got here up with another huge stand to finish the sport. Medfield drove down the the Hornets’ 18 within the ultimate seconds, however North Studying stiffened and compelled back-to-back incompletion to seal the victory.
“If you get in moments of this adversity, it’s doing it for one another and digging a little bit deeper,” Blum stated. “Them pulling for one another, it elevates (them). They simply had a little bit bit extra and once more, every play they only stored doing it. It was superior.”
