North Reading Beats Shawsheen Tech In MIAA Division 5 Super Bowl

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A back-and-forth first half kept things close, but North Reading High School's varsity football team eventually pulled away from Shawsheen Valley Technical High School on Friday to win this year's Division 5 football state championship at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

North Reading, which went 7-1 in the regular season, dealt Shawsheen its first and only loss of 2022 with the eventual 44-28 final score.

"It was a grind, but we're just so fortunate to have so many athletes," North Reading Coach Ed Blum told reporters after the game.

North Reading opened the scoring against Shawsheen in the first quarter of this game to take a 7-0 lead.

The Hornets and Rams then traded turnovers before Shawsheen tied the game on a lengthy touchdown catch by senior Mavrick Bourdeau. Shawsheen kept the pressure on in the first half, taking a 14-7 lead in the second quarter when quarterback Sid Tildsley found the endzone on a running play.

North Reading tied things up before the half, though, scoring on a touchdown reception by senior Matt Guidebeck with seconds left on the clock.

Back for the second half, North Reading took the lead again on a touchdown, expanding its advantage later in the third quarter with a field goal. North Reading added a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Shawsheen narrowed the deficit to 30-20 on a touchdown with roughly 6:30 left in the game, only to have North Reading answer with its own touchdown.

The teams traded one more round of touchdowns before time ran out.

Blum praised his team's defense on Friday after what he described as an uncharacteristic first half for the North Reading offense.

"Our defense kept us in," he said.

Blum continued, celebrating work in the second half where offense, special teams and defensive units came together to take a lead and then pad their advantage against Shawsheen.

"It was complementary football that we know we could play," he said.

North Reading entered this year's playoff bracket as the second-ranked team in MIAA Division 5 power rankings.

Shawsheen, despite going undefeated, landed fourth in the same rankings, which take into account other factors such as strength of opponents.

North Reading marched past Round of 16 and quarterfinals opponents before battling Bishop Fenwick into overtime in the state semifinal.

Shawsheen beat Worcester Tech, Old Rochester and Dover Sherborn to punch its ticket to the Super Bowl.

North Reading, which lost in the state championships a year ago, entered this year's fall season with plenty of pressure, according to Blum.

"These kids the last three, four years have put all their effort into it," Blum said. "It just makes it all sweeter coming back and doing this."