Walpole homes in on victory

READING - Home-field advantage on an opponent's turf?

At least for one night.

MIAA rules dictated that Walpole would be the host at Reading's Birch Meadow in last night's Division 2 semifinal. After a 38-mile rush-hour trip north, the Rebels would have been telling you otherwise.

But in a 20-12 victory over Reading, Walpole certainly made itself at home. Next is a trip in a different direction: south, to Gillette Stadium for the Super Bowl against Mansfield or Bishop Feehan.

"We knew we had it in this venue," Walpole coach Danny Villa said. "We knew we were capable of it."

After the teams blazed through the first three quarters with a plethora of running plays, it came down to the final minutes. Down, 12-7, with 3:24 to go, the Rebels (12-0) were at their 30 and running out of time.

Changing the playbook to include a few passes, Walpole saved a bit of magic for a play from the Reading 34. Sonny Mastromatteo found Leo Ajemian in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and a 13-12 lead with just 57 seconds left.

"[Assistant] coach [Bill] O'Connell pointed right at Sonny and said, 'Just throw it at [Ajemian],' " Villa said. "It was just a matter of sending [Ajemian] the ball at the right spot. We knew Leo would catch it. You know, Leo used to be a cornerback. He was fighting for the starting position and almost had it. Luckily, we moved him."

Reading (11-1) needed to travel 79 yards with 51 seconds left. On fourth down, Stanley Andre's pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Chris Cameron.

"We've been like that all year; I just say, 'Be relentless,' " said Villa, whose team lost in the Super Bowl last year to Bishop Feehan. "They just want to get done what we didn't finish last year."

Reading's offense, shut down in the first half, was rejuvenated in large part by Andre. Battling past the defensive line on seemingly every play, the 6-foot junior helped give the Rockets a 12-7 advantage with a pair of touchdowns. His first came on the opening drive of the third quarter with 6:25 left, a 5-yarder after a series of keepers. The kick failed, and Walpole led, 7-6.

With 3:29 remaining in the game, Andre finished off another Rocket drive, breaking away from Ryan Izzo and Nick Romaine for an 8-yard run. The pass failed, and Reading led by 5.

Lead offensive threat Izzo provided Walpole's scoring in the first half on a 2-yard run for a 7-0 lead with 5:16 left in the second quarter.

"Obviously, you're running full speed on the treadmill and it's like someone pulls the plug," Reading coach John Fiore said.