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NORTH READING — North Reading head coach Jeff Wall didn’t want to break up his team’s postgame huddle. “As soon as I break it up, you know it’s over,” he said.

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 the line 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 in a 32-14 triumph. “They owned the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively — it was very impressive,” said Ipswich head coach Ted Flaherty. “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. 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.

HAMILTON — After struggling to run the ball against North Reading in the first half, Hamilton-Wenham made the necessary halftime adjustments and scored on its first two plays in the second half as the Generals prevailed 28-12 yesterday.

NORTH READING — North Reading head football coach Jeff Wall called yesterday’s Northeastern Conference/Cape Ann League Division 4 matchup with Manchester Essex a grind. Fortunately for Wall’s squad, they were right in their element as they controlled the clock on offense and controlled the line of scrimmage on defense en route to a 14-0 win on homecoming. The win, North Reading’s fourth straight, moves them to 5-2 on the season. It has been quite a turnaround from 1-9 seasons in 2009 and 2010. “This game was a grind,” Wall said after his club’s second shutout of the gall. “(Manchester Essex) is a scary team, they’re tough and they’re big, but we executed and made plays on defense when we needed to make them. We bent a little bit but we didn’t break.” Manchester Essex (3-5) had it’s chances twice driving into North Reading territory late in the first half and late in the fourth quarter. North Reading, however, stopped the visitors on downs in the first half and came away with an interception late in the fourth. The Hornets were led by bruising running back Carl Lipani, who ran for 179 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries. Lipani, who also added a fourth quarter interception, now has 1,225 yards and 15 TDs this season. The junior wore down Manchester Essex, picking up several key third-down conversions. On the game North Reading converted eight of 11 third-down opportunities, which may have been the difference. The biggest came on North Reading’s first drive of the game when CJ McCarthy took an inside handoff 50 yards on third down and 10 for a touchdown and a 7-0 North Reading lead. North Reading can clinch its third winning season in the last dozen years with a win next Saturday at Hamilton-Wenham.

NEWBURYPORT — North Reading coach Jeff Wall brought his team to Newburyport last evening with a mission of shutting down wide receiver Brett Fontaine.

Wall’s defense limited Fontaine to two catches, but the receiver picked up 78 yards on three sweeps in a 28-6 Newburyport victory.

NORTH READING — North Reading's new-look offense goes old school, and it works. The Hornets punished Saugus 20-0 to open the season with a win on home field with a freshly installed single wing formation.

New assistant coach Ed Melanson brought the single wing with him to the staff this season after migrating from Peabody. The formation was developed by Pop Warner — yes the Pop Warner — in 1903.

It's old-school, smash-mouth football.

The Hornets rushed 38 times, throwing just twice, but hammered the Sachems' defense for 232 yards. Junior tailback Carl Lipani rushed for 161 of those yards on 25 carries.

"(Melanson) is probably the only guy on the staff who even fully understands it," admits head coach Jeff Wall. "It's all him. He brought it here, he installed it and I'm just not messing with it. I know that running the scout team defense against it, it drives me nuts, so I can only imagine what it does to other teams."

At times North Reading's formations and rotation from the offensive line had the Sachems confused and out of position. The single wing overloads one side of the line with a wingback, tailback and fullback. There are also options for the quarterback — Jackson Kellogg — to take carries.

“It’s a chess game,” Melanson said. “Where you overload the line like that, it forces the other team to make an adjustment. Then we try to throw in some other moves.”

Lipani's up-the-gut power running fits perfect with the new gameplan.

"I love it," he said. "It's smash mouth. We used it (last night) and we're only going to get better with it. There are so many things we can do with it. I just love playing in it."

Melanson first noticed the formation on an ESPN show called "The Survivors." He was so intrigued he called around and got in touch with a coach in South Carolina, who told him about a Single Wing symposium. So he hopped on a plane and went to work.

"I went down there and learned how to install it and how to run it," Melanson said. "Other clinics have come up, too and just learning more and more about it. It's a power game. It's a punch-you-in-the-mouth offense."

And just in case anyone suggests it won’t work, he has a resume to back it up. Melanson was part of a St. Mary's (Lynn) staff that won a state championship using the same formation in 2005.

But as with anything, personal can make or break a system. Melanson believes Lipani is the man who could take North Reading to the top.

"He gets it," Melanson said. "He is going to just keep smashing into guys until they don't want to be smashed into anymore. We have a lot of young guys to who are learning it and catching on quick."

He added, “We’re just scratching the surface. We didn’t do nearly as much with it tonight as we will be able to. There are more things we’re going to be able to throw in here, so it’s really exciting.”