ATTLEBORO – Michael Strachan didn’t have to travel far for his first game as head coach at his alma mater.
The 1986 North Attleborough graduate, in his first year leading the Red Rocketeers after nine years helming Attleboro, coached his first game across town at Bishop Feehan on Friday night. Tasked with taking over a program coming off a narrow defeat in the Division 3 title game a season ago, Strachan’s homecoming got off to a promising start with a convincing 28-6 win over the Shamrocks at McGrath Stadium.
“I just love what these kids did today,” Strachan said after his first game wearing red in some 36 years. “I’m just proud of our kids. Our defense played great, our offense settled down. Our defense was focused. We’re just very proud of what we were able to accomplish here today.”
The Red Rocketeers (1-0) ran roughshod over Feehan (0-1), racking up more than 200 yards on the ground in a game in which they never trailed.
After going three and out on its opening possession, North started its second possession at the Feehan 35-yard line after a bad snap on a punt. Three plays later, Nathan Shultz was gone for a 27-yard score. Before the first quarter was out, Shultz added a 41-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.
Feehan had one flash of offensive brilliance with a two-play, 98-yard drive that culminated in an 82-yard touchdown run from Nick Yanchuk with 3:44 remaining in the first half. The drive was responsible for half of the Shamrock’s four first downs in the game, however.
Greg Berthiaume added a 22-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for the Red Rocketeers and quarterback Chase Frisoli capped off a clock-draining drive which took more than seven minutes of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard keeper.
Berthiaume, who said he had been stewing over not only the Super Bowl loss against Marblehead but last season’s loss vs. Bishop Feehan, said that North wanted to prove something in its opener.
“It was redemption week and we, for sure, got it,” Berthiaume said. “We knew this was going to be a tough team. We didn’t come in here cocky, like we were the big guys, we came in here ready to work and I think we did.”
