NORTH READING – Apparently, size is important.North Reading used its bulk to its advantage to defeat Lynnfield, 30-12, in the teams’ annual Thanksgiving Day match-up. The Hornets end their season at 6-5, while Lynnfield finishes at 3-8.The Lynnfield defense had difficulty all morning matching up with the bigger Hornets. Receiver Darren Hartwell (5 catches, 177 yards) and running back Dino Rizzo (14 carries, 114 yards) in particular scorched the Pioneer defense.After the game, North Reading coach Jeff Wall said his team tried to exploit their match-ups as much as possible.”We figured we had an advantage up front [on the line],” Wall said. “We just tried to run it right at them.”Lynnfield coach Bill Adams said his team could have done a better job with their coverage.”We had to tackle better,” Adams said. “I thought that was a big thing today.”The Pioneers dug themselves into an early hole, coming out of halftime down 16-6. Things only got worse on the first North Reading possession, as Hartwell hauled in a 56-yard pass to move the Hornets to the Lynnfield nine-yard line. Three plays later, Rizzo bulled his way to a one-yard touchdown, giving the Hornets a commanding 24-6 edge.Lynnfield had a chance claw its way back into the game on its next possession. Quarterback Chris Grassi led his team down the field with a mix of passes and rushes, but the drive stalled at the Hornets’ 39-yard line. Incomplete passes on third and fourth down forced the Pioneers to give the ball back to North Reading without any damage done.”We hit some bumps in the road, but we came out hard on every play,” Wall said. “All year, the kids have played hard and believed in each other.”The Pioneers eventually added a second touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Pat Lamusta took a handoff for a 21-yard score. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late for Lynnfield. Rizzo sealed the victory on a 47-yard scoring run with just over two minutes remaining.”For a minute, it looked like we were going to make a run,” Adams said. “But often, we’ve given up points, and had to dig our way out.”The Hornets struck first early in the first quarter on their opening possession. Campbell found Hartwell down the sideline for a 30-yard gain to the Lynnfield two-yard line. On the next play, Rizzo took a direct snap into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead.The next Lynnfield possession ended badly for the Pioneers. Attempting a punt from their own five-yard line, the snap sailed over Tim Lamusta’s head for a safety, increasing the lead to 8-0.After the ensuing kickoff, the Hornets needed only one play to add to their cushion. Campbell hooked up with Hartwell again, this time for a 55-yard touchdown to push the lead to 16-0.”He [Hartwell] is a good player,” Wall said. “But today, he was a great player for us.”Lynnfield was able to close the gap a bit before halftime. Aided by two 15-yard personal foul penalties against the Hornets, the Pioneers slowly marched downfield. The seven-minute drive eventually culminated with a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Grassi.The loss was the final game for Adams, who is retiring from his position after 18 seasons. Unfortunately, there was no happy ending for the veteran coach.