Mansfield coach Mike Redding knew he entered the season nine wins away from 300, but figured it might be a two-year project to get there.

His team had other ideas.

After a pedestrian 4-3 start, the Hornets got hot at the right time of the season. They ripped off five straight wins, including a Division 3 state semifinal win over Walpole and a 21-7 victory over Foxboro to put Redding into elite territory among the greats to coach the game.

He joins current coaches Northbridge’s Ken LaChapelle (400), Catholic Memorial’s John DiBiaso (372) and Foxboro’s Jack Martinelli (314) along with former greats Armond Colombo (316), Jim Kelliher (313), Bill Broderick (303) and Tom Lopez (303) in the exclusive club.

“I wish the weather was a little better,” said Redding, whose team will face North Attleboro in the Div. 3 state championship game on Friday. “But the good thing was that since it was on Thanksgiving, I got to see quite a few alumni which I may not have seen if this happened on a Friday night in October where kids might have been working or still in college.

“The milestone means I had 30 years of coaching great players and got to be around great people and a great administration.”

Redding’s initial apprehension about the 2024 season stemmed from a combination of a tough schedule and relative inexperience among several players expected to play key roles.

“At the start of the year, I didn’t know if this group was going to be able to win nine games,” Redding said. “As freshmen I don’t think they were .500 and then struggled at the junior varsity level. What really makes me happy about this group of kids is the fact that everyone worked so hard to get better, got bigger and stronger and came into their own as players.

“We struggled early because we were breaking in three new starters on the offensive line and a fourth (Chris Holts) was moving from guard to tackle. So except for Sammy Dunn at guard, we were dealing with four new starters.”

A regular-season ending win over a vastly improved Canton team allowed the Hornets to get into the tournament with a 5-3 record. Given a new lease on life, Mansfield blossomed at the right time. Tournament wins over Doherty and Dartmouth gave Redding belief that maybe the milestone this season was unattainable after all.

“The Dartmouth game was the first time I started thinking that maybe we can do it this year,” Redding said. “Then we beat Walpole (in the state semifinal) which gave us a shot at 300 wins on Thanksgiving. This group of kids really battled to get us there and that’s why they will always be one of my favorite group of kids.”

Mansfield led from start to finish against a Foxboro team headed to the Div. 5 state championship. Once the final whistle blew in the 21-7 win, Redding was engulfed by teammates and alumni. What really touched him was the gesture by Foxboro coach Jack Martinelli, who went out of his way to salute his longtime rival.

“We first shook hands and talked in the line immediately after the game. Then after the game’s MVP was awarded, Jack came back and specifically mentioned my accomplishments which meant a lot. I told him that I was very proud to be part of people like Jack, Tom and Arnold, guys that were legends in my mind growing up,” he said.

“Then I started thinking about someone like Ken LaChapelle, who I am very much in the shadow of. The fact that I did this and am still 100 wins behind him is mind boggling.”

1. Catholic Memorial (11-1): There is never a dull moment in a John DiBiaso postgame press conference.

2. King Philip (12-0): Warriors showed on Thanksgiving they have the ability to get up off the mat on the rare occasion they find themselves down.

3. Needham (12-0): No surprise that the team shooting for the stars resorted to having astronaut Suni Williams, a Needham High grad, perform the pregame coin toss from the International Space Station.

4. St. John’s Prep (10-2): Great to see Deacon Robillard step up on the big stage in his final high school game.

5. Marshfield (10-2): Rams unleashed some serious fury on Duxbury on Thanksgiving.

6. BC High (8-3): Season didn’t end great for the Eagles, but the new coaching regime certainly has them heading into the right direction.

7. Xaverian (8-4): Hawks exercised some caution on Thanksgiving in hopes of having all hands on board against Needham in the Div. 1 state championship game.

8. Scituate (12-0): Sailors certainly haven’t forgotten what happened the last time they were at Gillette.

9. Natick (9-2): Kudos to Sam Hubbard, who put together one of the more productive seasons in school history.

10. North Attleboro (10-2): Red Rocketeers didn’t look past Attleboro on Thanksgiving.

11. Mansfield (9-3): Hornets picked the right time to play their best football.

12. Duxbury (10-2): Dragons get a chance to atone for what happened on Thanksgiving at Gillette in the Div. 4 state championship game.

13. Central Catholic (7-4): Raiders treated Fenway Park like it was a home away from home.

14. Shawsheen (12-0): Defense stepped up again to remain undefeated heading into the Div. 5 state championship game against Foxboro.

15. Methuen (9-2): Time to pay one final salute to Shane Eason, who has long etched his name into school laurels as one of the greats to ever don a Methuen uniform.

16. Wellesley (8-4): Tough closing stretch shouldn’t take away from the solid season the Raiders had.