'Dominant' 6-foot-6 senior paces Marshfield football's mighty run game
MARSHFIELD — Through an often-open hatch in the roof, a fierce downpour muddied the press box's tile floor and exposed the scoreboard operators to the outside. The Marshfield High football team's platoon of running backs, meanwhile, kept dry and upright behind the 6-6, 296-pound human shield of Aidan Nicholson. The senior right tackle helped the Rams churn out over 100 yards of ground-game offense in a 44-0 victory over Silver Lake in the opening round of the Division 3 state tournament on Friday, Nov. 6. Junior running back Jack Giannetti blasted in for 3 touchdown runs. No. 3 Marshfield will host No. 6 North Attleboro in the Elite Eight next (date/time TBD). "He's a dominant offensive linemen," head coach Chris Arouca said of Nicholson. "We can't run behind him enough sometimes. The other guys are all good, too, but when he gets on his blocks and the running backs follow him, it's tough to stop." Nicholson, a three-year starter, began playing in second grade and first informally practiced with the Arouca's varsity Rams as an eighth-grader ineligible to play in his age bracket due to his size. Nicholson, who is still fielding collegiate offers, had three older brothers (Will, Tyler
