North (16-7), looking sharp and aggressive, registered six pins en route to the win. The Vikings completed their season at 13-7.
Mascino and Anthony Wendt, North's top two wrestlers, battled nagging injuries most of this season. As a result, the leadership mantle fell to Rai, a 160-pounder, and Gable, who competes at 215.
"I give all of the credit to Tony and Brian," said Mascino, whose record improved to 14-1 with a pin at 171.
"This is sweet, because everyone counted us out the whole year, and those two guys stepped up who wrestled well."
North also received a big push from underclassmen Chuck Dugan, Mike Hunter and Kevin McGonagle. Starting at 140, they scored three straight pins to help the Falcons break the match wide open.
"We knew we had to go out and wrestle hard," said Rai (25-4). "I have to give the credit to the lower weights. They picked our team up, actually. They got the momentum going when things were a little tight."
The Falcons charged out to a 6-0 lead, thanks to a pair of decisions by Rob Szelagowski (125) and Kevin McCloskey (130).
But after Wood got on the board with points from Tom Brooks at 135, its hopes were dashed by the three North straight pins. Mascino further cushioned North's lead with a pin at 171. That gave the Falcons a commanding 33-6 lead with six matches left. Wood never recovered.
"We knew we had to win some of the earlier matches to make this tough," Wood coach Todd Mullin said. "North's a strong team, very solid from 125 to heavyweight."
Gable and Sean James (heavyweight) also won by pin for the Falcons. Joe Weygand (103) and Matt Weygand (119) scored late pins to make the match closer for the Vikings.
The results
NORTH CATHOLIC 45, ARCHBISHOP WOOD 27
103: Joe Weygand, AW, pin Jon Shuster, :48. 112: Vince Bucolo, AW, won by forfeit. 119: Matt Weygand, AW, pin Jim Snyder, :33. 125: Rob Szelagowski, NC, dec. Tom Bisset, 3-1. 130: Kevin McCloskey, NC, dec. Ed Waddington, 12-10. 135: Tom Brooks, AW, disq. dec. Anthony Wendt, 9-6. 140: Chuck Dugan, NC, pin Drew Meister, 2:55. 145: Mike Hunter, NC, pin Nick Luczyszyn, 1:22. 152: Kevin McGonagle, NC, pin Brian Howard, 1:25. 160: Anthony Rai, NC, dec. Don DiGulio, 10-3. 171: Rick Mascino, NC, pin Steve Lewis, 1:11. 189: Chris Szablowski, AW, dec. Dominic Affatato, 8-6 (OT). 215: Brian Gable, NC, pin Mark Helmuth, 1:01. Hwt.: Sean James, NC, pin John Haviland, 1:57.
Contact suburban staff writer Joe Santoliquito at 610-313-8028 or jsantoliquito@phillynews.com.
