When conventional offense couldn’t get the job done, Tewksbury coach Brian Aylward dipped into his deep well of unconventional play calls to help his Redmen edge top-seeded Lynn English, 22-18, in Saturday’s thrilling Division 3 North football final at Manning Field in Lynn.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games, week in and week out and that helped us,’’ said Aylward. “I give credit to the players. Our guys just kept fighting.’’

Tewksbury (9-1) advances to face North Attleboro (9-1) in the state semifinals next weekend.

Late in the second quarter of a scoreless game, Aylward called for a reverse pass from Braeden Hiltz to his brother, Blake. The play went for a 26-yard gain, setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass from James Connolly to Shane Darrigo for the game’s first score.

After a 75-yard touchdown run from Lynn English senior Ski Gaston made it 8-6 in the third quarter, Aylward called for an option pass from his star running back Brandon Winn, who threw a perfect ball to Braeden Hiltz for an 18-yard score to put the second-seeded Redmen up, 15-6.

“They were stacking the box so we knew that play would work,’’ said Winn. “[Aylward] is probably the best coach in the state and he knows how other teams are going to line up, so we practice those situations and it paid off today.’’

But English (9-1) had a few tricks of its own, rallying for an 18-15 lead on a 3-yard scramble by quarterback Matt Severance with 3:30 remaining.

The Redmen leaned on Winn (27 carries, 104 yards) during a 58-yard scoring drive, as the senior punched in a go-ahead 1-yard TD with 1:42 remaining.

“We were composed and we knew we were going to go down there and score,’’ said Winn.

Fittingly enough, Aylward’s son, sophomore defensive back Shane Aylward, came up with an interception in the final minute to seal the victory.

Division 6 North

Stoneham 20, Hamilton-Wenham 18 — Christos Argyropoulos and Tre Pignone carried the Spartans (8-2) to the championship by answering a late comeback bid by the host Generals (9-1).

Argyropoulos crossed the goal line with 28.1 seconds left to win it for the Spartans.

Pignone finished with 28 carries for 134 yards and a score and Argyropoulos added 18 carries, 69 yards, and two TDs to send the Spartans to a matchup with South champion Middleborough Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Woburn High.

Hamilton-Wenham scored on three straight possessions to grab the lead, 18-14, with 6:36 left to play. Senior Hunter Wilichoski came off the bench in relief of an injured junior Billy Whelan, who suffered a broken right collarbone, and completed 4 of 6 passes for 112 yards and a pair of scores. Phil Durgin and Ian Coffey caught TD passes of 26 and 57 yards with a 2-yard Cam Peach run sandwiched in between.

Jack McCabe and the Stoneham offense got the ball back on its 37-yard line with just over six minutes to play. Pignone and Argyropoulos went back to work, sharing the load and accounting for 60 of the 63 yards they needed to score.

“It’s a great 1-2 punch,’’ Pignone noted. “I know he’s going to run just as hard as me, he’s going to block just as hard as I’m going to [block] for him. We’re all just one big family.’’

Division 8 North

Cathedral 20, Lynn Tech 6 — Khalil Blair ended the second half just as he began it: galloping down the sidelines at Manning Field in Lynn en route to the end zone, with all defenders in his rearview mirror.

Cathedral’s senior running back rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns, ripping off a 48-yard scoring run on the second play from scrimmage in the second half. After a 1-yard TD run in the fourth, he punctuated his performance with a 91-yard scamper with just one minute left.

Cathderal (9-1) earned a semifinal berth against South champion Millis at Woburn High School on Friday.

“It was a teamwork thing,’’ said Blair, who outdueled Lynn Tech senior Steffan Gravely (26 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD). “And if I didn’t have my team, then we wouldn’t have been able to get that win.’’

Lynn Tech (9-1) controlled the tempo in the first half, led by senior running back Steffan Gravely, who finished the game with 112 yards on 26 rushes.

But Cathedral made a stand with 1:21 left in regulation, stopping Gravely less than a yard short of the first down marker on fourth and 3 to take over on downs.

Four plays later, Blair sealed the deal with his third touchdown of the night.

“I said, ‘Look, we didn’t play a very good first half of football, but what you did to keep us in the game, that’s going to help us in the second half,’ ’’ Cathedral coach Paul Sobolewski said of his halftime speech to his team. “You’re resilient, you had no quit.’’

ISL

Roxbury Latin 46, Rivers 20 — Javier Rios (five tackles, three sacks) capped off a dominant showing by the Foxes with a 9-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Will Greer had five total touchdowns for Roxbury Latin (2-6).

Governor’s Academy 23, Belmont Hill 21 — Otto Laakkonen’s 30-yard field goal with time expiring lifted the Govs (6-2).

Lawrence Academy 49, Tabor 14 — Freshman Tony Muse rushed for three scores and had a 50-yard pick-six as the visiting Spartans (8-0) sank the Seawolves (2-6).

Middlesex 17, St. George’s 14 — Senior Pat McGann kicked the game-winning 34-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining for the Zebras (3-5).

Nonleague

Winchester 33, Medford 0 — Senior Peter Gallagher tallied 107 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries for the Sachems (3-7). Quarterback Liam Fitzpatrick went 11 for 14 with two touchdown passes, as well as a rushing touchdown.

Pentucket 14, Burlington 12 — A late interception sealed a close victory for the Sachems (3-7) in a defensive battle against Burlington.

Cole McNanna contributed to this report from Hamilton-Wenham, and Alex Schroeder contributed from Lynn.