But beyond, the trophies and all of the honors they received as Hornets, there's one thing they got out of their high school careers that is still helping them today.

It’s the leadership skill they learned as Hornets that is helping them in their professional careers.

"I liked being a captain," said DeGirolamo. "I learned what it was like to get everyone to work together as a team."

As a unit leader at Nestle Waters of Poland Springs, Cinelli applies what he was taught as a Hornet to his work life.

"Every day, I use what I learned," he said, "I learned a lot about what it means to be a leader and being a team player. I think about what I learned as a player and as a coach and apply that."

Lively has had several positions in major companies and is the president and chief executive officer at Eminent Solutions of Boston.

"It gave me the foundation for my career," he said of his experiences at Mansfield High. "I learned a strong sense of community and the importance of academics, which helped me at Boston College. Mansfield got me going on."

Steve Lively, class of 1978, was a four-year starter for the Hornets as a 6'5", 260-pound fullback ;and defensive lineman.

"My first year as the head coach at Foxboro, we went up against him," said Mansfield Superintendent of Schools John Moretti. "I had kids that weighed 170-pounds and they were giving up 42 pounds to him."

During his high school career, Lively was already the size of a man, playing against high school kids.

"I was a boy in a man's body," he said. "It was fun to be the guy, but it was more about the opportunities I received. It was incredible.

In 1997, he was. the team's leading scorer, second leading rusher with a 4.6 average, had six blocked passes, 33 tackles, 22 assists and nine quarterback sacks.

Lively said he benefited from the education he received at Mansfield High and from the support of the community. "There was a great foundation to do what I'm doing today," he said. "There was also a strong Catholic influence and I wanted to go to a Catholic school. It helped me when I went to Boston College."

At BC, Lively was a four-year starter at offensive guard, during the "Doug Flutie" years, playing in the Tangerine Bowl, while being named AU-New England and AU Big East.

He spent the 1983 NFL season with the Cleveland Browns and was with the New York Giants in 1984. Lively called being inducted into in the Mansfield Hall of Fame as a real honor.

"This is fantastic and I’m really honored to be recognized by my peers," he said. "Mansfield has a great tradition of football. I've, been away for several years, but I've followed the football tradition under Mike Redding There's a strong sense of community here." Lively said he was impressed by the commitment to academics shown by this football team and the cheerleaders.

"The academic's are so important and that's great to see," he said There is a sense that people care all around and they've got the systems in place. When I played the cheer leaders didn't get the respect they deserved It's great to see that now.

"There's a sense of tradition and it's great to be recognized."

Now, DeGirolamo is a hall famer, but the always been part of the Homet folklore.

In 1991, he was the 5' 5" 185-pound full back and linebacker for the Hornets.

As the captain, DeGirolamo took his responsibilities seriously.

That's why he was upset when his team was trailing Oliver Ames at halftime of his game during his junior year.

With his teammates surrounding, DeGirolamo gave a fired-up speech and his team went on to a 19-12 come-from-behind win. "We were trading, 12-0, after the first half, said Redding. "Brian then gave as spectacular a half as you are ever going to see. He ran for 150-yards and three scores in 20 minutes Brian almost won the game single-handily." When he’s asked what he said, DeGirolamo just smiles.

"I didn't want to lose the game and I was in no rnood to lose," he said.

The leadership example DeGirolamo set was key to the next year's team going on to be unbeaten, winning the Div. 3 Super Bowl. Like most coaches, Redding is cautious about naming his all-time favorite player, but Brian DeGirolamo is at the top of any list. "He was one of my favorite players to coach," said Redding. "Brian was a tough player." DeGirolamo was the MVP of the 1991 team. scoring nine touchdowns, while rushing for 616 yards.

He now works for the David DeGirolamo Corporation.

When top offensive lineman are mentioned, Cinelli, who graduated in 1990 after playing on Mansfield's first Super Bowl team in 1989, is one of the top names on the list.

He was an offensive and defensive lineman for the 10-0 team, earning several all-star honors for the Hornets. Cinelli returned to be an assistant coach on the 1996 Hockomock and Super Bowl Championship team that went 12 -0.

"I learned a lot as a player here and it is great to be part of the tradition," he said. "When I was freshman, my class said they wanted to be the first one to go to the Super Bowl and we did that.

If it wasn't for Cinelli's play, the Hornets might not have won the title.

"He's one of the best lineman I've seen play here in 15 years," said Redding. "Kevin is a great young man, who came back to coach with us to get something back to his community"

While there was a slew of highlights for the 1989 season, including a dramatic win over Foxboro on Thanksgiving and playing at Foxboro Stadium against a powerhouse Lincoln-Sudbury team, the North Attleboro game was the one that sticks out in Cinelli's mind the most

"That was the biggest crowd that we had ever played in front of," said Cinelli. "After we beat them, it gave us a lot of confidence to what we could do that year."

When he heard he was going into the Hall of Fame, Cinelli knew what he meant to have his name added to the list. "This is a great honor," he said. "I didn't expect it and it was a big surprise. I was so excited about it.

"It's an honor to go into the hall of fame with a player like Steve, and I grew up playing with Brian and they are both great football players."