By Max Clifford
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The final game of the Massachusetts high school football season pitted Walpole High School against Milton in the MIAA Division III State Championship Game at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night. The Timberwolves jumped out to an early lead but could not respond to six unanswered touchdowns from the Wildcats, falling by a final score of 42-21 to finish as state runners-up.
Things took an unfortunate turn quickly for Walpole, who fumbled away the opening kickoff into the hands of Milton. The Timberwolves’ defense had a response ready to go, however, forcing a quick turnover on downs to give their offense another shot at an opening drive.
A dropped pass on third and short appeared to snuff out Walpole’s first series until a roughing the kicker penalty against the Wildcats gave them new life. The fortuitous second chance saw Noah Mackenzie turn to his top receiver for a boost. Jamal Abdal-Khalaq reeled in his first reception of the day to set up a one-yard touchdown run for Logan Keyes, giving the Timberwolves a 7-0 advantage.
A tackle for loss delivered by Matthew Reynard and a pivotal pass broken up by Shane Brennan forced a Milton punt that pinned Walpole at their own 30-yard line. It took all of two plays for Mackenzie to air out the ball once again, going over the top to find Kamari Hughes for an explosive 70-yard touchdown, stretching the Timberwolves’ lead to 14-0.
Before the final horn sounded on the first quarter, Milton opened up their scoring with a touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7. On the first play of the second quarter, the Timberwolves fumbled the ball, setting up the Wildcats for a game-tying drive.
With under two minutes to play in the first half, the Timberwolves would have been content taking a tie game into the locker room. The Wildcats had other plans drawn up. A third Patrick Miller touchdown pass gave Milton their first lead and an interception returned for a touchdown on the following drive completed the transformation of a 14-point deficit into a 14-point advantage at halftime.
Milton added a pair of scores in the fourth quarter after a scoreless third from both sides. With under a minute left to play, Mackenzie’s third touchdown pass of the day, this time caught by Matthew St. Cyr, was too little too late.
Coming up just short of the state title, the Timberwolves were officially recognized after the game by the MIAA as the Division III runners-up. They finished the year with an overall record of 9-4 following an 0-2 start.
