Pictured making a tackle along the sidelines last spring against Braintree, Danny Bush (7) is one of many seniors returning to play football at Walpole High School this fall that are looking to make a big impact. Photos by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
With high school football returning to normal this fall following the unorthodox and condensed season with no playoffs last spring, Walpole High enters 2021 ready to make some noise in the Bay State Conference.
Leading the Timberwolves this fall will be three senior co-captains: fullback and linebacker Will Domineau, wideout and defensive back Tucker Hazell and tight end/defensive end TJ Farrell.
Along with their three captains, Walpole also returns junior quarterback Corey Kilroy, who split time under center with the now-graduated Owen Johnson last spring. Asked for his team's general expectations for this season, Kilroy says he and his teammates look forward to the opportunity to compete, but also know that they have a lot of work ahead of them.
"We lost a bunch of starters," said Kilroy. "We plan on coming back with a lot of new guys. We've had a good amount of time to prepare to beat those teams we lost to last year, like Braintree and Natick. We want to have an overall strong season. With such a short season last year, not as many guys were really able to get that full varsity experience, so it will [require] a lot of hard work and dedication to be ready for this season."
For multi-sport athletes like Kilroy, who plays both football and baseball, the 2021 fall season has added new obstacles to their training methods. Athletes like Kilroy got themselves into football shape for March and April of 2021, followed by baseball shape from May-August. Now, Kilroy and other Walpole multi-sport athletes such as Will Domineau (baseball) and Tucker Hazell (baseball) will need to quickly transition their bodies back into football shape. Asked about the challenges that this process has brought, Kilroy says he and his teammates are adjusting properly and are well-prepared for the road ahead.
"After going from football in March to baseball in the spring and summer to now back to football in August, it’s a tough adjustment," said Kilroy. "But, I’m well prepared since I’ve been consistently working out and running, as well as learning the playbook. As a team, we have been working out all summer preparing. Overall, I think we will be in good shape as a team for the upcoming season."
Walpole will open its season on Saturday, September 11, at 1:30 p.m. on the road against Framingham.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
