By Max Clifford
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
In front of a raucous crowd of hometown fans, the Walpole Timberwolves put together a dominant season-opener in their victory over Framingham, winning by a final score of 56-0.
Walpole opened their season at Turco Field last Friday night, looking to build on a 2021 campaign in which they finished the regular season 5-3 but saw a first-round playoff exit.
This 2022 squad put on an offensive and defensive clinic in its debut.
The Timberwolves’ offense put forth a balanced attack from their opening series, piecing together drives with chunk yardage on the ground, and finishing them through the air. Walpole’s opening offensive series ended with quarterback Corey Kilroy finding receiver Max Collins across the middle for the team’s first touchdown of the season. Kilroy put together a near-flawless performance to open his senior season, finishing the day 6-6 passing with 150 yards for three scores.
Kilroy’s third touchdown pass on as many Walpole drives to start the game gave fans their first look at Sean O’Brien. The senior receiver, who towered over every other skill-position player on the field, showed why he has seen interest from Division I programs, snagging a quick slant from Kilroy and zig-zagging through the Framingham defensive backs to hit paydirt for the first time this season.
The six first-half touchdowns posted by the offense proved to be more than enough as the Walpole defense kept Framingham off the scoreboard without a struggle. The Flyers only reached Walpole territory on one of its drives, coming up short on a pair of shots to the end zone. The Timberwolves’ defense forced four Framingham fumbles, recovering three, including one for a touchdown in the second half.
It is no surprise that in Walpole, where the PA announcer gives the linemen as much love as the ballcarriers, head coach Chris Sullivan had the trenches on his mind, post-game. “We gotta fix a few things up front on the O-line; we didn’t get [Andrew] Falzone the type of momentum we wanted to,” said Coach Sullivan. Falzone ran the ball nine times, but was held to just 43 yards rushing.
Walpole hosts Natick on September 16 for a rematch of the 2021 matchup between the two, which Walpole dropped in an overtime thriller. Sullivan expressed confidence in his team, while also acknowledging the strength of the opponent that comes to town this week, saying: “[Last year] they were a better team. This year, I think that it’s a more evenly-matched game. Obviously, they’re gonna be a great team, year-in and year-out, and [I’m] looking forward to that.”
