WALPOLE- Walpole junior quarterback Noah McKenzie is a man of a few words. Off the field that is. On the field, he lets his play do the talking and McKenzie spoke loud and clear in the Timberwolves thrilling 39-31 win over Mansfield.
McKenzie took the game over in the second half, helping Walpole advance to a date with Milford next week in the state semi-finals.
For McKenzie, the win was more than just a playoff win, it was an opportunity to get more time with his teammates.
“We fought for more games with each other. We didn’t want this to be it.”
Mansfield opened the scoring with a 26 yard field goal by kicker James Warren, but the Timberwolves responded rather quickly. On the next series, McKenzie hit senior wide receiver Kamari Hughes in stride on a 61 yard touchdown pass to put Walpole up 7-3.
The Hornets however would regain the lead in the second quarter thanks to a spectacular catch by senior wide receiver Brandon Jackman, who make a tippy toe catch between two defenders for a touchdown.
The score would put the Hornets up 10-7 at the half. The second half was a different story as both offenses would explode.
Walpole would take a 13-10 lead midway through the third quarter on an 11 yard touchdown run by senior running back Logan Keyes. Mansfield would respond on the ensuing possession thanks to a long pass from senior quarterback Connor Curtis to Jackman. The completion would set the Hornets up in the red zone and Curtis would punch it home from 10 yards out to give the Hornets a 17-13 lead after three quarters.
The fourth quarter would feature four lead changes. Mansfield would add to their lead to start the thanks to a trick play which set them inside the Walpole 10. Senior running back Nolan Bordieri would score from four yards out to make it 24-13.
From that point on, MacKenzie would take the game over. On the next possession, he willed the Timberwolves on a drive that he rushed for 60 yards on and capped off with a one yard touchdown run. Walpole went for two but did not convert.
After a stop at midfield by the Walpole defense, the Timberwolves would take the lead on another masterful drive capped off by a ten yard touchdown run by MacKenzie. He would also score on the two point conversion to give Walpole a 27-24 lead.
With under two minutes left, Mansfield would go on a short four play drive that would be capped off by a Curtis to Jackman 55 yard touchdown connection. Mansfield led 31-27 with 54 seconds left.
Unbeknownst to the Hornets, that would be plenty of time for MacKenzie and the Timberwolves to go on a drive. In fact, all they needed was 40 seconds to go down and score. MacKenzie would hit Jamal Abdal-Khallaq on an 11 yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left that would give Walpole a 33-31 lead. That proved to be the game winner.
Mackenzie finished with 261 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 118 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground. He was confident his team would come back.
“It wasn’t over. No matter what they did on offense — they have a great offense — but we just kept telling ourselves it wasn’t over,” Mackenzie said. “There was more time.”
Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Sullivan also believed his team had plenty of time to come from behind.
“We never doubted ourselves,” Sullivan said. “We had 54 seconds and I thought to myself that’s too much time. We knew we could score that quickly and we did.”
Walpole will face Milford next weekend in the state semi-final. They are one win away from returning to Gillette Stadium, a place they haven’t played in since 2008.