FOXBORO — When Walpole and Milton met in the regular season, the former rolled over the latter in blowout fashion.

Early on in Thursday night’s D3 state final between the two, it looked as if Walpole would do it again.

Then, Milton woke up, and that deficit disappeared fast.

The Wildcats bounced back from that slow start and rolled to a 42-21 victory at Gillette Stadium, a year after losing to Wakefield in the same spot.

“I was wondering whether we were still in (Thanksgiving opponent) Braintree,” Milton (9-4) coach Steve Dembowski said. “We busted a coverage on the long (touchdown to Walpole’s Kamari) Hughes. We had a couple of mistakes early which is to be expected. We were able to kind of get it done. . . . The guys kind of caught up to the scheme. I think that was one of the advantages of having played them is we played them poorly in the first game (but turned it around tonight).”

“We had great energy all day,” said Milton quarterback Patrick Miller, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 148 yards and four touchdowns. “I was really proud of the guys, how we approached with ourselves. When we were down 14-0, it was tough, but our defense rallied, like I said. The sideline was always up. We never got down on ourselves, and the next thing you know, it’s 28-14. We had all the momentum in the world.”

But early on, it was Walpole (9-4) that had all the momentum in the world. Logan Keyes ran in a 1-yard touchdown, then Walpole quarterback Noah Mackenzie hit Hughes for a 68-yard touchdown, and the Timberwolves held a 14-0 lead with 4:58 to go in the opening quarter.

Milton did not panic, and maybe being at Gillette the previous year helped the Wildcats settle down. Miller hit sophomore receiver Ronan Sammon (six catches for 75 yards and two TD) for an 11-yard touchdown, and Milton cut it to 14-7 with 36 seconds left in the quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Milton tied it following Miller’s 4-yard touchdown pass to William Renz. Miller then hit Sammon for a 24-yard touchdown pass as the Wildcats pulled ahead.

Then came the dagger, as Harrison Hinckle made a 42-yard pick-six, and suddenly Milton had doubled up on Walpole with a 28-14 lead at the break.

It was more of the same in the second half. Miller found Hinckle for a 27-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Luke Hartford added a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 42 straight points for Milton.

Milton running back Nathan Ehui had a big night on the ground for the Wildcats, as he finished with 135 yards on 29 carries.

Mackenzie threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and Hughes finished with 135 yards on five receptions.

Milton plays in a ton of 7-on-7 leagues over the offseason, and Dembowski said its value does not always lie in the obvious places.

“With 7-on-7 some of it correlates, but what it does is build a group of guys that love each other and believe in each other,” Dembowski said. “Again, Walpole does the tournaments, and so does a lot of the teams that are here. It’s a chance to be with your guys. It’s not football, but it’s close. It just builds a bond.”