By Andrew Bluestein
NEFJ Correspondent

 

MILTON – It was a battle for first place in the Bay State Conference on Friday night as Milton hosted Walpole with both teams coming in with unblemished records.

Thanks to a gritty 28-14 win, the Wildcats now find themselves alone in first place after getting the win on senior night. Milton is now 4-0 while Walpole suffered its first defeat of the season, dropping to 3-1.

“Our senior players did an awesome job and it’s our senior night tonight, I thought our most experienced guys made huge plays,” said Milton head coach Steve Dembowski.

The storyline of this one was the second half show put on by both teams. After only one touchdown in the first half, which was scored by Milton on a long pass from quarterback Owen McHugh to Luke Sammon, the second half was the complete opposite.

The last 24 minutes of football were an absolute shootout, with both teams combining for five straight touchdown drives. The first one came on a 90 yard punt return by Milton’s Jack Finnegan to make it 14-0 after the PAT. Walpole answered with a great drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Corey Kilroy to Jamal Abdal-Khala inside the Milton 10 yard-line that was set up by a long pass from Kilroy to Max Collins.

Milton quickly matched that with a long pass play from Owen McHugh to Luke Sammon deep in Walpole territory. Sammon finished off the drive with his second touchdown catch on a screen underneath. Sammon’s path to pay dirt was created by a great block from Liam Faherty to make it 21-7. The Timberwolves responded as the fourth quarter started with a drive that ended in a beautiful 34 yard touchdown pass from Kilroy to Sean O’Brien down the left sideline to make it 21-14. Championship teams close out the game with a response drive and that’s exactly what Milton got. McHugh eventually sealed the deal from from two yards out to make it 28-14. Walpole tried to make one final push, but Liam McLoughlin came up with an interception to move Milton to 4-0.

“Both teams adjusted play calling wise, we both took some shots down field and we probably hit one or two more than they did,” said Dembowski. “They’re a good football team, they’ve got some great skill players and their quarterback is as athletic as ours, it’s nice to grab this one at home because we know they’re gonna cause havoc down the road.”