One of the big results of the weekend was Natick’s 14-7 win over a good Walpole team.

The Redhawks improved to 2-1 with the victory, one week after losing to a loaded Needham squad, 20-7.

As Natick prepares to play Milford next weekend, the Redhawks have a good bit of momentum.

We spoke to Natick coach Mark Mortarelli about his program as it moves forward.

Here is an edited version of that conversation.

Adam Kurkjian: I remember talking to you at the Northeast 7v7, and you said you had a good team this year because you had some experienced linemen coming back. How has that unit performed so far, and who are some of the kids to highlight?

MM: Well, Mike Whalen is our offensive tackle, the big guy. He’s a junior, 6-4, 275, 280. He started last year as a sophomore. He’s been tremendous. We have a really good tight end, too, our captain Simon Pedrelli. He’s a big factor in our run game. Our center is back, Jonathan Chase. Our right tackle is back, Sean Keady. The unit is playing pretty well together.

AK: How big has this win been over Walpole? I know you just played undefeated Needham. That Walpole game is big every year it seems like. Why were you guys able to come home with the victory there?

MM: First of all, that’s a great rival for us, playing them. It’s such a classy program. We were able to run the ball when it mattered, and play good defense. That’s kind of who we are right now. Our defense was running to the football. They’ve got a great quarterback obviously, but we did a pretty good job of hanging back and tackling well in the open field. I think that was the difference.

AK: What were you guys able to do in this early part of the season that you weren’t able to do last year?

MM: I think it’s a fine line of our guys that play both ways, how we balance that, especially Sam Hubbard. Last year, we were kind of forced to play some guys when maybe we didn’t want to. Now, we’re a little deeper. We have some guys who have experience that we kind of focus on one player offense or defense and fill them in when we need to. Last year, we weren’t as deep, maybe a little more thin. We were forced to play more people. That’s always concerning, especially the schedule we play, because guys are going to get dinged up, that’s for sure.

AK: How are numbers with your program? I know some teams are struggling with numbers early in the season. Where do you guys come in?

MM: Our numbers are pretty good. We used to be over 100, and now we’re just under. That’s pretty good compared to some other towns around us. We’re always encouraging guys to come out for football, no matter how old they are. We have a really good youth program, so that helps. The freshman staff does a nice job. We’re just trying to keep as many guys as we can. I think we’re at 97 right now, total.

AK: We talked about this also, but it just seems like the Bay State Conference is going through a resurgence. A lot of these teams are doing really well. Do you feel like the Bay State Conference is having a resurgence of sorts?

MM: I do. I feel like, right now, we have multiple teams that are really strong, whereas in years past, we always had a few teams that were playoff contenders and could make a run. Certainly, Milton has been up there for a long time. Walpole is always good. Wellesley is I think every year tremendous. But now other teams are stepping up. It’s great to see Weymouth and Framingham having winning records and get some big W’s. The better our league is, the better for us, because the whole power rankings stuff. We need those guys to get wins outside of our league, to help us, because we schedule Needham and Walpole, even though they’re not in our half, and Milton. We know they’re going to be good. We want to make sure we’re playing those strong programs.