Coming off an easy win against the lowly Braintree Wamps, the Rebels had their hands full when they battled the Framingham Flyers on Friday night, September 16, at Bowditch Field in Framingham. Coming back from an early 14-0 deficit, the Rebels showed poise as they methodically regained the lead and shut down the impressive Flyer offense.
Either the Flyers offense couldn’t be stopped or the Rebels defense was asleep, but whatever the reason was, Framingham scored the first points of the game quickly through the air. As the Flyers kicked off after their score, senior Captain Craig Hanley fumbled the return which lead to another quick Framingham score. This 14-0 deficit was a wake-up call for Walpole’s defense as they allowed just six more points for the rest of the game. With four minutes left in the first, the Rebels offense figured out how to beat the Flyers as junior running back Mike Rando took it to the house on a big run that closed the gap to a manageable 14-6. A Framingham three-and-out forced the Flyers to punt. Junior punt returner Brad Webber, although initially fumbling the punt, recovered it and returned the punt 71 yards for a touchdown – breaking numerous tackles along the way. After the extra-point was added on, the Rebels were back in the game as they only trailed by one point.
Just when Walpole had all the momentum, Framingham had an answer. Capitalizing on blown coverage by the Walpole secondary, Framingham scored another quick touchdown – off of another big pass – that added to the Framingham lead and made the score now 20-13. But 20 points is all the points that Framingham would get as Walpole began to take over the game. Senior quarterback Tom Donnellan connected with junior tight end Chris Collins on a 25 yard gain as the first quarter drew to a close.
The second quarter began and Hanley finished off the Walpole drive by scoring on a two yard touchdown run. When junior Cam Hanley added on the extra point, the Rebels were now tied at 20-20. After a defensive stalemate through much of the second quarter, Webber intercepted a Framingham pass with 2:26 left in the quarter and returned the interception for his second touchdown of the game. With this ‘pick six’ play, the Rebels took a 27-20 lead going into halftime.
As the second half of play started, the defensive struggle that was most of the second quarter continued in the third quarter. About halfway through the quarter, Walpole started what appeared to be another long, scoring drive. Donnellan hit Collins on a clutch third down conversion. Junior running back Cam Hanley kept getting first down after first down on the ground, but the offense came to an abrupt halt when they entered into the red zone. After letting up a big sack, the Rebels turned the ball over on downs at Framingham’s 27 yard line.
The fourth quarter came and another long Walpole drive ensued. This time the Rebels got some points for their efforts as Cam Hanley nailed a 16 yard field goal to make the score 30-20 in favor of the Rebels. Framingham would not go down lightly though, as the Flyers drove to inside Walpole’s 20 with less than two minutes left in the game. The Rebels defense had a goal line stand to finish off the game.
Following the clutch 30-20 win over a powerful Framingham team, senior Captain Craig Hanley said that the win was a “team effort”. “We didn’t let the 14-0 deficit bother us,” said Hanley, “we stuck to the game plan.” The Rebels hope to continue their winning ways in another Bay State league showdown next Friday night at Turco Field against the Brookline Warriors.
