It seems that everytime Walpole and Natick face each other there are three things that are guaranteed: a large crowd, a hard hitting game, and a Herget Division title at stake. On November 11, the Natick Red and Blue (8-1) traveled to Turco Field to take on the Rebels of Walpole High (8-1) to determine who will win the Herget Division and clinch a playoff berth.
The Rebels defense showed up to start the game. After shutting down Natick’s offense, Walpole drove down the field behind impressive runs by senior running back Shane Blass. Fellow senior and Rebel Captain Craig Hanley capped off the drive with a dive right up the middle for a touchdown. Sophomore kicker Colton Mitchell muffed the PAT so the score stood at Walpole 6, Natick 0 when the second quarter began.
Defense reigned supreme in the second quarter. The defensive line – consisting of senior Captains Dan King and Dan Woods, and junior Chris Collins – wrecked havoc on Natick’s offense. They constantly harassed the Natick quarterback, Troy Flutie – nephew of football-great Doug Flutie. The Rebels held the Red and Blue to only 13 yards of total offense in the first half.
Natick would not fold over so easily though, and the Red and Blue had a resurgence in the second half. Flutie got things going for Natick as he busted out a 53 yard quarterback scramble for a touchdown. Luckily, junior Ronnie Shepard blocked Natick’s extra point attempt so the score became tied at 6-6 with a little over nine minutes left in the third quarter. Walpole promptly answered with a methodical drive that ended with another touchdown dive by Hanley. This time, Mitchell’s extra point was right down the middle and gave the Rebels a 13-6 advantage. Natick added another six points right before the start of the fourth quarter and with 27 seconds left Flutie fired a 12 yard touchdown. With the addition of their PAT, the game was once again tied at 13-13.
Both teams bolstered their defenses for most of the fourth quarter until about two minutes were left in the game. Natick had driven down the field to deep within Walpole’s territory. The Rebels defense forced a decisive 4th and 3 play that resulted in a great play by junior cornerback Bill Rockwood deflecting a Flutie pass. Walpole proceeded to perform a Patriots-esque last minute drive down the field courtesy of Hanley’s runs and a crucial pass interference call on Natick’s secondary. Walpole drove the ball down to Natick’s 8 yard line and with 11.1 seconds on the clock Mitchell ran onto the field to attempt the game winning field goal try. With the weight of a heated rivalry and a playoff berth on his shoulders, Mitchell made the 25 yard field goal – barely. But the field goal still went through the uprights and Walpole still won with a score of 16-13.
This win gave the Rebels the Herget Division title and a Division 2A playoff berth. In addition, senior Captains Craig Hanley, Dan King, and Dan Woods were all recently named offensive Bay State League All-Stars. On the defensive side of the ball, senior Dave Thibault and juniors Cam Hanley and Chris Collins were also All-Stars. With this amount of talent, the Rebels set their focus on their annual Thanksgiving Day game against an excellent Weymouth Wildcats team and eventually to the playoffs.
