After an embarrassing 35-7 loss to North Attleborough in the first round of the Division 3 State Tournament, the Rebels were a measly 4-4 and in danger of having the worst record in school history. However, because of the new MIAA playoff format, Walpole still had two more consolation games and their annual Thanksgiving game against Weymouth. After two blowout wins against formidable opponents in Medfield and Hingham, the Rebels saved their best performance for last–dominating Weymouth 48-14 to finish with a record of 7-4.
The Rebels used their loss to North as motivation for the rest of the season, playing their final three games with something that was missing in their loss against North: Rebel Pride.
On a cold Thanksgiving morning, senior Captain Connor Moriarty, who missed half the season with an ankle injury, put on a Ryan Izzo-like performance, rushing for 300 yards on only a mere 10 carries.
“It felt good to be back. After missing five games I was nervous if I would be a little rusty but the offensive line blocked well which made it very easy for me,” said Moriarty. Moriarty suffered a high ankle sprain in week 4 against Wellesley which led to a gaping hole on both sides of the ball. However, Moriarty showed no signs of rust as he capped off the Rebels opening drive by breaking numerous tackles with a 15 yard touchdown run.
The defense played their best game of the season, shutting down Weymouth’s potent offense and causing turnovers to control field position for the majority of the game. The Rebels forced four turnovers throughout the game with Moriarty having an interception on Weymouth’s opening drive.
Senior Myles Cofield — who had five interceptions going into the game —had his best game of the season. Cofield locked down Weymouth’s top receiver the whole game and recorded two interceptions to put his total to seven on the year.
“It was just me playing with confidence because there is no better feeling then catching interceptions off one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in our league, “ said Cofield. Despite having a great game and season, Cofield was snubbed from a Bay State All Star selection after losing in a vote off. However, the Rebels did have four All Stars, including sophomore Steve Cuqua, juniors Jack Lavanchy and Matt Ordway, and senior Captain Noah Kung.
Senior Captain Will Bolster tacked on another touchdown for Walpole in the first quarter as he followed phenomenal blocking to run for a 26 yard score to put the Rebels up 14-0. Cuqua, who filled in for Moriarty at running back, continued his breakout season, rushing for just under 100 yards including touchdown runs of 11 and 25 yards. Moriarty finished the scoring in the first half on a 10 yard touchdown run to put the score at 28-0 going into half time.
After starting the half with a Cuqua touchdown run, Walpole put in their back-up seniors to play one last time. Weymouth, however kept their starters in as they managed to score twice to make the score 41-14. Moriarty still was not done, saving his best run of his career for last as he scampered for 99 yards while breaking multiple tackles to make the final score 48-14.
Despite not achieving their ultimate goal of winning the Division 3 Super Bowl, the Rebels proved their resiliency after a rough middle of the season. After winning out for the rest of the season, the Rebels showed what they were made of to make their final record 7-4. As Head Coach Barry Greener consistently said playoff elimination, “There is no quitting with the Rebels.” The Rebels proved that true with this impressive three game winning streak.
