Walpole High School (WHS) varsity football faced off against undefeated Milton High on Oct. 13. at Turco Field. They went on to upset Milton, and win 42-23.
The Walpole offense started out quick in the first quarter getting into Milton territory. On third and four at Milton’s 33-yard line, junior quarterback Noah Mackenzie threw the ball to senior wide receiver and defensive back Jamal Abdal-Khallaq on a quick screen to the left side for a 12-yard gain. The drive would finish with a rushing touchdown from Mackenzie to put Walpole ahead 7-0.
The pass rush of Walpole proved to be a consistent problem for senior quarterback Patrick Miller of Milton. Linebackers Anthony Chamoun, Matt Reynard and Danny Cesario seemed to be pressuring Miller every play. All three were causing problems for Miller as he was running out of the pocket every play, scrambling left and right and having to either throw the football on the run or run with the ball downfield himself, due to minimal options.
After a touchdown run from senior running back Logan Keyes in the second quarter, Walpole was quick to get back on offense and strike again. Mackenzie would throw a 64-yard touchdown pass to senior Kamari Hughes to put the Timberwolves up 21-6 by the end of the second quarter.
The second half of the game became a game to remember for Abdal-Khallaq. He caught and ran for a 55-yard touchdown, celebrating by pointing to his mom and family in the stands. That touchdown put Walpole up 28-16. On a fourth down play, Abdal-Khallaq caught another touchdown pass, this one for 31 yards to make the score 35-16. Not done yet, Abdal-Khallaq would also intercept two passes from Miller, returning one for a touchdown to extend the Timberwolves lead late in the fourth quarter. When the game clock showed triple zeros, it was a celebration for the Timberwolf players, staff, coaches and fans. but Abdal-Khallaq did not want to celebrate yet.
“Executing, and just [keeping up] with our assignments. Our coaches are doing well [preparing] us during practice all week. We just got to keep pushing it every week and going hard” Abdal-Khallaq said. “Defense played their part and that’s all we could have asked for against a high-scoring offense.”
Milton, who is ranked second in the Bay State Herget conference, was averaging 34.8 points per game (PPG) on offense but was held to just 23 points against the Walpole defense. They also were holding opponents to 8.8 PPG on defense prior to the game against the Timberwolves.
Walpole only has two more games left on their schedule to get into the playoffs. With a record of 3-3, the team is looking to win both games against Braintree and Wachusett Regional. Milton, however, looks to rebound from the loss as they play Taunton and Natick next on their schedule.
