WILDCAT NEWS

Wildcats Kick Needham

Milton overcomes Ipswich

10/12/2019 - The road is never easy and any win away from home is a good win.  That was certainly the case on Saturday afternoon as the Milton Wildcats traveled to the north shore and ground out a win against the Ipswich Tigers 30-27 to remain unbeaten at 5-0.
 
The Wildcats elected to receive to start the game and went on an efficient 6-play 56-yard drive with Liam Regan scoring on a 14-yard pass from quarterback Chase Vaughn.  The 2-point conversion was no good and Milton lead 6-0.  The first quarter then became a turnover fest.  The Wildcats forced a Tiger fumble on the next series but were unable to capitalize.  Then Ipswich fumbled again but were able to intercept a Milton pass on the next series.  The Tigers then broke through on a 44-yard drive to tie the game at 6.

The 2nd quarter saw the Wildcat offense come alive and the Wildcat defense bend but not break.  Milton went on a 3-play 51-yard drive with Vaughn hitting receiver Luke Botsford on a 28-yard scoring strike to lead 13-6. 
 
Ipswich then went on a long drive but was stuffed by the Milton defense on 4th and 6 at the 14-yard line.  Then the Wildcats went on a long drive of their own, ending in a Max Winkler field goal on the last play of the half to extend the Milton lead to 16-6.
 
Milton defense was able to hold the Tigers on the first series of the 2nd half.  But then disaster struck as a Wildcat fumble was recovered and returned 35 yards by Ipswich to tighten the score to 16-13.  The Wildcats responded with a heavy dose of running back John Barros.  Barros first took a swing pass for a 25-yard gain then on the next play rumbled in from 19 yards out to put the Wildcats up 23-13.
 
But Ipswich would not go away as the Tigers went on a 10-play 71-yard drive early in the 4th quarter and it was once again a one score game at 23-20.  Milton then took to the ground, driving from their own 42 to the Tigers 14-yard line before Vaughn once again hit Barros on a 14-yard touchdown pass to extend the Wildcats lead to 30-20.  Ipswich would score again with just over 5 minutes remaining, but the Wildcats used stellar blocking from their offensive line to pick up three first downs and run out the clock.
 
The Wildcats travel to Needham on Friday at 6pm to take on the Rockets.  A win would secure a share of the Bay State Herget title.

Wildcats outlast Weymouth

10/4/2019 - The mark of a good team is that when things don’t go well, they dig deep to pull out a win.  That was certainly the case Friday night in Weymouth as Milton pulled out a 12-0 victory against the Wildcats to go to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Bay State Herget.
 
With Milton facing a talented and physical Weymouth defense and an offense that controlled the ball for large stretches of the game, the game remained scoreless well into the 4th quarter.  Milton was also plagued by inopportune penalties on both sides of the ball that prevented them from getting into a rhythm until late in the game.
 
Weymouth started off the game with a challenge for the Milton defense.  They went on a 20-play drive that lasted well into the 2nd quarter.  But the Wildcats held, with Graham O’Donnell stuffing a Weymouth pass from the Milton 16-yard line.
 
After that the defenses took over.  Weymouth once again drove deep into Milton territory mid-way through the 3rd quarter, but senior captain Bryce Stovell recovered a Weymouth fumble at the Milton 17-yard line to end the threat.
 
Milton’s offense finally got untracked in the 4th quarter.  Milton drove 70 yards highlighted with a 23-yard screen pass from quarterback Chase Vaughn to Luke Botsford.  After some hard running by John Barros and Alex Perez got the Wildcats down to the Weymouth 14-yard line, Vaughn once again hit Botsford on a screen pass which he took to the end zone for a 6-0 Milton lead. 
 
The swarming Milton defense forced Weymouth into a 3 and out.  Then on the next series, Vaughn hit Jackson Macmillan on a 42-yard pass to the Weymouth 2-yard line.  On the next play Alex Perez took it in to close out the scoring.
 
The Wildcats travel to the north shore to take on Ipswich Saturday afternoon at 1pm.

Wildcats Handle Walpole in Herget Opener

9/27/2019 - Complimentary football is winning football.  The Milton Wildcats proved that once again this season as they dismantled the Walpole Rebels 33-14 at The Cage Friday evening, with a balanced offensive attack, amazing special teams play and a stifling defense.  The win closed out a 3-0 September for the Wildcats and gave coach Steve Dembowski his 150th win in his coaching career.

The game started out with a challenge as the Wildcats fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, giving the Rebels the ball on the Milton 23-yard line.  But the defense stiffened with linebacker John Barros sacking the QB at the 35-yard line on 4th down.  Then on the next defensive series, linebacker Graham O’Donnell came down with an interception.  After that the air attack came alive on a 47-yard drive.  Quarterback Chase Vaughn hit senior Liam Regan with a 35-yard strike and on 4th and 13 found Andrew Lynch wide open over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown pass.  After a Max Winkler extra point, Milton led 7-0.  On the next series, special teams came up big as Walpole couldn’t get off a punt due the Wildcats rush and senior Nosa Iyamu scooped up the loose ball and ran it in for touchdown.

As the 2nd quarter started, Walpole and Milton exchanges punts.  Then after a bad punt snap by Walpole gave Milton the ball on the Rebel 28-yard line, the Wildcats needed just five plays to punch it in, with running back captain John Barros rumbling in from 10-yards out to put Milton up 21-0.

​Special teams continued to shine in the 2nd half.  After a Walpole 3 and out to start the 3rd quarter, Milton’s Luke Botsford took the punt and sped 68 yards for a touchdown to put the Wildcats up 27-0.  The Rebels then put up their first score of the game to cut the leads to 27-7.  Milton would answer with a 49 yard touchdown drive of their own highlighted by a Vaughn 30-yard rush and a 19-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Possi to up the Wildcat lead to 33-7.  Walpole closed out the scoring in the 4th quarter with a 69-yard drive.

​The Wildcats travel to Weymouth this Friday (7pm) for another conference game.

Milton Gets Big Plays to Beat Framingham

9/16/2019 - The Wildcats ventured to Framingham for a non-league battle with a talented Framingham team.  The Cats started quickly driving 86 yards on the opening drive.  The big play was a pass to Liam Regan from Chase Vaughan.  Regan caught the ball in stride and was able to get by the safety and raced untouched 78 yards to the end zone.  Max Winkler nailed the extra point for a 7-0 lead 1;30 into the first period.

Framingham responded with a nice drive featuring mostly passes but on 4th and 6 from our 35 yard line junior linebacker Graham O'Donnell darted in to tackle the Flyer ball carrier in the backfield to end the threat.

The offense continued its's hot start as big completions to John Barros and Regan sandwiched around a 10-yard run from junior Andrew Lynch had us in the end zone again.  Again it was Regan scoring on a 27 yard pass from Vaughan.  

This time the Flyers responded as they went on a 13 play drive.  They found pay dirt when their 4th & 9 pass was caught in the back corner.  after a successful two-point conversion the lead was 14-8.  

Both defenses started to get their footing as the second quarter was moving quickly.  We were forced to punt on our next drive and the Wildcat secondary was able to stop the Flyers on downs at our 20.  A penalty and a sack had us pinned back at our 8 yard line when the game changed.  Barros took a simple hand off and busted outside on 3rd & 22. He picked up blocks from Jackson Mcmillian and Andrew Possi before running over the Flyer safety in route to 92 yard touchdown run.  The extra point was blocked but this play gave us a 20-8 halftime lead. 

The Flyer were able to mount two drives into our territory late in the second period but both were foiled.  One time it was Barros knifing into the backfield to record a tackle for loss on 4th down and another they ran out of time.  

The second half started just as the first ended with Framingham controlling play but unable to find the end zone.  The problem was field position and we had none of it.  This led to a safety when our punt snap sailed over the punters head.  Now with the score 20-10, Framingham had life and the ball. 

Luke Botsford changed that momentum quickly after the safety, when he intercepted a defected pass and raced 57 yards to the end zone.  It was now 26-10! 

In the 4th quarter, Framingham clawed their way back into the game.  The Wildcats game up some big pass plays and an onside kick to make it interesting.  The Flyers had cut the lead to 26-22.  With over 5 minutes left in the 4th the offense went to a time eating and clinching drive that was punctuated when Barros crashed in with his 2nd touchdown. 

The final was 33-22 and the Cats improve to 2-0 on the young season.  Next up, Bay State rival Walpole on September 27th, 4pm in the Cage. 

Wildcats Outlast Bishop Feehan in Season Opener

9/6/2019 - The Wildcats opened the 2019 season Friday with a huge non-conference win over Bishop Feehan, 17-7.  It was a back and forth game in which both defenses carried the night.   

Feehan struck first on their fifth play from scrimmage when they connected on a 59 yard halfback pass.  It was a well designed play and after the conversion kick they lead 7-0 baring two minutes into the game. 

The remainder of the first quarter and most of the game featured the defenses.  The Wildcat defense was outstanding setting the Cats up with excellent field position several times.  Liam Regan's interception and return to the Shamrocks 14 yard line put us in business.  But the drive ended when our 4th and 1 rush was ruled short.

Early in the second quarter, we again looked headed to glory but after a failed run and a sack the Wildcats were faced with 3rd & Goal from the 19.  Sophomore Quarterback Chase Vaughan found Luke Botsford behind the defense on a beautiful pass and catch for the touchdown.  Senior kicker Max Winkler nailed the PAT and we were tied at 7-7. 

We opened the third quarter with a nice 6-play drive into the Feehan territory.  Faced with a 4th & 5, from the 23 yard line the Wildcats sent in Winkler to attempt a 35 yard field goal.  Max nailed it and the Cats moved ahead 10-7.  The Shamrocks responded driving to our 10 yard line.  We were able to force a field goal try but a bad snap forced the desperate throw which was caught, however senior Teddy Tobin tackled the receiver short of the first down and we took over at our 6 yard line. 

We moved the ball slowly away from our goal line, but eventually had to punt which Feehan advanced to our 40.  The Shamrocks took over with prime field position as the game moved into the 4th quarter but our defense forced three incomplete passes and they punted.  Botsford collected the punt and shook one man and got a couple of nice blocks.  He was pushed out of bounds at our 43 yard line but we had flipped the field. 

The offense behind solid blocking from Kevin Swanton, Rob Ricciardi, Tony Lorizio, Isaiah Hassell, Bryce Stovell and tight end Nathan Fraser moved the ball well on an 11 play drive.  Running backs John Barros and Alex Perez carried the load.  Barros finished the drive with a two-yard plunge to extend the lead to 17-7 with only 2:20 remaining. 

​Senior Andrew Possi, our standout shortstop, then intercepted a line drive up the middle on Feehan's first play from scrimmage to close the game. 

The Wildcats play at Framingham 4pm Friday.  The Junior Varsity and Freshman are home on Saturday.   

WILDCAT SPONSORS