Milton High Wildcats roar to first Division 3 Super Bowl championship win
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After a narrow loss to the Wakefield Warriors in last year’s state championship, the Milton High School football team rallied back and clinched its first MIAA Division 3 Super Bowl, defeating the Walpole Timberwolves in Foxborough last month.
Nathan Ehui, the team’s starting tailback who ultimately rushed for just over 1,000 yards, expressed elation about the big victory, especially since it is his senior year.
Nathan Ehui, who ran for 1,000 yards this season, eludes a tackler. PHOTO: Roy Chambers
“I feel like [the championship] was definitely necessary, because we came up short last year. Coming back this year, as you realize you’re coming back for the second time — it’s like, ‘You got to do this. You got to finish it out,’” he said.
The Wildcats secured their first Division 3 Super Bowl championship at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 30. The win was also validation after last year’s loss to Wakefield in the title game here — a defeat that cost Milton a perfect season.
The Wildcats trailed the Timberwolves by two touchdowns in the first quarter. But the Milton team rallied to leave Walpole in the dust, with a 42-21 victory.
A proud Milton Wildcats coaching staff with the trophy.
PHOTO: Roy Chambers
“Going down 14-0 was tough, but we had to keep our heads up,” said Wildcats quarterback Patrick Miller, according to the Brockton Enterprise. “Obviously, it wasn’t going to be easy because [Walpole is] a great football team. But our defense rallied back; they really brought the energy. And the offense just [ran] away with it.”
Miller threw four touchdown passes for 148 yards, including two to sophomore Ronan Sammon. Junior wide receiver and defensive back Harrison Hinckle had a TD-grab plus a pick-six, and senior Ehui ran for 135 yards on 29 carries, according to published reports.
The win came years after rebuilding the team to the elite levels of the Bay State Conference and then the state, according to the Milton Times.
The victorious Wildcat team celebrates with the MIAA Agganis trophy. PHOTO: Roy Chambers
“The kids played hard and the defensive game plan [which forced six turnovers] really came together after we took the lead,” head coach Steve Dembowski said, according to the Times. “We were able to get a double on [Walpole wide receiver] Jamal [Abdal-Kallaq] and kept [Kamari Hughes, another Walpole wideout] in check.”
Michael “Mick” Sammon, whose son Ronan is the sophomore wide receiver who scored two touchdowns to bring Milton ahead, said the Wildcats have had quite a season, since losing a lot of seniors last year when they previously played in the Super Bowl.
“The general feeling was it was going to be kind of a rebuild year, but to everyone’s amazement they went on to win a state championship for the first time in Milton High School’s career,” he said.
The team has had its ups and downs for the past four years, but the players never gave up, said Sammon, whose older son also played for the team.
“It was great to see the boys getting a great [win] while achieving something,” Sammon said. “Everybody knows football takes a lot of hard work, discipline and commitment. It’s a long road. It’s a long season. So it was great to see them achieve their goals, to finally win a state championship — with all their years of hard work … it’s just been great to watch,” he said.
