BRIDGEWATER – No. 4 Walpole ran away in the second quarter to advance to the Division 3 Super Bowl with a 45-35 barnburner victory over top-ranked Milford at Bridgewater-Raynham High School.

The win puts the Timberwolves (8-3) into their 10th Super Bowl with a chance to win their eighth title.  Noah Mackenzie had clutch throws throughout and had a four-touchdown game under center for the Timberwolves. Jamal Abdal-Khallaq had seven catches for 213 yards.

Brendan Kearns added two sacks and two interceptions, his last coming with 1:20 left to secure the 10-point victory.

“We are going to Gillette,” said Kearns when asked about the second pick when he chucked the football into the sky in celebration. “We got off to a rough start this season, but we knew we had the skill players. We were lacking on the line a little, but we gelled together, it’s just unreal.”

Milford (9-2) made its first series look easy as a Nick Araujo 29-run finished a 74-yard, six-play drive for the Hawks. But Walpole rattled off 24 unanswered points to jump out front for good.

The Hawks defense stood their ground and limited the Timberwolves to a Nicholas Foynes 27-yard field goal. The next two Timberwolves’ series resulted in Noah Mackenzie TD strikes. The junior quarterback found Cash Cantrell down the seam for a six-yard score.

Then a big turning point in the game came as Kearns had his first interception and ran it back to the Hawks’ 9. Three plays later, Abdal-Khallaq hauled in a five-yard grab in the back of the end zone for a 17-7 lead.

Mackenzie found Abdal-Khallaq for 40 yards on a curl route that Abdal-Khallaq took to the Hawks’ 18. Logan Keyes plowed straight up the middle for the eight-yard rushing touchdown with 1:24 left in the half.

“Milford gave it all they could, they are a good team and were 9-1 for a reason. They had a really good plan on defense, and I know they were missing their starting quarterback but (Callahan) balled out and did a really good job for his team,” said Walpole head coach Chris Sullivan.

The Hawks didn’t quit as they scored on their first two series after halftime. Owen Callahan, filling in for junior starter Jack Buckley (illness), hit Jason Stokes around midfield as Stokes went in from 59 yards untouched.

Stokes was at it again on a wide-open route as Milford fooled the Timberwolves defense on a halfback run-pass option and Andrew Rivera hit Stokes in stride for the 72-yard touchdown pass. Sandwiched in between was a 10-yard touchdown from John Daher for Walpole and the Timberwolves were still in front 31-21.

To open the fourth, Araujo made it a nail-biter with a one-yard plunge to get Milford within three, but on the next series, another big-time throw from Mackenzie to Abdal-Khallaq for 56 yards set up an 11-yard touchdown connection for the pair’s second touchdown.

Holding on for life with a three-point lead, Abdal-Khallaq broke free of a tackle on a slant route and raced 75 yards into the end zone with 2:29 to play in regulation.

The loss is Milford’s third in a row in the state semifinals. Callahan filled in admirably for Buckley in the second-half comeback attempt with two touchdown passes to Stokes and fellow sophomore receiver C.J. Farrell and added over 200 yards passing in the second half alone.

“Owen had a few jitters early … but once he settled in, he played tremendous, and all our kids played tremendous. We ran into a buzzsaw,” said Milford head coach Dale Olsen.

Walpole is heading to Gillette Stadium for the first time in 13 years.