Walpole coach Chris Sullivan is quick to say the events of Oct. 13 will have little bearing on what transpires Thursday night when the Timberwolves meet Milton for the Div. 3 state title.

The Bay State Conference teams met in the regular season and it was a struggling Walpole team that found its mojo that evening. Noah Mackenzie threw for three touchdowns, two going to Jamal Abdal-Khallaq, who also returned an interception for a score in a 42-23 win.

That was the second of eight straight wins for a Walpole team which has averaged more than 40 points a game during that stretch. Sullivan isn’t surprised by that as he felt coming into the season his team had a chance to make noise.

“I really thought we had a talented team, we scheduled a scrimmage against Catholic Memorial and added King Philip onto our regular-season schedule,” Sullivan said. “We just made too many mistakes against King Philip (a 31-0 loss) and you can’t do that against a team like that.

“The next week, we played better against Natick (14-7 loss), but still we were making some mistakes. Two weeks later, we played Needham tough (21-19 loss) and had a chance to win the game with a field goal, so I could see we were getting better with each game.”

Milton was the opposite of Walpole. After five straight wins to open the season, the Wildcats came back to earth against the Timberwolves. That was the first of three straight losses, but Milton was able to steady the ship in time for the postseason. Milton has won three straight games by double digits to earn its second straight trip to the championship game.

“We’ve been inconsistent at times this year,” head coach Steve Dembowski said. “We’ve had times where we have run the ball well and other times where we have thrown the ball well. I do think we will be much more prepared for this game.

“We are going to have to be much better defensively than we were the first time. Our offense is going to have to start faster and we have to win on third down.”

Patrick Miller is the latest in a long line of quarterbacks to thrive under Dembowski. Ronan Sammon has blossomed into a star wide receiver, while Nathan Ehui is the featured back for the Wildcats. Those guys are enough for Sullivan to realize his defense will have to be ready.

“I really don’t think there is much of an advantage just because we beat them the first time,” Sullivan said. “We know Steve is a great coach and I’m sure that there are going to come up with a great offensive and defensive game plan, so we are going to have to be ready.”

DIVISION 3 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Milton (8-4) vs. Walpole (9-3), Thursday, 8 p.m. at Gillette Stadium

MILTON WILDCATS

Head coach: Steve Dembowski

SEPT. 8: Milton 42, SCITUATE 14

SEPT. 14: MILTON 49, Framingham 0

SEPT. 22: Milton 42, HOLLISTON 14

SEPT. 29: MILTON 31, Weymouth 7

OCT. 6: MILTON 10, Needham 9

OCT. 13: WALPOLE 42, Milton 23

OCT. 20: TAUNTON 21, Milton 14

OCT. 27: Natick 17, MILTON 16

NOV. 3: MILTON 30, Minnechaug 14

NOV. 9: MILTON 28, Dartmouth 7

**NOV. 18: Milton 37, Westfield 14

NOV. 23: BRAINTREE 33, Milton 19

* – Home team in caps. ** – Neutral field

WALPOLE TIMBERWOLVES

Head coach: Chris Sullivan

SEPT. 8: KING PHILIP 31, Walpole 0

SEPT. 14: NATICK 14, Walpole 7

SEPT. 22: WALPOLE 30, Wellesley 14

SEPT. 29: NEEDHAM 21, Walpole 19

OCT. 6: Walpole 31, SHREWSBURY 6

OCT. 13: WALPOLE 42, Milton 23

OCT. 20: WALPOLE 37, Braintree 3

OCT. 27: WALPOLE 45, Wachusett 13

NOV. 3: WALPOLE 46, Hingham 15

NOV. 10: WALPOLE 39, Mansfield 31

**NOV. 17: Walpole 45, Milford 35

NOV. 23: Walpole 44, WEYMOUTH 20

* – Home team in caps. ** – Neutral field

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HISTORY

Milton had never played in a championship until last year when it lost to Wakefield 34-28 in the Div. 3 title game. Running back Jack Finnegan was immense for the Wildcats in the loss, rushing for 131 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, while adding three catches for 34 yards.

Walpole is playing in its 13th title game, amassing an overall record of 7-5. The last time Walpole competed in the title game was 2008 when it rolled to a 41-21 win over Mansfield in the Div. 2 Eastern Mass. Super Bowl. Ryan Izzo rushed for 193 yards and finished with three touchdowns, while Sonny Mastromatteo threw for 154 yards and a pair of scores.