NEEDHAM – The Needham Rockets couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season.

With their first win at home over Milton since 2014, Needham was nearly perfect in all three phases of the game to come up with a 24-0 victory against the Bay State Conference rival.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” said Needham coach Doug Kopcso about playing Milton. “They’ve been the gold standard in the Bay State since (Steve) Dembowski took over in 2015. So, just to get a win against a class program like that is great for these kids in this community.”

After a three-and-out to start on offense, Needham (1-0) took advantage of short fields thanks to some key defensive plays.

Senior Will McDonald had a strip sack a couple plays after Milton’s lone first-half first down. This set up the first of three touchdowns for senior Aidan Williams as he scampered in from 25 yards out to make it 7-0 about midway through the first.

“We got some guys that just talk about ‘MDB’ or ‘My Damn Ball,’” Kopcso said about taking advantage of the short fields. “We have guys that take that seriously. They want to get it back for our offense. They want to get it back on special teams. They want to give us a short field and our offense took advantage.”

The Rockets’ defense forced a three-and-out that led to the longest drive in the first half as Needham ran seven plays that ended with a Williams two-yard TD run to go up 14-0.

Williams added another two plays after McDonald blocked a punt and senior Alex Rutley recovered it to push the lead to 21-0.

“(McDonald) was a good player last year. He was a tough player last year” said Kopcso about McDonald, who put on 20 pounds this offseason. “What he’s done in the offseason is unbelievable.”

McDonald added a second sack in the second half as well.

Senior Alex Rufo finished off the scoring with a 46-yard field goal to make it 24-0 after a turnover on downs for Milton (0-1) in the second quarter.

The Rocker’s defense smothered the Wildcats in the first half allowing just 11 total yards with three sacks and a fumble recovery. Milton did not get to the 100-yard mark until the second-to-last play as Needham finished with six sacks on the night.

“There’s no limit,” McDonald said about the defense. “There’s no limit for us.”

Next up, Needham will head to Natick next Friday at 6 p.m. Milton will host Central High out of Rhode Island at home at 7 p.m. on Friday as well.