MILTON — Entering the week, Friday night’s football tilt between Holliston and Milton was billed as a showdown, and with good reason. Both programs are perennial title contenders and were off to hot starts this season.
Once the teams took to the field, however, Milton’s Owen McHugh flipped a switch and looked just about unbeatable. The senior quarterback completed seven of his 10 pass attempts, finishing with 215 yards. He also scampered for 87 yards, finishing with five total touchdowns as Milton earned a statement victory with a convincing 42-6 home drubbing of the Panthers.
“We had a great week of practice,” said Wildcats coach Steve Dembowski. “I thought we carried it over to the field. Holliston is really well coached, they have great players, and they challenged us with a different defense than what we prepared for … but I thought we just kept coming. We were relentless, and obviously Owen was fantastic.”
McHugh left his imprint on the game almost immediately, as he led the Wildcats (3-0) down the field on their opening drive. The senior proceeded to fire a 20-yard touchdown strike to Michael Fulton. In a flash, the Wildcats were quickly leading 7-0, an edge they would carry into the second quarter.
After McHugh sprinted to the pylon for a five-yard touchdown rush to open the second stanza, Milton quickly regained possession less than a minute later.
With 8:22 to play in the half, McHugh fooled everyone with a play fake, then took a shot downfield for a wide-open Fulton, who danced into the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown reception to provide Milton a 21-0 advantage.
“Coach called a good play,” chuckled Fulton. “We were just trying to control the momentum after the stop. I just slipped a safety, pretended like I was blocking. Went up, caught it. I kind of turned around, thought someone was going to come. Almost tripped up there, but got to the end zone.”
As Holliston (2-1) staged a long drive to begin the second half, TJ Kiley fired a pass to his left. The ball was tipped into the hands of Jack Finnegan, who took it all the way back to the house for a 53-yard pick-six to make it a 28-0 contest, effectively sealing the game.
“I saw the QB looking at the big receiver, (number) 11,” Finnegan said. “He was really good. He just threw it up to him, I just tried to bat it away. I look up, all of a sudden the ball is falling into my hands, and I started running.”
Holliston was powered by Kiley, who found Kaua Lima for a four-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
McHugh would connect with Shane Olsen and Luke Sammon for two more passing touchdowns to cap his night. The senior hopes he and his fellow teammates can continue to ride their hot streak into their Bay State Conference slate of games, starting with Walpole next week.
“We’ve just got to get better everyday,” said McHugh. “Stack good days. Play fast, play for each other, and we should be good.”
