Trailing at halftime, Milton’s Jayden Dubois insisted on changing the narrative.
The senior produced a 122-yard, four-touchdown performance, but his most crucial play was a 19-yard catch on fourth down to set up his own winning 7-yard score, which finished Milton’s second-half comeback to defeat Weymouth, 27-20.
The win ended a two-year losing streak against their Bay State Conference rivals.
“This one was very big for the playoffs, and now we get a home game,” said Dubois, who transferred last year from Florida.
Dubois opened the game with a 1-yard touchdown to put Milton (6-2) ahead, but Weymouth (5-3) responded with rushing TDs on consecutive drives, including an explosive 45-yard score by junior Owen Halpenny.
Milton answered with Dubois’s 9-yard rushing TD, but Sean Lane threw a second-quarter interception to Weymouth cornerback Nate Bessette, and Brendan Flynn ran in from a yard out for a 20-13 halftime lead.
Then Milton shut down Weymouth for the entire second half.
“We just felt like we needed another linebacker between the tackles,” said coach Steve Dembowski of his halftime adjustment. “Jayden is our next guy in, and we went with him on the weak side.”
Milton relied heavily on Dubois to open the second half, and he added his third TD with a 1-yard plunge.
Archbishop Williams 47, Cathedral 26 — The Bishops (4-4, 4-0 CCL) captured the Catholic Central League title thanks to AJ Sanchez’s 100 total yards of offense, two touchdowns, and interception.
Central Catholic 43, Haverhill 36 — Drew O’Keefe’s forced fumble on fourth down as Haverhill (5-3, 2-2) threatened to score from the 6-yard line as time expired allowed Central Catholic (5-3, 3-0) to capture its second straight Merrimack Valley Conference crown.
“We really stepped up on the goal line and we made it happen,” said O’Keefe.
On senior night, quarterback Caden Smith recorded four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) including the go-ahead score from 3 yards out and the final 2-point conversion.
“That was a gut check win, character-building win,” said Central Catholic coach John Dubzinski.
Smith connected with Abram Temple (54 yards) and Peter Thomas (19) through the air. Cody Arsenault opened the scoring with a 75-yard kickoff return TD.
South Shore Voc-Tech 45, Upper Cape 8 — Dillon O’Brien (7 carries, 101 yards; 2 receptions, 100 yards, 3 TDs) rattled off touchdown runs of 68 and 80 yards as the host Vikings (4-4) scored 45 unanswered in a dominant Mayflower Athletic Conference win. James Aikey (7-for-11 passing, 184 yards, TD) connected with Will Traynor for a score and Jayden Fraser averaged 9.3 yards per catch with 137 total yards and a touchdown.
Winthrop 42, Salem 22 — Dominic Farrell rushed for three scores and Charlie Ferrara connected with Domenic Spinale for a 37-yard touchdown as the visiting Vikings (4-4) used a 21-0 second half to upend Salem (2-6) in a Northeastern South win. For the Witches, Jeremiah Barahona became the first 1,000-yard receiver in school history and Kendal Murga scampered 62 yards for a kickoff return TD.
Globe correspondent Mukala Kabongo reported from Lawrence, and Ethan Kagno contributed.