FOXBORO — Barely halfway through his high school sports career, Milton High junior Harrison Hinckle has already built up an impressive resume.
He’s already played in four state championships (two baseball, two football), winning three titles, with a pair of standout performances in two of those victories.
“I don’t really know how to describe it,” said Hinckle after Thursday’s 42-21 win at Gillette Stadium against Walpole in the Division 3 football final. “Coming into my freshman year I never would have thought that I would have played, what is it? Four state championships. It’s just unreal.”
Hinckle was a central figure in the Wildcats’ baseball title last spring and the most recent football championship.
On Thursday, Hinckle intercepted a pass that was tipped by teammate Patrick Miller and returned it 42 yards late in the first half. He put the exclamation point on the victory by hauling in a 27-yard TD pass on a 50-50 ball from Miller to put the Wildcats up 35-14 in the fourth quarter.
“Underthrown ball, it’s going to be advantage receiver,” said Hinckle, who ripped the fourth-down pass away from a defender. “(The defender) had his back turned, I just cut back and stopped there and I just put out my arms and it landed in my bread basket.”
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Hinckle, who now has pair of Div. 2 baseball state titles one Div. 3 football title to his name, is no stranger to the big games.
In June’s baseball championship, a 6-2 win over King Philip, Hinckle starred out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order. Then a sophomore, he went 2-for-2 with a walk and scored three runs.
“Only a few people win one (state championship),” Hinckle said that day. “It feels nice to go back-to-back. I came in last year just pinch-running and it feels unreal to win another (one). It’s something you usually do once a lifetime.”
Playing on the grandest stage has helped him prepare for the big games.
“I was still nervous obviously, that’s just how a football game is going to be,” Hinckle said Thursday. “But yeah, it definitely helped knowing that I could handle the pressure and that we could come out victorious.”