King Philip football coach Brian Lee knew he was going to get some early answers where his team stood after Friday’s opener against North Attleboro.
Let’s just say Lee, his coaching staff and players left the field very happy.
The defense forced five turnovers and added four sacks, while Shane Frommer put the exclamation mark on a 24-14 victory when he raced 57 yards to paydirt in the final minute. The win extended the Warriors’ winning streak to 14, second in the state to Falmouth (16).
“I had no idea if we weren’t going to be any good because we lost so many players from last year,” Lee said. “We have a lot of new starters in there and I was very pleased with the mental toughness they showed. They never panicked once and that showed me a lot.
“We talked in the preseason about how playing varsity is a whole new ballgame, it’s a totally different speed. I was curious to see how they would react in front of a big crowd, see how they would react when they made mistakes, which I knew would happen. They just went out and handled everything well.”
North Attleboro, a team many feel can make a legitimate run at the Division 3 South crown, grabbed an early 7-3 lead before King Philip quarterback Brendan Lydon got hot. One of just four starters back from last year’s Div. 1A Super Bowl championship team, Lydon threw touchdown passes of 71 yards to Aidan Bender and 13 yards to David Morganelli to stake the Warriors to a 17-7 lead.
The Red Rocketeers appeared primed to take control down the stretch. Trailing 17-14, they moved the ball into King Philip territory, seeking the go-ahead score. Luke D’Amico had other ideas, picking off a pass to end North Attleboro’s final threat.
“We just kept fighting and made the plays we had to make against a good North Attleboro team,” Lee said. “I just can’t say enough how proud I was of them Friday night.”
Around the gridiron
It was a family affair of sorts when Belmont traveled to Milton Friday night. John Phelan is the superintendent of Belmont schools, while his son Tom is a linebackers coach at Milton. To keep the family tree scenario going, Sam Phelan, Tom’s son, is a member of the JV team at Milton.
Oh by the way, Milton won, 28-7. . . .
For one week, KIPP can lay claim to being the football program with the best current winning percentage in the state.
The Lynn school made its varsity debut a successful one by defeating another football newbie, Atlantis Charter from Fall River, 28-0. Kymani Morrison led the Panthers’ charge as he ran for 215 yards and two scores.
Sweet 16
1. EVERETT (1-0): Sent an early message that it doesn’t intend on suffering any sort of Super Bowl hangover.
2. CENTRAL CATHOLIC (1-0): Long commute proved fruitful in win at Dartmouth.
3. BC HIGH (1-0): Danny Abraham has officially been banned in Andover.
4. MARSHFIELD (1-0): Allowed an early score to Cranston West, then steamrolled the Rhode Island school the rest of the way.
5. BRIDGEWATER-RAYNHAM (1-0): Stepped up big time to knock off Duxbury.
6. TEWKSBURY (1-0): Pushed a bit by Malden Catholic, but prevailed in the opener.
7. ST. JOHN’S PREP (1-0): The future is very bright for the Eagles. Heck, the present isn’t so shabby.
8. LEXINGTON (1-0): Scary thing is that football is actually Sal Frelick’s second sport.
9. NATICK (1-0): Defense fires a goose egg at Needham Friday night.
10. MANSFIELD (1-0): We got a first-hand glimpse of why some feel Damani Scott has the tools to be a very good high school quarterback.
11. XAVERIAN (0-1): Don’t think Saturday’s loss was the way Al Fornaro envisioned his varsity head coaching debut going.
12. READING (1-0): Matt Panacopoulos had a solid debut at quarterback.
13. KING PHILIP (1-0): Warriors showed against North Attleboro they have no intention of dropping off the football map.
14. DUXBURY (0-1): Struggled in the second half against Bridgewater-Raynham.
15. BILLERICA (1-0): Impressive effort on both sides of the ball against Burlington.
16. WELLESLEY (1-0): Jack Tishman jumpstarted the offense against Concord-Carlisle.