12/02/201712/02/2017

King Philip Shuts Down L-S To Earn D2 Super Bowl Title

King Philip football — King Philip’s Shane Frommer gets past a Lincoln-Sudbury defender in the second half of the D2 Super Bowl. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

By Joe Clark, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter

FOXBORO, Mass. – All season long, whenever it needed a stop, the King Philip Warriors defense had the answer.

In the MIAA Division 2 State Championship game Friday night at Gillette Stadium, that held true once again.

With 5:03 left to play and the game tied 7-7, KP linebacker Jack Webster hit Lincoln-Sudbury quarterback Braden O’Connell from the blind side and forced the ball loose with KP senior Evan Rice falling on the loose ball.

KP took over on the Lincoln-Sudbury 27-yard line, and moved the ball up to the L-S 13 to set up Cole Baker for a 31-yard field goal, which the sophomore drilled through the uprights with 1:36 to go, giving the Warriors a 10-7 and King Philip it’s 25th straight victory.

On the first play of Lincoln-Sudbury’s ensuing possession, Max Armour sacked O’Connell, and three incompletions later, King Philip clinched its second consecutive state championship.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“I knew when we got that strip sack that we were going to win it,” King Philip head coach Brian Lee said. “I knew right then it was over.”

On KP’s first drive of the second half, starting quarter Brendan Lydon scrambled to his right and picked up the first down. However, Lydon got rolled up on and suffered a leg injury and was forcing to the sideline, meaning sophomore backup Robert Jarest had to take over under center.

“I really did not expect to play today,” Jarest said. “[Lydon] is a tough kid, I didn’t expect him to get hurt, but he went down, and I tried to do what the coaches asked me to do.”

On Jarest’s first play under center, he fumbled the snap.

“I would say there were some jitters there, I pulled it a little early,” Jarest added

After a Shane Frommer run, KP was facing a third and eight backed up in their own territory. The Warriors’ coaching staff showed their faith as Jarest connected with Thomas Madden down the sideline for a 38 yard gain that put KP on the L-S 23 yard line. Frommer (23 carries, 107 yards, TD) did the rest, as three carries later KP was in the end zone and the game was tied up at 7-7.

After KP forced a stop on the ensuing L-S possession, largely thanks to some key plays by cornerback Andrew Dittrich, the Warriors gave Frommer the keys to the offense once again, as he ran for 30 yards on the next KP drive to get them in field goal range. Cole Baker’s 39 yard field goal attempt had the distance, but it was just wide left.

On the next L-S possession, Jack Webster forced the strip sack that changed the momentum of the game.

“I was just going for the sack, and my head peeked over the shoulder and I just swatted at the ball, and got a hold of it,” Webster said about the game-changing play.

KP killed clock on their next possession by giving it to Frommer, who kept the ball moving and was able to pick up 14 yards. Baker came back in and drilled a 31-yard attempt to give KP a 10-7 lead.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“I thought of taking a look to Thomas Madden on the outside, because Robert can throw a pretty good fade and that’s what got us down there before, but in the end I just didn’t want to put undue pressure on that kid coming in like he did, and I knew that Cole, had that kick in him, and I was more confident in going with Cole at that point,” Lee said about his decision to kick the field goal late in the game.

“Keep it simple, give it to Shane, let him get a first down, and run out the clock, and we did that, and Cole hit a great field goal,” Jarest added about KP’s strategy after forcing the turnover.

Lincoln-Sudbury opened the game in impressive fashion. After getting stuffed on two straight run plays to open the game, O’Connell completed a pass on third down to move the chains. From there, it was a slow grind as the Warriors methodically moved upfield, eventually taking a 7-0 lead on an 18-yard pass from O’Connell to Matthew Cunningham. The drive took 7:35 off the clock.

King Philip was limited to just 52 yards of offense on limited played in the first half thanks to Lincoln-Sudbury’s offense eating up a majority of the clock.

But in the second half, King Philip’s defense pitched a shutout. It marked the seventh time in 12 games that the Warriors didn’t allow any points in the second half. The five teams who have scored against KP in the second half this year did not score more than once, and three of them did it in the first three weeks of the season.

Even more impressive is that KP held the opposing Warriors to just seven points, which is over 30 points less than what previously unbeaten Lincoln-Sudbury averaged coming into the contest.

King Philip football (12-0) once again completes an undefeated season, and they’ve won 25 straight games dating back to Thanksgiving 2015 against Franklin. The Warriors beat Barnstable, Mansfield, and Bridgewater-Raynham en route to their second straight state title.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

09/29/201709/29/2017

Frommer Sparks KP Comeback Against Mansfield

WRENTHAM, Mass. – Mansfield had Thursday night’s game in its grasp. It was only the second quarter, but the Hornets were on the verge of capping a dominant first half with another score and building a three-score advantage before the teams headed back into the locker room.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

With 1:33 left in the half and the ball at the King Philip 10, Mansfield quarterback Damani Scott dropped deep and fired the ball towards Danny DeGirolamo (11 carries, 51 yards). The senior running back was well covered but almost pulled it in. The ball was deflected into the air and fell right into the hands of KP senior Shane Frommer.

The Yale University-commit hauled in the interception and took off down the suddenly energized KP sideline. He went 96 yards untouched to pull the Warriors back within three points and send the team into the half with a renewed purpose.

“It completely changed momentum for us,” Frommer explained after the game. “We were a little down, but right when I got the pick-six all of us got up again and we knew we had to finish it. We knew we were going to win.”

The interception turned the tide and King Philip never looked back. The Warriors scored 28 unanswered points, 21 of those in the fourth quarter, and pulled out a 28-10 victory over the Hornets at Macktaz Field, running the program’s win streak to 17 games.

Although it was not the game-winning score and it was a full quarter before KP added another point, both coaches highlighted the interception as the turning point in a battle between the two Kelley-Rex division favorites.

“We were up against ropes bad,” KP coach Brian Lee admitted. “We had nothing going and Shane…you have a dude for a reason. Everything was going wrong – pass interference and then we let them get a big run – and we had no answer. Then, bang, we get a play and we’re back in it.”

Mansfield coach Mike Redding said, “They’re good, they’re aggressive, but it’s just so frustrating when you play well for 22 minutes and one play completely flipped things.”

Even without injured senior Joe Cox, Mansfield went with the ground game right from the opening kick. It worked on the opening drive, as the Hornets marched 80 yards, all but nine on the ground, in 14 plays to take an immediate 7-0 lead. DeGirolamo capped the possession with a nine-yard run on a toss to the left.

KP ran only three plays before Brendan Lydon was intercepted by Hunter Ferreira, who returned the ball to the Warriors 30. After a pair of incomplete passes from Scott (4-21, 91 yards), Redding elected to go for the field goal and Mike DeBolt split the uprights from 37 yards.

The Warriors moved the ball on its next possession, but were forced to punt and Mansfield came right back down the field. Aidan Sacco (10 carries, 71 yards) converted one third down and Ferreira drew a pass interference call on a third and 10 to keep the possession alive. After Scott scrambled and found Ferreira for a spectacular 19-yard catch on the sideline, it looked like the Hornets were about to break it open, but Frommer stepped in and changed the storyline.

“Down 10, we knew we had to keep fighting,” he explained. “I knew I had to make a big play for the team. Luckily my teammate tipped it up for me and right when I picked it I knew I was going for six.”

Redding said, “The defense played great for the whole half and at minimum, if we get the field goal, it’s 13-0. It’s just a weird play. We go up and grab it and he ends up with it and we have no one to cover the pick. It’s just a huge flip.”

The second half was all KP. Although the first drive stalled at midfield, the defense held Mansfield to just six offensive plays in the third quarter (and 16 offensive plays in the entire second half). Evan Rice was involved in three sacks of Scott, including a big 15-yard loss in the fourth.

“The kids were just playing a little bit harder, again getting life with the big play,” Lee said. “I’m very pleased with the resiliency of the team.”

Mansfield had bottled up the KP rushing attack, but the Warriors turned to Lydon (8-18, 110 yards) to make plays. Jack Piller came up with a sliding grab for 25 yards and three plays later Lydon scrambled to bide time before hitting Dylan Leonard, who had come all the way across the field, for a 19-yard score and a 14-10 lead.

Following a Luke D’Amico interception, KP added another score. On fourth and 10 from the Mansfield 31, Lydon found Thomas Madden open in the middle of the field and the senior receiver broke tackles on his way to the end zone.

“We have to be more balanced,” said Lee. “We can’t just line up and do what we did last year. Going forward that’s something we’ll have to figure out. We’re still figuring out our pieces.”

Redding added, “They get a little momentum and they fed off it and we battled on ‘D’ but we gave them way too many plays. We couldn’t get any first downs.”

Another interception, this time by Jack Webster, gave KP back the ball at its own 39 with time winding down. The player who changed the game was also the one that ended it. Frommer burst through the middle of the line and broke off a 47-yard run for his second touchdown of the game.

He said, “It was a 25-power and I was going to be right behind my tackle, Anthony Vahue, he’s always been a leader for us and I knew right when the play was called this is going for six. I followed right behind him, saw him take out the linebacker, and I knew I was going for six.”

With the victory, King Philip (4-0, 2-0) extends its winning streak to 17 games, which is the longest active streak in the state. The Warriors will put it on the line next Friday with a trip to Franklin. Mansfield (3-1, 1-1) will look to bounce back and keep the pressure on KP when it hosts Taunton next week.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

09/28/201709/29/2017

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 09/28/17

Today’s games are listed below.

Game of the Week – Football
Mansfield, 10 @ King Philip, 28 – Final – Click here for a recap of this game.
1st Quarter: (M) Danny DeGirolamo 39-yard run, Mike DeBolt XP good.
2nd Quarter: (M) M. DeBolt 37-yard field goal; (KP) Shane Frommer 96-yard interception return, Cole Baker XP good.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: (KP) Brendan Lydon 19-yard pass to Dylan Leonard, C. Baker XP good, B. Lydon 31-yard pass to Thomas Madden, C. Baker XP good; S. Frommer 47-yard run, C. Baker XP good.

Football
Foxboro, 27 @ Canton, 21 – Final – Click here for a recap of this game.
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (F) Mike Henri 5-yard rush, XP missed.
3rd Quarter: (C) Alec Ragusa 59-yard rush, Owen Lehane XP good.
4th Quarter: (F) Devin Hassett 13-yard pass to Jack O’Donnell, D. Hassett 2pt pass to J. O’Donnell; (C) Kyle Fitzgerald 2-yard rush, O. Lehane XP good; (F) D. Hassett 1-yard sneak, Russell Neale XP good; (C) Johnny Hagan 70-yard pass to Tony Harris, O. Lehane XP good.
Overtime: (F) D. Hassett 6-yard pass to J. O’Donnell.

Franklin, 22 @ Oliver Ames, 40 – Final
1st Quarter: (OA) Noah Fitzgerald 29-yard rush, XP no good; (OA) Anthony Berksza 15-yard rush, XP no good.
2nd Quarter: (F) Jake Noviello 20-yard pass to Jack Nally, XP no good; (OA) A. Berksza 19-yard rush, Curtis Cann 2pt pass to A. Berksza; (OA) C. Cann 34-yard pass to Ralph Derolus, A. Berksza 2pt rush; (F) J. Noviello 25-yard pass to Sean Leonard, J. Noviello 2pt pass to Evan Wendell.
3rd Quarter: (OA) Michael Mulrean 50-yard interception return, Derick Hanscom XP good; (F) Nick Gordon 4-yard rush, J. Noviello 2pt pass to S. Leonard.
4th Quarter: (OA) A. Berksza 7-yard rush, D. Hanscom XP good.

Stoughton, 33 @ Sharon, 0 – Final
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (Sto) Evan Gibb 1-yard rush, XP blocked; (Sto) Justin Ly 11-yard rush, 2pt failed;
3rd Quarter: (Sto) E. Gibb 1-yard rush, E. Gibb 2pt pass to Ruben Gonzalez; (Sto) Jason Joseph 50-yard fumble return, XP failed.
4th Quarter: (Sto) J. Ly 1-yard rush, XP good.

Boys Soccer
Franklin, 0 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final

Foxboro, 2 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Click here for a recap of this game.

Mansfield, 3 @ King Philip, 1 – Final – Mansfield built a 1-0 lead at halftime and added two more in the second half to pick up a win on the road at KP. Jackson Murphy opened the scoring on an assist from Sean Lanzillo to put the Hornets ahead. Cullin Anastasia scored what proved to be the game-winner with a penalty kick in the second half and then added an insurance goal on an assist from Sam Hyland. Mansfield goalie Nick Ferraz made 11 saves in the win.

Milford, 1 @ North Attleboro, 3 – Final – North Attleboro scored all three of its goals in the second half to pick up a key division win over Milford. Big Red went up 1-0 when Gabe Pinhancos scored just under eight minutes into the second half, running onto a flick from junior Joe Hilf and converting. Pinhancos made it 2-0 just three minutes later, heading in a cross from Zach Matracia. Milford cut the deficit in half in the 62nd minute when Anthony Salvador volleyed in a throw from Joey Madden. Nate Burns put the game away with his first career goal, scoring off a flick from Connor MacIver.

Oliver Ames, 3 @ Taunton, 1 – Final – Oliver Ames senior Matt Alvarado collected his third and fourth goals of the season, helping OA pick up two points on the road. Michael Nikiciuk netted his fourth goal of the season as well. Nathaniel Cardoza, Colin Evin and Cam Valla each had an assist in the win.

Sharon, 4 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final – Sharon had four different goal scorers in the win on the road. Tyler Hippler, Andrew Reyes-Jones, Tyler Goldstein and Michael Baur each found the back of the net for the Eagles.

Girls Soccer
Attleboro, 1 @ Franklin, 5 – Final – Franklin scored four times in the opening half hour to break the game wide open. Emily Mastaj, Halle Atkinson, Olivia Dellorco, and Sarah Yelle scored the goals for the Panthers before halftime and Molly Duncan added a fifth with five minutes left to play. Julia Hayes netted the lone goal for Attleboro. Breanna Atwood made five saves for the Panthers and Ashley Macia made five for the Bombardiers.

Canton, 1 @ Foxboro, 2 – Final – Katelyn Mollica scored what turned out to be the game-winner with 12 minutes remaining to extend Foxboro’s win streak to five games. Shaina Abbott had the opening goal on a volley from a Mackenzie Fraser assist before Mollica doubled the lead. Canton cut the lead to one with a late goal, but the Warriors held on for the win. Jamie DeVellis made eight saves to earn the win in goal.

King Philip, 2 @ Mansfield, 1 – Final – Avery Snead scored one and set up the other to lift KP to a win over the defending Kelley-Rex champs and put the Warriors into a tie atop the standings. Chloe Layne opened the scoring off a Snead assist in the first half, firing a low shot into the corner. Kerina Geminiani equalized for the Hornets with a 25-yard free kick that sent the game into halftime 1-1. Snead scored the game-winner with 11 minutes remaining, sending her shot just past the outstretched arms of the Mansfield keeper. KP coach Gary Pichel credited his “great defensive line” for helping the Warriors earn the two points.

North Attleboro, 3 @ Milford, 0 – Final – North Attleboro scored all three of its goals inside the first half hour of the match and played a strong defensive game to earn the shutout. Ashlyn Gaulin opened the scoring in the 15th minute, converting a feed from Haley Guertin to make it 1-0. Guertin then doubled the lead off an assist from Kayla Pasquel before Emma Gaulin made it 3-0 in the 30th minute, with Leah Jette getting the assist. Emma Noreck made six saves for North to earn the shutout. Milford head coach Jay Mastaj said Briana Braza played well defensively for the Scarlet Hawks.

Taunton, 1 @ Oliver Ames, 2 – Final – OA scored a pair of second half goals to come back from a goal down and pull out the win. Erin Holmberg scored off a through ball from Anna Tempestoso in the first minute after the break and Gabrielle McLaughlin netted the winner on an assist from Maeve Hogan. Samantha Tichelaar scored the lone goal of the game for Taunton in the opening minute. Alex Wapenski had the assist for Taunton.

Stoughton, 2 @ Sharon, 6 – Final – Ally Filipkowski and Fallon Pfeifer both scored hat tricks for the Eagles and Filipkowski added an assist as well. Bridget McManus and Marika Fillon also had assists for Sharon. Stoughton got goals from Nicole Weir (off a cross from Brigid Pearl) and Mia Greene.

Field Hockey
Sharon, 2 vs. Bellingham, 2 – Final – Emily Locke scored both goals for the Eagles to earn the non-league tie.

Golf
Foxboro, 173 @ Stoughton, 189 – Final – Foxboro’s Dylan Quinn earned match medalist honors, carding a low-round of 41 for the Warriors. Brendan Campbell shot a team-low round of 42 for the Black Knights.

Attleboro, 197 @ North Attleboro, 198 – Final (5 cards) – It came down to a fifth card tiebreaker after rivals Attleboro and North Attleboro were knotted at 154. Kyle DelSignore led the Bombardiers with a par round of 35 while Corey McKenna carded a 38. Dylan Kane led North Attleboro, carding a 37 at the middle course of Heather Hill.

Milford, 165 @ Canton, 156 – Final – Canton’s Jack Goyetch carded a round of 37 to earn match medalist honors and help the Bulldogs pick up another key division win. Joey Vaughan finished with a 38 and Bubba McNeice chipped in with a round of 40. Zach Tammaro and Andrew Fauerbach each shot 39 for the Scarlet Hawks.

Sharon, 190 @ Mansfield, 171 – Final – Freshman Nathan Morreale carded a low-round of 41 while classmate Joseph Gormley shot a 42 to help the Hornets fend off visiting Sharon. Senior Brett Kessler, junior Jake DiSangro and freshman Brian See each carded a 44 for Mansfield.

09/09/201709/09/2017

King Philip Holds Off Rocketeers to Open With Win

WRENTHAM, Mass. – King Philip came into Friday night’s season opener against fellow league champion North Attleboro at Macktaz Field in a very different position than last season’s matchup. The defending Div. 1A Super Bowl champion Warriors graduated the vast majority of the starters on both sides of the ball, including all but two on offensive, and had a roster filled with new faces.

Many of the names may have been new, but the play on the field was the same.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

KP sacked North’s star quarterback Chad Peterson (13-24, 165 yards) five times, forced four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles), and the Warriors made enough plays to pull out a 24-14 victory, the program’s 14th straight win stretching back 2015.

“I’m very pleased,” said KP coach Brian Lee after the game. “I had no idea what to expect. We’re only returning five guys, so there were a lot of rookies out there, a lot of guys going two ways. I love playing North because they make you play your best.”

From North Attleboro’s perspective, it was mistakes that doomed the Rocketeers on Friday. In addition to the struggles protecting Peterson and the turnovers, North also committed five penalties and just looked out of sync.

“Too many self-inflicted wounds,” said North coach Don Johnson. “We had kind of seen it in preseason, but way too many [mistakes] to beat anybody really. They made plays they had to make but we had mistakes in basic coverages. That second touchdown we had someone line up wrong and left a guy wide open.”

The struggles started on the opening drive when KP defensive lineman Evan Rice sniffed out a third down screen, tipped, and intercepted Peterson’s pass to give the Warriors the ball at the North 33. A 13-yard run by senior quarterback Brendan Lydon (7-12, 143 yards) got the ball inside the 10, but KP was stopped on three straight plays and settled for a 22-yard Cole Baker field goal.

North’s defense made the next big play when Brendan McHugh got to Lydon on a blitz and stripped the ball loose. Brad White recovered the fumble for the Rocketeers and three plays later Peterson hit Nolan Buckley for a 21-yard touchdown into the back corner of the end zone to take North’s only lead of the game.

Facing third and 15 on its next possession, KP hit a big play to answer right back. A broken coverage left junior Aidan Bender running free down the seam and Lydon hit him in stride for a 71-yard score. Just two plays into the Rocketeers’ next possession and senior corner Andrew Dittrich forced a McHugh (11 carries, 45 yards) fumble and Dylan Leonard dove on it to get the ball right back.

Thomas Madden saved the possession for the Warriors by diving on a fumble on the first play and on third and eight from the North 13, Lydon threw a perfect strike into the corner that was pulled in by David Morganelli for a 17-7 halftime lead.

“I thought the wideouts caught some really good balls for us and I thought our pass [protection] was good,” said Lee about the success of the passing attack. “Sometimes you’ve got to change up what you’re doing and I thought the guys really responded.”

Johnson added, “I was pleased with the way that we stopped the run game, but they had good balance. I think the quarterback has come a long way for them. He was a difference maker.”

A punt and then back-to-back fumbles gave North the ball at its own 21 about halfway through the third quarter. The Rocketeers put together a 17-play drive that took more than 10 minutes off the clock and needed two fourth down conversions to get themselves back in the contest.

Peterson was sacked three times on the drive, twice by Bender, but also went 5-for-7 passing, including a dart on fourth and eight that hit Omar Jasseh and kept the drive alive. One play after the combo just missed on the right side of the end zone, Peterson threw another fourth down strike, this one to senior Marion Bresko down the left sideline for a 27-yard score that cut the lead to just three points (17-14) with 7:54 remaining.

Lee joked, “They pulled a KP on us. We didn’t do anything in the second half, except for hang on and play some ‘D’. We tell the kids, you’re going to fight. They’re going to come over here and fight to the end. We hung on and sometimes that’s what you have to do.”

A punt gave North the ball right back and a roughing the passer call pushed the Rocketeers to the KP 31. Two plays later, Peterson tried to go for the end zone, but the ball was intercepted by Luke D’Amico at the three-yard-line.

On third and nine, facing another punt to give the ball back to the Rocketeers, Lydon fired down the middle to senior tight end JJack Piller, who pulled the pass down despite two Rocketeers in coverage and held on through contact for a crucial first down. With 48 seconds left, senior running back Shane Frommer, who was held to just 41 yard on his first 13 carries, bounced a run off tackle to the left side and was gone for a 57-yard touchdown to seal the win.

The personnel may be very different from last season’s experienced squad, but the attitude is the same. The Warriors find a way to grind out victories and make opponents uncomfortable.

“That’s kind of our mentality in general – we like to attack,” said Lee. “Sometimes it looks nice to drop eight into coverage but good quarterbacks make plays when they have enough time. We’re just pretty good at it.”

He added, “We love to play good defense here. We made plays when we had to.”

King Philip (1-0) will try to make it 15 wins in a row when it takes on Foxboro next Friday in the first game at the newly renamed Jack Martinelli Field. Next week, North Attleboro (0-1) will host Bishop Feehan at Community Field.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.