By Tyler Amaral
NEFJ Correspondent
WRENTHAM – Over the last decade, winning has become the standard at King Philip.
After starting the season in a rare 0-2 hole, the Warriors have used their familiar program formula of stout defense and a grinding rushing attack to get back on the winning track. On Friday night, the Warriors used that formula to fend off eighth-ranked North Attleboro, 26-14, in a Division 3 state championship game rematch at Macktaz Field.
The win was the biggest to date for the inexperienced Warriors and proved to the state that King Philip is once again a serious title contender.
Despite giving up 186 yards on the ground to junior quarterback Nathaniel Robin, the KP defense surrendered only 14 points in the game and came through with two massive stands near the end of each half.
In the first half, with North Attleboro threatening to tie or take the lead, the King Philip defense had to make two stops from inside its own 20 yard line.
On the first play, King Philip’s Tyler Oldford was flagged for defensive pass interference in the endzone as time expired. NFHS rules state that the penalty is half the distance to the goal when a foul occurs in the endzone.
North Attleboro was awarded one final, untimed down before halftime from the King Philip nine yard line. Robin dropped back and threw a pass to the endzone, but KP defensive back Patrick Terio smothered the intended receiver and the pass again fell incomplete, sending the Warriors into the locker room leading 13-7.
The second crucial defensive stand came with only five minutes left in the fourth quarter. With the ball at midfield, trailing 19-14, North Attleboro handed the ball off to Jean Jervensky on fourth down. The senior was stuffed in the backfield by sophomore Jackson Pitman forcing a turnover on downs.
“The defense played lights out against a great opponent” said first-year King Philip head coach Anthony Vizakis. “I’m so proud of our defense. And, you could tell with the week of practice that they had, that they were focused and locked in.”
The next time the Red Rocketeers saw the ball, the deficit had grown to 12 points with under a minute left on the clock.
On the offensive side of the ball, King Philip was led by freshman standout Ethan O’Connell. The talented runner piled up 96 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.
North Attleboro (2-2) drew first blood on a 44-yard strike by Robin to Ryan Gustafson to put the visitors ahead 7-0. King Philip captain Owen Hurwitz returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to knot the score at 7-7.
Midway through the second quarter, KP flanked out senior quarterback Brody Zolak. Terio took a direct snap, rolled right, then accelerated down field. The captain went 69 yards before getting tackled at the North Attleboro three yard line. O’Connell scored his first touchdown on the next play.
“Ethan is a pure, physical tailback” said Vizakis. “KP has had a lot of [talented running backs] and we’re just so happy that he’s here. The kid works extremely hard. He’s a weight room kid. He doesn’t say much, but when it’s time to put the pads on, you know he’ll speak with his pads.”
62 seconds into the second half, Robin put North Attleboro back in front with a 59-yard touchdown run. The Red Rocketeers led 14-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
O’Connell scored his second touchdown of the night to put King Philip ahead for good, 19-14, eight seconds into the fourth quarter. A 24-yard completion from Zolak to Zion Dumay was the key play on the drive.
After the turnover on downs late in the game, the Warriors went into four-minute mode on offense, churning out hard yards and burning clock. O’Connell punctuated the win with an 11-yard score to stretch the lead to 12 with 49 seconds left in the game.
After two losses to Walpole and Milford by a total of six points, King Philip has now won three in a row. The Warriors head to Canton next Friday. North Attleboro will travel to Mansfield, another team with Division 3 title aspirations.
“We’ve learned from those two losses” said Vizakis. “It was a lot of figuring out who we were and we found out a little bit more of who we are tonight, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”
