---

FRANKLIN - For the better part of three quarters Thursday, the King Philip Regional High School football team led a charmed life.

The Warriors were leading the undefeated Franklin Panthers 13-6 entering the final 10 minutes, and had dodged quite a few bullets along the way - a lost fumble by Franklin at the Warriors' 32 in the second quarter, a fumbled kickoff that required a stout defensive stop at their own 27, and an interception in the end zone as time expired in the half after one of their punts had been blocked at the Franklin 22.

"We hung on and we figured the breaks would go our way in the second half," King Philip coach Brian Lee said. "But those two turnovers just killed us."

A pair of lost fumbles in the second half were both converted into touchdowns by the 11-0 Panthers, who went on to claim the Hockomock League title with a 20-13 victory over the 8-3 Warriors in the 50th resumption of the annual rivalry.

More than 6,500 spectators at Pisini Field were treated in near-perfect weather conditions to a taut, spiritedly-contested battle in which the outcome was not certain until Franklin MVP Nick Colson threw a 12-yard screen pass to Zack Price inside the last 40 seconds of play to allow the Panthers to run out the clock. King Philip, looking to earn its first-ever trip to the MIAA football playoffs, led 13-6 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter when senior Mike Cochrane hauled in a Franklin punt at his own 23, made a quick cut to the right sideline and outraced everyone to the end zone, a 77-yard return followed by Nick Muscatiello's kick.

But the joy over Cochrane's return was short-lived, and it masked a growing concern over a misfiring offense that had outplayed Franklin in the first half, but was struggling mightily to gain yards in the second.

"We were having trouble getting anything going offensively," Lee said. "Everybody talks about the offense over there, but their defense ... you know, when you can't run and you can't throw, I don't know if there's another option."

Brandon Howard had completed four of his six passes for 102 yards in the first half, including a 64-yard throw down the right sideline to Cochrane (KP's MVP) over a fallen Franklin defender on the first play of a possession that started with 6:36 in the second quarter.

It took just nine seconds for Cochrane to draw first blood for the Warriors, and that lead stood when, on second-and-6 from the 50, Franklin's Matt Carini took a pitchout from Colson and threw an 18-yard pass to his quarterback - only to have him separated from the ball and Chris Calvano recover for KP at the 32.

KP appeared to be winning the battle of field position when Carini was dropped for a 12-yard loss on a punt return to start a possession at Franklin's 13. But two plays later from the 25, a scrambling Colson found Greg Dellorco over the middle 20 yards downfield, and the senior tight end turned it into a 75-yard touchdown to tie the score at 6-6 with 2:52 left in the half.

Disaster nearly struck the Warriors when Franklin's Mike Hoey blocked Howard's punt from a shotgun-formation drop at the KP 22, but with only 10 seconds left, Colson had time only to fire away at Jordan Nesmith in the end zone, and Cochrane intercepted it to end the half.

Those missed opportunities loomed large for the Panthers when Cochrane broke his 77-yard punt return to put KP in front.

"I tell you, we were trying not to kick it to that No. 21 (Cochrane), but he still got his hands on it and made a good play," Franklin coach Brad Sidwell said.

KP's defense was still doing its part, as a 9-yard sack of Colson by Kevin Donahue (his third of the game) hastened another three-and-out possession by the Panthers. But the course of the game started to change when, on the second play of the fourth quarter and the first of a KP possession starting at its 36, Howard lost the handle on the snap and Franklin's Dan Simon recovered. Three plays later, Franklin's Joe Gilmore got a step on Cochrane on a looping post pattern and pulled in Colson's 36-yard pass for a touchdown. Matt Durkin's kick made it a 13-13 tie with 8:21 to go.

Disaster struck Howard again as, on a third-and-1 play from his own 24, he bull-rushed ahead for the seeming first down but had the ball squirt from his grasp. Joe Flynn recovered for the Panthers at the KP 28, and opportunity was again knocking.

The threat almost ended when, on fourth-and-3 from the KP 21, Colson's pass for Brian Garvey was intercepted at the 11 by KP's Jake Cox. But the officials had detected pass interference before the pick, and Franklin had a first down at the 11.

After three running plays by Carini to get a first down at the 1, Colson took it across on a sneak with 3:40 to go and Durkin added the kick for a 20-13 lead.

Stymied on its ensuing possession, King Philip punted the ball away to the Franklin 22 with 2:31 to go, hoping the defense could make one more stop. But the Panthers picked up two first downs, one on a 3-yard rush by Carini (21 carries, 70 yards) and the other on the screen pass to Price at midfield.

The Warriors (8-3, 6-2) were able to post only one first down in the second half, coming on the second play of the first of six possessions after the break.

"We knew that they hit us on a couple of crossing routes," Sidwell said, "and man, we repped those things all week and they still made the plays. But we just kept the ball away from them after they made those mistakes, and we got our conversions for first downs."

KP's defense, remarkably stingy all year long, had limited Franklin to 151 yards in the first half, holding Carini to 22 yards on eight carries. But he proved the workhorse in the second half, helping the Panthers to post a 13:12-6:48 edge in time of possession in the final two quarters.

"I thought Carini would break one, and that they might hit a deep ball over us," Lee said. "I said to myself that three scores would be what it takes ... and that's what it was. We just put too much pressure on our defense today. We just didn't look polished enough today to play against a team of the caliber as the one over there today."

Colson, named the Hockomock's offensive MVP this week, recovered from a shaky passing start to complete seven of 18 passes for 154 yards, rushed for 78 more on 14 carries, and contributed the ill-fated 18-yard catch. He also took his lumps as Donahue's three sacks for 19 yards would attest.

"He did take some hits, but he's a big, strong kid," Sidwell said. "Sometimes instead of throwing the ball away, he tries to make it happen with his feet, but he made some throws there when it counted."

Franklin will play Bay State-Herget winner Natick in the first round of the MIAA Division 2 playoffs at a site and time to be announced today. The Panthers now lead the series 31-18-1, and have now won five of the last six meetings.