King Philip seemed to open Thursday's game against Franklin tentatively, while the Panthers were full of confidence.
Before you knew it, the Warriors boys lacrosse team had dug themselves a hole too big to climb out of, as the Panthers took the first meeting of the season between the Hockomock League rivals, 13-5.
“The guys came out a bit intimidated by the rivalry, and once Franklin scored a few goals, it was in their heads and it was a big hurdle to overcome,” KP coach Dan Warren said. “It was evident by our stick skills that we were tight. Defensively, we got caught.”
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The Panthers scored 10 unanswered goals in the first half, basically putting the game away. The Warriors didn't what hit them. Occasionally KP put together an offensive threat, but the team just couldn’t put the ball into the Franklin net.
“We have a rather young team with guys playing new positions,” the coach said. “Once the intimidation factor was out of their heads, they played a much better game.”
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A little over a minute into the second half, William Greaves took a pass from Matt Flanagan to get the Warriors on the board. KP kept the ball in the Franklin zone for the majority of the third quarter and, with just under 3 minutes left in the third quarter, Greaves added his second tally.
“We changed things up in the second half and played a bit more aggressively,” Warren said. “The guys seemed much looser too, so that helped.”
King Philip would keep the pressure on Franklin in the final quarter and would add three goals, but it was too little, too late. Tanner Jensen (from Brett McEvoy), McEvoy (from Nate Malone) and Chris Basque would account for the final score.
The loss drops the Warriors to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the Hock. KP will next visit Catholic Memorial in a non-league contest.