FRANKLIN, Mass. - The atmosphere was off the charts on Thanksgiving Day at Pisini Field in Franklin. With seniors being celebrated, alumni coming back it was something to see. And the two teams playing did not disappoint.
The Panthers, riding a three-game winning streak, started with exceptional defense against the KP Warriors, not letting them into Franklin territory for the entire first quarter. The KP defense stayed tough too as they picked off two passes from Franklin quarterback Nick Zucco to stall the Panthers offense.
The KP defensive effort finally paid off as just before the half, giving the ball to the offense, who created a five minute drive that resulted in a 2-yard QB sneak from JJ Dillon with 1 second remaining in the second quarter.
KP then put up another long and productive drive, one that lasted six minutes that had running back Brett McEvoy punch it in from two yards out making it 13-0 in favor of the Warriors
The Warriors again added to their lead after the third turnover the game for the Panthers and extended their lead to 21-0 after a 12-yard touchdown from Mark Glebus.
KP added one more score on a 50-yard Christian Flaherty run and Franklin quarterback Nick Zucco ran it in himself with less than a minute left to make it a final of 27-8.
“They (Franklin) were coming at us in the first half,” senior running back Joe Johnston said. “We just made some adjustments with blocking and executing plays at halftime and it payed off.”
It is the fourth straight year that KP has defeated Franklin on Thanksgiving and three of the last four winning by 10 points or more.
“They’re a great group of kids,” Johnston said. “It’s also great playing against them because you know that they are going to play their hardest.”
KP finishes the season at 8-3 while Panthers finish at 5-7
“I could not think of a better group to go down with,” Franklin senior captain Robert Dellorco said. Dellorco played his first game since September 27th. “It was a tough year but we never kept fighting and I love these guys for that”
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