For King Philip, third time the charm in dominant win
FOXBOROUGH — Finally, King Philip coach Brian Lee can breathe a sigh of relief and smile.
After ending the past two seasons with back-toback state championship losses to Catholic Memorial, Lee and top-seeded King Philip left no doubt Thursday night when they cruised to a dominant 42-14 victory over third-seeded Marshfield in the Division 2 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium.
“I was afraid it would just feel like relief instead of joy,” Lee said, “but seeing the kids’ faces just makes it all worth it.”
KP (13-0) showcased a balanced offense and a stout, dominant defense to cap off its perfect season and capture the program’s third state title and first since 2017.
Senior quarterback Tommy McLeish (11-of-15 passing, 166 yards, 3 TDs) dazzled with his arm, and sophomore Tallan King (11 carries, 92 yards, 3 TDs) and junior Drew Laplante (23 carries, 134 yards) anchored the ground game for the Warriors, who finished with 447 yards of offense.
“The line was moving people all night,” McLeish said. “They were making holes and that opened the passing game up so much. Mason Campbell, Danny Silveria, David Holland and everyone else in there were making big-time catches. Those guys have put in more work than anybody, so it’s awesome to see.”
McLeish connected with Silveria (5 catches, 62 yards) on scoring tosses of 7 and 12 yards. He also hit Holland with a 42-yard TD strike that helped KP take a 21-14 lead over Marshfield (9-4) into halftime.
After rushing for a 1-yard touchdown on KP’s opening drive, King helped the Warriors pull away with TD runs of 23 and 16 yards in the second half.
“I love that kid,” Lee said. “He’s old-school tough. And he’s a sophomore — it’s nice to have a future with him.”
King said he wanted to make the most of his opportunity to start on the state’s biggest stage.
“This was my first time starting on varsity all season,” he said. “I was just trying to score and get my team up.”
Junior Charlie Carroll caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tor Maas on Marshfield’s opening drive and added a 2-yard rushing score in the second quarter.
But that was all the Rams offense — which had scored at least 50 points in its three postseason games to reach Thursday’s title game — could muster before the Warriors defense buckled down to help KP close the game with a 28-0 run.