In the 71st all-time meeting and 63rd around Thanksgiving, King Philip used a fiery first half to emerge with a 35-0 victory over Franklin at Fenway Park.

The game wasn’t just about town pride, celebrating the holiday or taking in the legendary venue. King Philip secured the Hockomock League title with the victory, something a loss against Franklin last season kept them from a year ago.

“It’s awesome,” said King Philip coach Brian Lee, who earned his 150th career win in the process. “And to do it here, 150, it’s pretty crazy. It doesn’t seem like I have been doing it that long.”

It was also the final test before the Warriors’ Div. 2 state championship matchup against Marshfield, and the explosive performance has the team looking poised for a push.

The Warriors started with the ball, but the Panthers defense put up a tough defensive stand. This momentum would not last for long, however, as King Philip would force a fumble on Franklin’s first offensive play.

Immediately after taking over, Warriors running back Andrew LaPlante broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run, giving King Philip a quick 6-0 lead.

“We just tried to jump on them quick and move along,” Lee said. “It was a great start; I was very proud of them.”

After the Panthers got two first downs on the ensuing drive, Warriors defensive back Brandon Nicastro snagged an interception and gave King Philip the ball at the Panther 35. Once again, only a single play was needed as quarterback Tommy McLeish threw a deep ball to Mason Campbell that was caught in the end zone.

“They’ve been doing that for us all year,” McLeish said. “They just go get a stop and then all we have to do is move the ball half of the field. It’s really nice when they help you like that.”

The teams would trade possessions until the later portion of the second quarter when LaPlante barreled through from five yards out to extend the lead to 21-0. On the ensuing kickoff, the Warriors forced another turnover and junior Andrew Bowen would take it 40 yards to the end zone.

“A little scoop and score,” Lee said. “The rip by Bowen and he’s off. He almost fell over, he was super excited. It was awesome and he will be reliving that memory for a long time.”

This would round out the half, but the Warriors quickly marched down once again in the third quarter, finishing with a 12-yard connection with Daniel Silveira. That would be the extent of scoring and McLeish, who was named the game’s MVP, said getting the victory for his coach was the highlight.

“Being able to help him out and get that for him and get the Hock title and bring that trophy back here, that’s awesome,” McLeish said. “He deserves every one of them, so it was great to have that tonight.”

King Philip’s Sean King blocks a Franklin player, allowing teammate Andrew LaPlante to run for a touchdown during their game at Fenway Park. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)