WRENTHAM — It starts in the summer. The bonds between King Philip Regional High football players are formed when they arrive for 6 a.m. workouts four times a week. Those bonds are strengthened when the team travels to Maine for five days, where players practice, eat, and sleep at Camp Mataponi as they prepare for the upcoming season.

It continues through the fall. After every game, the team has a meal together; and when players huddle up, coaches tell them to bring it in close, like a family.