After slow start, King Philip pulls away to beat North Attleborough

The first Friday of the football season did not start as planned for King Philip. Visiting North Attleboro marched 80 yards in just over six minutes to take a 7-0 lead that lasted well into the second quarter.

For the remainder of the game, though, the King Philip defense held the Red Rocketeers to just 28 yards of offense. Meanwhile, the Warriors (1-0) used a 54-yard touchdown pass from Robbie Jarest to Alex Behling just before halftime to shift the momentum of the contest on the way to a 25-7 win.

“They settled in and did what they were supposed to do,” said King Philip coach Brian Lee. “If you don’t get that [first touchdown], you got a real uphill climb.”

King Philip’s offense was far from silent in the early minutes, marching their first three drives into the red zone. But a Jarest fumble and a pair of fourth-down stops by the Red Rocketeers kept KP off the board.

The Warriors had their first run-in with one of the new NFHS rules during a second-quarter drive. Jarest appeared to have scored on a sneak where he was pushed into the end zone, but the referees flagged the Warriors and three plays later the drive ended in an incompletion.

“It’s frustrating,” said Lee. “We didn’t know the pushing rule but we keep chopping.”

Receiving the kickoff at the start of the second half after cutting the deficit to 7-6, King Philip took its opening drive 68 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. On fourth and 7 from the North 20 yard-line, Jarest rolled out and found Behling open in the corner of the end zone for his second scoring reception.

“[Behling] runs a corner really well,” said Jarest. “His defender went inside and he went for a corner and I laid it right in there and knew he would score.”

When Jarest (8 for 15, 150 yards) wasn’t passing he was handing off to Ryan Halliday. The senior running back finished with 122 yards on 24 carries, including a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

His final scoring run came one play after KP senior linebacker Sam Callanan picked off North Attleborough sophomore quarterback Tyler DeMattio (18 carries, 60 yards). North struggled on offense in the second half, gaining only 17 yards and earning just one first down via a penalty.

Apponequet 42, Middleborough 26 — An 89-yard third-quarter touchdown from Kevin Hughes (219 rushing yards, 3 TDs) helped the Lakers pull away from the Sachems. Middleborough quarterback Tim Crowley threw for 395 yards and four touchdowns in the defeat.

Archbishop Williams 28, Quincy 0 — Senior Nick Tardanico ran for three touchdowns and 192 yards on 19 carries to lead the Bishops (1-0).

Ashland 27, Westwood 14 — Senior quarterback Dom Cavanagh tossed a touchdown and ran for another as the Clockers (1-0) took down the Wolverines (0-1) for the Tri-Valley League win on the road.

Beverly 21, Winthrop 6 — Joey Loreti (123 yards rushing) scored on fourth-quarter runs of 63 and 30 yards to help the Panthers pull away from the Vikings.

Bishop Fenwick 35, Stoneham 14 — Senior David Cifuentes needed just 11 carries to rush for 110 yards and three touchdowns for the Crusaders. The returning All-Scholastic also kicked five extra points for Fenwick, which added scores from Joe Rivers on a 10-yard run and Angel Martinez on a 62-yard punt return.

‘‘David’s a dangerous kid in the open field,’’ said coach Dave Woods. ‘‘Defensively, up front the kids really played hard. They sold out every play.’’

Canton 28, Dighton-Rehoboth 7 — Kyle Fitzgerald powered the Bulldogs (1-0) with 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Case 28, Tri-County 14 — Danny Silva (13 carries, 111 yards) ran for three touchdowns and threw for another as the Cardinals (1-0) doubled up the Cougars (0-1). The senior completed 7 of 13 pass attempts for 121 yards. Case’s defense put up zeroes for the final three quarters with an interception from Silva and a pick from Keagan Lecomte.

Cohasset 21, Norwell 7 — Gray Thomas (19 rushes, 115 yards, 2 TDs) was a force on the ground and Jack Greene made a crucial interception in the fourth quarter and added six tackles and three assists.

Concord-Carlisle 34, Whitman-Hanson 21 — Tim Hays and Jordan Corbett each scored two touchdowns during a 27-point run to end the game for the Patriots (1-0).

East Bridgewater 21, Dedham 14 — Junior Shane Graham had a rushing and passing touchdown to lead the Vikings (1-0).

Falmouth 35, Dartmouth 14 — Cam Rowell rushed for 90 yards and two scores on five carries and quarterback Kyle Connolly added 249 all-purpose yards (112 passing, 137 rushing) and two touchdowns to put the game out of reach for the Clippers.

Greater New Bedford 35, Southeastern 0 — Bears senior Ethan Almeida ran for two touchdowns and passed for three more, accounting for every score for Greater New Bedford. A pair of 1-yard rushes and a 14-yard passing TD to sophomore Cam Lynch put the Bears up 21 over Southeastern (0-1) at half. Lynch caught a 4-yard score in the third and Colby Street caught a 6-yarder in the fourth. Kicker Colin Wildrick nailed all five extra points.

Hingham 34, Braintree 27 — In Mark Nutley’s debut as coach, the Harbormen rode a massive fourth quarter to victory. Hingham rushed for more than 300 yards, with senior Zach Kelleher going for 200.

With 49.67 seconds left, junior Cooper Estes ran a kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown for a 7-point lead. On final play, the Hingham D intercepted a Hail Mary attempt in the end zone.

“Defensively sometimes we couldn’t get off the field, but we really crunched down and got a stop when we needed one,” Nutley said. “We can move the pile and we showed we can move the ball on offense.”

Lowell Catholic 13, East Boston 8 — Ryan Penrose tossed a TD pass to Declan Donaghey and ran in another score for the visiting Crusaders.

Milton 17, Bishop Feehan 7 — The Wildcats overcame a 7-0 first-quarter deficit with 17 unanswered points on Luke Botsford’s 19-yard TD catch from Chase Vaughn, Max Winkler’s go-ahead 35-yard field goal, and John Barros’s clinching 1-yard TD plunge in the fourth quarter.

Natick 42, Needham 0 — Will Lederman (135 yards rushing) propelled the Redhawks (1-0) to the Bay State Conference victory with three total touchdowns, punctuated by 50- and 22-yard runs. Jake Adelman was disruptive on the other side of the ball, racking up three sacks and an interception.

New Bedford 24, Taunton 13 — Nigel Palmer found the end zone three times as the Whalers recorded their first win over Taunton since 2015.

Randolph 50, Latin Academy 6 — Backs Derrick Revolus and Jamarii Robinson each rushed for over 100 yards and combined for all seven of the Blue Devils’ touchdowns.

Scituate 24, Marshfield 0 — Senior Will Sheskey (25 carries, 100 yards) scored a pair of touchdowns to carry the 18th-ranked Sailors. Senior quarterback Matt Scibilio was 9 of 17 for 110 yards.

Walpole 28, Norwood 12 — Senior Will Jarvis was 15-of-20 passing for three touchdowns and 188 yards to lead the Rebels (1-0). Junior Derek Petrucci ran for 118 yards on 15 carries.

Wellesley 21, Weymouth 6 — The visiting Raiders pulled away with 14 points in the fourth quarter for the Bay State Conference win.

West Bridgewater 21, St. John Paul II 0 — Ben Skinner scored twice and had a pair of interceptions for the Wildcats (1-0). Quarterback Matt Lavoie tossed two TD passes.

Weston 32, Boston English 0 — Senior quarterback Jack Noonan rushed for three touchdowns and 59 yards on seven carries to lead the Wildcats (1-0).