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Short and skinny as a freshman, playing football for the first time. Now he is lanky and lean as a senior, playing at wide receiver and defensive back for the unbeaten King Philip Regional High School football team.

A few inches taller, a few pounds of muscle mass greater, Matt Monahan may not be a household name in the Hockomock League, but the Warrior senior has become one of the unsung heroes in this string of six successive victories.

Monahan never leaves the field, save for the kickoff units. The Warrior captain is a two-year starter at wide receiver, a two-year starter at cornerback and one of the outside men on the punt and punt return teams. Take away those few minutes for kickoffs, and Monahan has never been off the field for the past three seasons.

"If we didn't have him, we'd be hurting," chimed in KP football coach Brian Lee of the understated, but much-appreciated role that Monahan has on and off the field for the Warriors. "He's relentless, he's irreplaceable."

For the record, No. 81 on the KP roster stands six-foot tall and weighs, perhaps, 160 pounds. "I was short and skinny when I played freshman football, now I'm tall and skinny," chuckled Monahan over the weekend, a few days after he caught a TD pass in the final minute of the first half against Fairhaven and had a strong hand in stopping a half-dozen plays against the Blue Devils to preserve the unbeaten status, the share of first place in the Hockomock League and create more bedlam when the Warriors entertain North Attleboro this Friday night at Macktaz Field.

It's been nice for Monahan and the Warriors to walk around King Philip High and hear the well-wishes, to see the excitement, to discover that the football team is being recognized for its endeavors. Monahan is an example of it all.

Monahan never played football before entering KP, he was no Pop Warner League hot-shot. Only because his older brother Anthony was a member of the KP football family, did he consider heading out to the practice field on fall afternoons.

"I had always wanted to play," recalled Monahan. "I began starting both ways as a sophomore I don't leave the field. I love it."

Monahan has everlasting endurance, he keeps on moving, keeps on running.

"I mean he doesn't look like a football player," said Lee, suggesting that Monahan might be more "6-2, 135" than what the roster reads. "He's a skinny as they come. "But, he led the team in receptions last year (24 for over 400 yards), he's always around the ball on defense and he's real loud."

That is, Monahan not only makes many of the defensive check-off calls, he calls out teammates who might not be performing at an accepted rate of effort or spurs on some sophomore-in-the-wings or be the voice for a locker room of hungry Warriors.

"It's an upbeat tempo around here, we're all working really hard," said Monahan of KP's performance on the field, on both sides of the line. "We have a lot of two-year starters now, myself and the other captains - Ryan Connolly and Chris Welsh - have been around.

"Last year, there were so many close games, so many times where we came close to winning - we lost to Oliver Ames by a point, we lost 22-18 to Mansfield," said Monahan.

Granted the Warriors haven't taken on the Hockomock perennial powers - North Attleboro, Foxboro and Mansfield, but the Warriors have beaten everybody else. Beating foes with an explosive offense and a defense which has not been over-worked as it was in recent seasons. "What we did in the offseason was huge," said Monahan of coach Lee's conditioning program and his own conversion from a baseball to a lacrosse player. "When we get to the fourth quarter, other teams are huffing and puffing and we're ready to go. A huge part of it has been the coaching, it just seems that everything is falling into place."

The Warriors have so many options on offense, Monahan doesn't have to get open and get downfield for KP to advance the ball. On defense, Monahan is usually at left cornerback in the cover-one scheme. Or he might move to strong safety in a cover-two package.

"Don't let up the big play, that's my concern," said Monahan. "All is takes is one to change the game. That's been the difference this year, we're the ones making the big plays."

Monahan sensed that the Warriors were headed in the right direction on the rainy, opening night of the season against Hopkinton. "We were in our spread offense and we ran all over them. From there on, we kept getting better. We have so many weapons on offense and defense."

Even though the Warriors are assured of a winning season, Monahan senses that KP wants more - that is, respect and a continuing tradition of success, like at North, at Foxboro, at Mansfield. Kind of like Monahan's appetite. "I eat more than anybody and I've gotten stronger. That's the fun about football, you start winning and you want more."

PETER GOBIS can be reached at 508-236-0375 or at pgobis@thesunchronicle.com.