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NORTH ATTLEBORO - The King Philip Warriors have kept their eyes on the prize.

They'll need to maintain that tunnel vision with few deviations over the next month or so if they want to achieve their goal of a Hockomock League football title, but they passed the first of their most difficult tests with flying colors Friday night, besting the North Attleboro Red Rocketeers, 28-20, at Community Field.

It was a terrific bounce-back win for the Warriors (6-1), who were shocked a week ago by Fairhaven in a 20-14 non-league loss. The win pulls them even with arch-rival Franklin atop the Hockomock standings at 4-0, which could set up the most important Thanksgiving Day game in the history of the half-century-old rivalry - but there's a big "if" there first.

Franklin has already dismissed Mansfield, Foxboro and North Attleboro in order. Friday's win by the Warriors begins a mind-numbing stretch of challenges for them, including a trip to Mansfield on Friday, a trip to Foxboro two weeks after that, and of course, the Panthers on the road on the holiday.

"Each one is what it is it's supposed to be that way," KP coach Brian Lee said. "We've got a lot a lot of work to do, and the Hockomock is a tough league, so you've got to come to play." The Warriors did exactly that at Community, forcing three turnovers from the Rocketeers in a reversal of form from the previous week's mistake-filled loss.

"I didn't think there would be a letdown, because we saw what happens when you let down last week," Lee said. "The turnovers certainly helped. Last week we made three turnovers, and we lost. This week we were able to get some turnovers, and we didn't turn the ball over."

"We were a little careless with the football," North Attleboro coach Don Johnson said, "and you just can't do that and expect to win against a good football team that can make plays like them."

King Philip got points as a direct result of two of the North turnovers, and with two of the turnovers coming in the fourth quarter, those helped KP maintain a field-position edge when North needed to mount a comeback and couldn't.

Mike Cochrane's interception just three plays into the game started the Warriors on the road to their first score, a 10-yard pass from Brandon Howard (9-19, 166 yards, three TDs) to Connor Richards at the end of an eight-play, 42-yard drive.

But the Rocketeers responded well, marching 60 yards in 15 plays and tying the game on Dylan Rayburg's 2-yard burst off the left guard gap on the first play of the second quarter. Rayburg carried six times for 25 yards in the drive.

On the first play of the next North possession, Dan Lang rolled right on an end-around and raced 53 yards to the KP 23. Then, on fourth-and-5 from the 18, Joe Kummer found Ryan Flannery in the right side of the end zone with a play-action pass, and Corey Wynn added the point for a 14-7 North lead with 7:10 left in the half.

KP's offense seemed to be "sputtering," as Lee said, but lightning struck on a third-and-9 play from the KP 43. Howard dropped back as if to set up a screen, but rather than just loft a floater to a back hovering about 10 yards downfield, he fired a bullet to Chris Cacciola, in a full sprint and wide open, and the junior back left everyone in the dust to complete the 57-yard scoring play. Nick Muscatiello added the PAT with 2:18 to go before the break.

"That was awesome, and we really needed at that time," Lee said. "All of our plays came when we just needed them most."

North reclaimed the lead on its first possession of the second half, hemming KP deep in its own territory and then driving 45 yards in five plays, a 34-yard pass to Erik Everton setting up Kummer's 2-yard keeper with 6:36 to go in the third quarter. But the snap on Wynn's PAT attempt sailed high, and the senior kicker never had a chance to get the boot off, leaving North's lead at 20-14.

Just before the end of the quarter, and after Cochrane successfully ran a fake punt for a key first down at the KP 46, Howard shrugged off a would-be sack and fired downfield to Richards, who plucked the ball away from a North defender and completed the 59-yard TD play with six seconds left. The missed extra-point by North loomed large when Muscatiello's kick sailed through, putting KP up by a point entering the final quarter.

The Rocketeer defense did its part, forcing KP to turn the ball over after three short possessions. But a fumbled punt return (recovered by KP's Chris Robery) started a Warrior possession at the North 33, and when that stalled, a botched pitchout in the North backfield was smothered by Alex May at the North 21 with 5:16 to play.

It took another fourth-down conversion to keep the drive going (Howard's 12-yard pass to Jake Cox at the North 4), and the senior quarterback finished it off with a 1-yard plunge with 2:20 to go.

North (4-3, 2-3) should be able to regroup next Saturday at Sharon.

"We've got a great group of seniors, and I feel bad for them because I think they've played their hearts out in the three games we lost," Johnson said. "But kids are so resilient."