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MANSFIELD - The football season did not end for the King Philip Warriors on Friday night.

But their chances to meet Hockomock League-leading Franklin on even terms on Thanksgiving took a serious hit at Mansfield's Alumni Field, as outstanding second-half defense - capped by a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown by the Hornets' Matt Schafer - frustrated the Warriors in a 20-7 loss to the 7-1 Hornets.

It was the first Hockomock defeat for the 6-2 Warriors, who entertain Stoughton (which lost to unbeaten Franklin, 21-7, on Friday) next Friday night, then must play Foxboro and Franklin on the road in their last two games.

"I think that in the end, when you play a team like Mansfield, you need to play with that calm and confidence, and I don't think we had it tonight," said KP coach Brian Lee.

The momentum of the game shifted in a huge way with 1:01 left before halftime, when Mansfield's Shawn Doherty (25 carries, 131 yards) scored on a 5-yard plunge and Don Washburn added the extra point to put the Hornets up 14-7. The score came at the end of a three-play, 8-yard drive that took only 30 seconds to execute, and the fortuitous field position came as a result of what may have been the most unfortunate play of the KP season. Fifty seconds earlier, Mansfield QB Nik Busharis had been intercepted at the KP 1 by Jake Cox, frustrating the Hornets in their second venture deep into KP territory in the second quarter. Facing fourth-and-4 at the KP 6, however, punter Mike Cochrane tried to run a fake punt - a play that had worked magnificently in the Warriors' 28-20 win over North Attleboro a week earlier, although in much different field-position circumstances.

But the Hornets had this one sniffed out, and a phalanx of defenders (led by Washburn) met Cochrane after a pickup of just 2 yards.

"We talked all week about how every play matters," said Mansfield coach Mike Redding, who hoped his defense would be able to turn the ball back over to the offense on the KP side of the field. But not in his wildest dreams did he think his team would get the ball just 8 yards away from the lead.

"I think they sensed that if they punted from their own end that deep, that would give us the ball at the 35 or 40 and we might score anyway," Redding said. "But if they get the first (down), we don't get the ball back and they survive the half. Cochrane back there is dangerous."

The failure of the fake punt and the quick Hornet score deflated the Warriors' effort considerably in the second half. KP ran only six plays from scrimmage in the third quarter, netting just one yard. And while Mansfield's first two drives stalled deep in KP territory, the Hornets were still winning the battle of field position and keeping Brandon Howard's receivers covered.

Howard completed just three of 16 passes for 18 yards, with two interceptions -- and Schafer's pick-six on a third-and-8 throw with 9:43 left to play was the death blow.

The Hornets' defensive backfield was able to survive an early injury to Kevone Rogers (Fred Baskin filling in admirably), and junior Mark Bowser's interception and four stellar pass defenses helped take a crucial part of the KP offense out of the game.

"We couldn't run," Lee said, "and they could match up our skill on the outside, and I don't know of any other options after that."

"That was our big concern," Redding said of his pass defense. "I thought we could handle their run game, but Howard has such a strong arm and is so accurate, we didn't know if all night, we could cover them well. But we really did."

Fending off an early KP penetration to the Hornet 21, Mansfield put its first score on the board with 1:47 left in the first quarter, a 36-yard pass from Busharis to Jeff Hill to end a six-play, 68-yard possession. But KP's Charles Ruffin broke a 50-yard kickoff return to the Mansfield 25, and seven plays later, Howard burrowed his way in from a yard out and Nick Muscatiello added the kick to tie the score at 7-7 four plays into the second quarter. The Hornets' failed drives contributed to their success almost as much as their scores. A seven-play possession ending with Busharis' only interception made the quick-strike score possible at the end of the half. And Mansfield held the ball for all but 3:27 of the third quarter, keeping Howard and his offensive unit off the field and forcing them away from the running game as the deficit increased.

Mansfield, still hopeful of a share of the title if Franklin falls, entertains North Attleboro in a game tentatively scheduled for Friday.