This is one hell of a team.

The King Philip Warriors celebrate their 41-21 win over Barnstable (Tyler Hetu photo).

I've had the privilege of announcing the games of one of the best high school football teams I've ever seen this fall, televising all of its games save for one (too long a ride on a Thursday night back in September). And that leads me to the question of whether it's been more enjoyable for me as a play-by-play announcer or if it would have been in my former incarnation as a sportswriter.

That's a tough question to answer. I just hope I've done the King Philip Warriors justice in my current line of work.

Coach Brian Lee's team is a perfect 11-0 going into the home stretch of the season, and its last two games will be played at two of the sports Meccas of New England -- Fenway Park on Tuesday night, the annual Thanksgiving rivalry game against Franklin, and then on the last week of the month (date and time to be announced) in their third straight Division 2 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium, against either perennial nemesis Catholic Memorial or dangerous upstart Marshfield. 

North TV will be there for both games. We'll do the Fenway game live on Tuesday, and unless we get the NFHS Network gig for Gillette, we will record the Super Bowl for later viewing on our Community Channel. I'm very much looking forward to doing both games.

Having covered Hockomock League sports in one media form or another since the 1969 football season, it is always special when one of its teams ascends to championship level. And sometimes, there's a sense of personal joy as well as professional joy -- such as in the 2018 basketball season, when I traveled to Springfield to watch two of all-time favorite teams play in state championship games at the MassMutual Center, the Foxboro girls in Division 2 and the Mansfield boys in Division 1.

Of course, I'm a Mansfield alum. And it filled my heart with pride to see my alma mater ascend to the height of the toughest division in the land to bring home the title (ironically, against fellow Hockomock member Franklin). And I had a long and abiding relationship with Foxboro girls' basketball extending back all the way to the late 1970s, just a few years past Title IX, when a hard-working group of girls proved to me that they could be as fun to watch as any boys' team.

I was particularly glad I could write those and leave the lasting legacy of print. Print journalism is fading into memory now, but I still feel as if it is more tangible and more attuned to preservation than the electronic version. Fifty years from now, someone will pull old, crumbling clippings out of an old trunk and be able to read the words of praise a long-dead sportswriter wrote on that amazing day.

Times change, and so does the media. This is my sixth sports season as a member of the electronic media, and it's been a blast. Last year I had the chance to announce two state-title basketball games, and at least one of my teams won. I still watch both of the games frequently to re-live the moments. And I certainly hope that's what this year's KP football team and its fans will be doing with my efforts as the season becomes part of history.

Last night, Del Malloy and I were televising the game on behalf of the NFHS Network, which has national reach as a clearing-house site for high school games from all over the nation. KP was playing a dangerous Barnstable team at neutral-site Weymouth, and it was our job as announcers to present more of a balanced outlook at the game because we weren't simply playing to the KP audience.

We may have failed. But it wasn't our fault.

From the opening kickoff, King Philip put on a clinic of championship-level football. They surrendered one first down to Barnstable on the first possession, but got the ball at midfield to start its first possession and it ceased being a competitive game at that point.

Drew Laplante has over 1,100 yards this season.

The Warriors scored on five of their next six possessions, and they did it every way possible. First it was a 10-play drive leading to a 1-yard run by fullback Jack Berthiaume. Then a 1-yard run by Drew Laplante after just a three-play possession that started at the Barnstable 25. One hiccup, a lost fumble at the Red Hawks' 30, was followed by a 63-yard pass from Tom McLeish to Mason Campbell on the first play of a possession. Next came Laplante's 25-yard run at the end of a seven-play possession, and finally, a score on the last play of the half -- 23 yards in the air from McLeish to David Constantine. Sean Woods added his fifth point-after kick of the half, and it was 35-0 at intermission.

That early first down by the Red Hawks? It was their only one of the half.

It was so dominating a performance against a team that had averaged 37 points a game prior to last night, Lee was able to send his second-team offense onto the field at the start of the second half and the defense not long after. The final was 41-21, as Barnstable tacked on a few late scores to send some fans back to the Cape not feeling as if their team failed to show up. The fourth quarter was played in running time, per the MIAA's blowout rules -- the third time in three playoff games for KP.

It's been an amazing run for a team that had some key holes to fill from graduation losses, and showed improvement in every game.

I could sing the praises of so many kids on this team, I'd feel badly if I left someone out. But I will offer some of the highlights.

I became a big fan of Laplante this year on his way to joining the 1,000-yard club. The kid hardly played at all last year, but he stepped in and became a huge part of a running-back corps that had expanded to 13 members by last night.

When I went to a preseason scrimmage at Wellesley, I noticed a kid wearing No. 1 that wasn't afraid to go over the go over the middle and make the tough catch. His name was Mason Campbell, another player expanding his role significantly from last year, and he's KP's leading receiver going into the final two games. McLeish also came back bigger, stronger and with great accuracy on his passes. He doesn't have to carry the Warriors on his back as some quarterbacks must, but he's fully capable of it, and his talents make KP a diverse offense and a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.

And I have to sing the praises of an offensive line that has remained intact all year and just dominates its opposition. Luke Danson, Sean King, Matt Terio, Logan Van Vaerenewyck and Drew Herlin have done the work of men all season long.

Ditto the defense. The defensive line and edge rushers terrorize opposing QBs. The linebackers bottle up runs. And the defensive backs have improved so much over the course of the year, they are now a great strength instead of a possible Achilles' heel. Constantine, Hayden Schmitz, Brandon Nicastro, Tommy Kilroy and all the situational insertions have been as steady as they come. And I have to tip my cap to junior Sean Woods, who had to replace a super-productive kicker in Matt Kelley and did so beyond most expectations.

I must mention one blip on the screen from this year, and it's that KP was found to have had a ritual at its preseason summer camp that has been regarded as hazing. Veteran players organized an unsupervised "fight club" for younger kids on the team, and while no one was hurt and the premise was not meant to degrade or abuse the kids, it still ran afoul of MIAA rules. Lee had to sit out one game (he still got credit for the win because the MIAA credits suspended coaches with victories achieved during that suspension), and the punishment followed MIAA guidelines for first-offense situations that favor lenience and education over Draconian punishment.

Some don't like that. Even my former newspaper editorialized that Lee's punishment was not sufficient. Had the ritual in question been more abusive, I would have agreed. And if it's repeated, there should be hell to pay. But this was not the time nor the place for hellfire or brimstone.

Throughout the season, KP's behavior has been exemplary. The Warriors play hard and compete cleanly. They don't commit stupid penalties. They conduct themselves with the poise of pros, and that has brought them to this point, their third straight Super Bowl berth, and hopefully fulfillment of the old saying, "Third time's the charm."

We shall see. And I will be there to let you all know about it.