The Hornet defense throttled the King Philip offense, resulting in a 20-7 victory and the Warriors’ first Hockomock League loss.

“We thought we could handle their running game,’’ said Mansfield coach Mike Redding. “We mixed our coverage packages up and the secondary played great. Now we just have to keep it rolling.’’

No. 12 Mansfield (7-1, 5-1) held King Philip to 68 yards on the ground and was able to bewilder reigning Hockomock League MVP Brandon Howard in the process.

Howard completed 3 of 16 passes for a scant 17 yards and rushed for 16 yards.

The game swung in the Hornets’ favor with about a minute and a half remaining in the second quarter. No. 18 King Philip (6-2, 4-1) was pinned at its 6-yard line and was forced to punt. However, punter Mike Cochrane decided to see if he could catch the Hornets dozing.

Mansfield sniffed out the fake, and dropped Cochrane 2 yards short of the first down.

“They rolled the dice,’’ said Redding. “Cochrane is dangerous and thank God Donny Washburn was able to make a great open-field tackle on him.’’

Set up at the Warriors’ 8-yard line, it took Mansfield three plays to find paydirt, with Shawn Doherty going the final 5 yards for a 14-7 lead.

In the second half, Mansfield resorted to some old-fashioned football.

The Hornets hitched up the offense to Doherty’s back (84 yards rushing in the second half and 132 overall) and ran on 26 of 27 plays.

“We wanted to keep the King Philip offense off the field,’’ said Redding. “We got a little conservative but we were able to eat up some good chunks of time.’’

Matt Schafer sealed Mansfield’s victory with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown.

King Philip had the first opportunity to score in the game. Howard hit Connor Richards for a 26-yard gain to the Mansfield 1-yard line on fourth and 12. The gain was nullified, though, by an illegal shift. The Warriors then turned the ball over on downs.

After stopping the Warriors, Mansfield went to work. Nik Busharis lofted a picturesque pass into the hands of Jeffrey Hill for a 36-yard touchdown with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Warriors took little time to respond. Charles Ruffin returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to the Mansfield 25-yard line. Howard rushed for 15 yards on the drive, including a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to tie the game, 7-7.