INDIANA — An early momentum shift proved fatal for Knoch Friday.

The Knights blew an early lead in a 31-21 loss to Indiana in a Northwest Nine game at Andy Kuzneski Field.

“High school football is a game of momentum, and they got back into it,” Knoch coach Mike King said. “We let them in, we let them have some life and we lost the football game.”

Knoch (1-5, 1-4) held a 14-0 lead in the first quarter following a 3-yard touchdown run by Mac Christy and a two-point conversion.

On the ensuing kickoff, Indiana's Ryan Hoff fielded the ball at his own 14 and ran it back 86 yards for the touchdown.

Suddenly, the Little Indians (3-3, 2-3), were down 14-7 with 12 seconds left in the first quarter and had momentum on their side.

Indiana then partially blocked the Knights next punt.

The ball bounced a few times in Indiana's favor, allowing the Little Indians to take over at the Knoch 34.

On 4th-and-8 at the 32, quarterback Luke Thomas found Hoff at the 22 and he broke free for the touchdown and 14-14 tie with 8:32 left in the half.

The Little Indians scored one more time before the break, with a 34-yard run by Hoff setting up Noah Sleasman's one-yard score with 12 seconds left in the half.

Knoch entered the second half down 21-14. Multiple Knight turnovers killed drives and set up Indiana with good field position.

Indiana's Brayden Lorelli picked off a Christy pass around midfield with about 7:30 left in the third.

“You can't turn the ball over,” King said. “That's a simple thing. I don't care whether you're the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Knoch Knights. You can't turn the ball over and expect to win football games.”

Even though a personal foul buried the Little Indians deep in their own territory, they capitalized on several carries by Hoff to get well into Knoch territory.

Kicker Tyler Mulac sent a 29-yard field goal sailing through the uprights with 3:43 left in the third to extend Indiana's lead to 24-14.

The Knights fought back, composing an 11-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a 24-yard touchdown from Christy to Zach Boldy.

Knoch's touchdown cut Indiana's lead to 24-21, but not for long.

Another long kickoff return set up the Little Indians at their own 45.

They marched down the field and scored when Thomas threw a 21-yard pass and Hoff made an acrobatic catch in the end zone.

“We knew we had a special kid out there (in Hoff), and we thought we could take advantage of some things,” Indiana coach JohnAllen Snyder said. “We did and he made a great play.”

The Little Indians led 31-21 with 5:29 to go, and Knoch never threatened the lead after that.

In addition to his three touchdowns, Hoff finished with 85 yards on six carries and 48 yards on three catches.

“He showed up tonight, he played football,” Snyder said. “He is who he is. He lives on a razor's edge, and I just love that kid to death.”

Knoch's first touchdown came when Christy scored on a 5-yard keeper with 6:46 to play in the first quarter. A botched point-after attempt kept the score 6-0.