UNIONTOWN — Sometimes defense is the best offense.

Or, in the case of Knoch on Friday, one defensive play can turn around an entire offense.

The Knights' Kyle Reiser returned a Laurel Highlands fumble 90 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter, then the offense tacked on two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull out the 21-16 nonconference football victory.

Knoch's offense was struggling early against the Mustangs, running only 20 plays in seven possessions and trailing 10-0.

The Mustangs were poised to add another score, with a first-and-10 at the Knoch 12 following a 37-yard pass play from Dan Pegg to Anthony Jacobs.

However, Brandon George fumbled on the ensuing play and Reiser picked up the ball and raced for the score with 55.9 seconds left, which seemed to invigorate the Knights.

"It was just how high school football has so much momentum," said Knoch coach Mike King. "I couldn't believe the ball was sitting there for as long as it did.

"It got us life in our offense. We didn't need just CPR, we needed the paddles, too. It's what we needed. It was a big shock,"King added.

Knoch's offense had scored only one touchdown in the previous 14 quarters, but after the return, the momentum had clearly shifted.

"I told the guys before the game you may turn the ball over, but you don't want to have the big turnover," said Laurel Highlands coach Jack Buehner. "The team that turns the ball over less will have the best opportunity.

"We ran the run-base inside zone play. That's our safest play. (Pegg) tried to run (Reiser) down. Unfortunately, he couldn't catch him,"Buehner added.

The Mustangs (2-5) punted after five plays and Knoch (3-4) took over at its own 31-yard line.

Quarterback Zach Gross rushed for no gain on the first play, but then hooked up with Eric Farmer on a 13-yarder. Alex Whisler followed up with runs of 7 and 3 yards for another first down before Gross connected on a 46-yard pass play to Dan Pickard with 7:32 remaining.

Gross found Rob Briggs in front of the end zone on the conversion pass to give Knoch a 14-10 advantage.

"I give credit to Zack Gross," said King. "That touchdown pass, right when he threw it, someone hit him."

The Mustangs went three-and-out before the Knights took over at midfield. An eight-play drive was capped by an Alex Whisler 20-yard run with 1:04 remaining to seal the game.

The Mustangs closed the scoring when Pegg found Tyler Jodon on a 9-yard pass with 5.9 seconds left. Knoch's David Govan recovered the onside kick to prevent any last-second heroics by Laurel Highlands.

The events over the final 13 minutes were a complete turnaround from the first half, when the Mustangs appeared to be in total control.

They ran 39 offensive plays to the Knights' 11 and until Gross threw a 40-yard pass to Pickard with about a minute left in the first half, the Knights had minus-1 yard of total offense.

Laurel Highlands received the opening kickoff, then ran 18 plays — taking nine minutes off the clock — but settled for a Joel Borland 25-yard field goal.

On their ensuing possession, the Mustangs went on a 10-play drive, but turned the ball over on downs.

When George caught a 23-yard pass from Pegg with 3:21 left in the half, the Mustangs led 10-0.

"They were really blitzing us hard between the tackles," said King.

"We controlled the tempo," said Buehner. "They came back, but you've got to be mentally strong enough to play through that."

Despite 215 yards passing from Pegg, the Knights defense was strong, forcing Laurel Highlands to turn the ball over on downs four times.

"I thought our defense played really well," said King. "We had absolutely no offensive production in the first half. Laurel Highlands was able to move the ball in every game I've seen.

"(Pegg) is a good quarterback and their receiver (Randy Rankin, who finished with seven catches for 88 yards) was at one point leading the WPIAL. Our defense did the job all over," King added.