MONONGAHELA — Ringgold coach Jeff Petrucci must have seen something in the game film of Knoch's Tim McNerney that caught his attention.

Then, to his dismay, he had to see it over and over again in Friday's nonsection matchup.

McNerney rushed for 232 yards on 25 carries and scored four touchdowns as the Knights pulled out a wild 39-29 victory at Joe Montana Stadium.

"I made the comment that the last kid we wanted to see in the backfield was No. 5," said Petrucci, referring to McNerney's number. "Every time he gets the ball, he gets good yardage."

Alex Whisler suffered a knee injury when returning the kickoff for Knoch's first possession. He did not return.

McNerney and Kevin Brodeur (15 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD) shouldered the load on offense for Knoch (1-1), which rolled up 320 rushing yards.

"I thought we could run the ball on them," said Knights coach Mike King. "They have quick-strike ability. I hoped our defense would have played better, but we think we can correct that."

Both Whisler, a senior, and McNerney, a junior, rushed for 40 yards in last week's 21-14 loss to Montour, with McNerney getting just four carries.

"Alex has been such a player for us and McNerney has been under the radar," said King. "He can cut and see the field. The kid has a bright future at Knoch."

Things didn't start so well for the Knights when the Rams (0-2) traveled 75 yards on five plays, the final one a 3-yard run by Cecil Tartt 2:17 into the game.

The snap was botched on the extra point, but holder Jordan Fowler, also the team's quarterback, found David Bassi in the end zone for the two-point conversion.

If that wasn't bad enough for Knoch, Whisler was injured on the ensuing kickoff. However, the Knights embarked on an impressive 14-play, 71-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard run by Brodeur.

The drive was kept alive when Knoch quarterback Zach Gross connected with Mike Gallagher on a seven-yard pass on a fourth-and-3 at the Rams 19.

On the Knights' next possession, McNerney took a pitch from Gross and shot through the middle for a 32-yard scoring run.

Early in the second quarter, the Rams gambled on a fourth-and-1 from their own 14-yard line and picked up the first down. They drove to the Knoch 43 before John Zellhart intercepted Fowler to end the threat.

Four plays into the Knoch drive, McNerney scored from 9 yards out and the Knights opened a 23-8 lead.

The Rams countered with a scoring drive of its own just before halftime, a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended when Fowler found Jake Spaziani in the end zone.

The Rams had a golden opportunity to tie the game early in the third quarter when, following a Knoch fumble at the Knoch 39, Fowler moved the team the 12-yard line.

On fourth-and-4, Ringgold's Bryan Arbes connected on a 30-yard field goal attempt, but a running-into-the-kicker penalty gave the Rams a first-and-goal at the 6-yard line.

On second and goal, Fowler's pitch to R.J. Brownlee was wide and rolled away, and the Knights' David Govan came up with the fumble recovery.

After the Rams forced Knoch to punt, Tyler Patch fumbled the return attempt and Zellhart came up with the recovery at the Rams 29.

Four plays later, McNerney scored his third touchdown of the evening with 18.9 seconds left in the third quarter as Knoch re-established a two-touchdown lead.

The Rams did not go away quietly as they sandwiched a pair of touchdown passes by Fowler in a 2:24 span around McNerney's 38-yard scoring run to make it 36-29 with 6:32 remaining.

Knoch reeled off eight consecutive running plays, then used a Kevin Wood 28-yard field goal with 2:36 left to seal the win.