Knoch looks for atypical result

By JOHN ENRIETTO Eagle Sports Editor

September 20, 2007 Last Updated: September 20, 2007 02:39 PM High School

Knights would like nothing better than to knock off P-R

JEFFERSON TWP— Off to a 3-0 start while outscoring the opposition 113-7, Pine-Richland has its typically strong football team in 2007.

But will the Rams register their typical victory over Knoch Friday night?

The Knights (2-1) host Pine-Richland for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Knoch has scored 84 points in its last two games, with Tim McNerney rushing for 232 and 231 yards, respectively, while scoring six touchdowns in those triumphs.

"That's the first time Knoch's ever had a running back rush for 200 yards in consecutive games,"Knights coach Mike King said. "I'm sure of that.

"Pine-Richland does a nice job, but our kids believe they're up to the challenge this year. They're full of confidence. I'm looking forward to this game."

Pine-Richland quarterback Vinny Nittoli has completed 23-of-41 passes for 461 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in his first year as a varsity starter. Through freshman, junior varsity and varsity football, he has yet to lose a game.

The Rams are winning despite graduating skilled players who produced more than 3,000 yards and 50 touchdowns last year.

"The big thing is we return three of five offensive linemen who were all-conference last year,"Pine-Richland coach Clair Altemus said. "Our tight end, Ross Venturi, made all-conference despite not catching a pass.

"He was such a good blocker, we moved him to tackle this year."

Eric Schaude, a 290-pounder, and Chris Haskins return at guard, Mike Wisko is a 6-foot-3, 250-pound center, and 265-pound Tony DiPasquale joins Venturi at tackle.

"Given the choice, a coach would rather return a bunch of offensive linemen than a bunch of skilled players,"Altemus said.

"This game with Knoch scares me. Our corners will have trouble matching up with their big receivers, McNerney is the real deal, and this is their homecoming. They are going to be fired up."

Knoch's passing game has been relatively quiet this year, but Kyle Reiser, Mike Gallagher and tight end Rob Briggs are capable of making an impact.

"In retrospect, I should have had Zach (Gross) throw the ball a little more at Greensburg Salem, just to get our passing game in synch a little bit,"King said. "One of these weeks, we're going to need those guys. And this may be the week."

King lauded the play of his offensive line, particularly Kurtis Schachner, and inside linebacker David Govan stood out defensively last week.

Ian Hennessy leads the Pine-Richland rushing attack and quarterback Nittoli also shines at outside linebacker.

"This is the first time in my 33 years of coaching that my quarterback also played defense,"Altemus said. "And he's one of our hardest hitters."

Pine-Richland has defeated West Allegheny, 41-7, Peters Township, 35-0, and Franklin Regional, 37-0, thus far. The Rams defeated Knoch, 35-0, last year.

• Last Year's Game: Mars 35, New Brighton 0• Current Record: New Brighton 1-2; Mars (3-0, 3-0)• Coaches: New Brighton: Mitch Carver, first season; Mars: Scott Heinauer, 16th season• Game Notes: The Planets are coming off a 55-20 win at Shenango, while New Brighton lost to Beaver last week, 20-13. ... Mars junior quarterback John Brake, in his first season as a starter, has completed 11-of-17 passes for 200 yards with one touchdown through three games. ... Heinauer currently has 98 career victories. ... Both teams run a Wing-T offense. ... New Brighton has two possible Division I recruits in senior tight end Nick Edwards (6-1, 215) and senior running back Eric Walker (5-10, 185), who rushed for at least 100 yards in the Lions' first two games against Beaver Falls and Ellwood City. ... First-year coach Mitch Carver spent the last five seasons as defensive coordinator at Monaca.

• Last Year's Game: Franklin 35, Slippery Rock 14• Current record: Slippery Rock (1-2, 0-0); Franklin (1-2, 0-2)• Coaches: Slippery Rock: Clyde Conti; Franklin: Dave Smith• Game Notes: Slippery Rock is coming off a tough 27-23 loss to Sto-Rox while Franklin lost its second-straight region game, falling to Meadville 32-13. ... Receiver Tyler Bittner caught 13 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown in that loss and leads all of District 10 with 22 receptions. ... Ryan Ferguson gained 162 yards on 28 carries and two scores for Slippery Rock in the loss to Sto-Rox. ... This is the second of three-straight road trips for Slippery Rock and its first region game of the season. ... Jonathan Powell threw for 189 yards and a score and receiver Zach Ejzak caught six passes for 150 yards last week. ... The Rockets are averaging 200 yards rushing per game this season; Franklin is averaging 142 yards on the ground. ... Brandon Perrine leads Franklin with 254 yards rushing.

• Last Year's Game: Grove City 33, Reynolds 0• Current Record: Grove City (2-1, 0-1), Reynolds (1-2, 1-0)• Coaches: Grove City: Jeff Bell; Reynolds: TimScarvell• Game Notes: Grove City is coming off a weather-shortened 37-0 blanking at the hands of Wilmington. ... Reynolds beat Northwestern 35-6. ... After advancing to the Western Final in 2005, the Raiders have won just two of their last 13 games. ... In his first year as the starting quarterback, Mike Burk is 21-of-33 passing for 330 yards and three touchdowns for the Eagles. He was 8-of-10 for 100 yards in the loss to Wilmington. ... The Eagles ground game has struggled, averaging just 4.3 yards per carry. ... Grove City may be without as many as five starters because of injury, including Dwayne Martin and Justin Spencer. ... Reynolds has a four-year starter at quarterback in BrandonWolfe.

• Last Year's Game: Freeport 7, Northgate 6• Current Record: Northgate (2-0, 2-0), Freeport (1-2, 1-2)• Coaches: Northgate: Mike Pipak, first season. Freeport: Bill Dillen, fourth season• Game Notes: The Flames are coming off a 38-35 thriller over Deer Lakes, a game that was knotted at 20 after three quarters. ... Pat Carr rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Bill Quinn completed 4-of-7 passes for 172 yards and three scores and rushed for another. Two of the scoring passes went to Michael Lee. ... Freeport lost another heartbreaker to Valley, this time a 28-24 score after taking a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter. ... Kirk Naedele rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Yellowjackets.

• Last Year's Game: Summit Academy 12, Mohawk 6• Current Record: Summit Academy (2-1, 2-0), Mohawk (3-0, 3-0)• Coaches: Summit Academy: Steve Sherer, seventh season; Mohawk: Jason Long, fifth season• Game Notes: The Knights were blanked 22-0 by Shady Side Academy on Saturday, mustering only 152 yards of total offense. They had averaged just over 330 yards in the first two games. ... Mohawk doubled up Neshannock 24-12. as Travis Schubert and D.J. Woleslagle each rushed for a touchdown with Woleslagle adding three conversion runs. The team's other score came on a Seth Powell pass to Chase Frederick.

• Last Year's Game: Moniteau 42, Union 3• Current Record:Union (0-3), Moniteau (2-1)• Coaches:Union:Tom Kidder, fourth season (2-29), Moniteau:Jeff Campbell, first year (2-1)• Game Notes:Union leads the overall series 30-16, but Moniteau has won the last six meetings. ... The Warriors have outscored the Golden Knights 196-10 in their past four meetings. ... Moniteau quarterbackTyler Armagost leads District 9 with nine touchdown passes and is second with 526 passing yards, trailing only Coudersport's Boomer Wetzel. ... Moniteau running back James Shope (248 yards) and Union RBZach Traister (166 yards) both average 8.3 yards per carry. ... Moniteau leads District 9 with an average of 406 yards of total offense per game.

• Last Year's Game: West Shamokin 46, A-C Valley 0• Current Record: West Shamokin 1-2; A-C Valley (0-3, 0-3)• Coaches: A-C Valley: Gary Pinkerton; West Shamokin: Shawn Liotta• Game Notes: The Falcons lost to Moniteau last week 48-0 while West Shamokin suffered a 34-0 setback to Burrell. ... Senior running back Mike Himes has proven to be the Falcons' lone weapon, rushing the ball 22 times for 72 yards and a touchdown and also catching 10 passes for 93 yards this season. ... West Shamokin junior quarterback Dylan Henderson has thrown for one score this season, rushed for a touchdown and also scored on a 90-yard kickoff return. ... The Wolves, who are members of the WPIAL's Class AA Allegheny Conference, were members of the KSAC through the 2003 season. ... Since making the move to the WPIAL, West Shamokin is 5-27, including this season's 1-2 start.