JEFFERSONTWP — "God bless every one of you," Knoch football coach Mike King told his team.

Defensive tackle Henry Cypher hugged teammates and wiped tears from his grimy and sweaty cheeks.

Tight end RobBriggs sprinted down the field, one hand holding his helmet at his side, the other hand raised skyward, and screamed, "We did it, baby. We shocked the world."

Well, maybe not the world, but perhaps the WPIAL — and certainly Pine-Richland.

Knoch converted a huge fourth-and-10 play on the way to the decisive touchdown and then held off a furious final drive by Pine-Richland for a dramatic 25-20 homecoming winFriday night.

"I've had two brothers come through this school without beating Pine-Richland," Briggs said. "Now I have something that I can say I did that they didn't."

It's been a while since Knoch (3-1, 2-0) has been atop its section. It's been just as long since the Knights have knocked off their rival.

Briggs was a big part of it. The senior, who is also a standout basketball player at the school, basically dunked the football over the goal line on a 14-yard touchdown reception fromZach Gross with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Briggs caught the ball at the 4, dragged a Rams defender to the 1, then reached his long arm out and slammed the football down on the goal line.

"I'm just glad I have these long arms," Briggs said, laughing.

So is King, who might have notched his biggest win in nine seasons as Knoch's football coach.

The touchdown catch was made possible by a friendly bounce.

Knoch's Mike Gallagher caught a deflected pass fromGross for an 11-yard gain on fourth-and-10 to keep the drive — and the game — alive for the Knights.

"You know what? That fourth-and-10, I was coming up empty," King said. "Our receivers called that play. They came up with that fourth-and-10 and that was huge. Huge."

King eschewed a punt even though there was still 4:30 remaining in the game and his team trailed by just a point.

That's because the Pine-Richland offense was finding its groove after spending much of the first half stuck on the bench.

Knoch ran 35 plays to Pine-Richland's 16 in the first two quarters. Knoch running back Tim McNerney had 17 carries in the first half.

"You can't win ballgames unless you have the ball," said Pine-Richland coach Clair Altemus. "We have an explosive offense, but that doesn't matter unless they are on the field."

When the Rams did have the ball, they showed off that explosiveness, rolling up 426 yards on just 48 offensive plays.

Pine-Richland (3-1, 1-1) was without leading rusher Ian Hennessey for much of the game because of a nagging upper leg injury. But Altemus put him in the game late and got an immediate spark.

Hennessy took his third carry 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 20-19 lead.

"The kid is such a competitor," Altemus said. "He's just so hungry to play. You know what? He wanted the pill, so you give it to him. I hope and pray I did not do something permanent to that kid."

McNerney was spectacular again for Knoch.

Coming off back-to-back 230-plus rushing games, McNerney gained 190 yards on 30 carries and scored twice. His 68-yard score gave Knoch a 19-13 lead early in the third quarter.

"McNerney is for real," Altemus said. "I'm just glad we held him under 200 yards."

Pine-Richland made things interesting after Briggs' score.

The Rams drove to Knoch's 9 with 31 seconds remaining in the game when quarterback Vinny Nittoli rolled to his right and hit Trey Dillen for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding penalty.

On the next play, Gallagher made a diving interception at the 3 to end the threat and to give the Knights one of the biggest wins in school history.

"It was a team win," King said. "There's a lot of football left, but these things just don't happen. There was a lot of hard work put in. Everything we ask them to do, they give us. I'm so proud of their work ethic. They deserve this. This is their night."