JEFFERSON TWP— New Castle has to hit the road Friday night for the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA football playoffs.

The Red Hurricanes aren't exactly broken up about traveling to Knoch for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Greater Allegheny Conference co-champion Knights.

In fact, they relish the idea.

"This is a relatively short trip for us,"New Castle coach Frank Bongivengo Jr. said. "We've had some far-off road games this year, Albert Gallatin, Belle Vernon. ... This will be a welcome change.

"Our kids feel comfortable playing on the road. They have confidence on the road."

They should. They haven't lost on the road.

New Castle (6-3) is 5-0 away from home, winning 34-7 at Albert Gallatin, 27-6 at Belle Vernon, 43-37 at Moon, 29-12 at Ambridge and 21-7 at Hopewell. The 'Canes were only 1-3 at home this year.

"Montour faked a punt late in the game to beat us at home and we fumbled on the 2-yard line in losing by a touchdown to Blackhawk,"Bongivengo said. "We haven't had much luck there."

Knoch reached the playoffs two years ago — dropping a 49-0 decision at Thomas Jefferson — when the Knights' current seniors were sophomores. New Castle hasn't been in postseason play since 2002.

Knoch played New Castle in WPIALcrossover games in 2000 and 2001. The teams have not met since.

"I don't anticipate our kids being nervous or playing tight at all,"Knoch coach Mike King said. "Our seniors know what it takes to get here and our (41-13) win over Highlands regained momemtum for us.

"Running the football is what New Castle does best. We have to find a way to stop it. Indiana ran well on us two weeks ago, so facing them is a bit of a concern."

Fullback Joe Perrotta leads the 'Canes with 154 carries for 816 yards and 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Michael Bongivengo, the coach's son, has 92 carries for 525 yards.

Maris Chandler has contributed 280 yards and six TDs on 33 carries. Wide receivers Tashan Jones and Nick Colella have caught nine passes each for 179 and 143 yards, respectively.

"They run a lot of the same sets as Indiana, but not the same plays,"King said.

New Castle hasn't thrown the ball much, as Bongivengo has completed 39 of 74 passes for 512 yards, five TDs and six interceptions.

Colella doubles as the team's placekicker and has booted 26 PATs and one field goal.

The way Knoch runs the football, this could be a quick game. Tim McNerney has 209 carries for 1,431 yards — 7.5 yards per carry — and 19 touchdowns. Fullbacks David Govan and Kevin Brodeur have combined for 67 carries, 426 yards and seven scores.

"That running back is tremendous and their quarterback throws very well,"coach Bongivengo said. "They're seeded No. 3 in Triple-A and we're No. 14. That tells me we're in for a challenge."

Knoch has a veteran offensive line featuring seniors Tyler Krahe at center, Brian Brodeur and Kurtis Schachner at guard, and Rob Briggs at tright end. Juniors Henry Cypher and Tim McCorkle are the tackles.

Zach Gross has thrown for 815 yards, 10 touchdowns and only one interception. Kyle Reiser has 20 catches for 380 yards and five TDs, Briggs 14 catches for 171 yards and two TDs.

"What's great about this team is how unselfish the kids are and how supportive the parents have been,"King said. "The community has rallied around this team in a big way."

Defensively, New Castle is led by senior 250-pound tackle Anthony D'Ambrosia, who leads the team with more than 70 tackles.

"We use multiple fronts defensively and our kids are very active,"Bongivengo said. "We graduated a lot of skilled kids from last year, but we've put together a team that plays pretty solid football."

They're facing a team that's been doing the same thing — and one that has grown accustomed to facing stellar running attacks.

"In our conference, we've seen very few teams that come out and throw the ball half the time,"King said. "We want to run the ball and so do they. We'll see what happens."