ALIQUIPPA — Sometimes statistics lie.

This was not one of those times.

The numbers for the Knoch Highfootball team were ugly and so was the result in a 20-0 blanking at the hands of Hopewell at TonyDorsett Stadium Friday night.

"That can't happen to us," said Knoch coachMike King. "We can't get blanked."

But Knoch did and the stats told the whole story:

n Running back Tim McNerney was held to 32 yards on 15 carries. He got 26 of those yards on two carries. His other 13 attempts resulted in six yards.

n The Knights ran 10 offensive plays in the second half and had three first downs in the game.

n Knoch went three-and-out on five of its nine possessions.

n Quarterback Jake McTighe had more punts (seven) than passing yards (four).

"We're going to have to take a long look at things, from top to bottom," King said. "I don't think we're going to have to make wholesale changes, but something has to change."

Things started out slowly for both teams.

Knoch and Hopewell traded punts in the first quarter, alternating sputtering drives that resulted in five first-quarter punts and 30 combined total yards.

But Hopewell found an explosive weapon in freshman Russel Shell, who made the biggest — and only — big play of the game.

Shell took a handoff on an end around and ran up the right sideline 55 yards for a touchdown. He juked McNerney in the open field at the 5 to break into the end zone.

Shell then took advantage of a worn-out Knoch defense in the second half, scoring on runs of 8 and 16 yards to put the game well out of reach.

"He's a great kid and a great player," said Hopewell coach Dave Vestal. "Each of our running backs contributed and none could have done it without that offensive line."

Shell finished with 88 yards on six carries.

Hopewell was efficient on third down, particularly in the second half. Most of that was attributed to the Knights' winded defense.

King was not pleased with his team's conditioning.

"I told these guys, 'If you can't go both ways, you have to tell me as a coach and we'll go from there.'"

Things were not all bad for Knoch.

KevinBrodeur was all over the field on defense, making stop after stop. He also led the Knights in rushing with 36 yards on seven carries.

PrestonSaxton also played solid on defense.

"I thought we got outstanding linebacker play from Brodeur and Saxton," King said. "I thought our defense played well for a half. We weren't able to go the distance with these guys."