JEFFERSON TWP — Friday night's Greater Allegheny Conference matchup between Knoch and Indiana was all about old-fashioned, hard-hitting football.

Both teams were fighting for a playoff spot and both relied on a strong running game and tough defense to keep the postseason chase alive.

In the end, the Indians outlasted the Knights, 34-20.

Knoch jumped out to an early lead on a nine-play, 63-yard drive that was capped by senior running back Tim McNerney's 7-yard run. Knoch kept it on the ground eight out of nine plays in the drive.

The touchdown was McNerney's first of three on the night. He also rushed for 198 yards, with 160 yards coming in the first half.

Knoch coach Mike King was pleased with McNerney's performance and the job that the offensive line did in opening holes for McNerney.

"I thought they did a great job and it reminds me of what we're capable of doing on offense," said King.

The Knights defense, led by senior linebacker Kevin Brodeur, kept Indiana out of the end zone in the first quarter. Brodeur was all over the field, tallying 16 tackles in the game.

To begin the second quarter, Indiana put together a 12-play, 80-yard drive. The drive was highlighted with running plays by senior running back Jay Pettina and senior quarterback Ben Fiscus.

On first-and-goal from the 5- yard line, Fiscus threw a high pass toward the back corner of the end zone. Junior wide receiver Kevin Stapleton jumped and brought the ball down, just over the fingertips of a Knoch defender, tying the game at 6 with 11:36 to play in the half.

After forcing a Knoch punt, Indiana wasted little time getting back to the end zone. On the seventh play of their next drive, Fiscus handed off to senior running back Ian Jones on a counter play beforeJones raced around the right end for a 15-yard score.

Knoch's next possession started on its 35-yard line. A false start penalty then pushed the Knights back to their own 30. From there, they put the ball in McNerney's hands. The Knights ran on all 10 plays, seven of which went to McNerney, including the 4-yard touchdown that tied the game at 13.

Indiana's next possession resulted in a costly turnover when Pettina fumbled and the Knights recovered the ball on the Indians 19-yard line. Seconds later, McNerney scored his third touchdown on a 1-yard run, giving Knoch the a 20-13 lead going into halftime.

In the second half the running game slowed down — at least for Knoch. Indiana's defense held McNerney to 38 yards in the second half.

However, Indiana's running game picked up where it left off in the first half. Runs by Fiscus and junior Vinnie Gatti set up a second-and-7 from the Knoch 10. Fiscus was able to scramble around the left side for a touchdown, tying the game at 20-20.

Knoch responded by trying to get the running game going again. The Knights put together a seven-minute, 14-play drive of their own.

After converting on two third downs and getting help from a pass interference call, Knoch had a first down on the Indiana 8-yard line.

A run up the middle was stopped and junior quarterback Jake McTighe was sacked twice, so the Knights were forced to attempt a 29-yard field goal. However, the attempt by junior Kevin Wood was blocked, and Indiana took over on its own 12-yard line.

As it had all night, Indiana mixed short running plays up the middle with Pettina and quarterback keepers around the ends with Fiscus on its next drive.

And, as they also had done earlier, the Indians capped the drive with a high pass to Stapleton in the back corner of the end zone. That score gave Indiana the lead for good with 10:01 to go in the game.

"It was just a couple big plays we needed to get some momentum going," said Indiana coach Mark Zilinkas.

Knoch faces conference leader Highlands next week.

"We're just gonna have to pick up the pieces and come back to work on Monday like all good teams do," said King, "Our team has a lot of character."