INDIANA — As a senior, John DeWalt's chances to contribute to the Knoch offense were slipping away.

Until Friday night.

With sophomore running back Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin missing his second consecutive game with an injury, DeWalt got the bulk of the workload against Indiana — and he delivered.

DeWalt rolled up 165 yards on 26 carries with three touchdowns, including two in the first quarter, in the Knights' 37-14 victory over the host Indians.

"John's been waiting in the wings for quite some time," said Knoch coach Mike King. "He wanted to be the starting running back, but that went to Andrew at the beginning of the year.

"But I told him in this conference, you need two running backs, and Johnny had one of those big games," King added.

Entering Friday night, DeWalt had 13 carries for 31 yards, including seven carries for 13 yards in last week's 10-7 victory over Hampton.

"Every game you think you can do that," said DeWalt. "You just want to do the best you can and in some games it happens.

"Indiana played with a lot of heart, but our offensive line was just plowing through. I owe it all to them," he added.

With the win, Knoch improved to 2-1 in the Allegheny Conference, 2-5 overall, and is tied with Mars, Franklin Regional and Hampton for first place.

Along with DeWalt's success came the failure of the Indians to hold onto the ball. Indiana had five turnovers in the first half, which allowed the Knights to open a 17-0 advantage.

Having recovered a fumble on the fourth play of the game, the Knights started at the Indiana 33. Six plays later, DeWalt scored from 13 yards out.

On the Indians' next possession, Adam Seger intercepted a Kyle Edgar pass and carried it 49 yards to the Indiana 10. Two plays later, DeWalt scored from a yard out for a 14-0 lead with 4:06 left in the first quarter.

Knoch came up empty on its next possession when Kevin Wood's 35-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Chad Corle.

But when the Indians' Kyle Decker fumbled the ball away on the ensuing possession, the Knights were back in business at the Indiana 27.

Knoch settled for a 24-yard field goal by Wood to take a 17-0 lead.

The Indians (1-6, 1-2) fumbled the kickoff to give Knoch the ball at the Indiana 19. But on the second play, Kenyon couldn't pull the ball in and the Indians recovered.

Indiana seized the momentum, moving 90 yards on four plays, highlighted by a 32-yard run by Kwaku Asamoah and a 50-yarder by Edgar on the first two plays.

Decker scored from a yard out with 7:22 left before halftime to make it 17-7.

The Indiana defense forced Knoch to punt after three plays, then needed just 1:29 to go 57 yards to score, the drive capped by a 25-yard catch by Kevin Stapleton with 4:17 left.

"Our tackling was not good on those drives," said King. "We had a letdown."

The Knights bounced back with a 71-yard drive, using 13 plays and converting a pair of third-and-2s along the way.

Kenyon scored from eight yards out with 18.4 seconds left to give Knoch a 24-14 halftime lead.

"I thought that touchdown was huge," said King. "We needed that quick comeback.

"I challenged our kids in the second half. I said, 'This is it. Play the defense you played in the first quarter,' and our offensive line delivered in the second half," he added.

When DeWalt scored on a 34-yard run with 5:00 left in the third quarter, the Knights had rebuilt their 17-point lead.

The Indians could get no closer than inside the Knoch 40 in the second half until the final two minutes of the game.

"We pitched a shutout in the second half and the kids did what they had to do," King said. "We put up 37 points, and for a young team, that's really good."

The win gives the Knights not just hope for a playoff spot, but a shot at the Allegheny Conference title, something that looked unthinkable two weeks ago.

"This allows us to head into the last two games with confidence," said King.

"This gives us a good mindset," said DeWalt.