Knights keep rolling
JEFFERSON TWP — The Knoch football team has been playing with a lot of confidence — albeit a quiet confidence.
The Knights bulled past their third straight opponent Friday night, rolling up 448 rushing yards in blanking Valley 62-0 in the Allegheny Conference opener.
In the first three games of the 2010 season, Knoch outscored Schenley, Albert Gallatin and Valley by a combined 170-7, including consecutive shutouts.
The Knights' offense has totaled 1,292 yards, including 1,159 rushing yards. The Knoch defense has surrendered only 331 total yards.
Granted, those opponents have yet to win a game, but the Knights still have been executing in all phases of their game.
"When the game starts, (the Knights are) ready to go," said Knoch coach Mike King. "We got a lot of kids and their motors run. They're ready from the opening snap and they deliver."
The Knights raced out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, which saw Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin rush for 118 yards on four carries.
The Knights, however, recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff, and on the ensuing play, quarterback Kyler Kenyon connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dakota Bruggeman.
After a three-and-out series for Valley, Rumburg-Goodlin scored on a 35-yard gallop to give the Knights a 14-0 lead 2:06 into the game.
Kenyon added a 19-yard scoring run and caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bruggeman to open the four-score advantage.
Valley, which has had to overcome academic eligibility issues as well as a bump up to Class AAA, crossed into Knoch territory on two possessions, the deepest at the Knoch 41 on the final drive of the game.
"We had kids going both ways and on special teams. They didn't get a break," said Valley coach Troy Hill. "Coach King is a class act and he understands what we're dealing with. All coaches go through it."
Rumburg-Goodlin added another score with 9:45 left in the second quarter on a 1-yard run, then Jonathan Campbell scored on a 2-yard run with 39 seconds left in the half to give the Knights a 41-0 lead.
Rumburg-Goodlin, who rushed for 166 yards on eight carries, has 434 yards on 24 carries and 10 touchdowns in 2010.
The Knights had 309 rushing yards in the first two quarters and continued churning out yards in the second half.
Campbell took the first snap in the third quarter and went 61 yards untouched for another score.
Anthony Williams hit paydirt twice in the fourth quarter — on 22- and 5-yard runs — on his only carries of the game.
"We had our second line in in the second half and I thought they did well," said King. "Defensively, we were down a couple of starters and had a couple of guys step in. They worked hard in camp and got an opportunity."
Knoch limited the Vikings to 93 total yards, with 60 coming on the ground on 37 carries.
"I definitely like how we've been flying around the football," said King. "There are a lot of quality teams in our conference and we have to be ready for that."
Notes: Knoch will play at Fox Chapel next Friday before returning to conference action. ... Knoch's Dan McCormick intercepted a Chaz Cheatham pass early in the third quarter.
