JEFFERSON TWP On paper, it was an upset.

In reality, it was no surprise at least not to Knoch football coach Mike King.

The Knights (9-1) will face 14th-seeded Central Valley (7-3) in a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at New Castle.

The Warriors are there by virtue of their 21-13 first-round win at No. 3 seed and previously unbeaten Ringgold last Friday.

“I can't say I was surprised by that,” King said. “You look at how close Central Valley's losses were and to who they were against. ... That's a very good football team.

“They've got 30 seniors on their roster and plenty of playing experience from two programs that had plenty of playoff history in their own right,” he added.

Central Valley is a first-year consolidation of former Class A Monaca and Class AA Center. Its regular-season losses were 30-27 to West Allegheny, 12-7 to Montour and 26-22 to Hopewell. All three remain alive in the Class AAA playoffs.

“We had to get the kids to buy into what we were doing and how we wanted to build the program,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said. “Winning some games early really helped in that regard.”

The Warriors won four of their first five games this season and run an effective ball-control offense.

“We beat Ringgold by possessing the football twice as long as they did,” Lyons said.

The school consolidation paid off for Central Valley when starting quarterback Curtis Lewis Center's starter last season was lost for the season to a broken collarbone in Week 7.

Stepping into the breach was junior Matt Bradford Monaca's starter last season who has yet to lose a game in 2010. Bradford has completed 19-of-44 passes for 337 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Warriors' running backs and receivers have split time by committee. Lukas Turley rushed for 123 yards against Ringgold and leads the team with 299 yards. Aaron Law has 191 yards on 50 carries.

Robert Foster leads the receiving corps with 13 catches for 255 yards while Dominic Belcastro has 12 catches for 200 yards.

“We have to play smart football,” King said. “(The Knights) like to run the football and so do we. It may be a test of will. This is a battle to extend your playoff life. It may come down to which team wants it more.”

Knoch will be without offensive tackle-defensive end James Zellhart, who is lost for the remainder of the playoffs after sustaining a concussion last week.

Defensive end Bob Winters will slide over to replace Zellhart on offense. Jason Abel and Kevin Lesniak will replace him on defense.

“You tell kids all the time, keep on working and your time will come,” King said. “Their time has come now and we're counting on our depth to perform for us.”

Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin leads the Knoch attack with 1,040 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Ky Kenyon has 829 yards and 13 TDs passing, and 531 yards and five TDs rushing.

Fullback Adam Tuzikow, who returned to action in the second half of the Knights' 28-21 win over Greensburg Salem, has run for 669 yards and six TDs.

Central Valley has sacked the quarterback 41 times. Safety Michael Kupper leads the team with 90 tackles and outside linebacker Turley has eight sacks.

“We've set ourselves up for opportunities to go after the quarterback and have had success there,” Lyons said. “But Knoch's quarterback can hurt you in a lot of ways.

“Knoch is fundamentally sound. They're not real flashy, they just come right at you. We have to be ready to answer that physically.”