Knoch falls to Warriors
NEW CASTLE — Forget about the seeding.
Central Valley proved it means nothing Friday night, shutting out sixth-seeded Knoch, 16-0, in a WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinal football game Friday night at Taggart Stadium.
The Warriors (8-3) entered the game as the No. 14 seed. The Knights entered the game as the Triple-A field's most prolific scoring team.
“They can seed us 16th. It doesn't bother us,” Central Valley coach Mark Lyons said. “These guys enjoy being the underdog.
“There couldn't be a better story written for a first-year school than what's going on with this team right now. Hopefully, we have two more chapters to write,” he added.
The Knights (9-2) wrote a pretty good story themselves, averaging 37 points per game during the regular season.
On this night, however, they couldn't take advantage of three scoring opportunities.
“We were moving the ball well enough,” Knoch coach Mike King said. “You're only going to get so many chances and we missed ours.”
Central Valley took a 6-0 lead on its third snap from scrimmage when sophomore Robert Foster took a pitchout and scooted 61 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. The PAT kick sailed wide.
Knoch responded through the air, as quarterback Ky Kenyon completed passes of 9, 20 and 16 yards to Dakota Bruggeman on the Knights' next possession. The third completion would have taken the ball inside the CV 25, but a holding penalty moved the ball back.
The Knights eventually turned the ball over on downs at the 37.
“Penalties can be drive killers,” King said.
Central Valley marched 57 yards in 13 plays before settling for Dominic Nicastro's 24-yard field goal and a 9-0 lead with 8:59 left in the first half.
Knoch nearly forced a break for itself midway through the second quarter when Warriors quarterback Matt Bradford was hit from behind and lost the football. Knoch's Andy Tuzkow recovered near the CV 40, but the officials conferred and ruled the play an incomplete pass.
The Knights did force a mistake on the second-half kickoff, booting the ball short. Upback Austin Turkovich fielded the ball and fumbled it before the Knights recovered at the CV 36.
Consecutive 14-yard runs by Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin gave Knoch a first-and-goal at the 8. But the Warriors' defense stiffened and Kory Wood's 22-yard field goal attempt was wide left.“That had to take some steam out of them,” Lyons said. “In a physical game like this one, you want to take advantage of a turnover. It can be deflating when you don't.”“Kory has been Mr. Clutch for us all year. I can't fault him for that one,” King said. “I won't say that missed opportunity took any wind out of our sails, but a field goal or touchdown there would have put more wind in our sails.“If we kick off from that point, play defense, use our running game more, who knows? We were eventually forced into our two-minute package.”Still trailing 9-0, Knoch drove to the CV 30 line on passes of 15 yards to Alex Strezeski and 19 to Adam Seger with 6:05 left in the game. On fourth down from there, Kenyon was sacked to end the threat.“A 47-yard field goal from there would have been a lot to ask from Kory,” King said. “I'm sure he would have loved to try it, but I thought the percentages were to go for the first down.”Kenyon was sacked three times Friday, giving Central Valley 44 sacks on the season.“We're fast and athletic on defense. Our kids fly to the ball,” Lyons said. “Our key is winning first down, putting teams in uncomfortable situations.“We have different schemes we use to rush the quarterback. Our kids love trying to get there.”Lukas Turley broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown run to conclude the scoring with 2:03 left in the game. He had 18 carries for 139 yards and the Warriors had 274 yards rushing.Rumburg-Goodlin paced Knoch's attack with 57 yards on 12 carries.“Our defense played well enough to win this game tonight,” King said. “That was a great team we played and I knew this would be a tough one.“When I think of these seniors, I'll think back to when we were 0-5 last year. This was a resilient group. They'll be sorely missed next year.”
