JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch vs. Franklin Regional. Talk about your similarities.

“It's going to be like we're playing ourselves,” Panthers coach Greg Botta said. “They are just like we are.”

The Knights take on the Panthers in a WPIAL Class AAA semifinal football game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Valley High School in New Kensington.

When considering how the teams match up, consider this:

• Both teams are 11-0.

• No. 2 seed Franklin Regional has outscored opponents by an average score of 45.4-6.4. No. 3 seed Knoch has done so by an average count of 41.1-8.2.

• Both teams have quarterbacks who can run and throw. The Panthers' Nico LoDovico has thrown for 973 yards and 10 touchdowns, rushed for 407 and five TDs. The Knights' Ky Kenyon has thrown for 1,016 yards and 20 TDs, rushed for 801 and eight TDs.

• Both have explosive running backs. Franklin Regional's Dane Brown has 1,900 yards and 33 TDs, Knoch's Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin 1,288 yards and 18 scores. Brown has rushed for a school-record 3,197 yards in his prep career.

• Neither team has a receiver with 20 catches. Both have a receiver averaging more than 20 yards per catch — Franklin Regional's Graham Schilling with 17 catches for 362 yards, Knoch's Mac Megahan with 13 catches for 366 yards.

The two programs even played in the same league for a while. The Panthers joined the Knights in the Greater Allegheny Conference from 2004 through 2009.

“Their quarterback doesn't make any bad reads and they know where they're going when they pass the football,” Knoch coach Mike King said. “They do it efficiently and extremely well.”

Franklin Regional had attempted only 95 passes all year and averages 292 yards per game on the ground.

LoDovico has been intercepted only three times this season and the Panthers have turned the ball over but eight times in 2011. They are plus-22 in turnover/takeaway margin.

“When you look at the box score of this game Friday, the team with the most turnovers and penalties is probably going to be the loser,” Botta said.

“It's not just the takeaways, though, it's what you do with them, because they are opportunities. Hopewell was driving for a potential winning score against us (last week) when they fumbled. We took the ball the other way and kicked a field goal to win in the final 2 minutes.”

Knoch's defense has pilfered 14 passes this season, the thefts spread out among nine players. Luke Kroneberg, Bill Gebhart, Dakota Bruggeman, Alex Strezeski and Megahan have two each.

“Our secondary has been outstanding all year,” King said. “I think they've set a school record for interceptions in a year.

“We have to take care of the football against this team,” added King. “We know them pretty well. They like to be disruptive on defense.”

The Panthers' most disruptive force is inside linebacker Carter Henderson. He has 91 tackles — 67 solo — and four quarterback sacks. Slater Simek has six interceptions and Corey Lauer five.

“He's just a man,” Botta said of Henderson. “He had nine solo tackles last week, 13 the week before and 13 the week before that.”

King sees the biggest matchup between the teams being along the line of scrimmage.

“They are much bigger than us, but we're pretty small up front,” King said. “We're out-sized most of the time, but use our quickness to our advantage.

“Still, we can't let them control the line on us.”

And that's precisely the goal of Franklin Regional.

“We believe in establishing the run and controlling the clock,” Botta said. “We want to limit Knoch's possessions if we can. Once they get the ball, they know what to do with it.”

The two teams scrimmaged each other during the preseason.

“We got a feel for their personnel back then,” King said.

“A lot has changed for both teams since that time,” Botta said. “When we prepare for a team, we look at its three most recent games.”

Knoch's last appearance in the WPIAL semifinals was 2007, a 32-6 loss to Montour. Franklin Regional dropped a 30-9 decision to Thomas Jefferson in the 2006 semifinals and won the WPIAL and state championship in 2005.