JEFFERSON TWP — Following a successful debut last week, the Knoch football team staggered.

Parrish Parker scored a touchdown with 1:25 remaining in the game to seal the win for visiting WestMifflin, 35-22 over the Knights Friday night.

Knoch coach Frank Whalen said his defense should have prevented that final touchdown.

“Our tackling was terrible,” he said. “That last tackle was sinful, the amount of tackles that broke there.”

Parker finished with 190 rushing yards, taking the majority of West Mifflin's workload, especially after an apparent injury limited the touches of another Titans' running back, Howie Reid, who claimed two rushed for two touchdowns in the first half.

“(Parker) is a phenomenal talent,” Whalen said. “He's probably one of the best tailbacks in the WPIAL.”

Whalen said West Mifflin's counter scheme allowed them to run the ball inside, but its backs were also able to bounce to the outside, where Parker found space to make plays. He said the poor tackling was a common refrain throughout the game and allowed the Titans to move the ball efficiently on the ground.

“We probably had 100 missed tackles tonight,” he said. “Still, we had opportunities to win the football game.”

Whalen said his defense did a good job at coming up with a few turnovers and a safety off two badly snapped punts and four fumbles.

It might have made a difference in the final score, if not for the Knights' own issues with holding onto the football.

They fumbled five times and threw one interception.

There were also plays where quarterback Jake Herrit went to hand the ball off and saw thin air, showing some errors with running their triple option scheme.

“There was definitely some miscues there, and we'll have to get that rectified,” Whalen said.

He said it was not a particular player, but a group effort in turning the ball over.

“Each situation had its own unique circumstances,” he said. “Everybody took turns to screw up.”

Whalen said he feels this loss was part of growing into a new system.

“It's a process, and we'll be ready to go next week,” he said.

“Last year, we played this team, and we were mercy-ruled in the first half, and this year it went down to the wire,” he added. “If they don't score that last touchdown, it's a six-point ball game.”

He said he will try to keep the team moving in a positive direction through positive thought.

“For me and this team, it's gonna be all positive,” Whalen said. “We played a perennial powerhouse, and we took it to the very end, where that game could have gone either way.”

“That is a far cry from where we were a year ago,” he said.

[naviga:h3]West Mifflin 7 14 0 14 — 35

Knoch 8 7 0 7 — 22[/naviga:h3]

First Quarter

K — Scott Fraser

K — Jake Herrit 6 run (kick failed), 7:01

W — Jaimere Lofton 26 pass from Matthew Schuster (Dillon Weaver kick), 1:33

Second Quarter

W — Howie Reid 7 run (Weaver kick), 6:44

W — Reid run (Weaver kick), 5:45

K — AJ Karenbauer 4 pass from Herrit (Matt Gore kick), 0:00

Fourth Quarter

W — Bryant Johnson 46 run (Weaver kick), 11:09

K — Herrit 1 run (Gore kick), 4:36

W — Parrish Parker 67 run (Weaver kick), 1:25

Individual Statistics

Rushing: West Mifflin, Parker 18-190, Reid 14-96, Bryant Johnson 1-46, Matthew Schuster 1-(-8). Knoch, Ivan Stapchuck 16-68, Herrit 11-26, Noah Cetnar 5-(-15).

Passing: West Mifflin, Schuster 2-4-57-0. Knoch, Herrit, 4-9-51-1.

Receiving: West Mifflin, Zkkrah Patterson 1-31, Loften 1-26. Knoch, AJ Karenbauer 4-51.