ADAMS TWP — Knoch keeper Andy Pipes sprawled out and got his glove on a crisp shot by Montour, but the ball trickled away in front of the goal. Another shot was turned away by Knoch defenders, but a whistle stopped play.

Handball.

Montour's Nolan Hutter then buried the penalty kick in the 35th minute and that was all the Spartans needed in a 1-0 win over Knoch in the WPIAL 3A quarterfinals Wednesday at the Mars Athletic Complex.

“I think it hit his knee first and went up and hit his hand,” said Knoch coach Malcolm Cook of the handball. “That's not intentional. But if he's not there and that doesn't happen, maybe the ball goes in. If it wasn't blown, (Montour coach Alex Hobbs) would have gone crazy.”

Instead, the Spartans were able to hold off a few more Knoch chances on a night where the opportunities were few and far between for the Knights.

Knoch has just two shots on goal in the match.

The second, in the 76th minute off the foot of Josh Goldscheitter, hit the top of the crossbar and bounded harmlessly out of play.

“They were the better side,” Cook said. “They deserved it tonight. We hit them on the break a few times. We just weren't able to take advantage of it.”

Montour (14-3-1) had the best of play throughout against sluggish Knoch (13-5-2).

“In the first 15, 20 minutes, it was pretty even,” Cook said. “Then they took over for awhile. Then they got the goal.”

The Spartans had several good chances in the first half, the best when Mario Ulizzi struck a shot that Pipes stopped in the 14th minute. Pipes had six saves.

“He has a brilliant save in the first half, bottom-left corner,” Cook said. “He's only been playing with the high school team for two years. He's a baseball player, so that's pretty good. Good kid.”

Knoch was also playing with a few banged-up players, including senior forward Caleb Robb, battling a painful ankle injury.

“Kids have done a really good job,” Cook said. “We had some injuries, too. At least three of the guys playing tonight weren't 100 percent.”

Despite the loss, Knoch enjoyed a resurgent season, winning the section title and winning a playoff game.

“We're losing (eight) seniors, so that doesn't help,” Cook said.