JEFFERSON TWP — Ben Tackett's statistics weren't particularly eye-catching, but style points don't win high school football games.

Touchdowns do — and Tackett certainly collected more than his fair share.

Tackett scored touchdowns in three different ways and four total as Knoch won a sloppy Greater Allegheny affair, 28-14 over Greensburg Salem on a sultry Friday night.

Tackett scored on a pair of touchdown runs, a kickoff return and a pass reception.

“Wow,” said Knoch coach Mike King when told Tackett found the end zone four times. “I didn't even realize it.

“The competitive spirit in him abounds,” King added. “It flows out his ears. He was cramping up there, but he just won't be denied. We needed veteran players to do things like that tonight. When it's hot and humid like this and you have other guys who are not sure they can take it for four quarters, it's good to have guys like that who say, 'Yes I can.'”

Cramps were plentiful on a hot, humid night. So were mistakes by both teams.

Knoch and Greensburg Salem combined for more than a dozen botched snaps. Both teams use a shotgun, spread offense almost exclusively.

The teams also combined for 14 punts and seven turnovers.

The Golden Lions had four turnovers in the first half that led to 14 points for the Knights.

“Turnovers killed us,” said Greensburg Salem coach Casey Cavanaugh. “We did some good things defensively, but you can't turn it over. You can't give a good team a short field.”

Greensburg Salem lost a fumble on its second play from scrimmage on a botched snap and Knoch quickly turned it into a touchdown on 9-yard run by Tackett to give the Knights a 6-0 lead.

The Golden Lions, though, responded with a long scoring drive, capped by a 24-yard pass from quarterback Nathaniel Sweeney to Tyler Shook for a 7-6 lead.

Tackett, though, took the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a score.

Shook gave Greensburg Salem a 14-13 lad early in the second quarter on a 78-yard run, but another Greensburg Salem fumble on a mishandled snap set Knoch up at the Golden Lions' 10. On a fourth-and-goal at the 18, Knights' quarterback Dakota Bruggeman found Tackett in the corner of the end zone for a TD and a 21-14 halftime lead.

Knoch had just 66 yards of offense in the first half to 250 for Greensburg Salem, but still led.

“I thought on a night like this it was going to be a battle of attrition,” King said. “Who could hang in there the longest, who could focus the longest, who could can have young players step up. This was brutal tonight.”

The Knoch defense was brutal in the second half.

The Knights sacked Sweeney eight times, three each from Luke Kroneberg and Nathan Anuskiewicz. The Golden Lions had a mere nine yards of offense after halftime.

“Kroneberg — again, you want to talk about an iron man,” King said. “If I had to say what two guys down the stretch are going to step up, I wouldn't be surprised if someone showed be a crystal ball it would be Luke Kroneberg and Ben Tackett.”

Tackett's final touchdown on the night came on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. The teams spent the rest of the game exchanging fizzling drives and punts.

Tackett finished with 48 yards rushing on 16 carries. Knoch had just 115 total yards in the game.

Shook had rushed for 149 yards on 13 carries, but had 128 yards in the first half.

Greensburg Salem was playing with an inexperienced center after Donald Chedrick went down in practice Tuesday with a serious knee injury. Eric Ahrens, a senior who had never played a down at center, moved into the role and struggled at times.

“Walking right into a conference game, there's no room for error and we made too many errors,” Cavanaugh said.

Knoch also struggled with the snap, but King said that area will improve.

“It better, because we aren't changing our offense,” King said. “We have two choices: get better or get better.”