INDIANA — Knoch had dug itself into a very big hole during Friday's Greater Allegheny Conference football matchup at Indiana.

An early 7-0 lead evaporated into a 24-7 deficit — three consecutive turnovers led to 17 of those points — with the Indians driving for more.

The Knights stuck to their guns — namely the running game — cranking out 442 yards on the ground and running away with an impressive 56-31 victory at Andy Kuzneski Field.

“The resolve of our kids,” said Knoch coach Mike King. “I'm so proud of the kids. These seniors, they don't get rattled. We got that surge in the second quarter and that set things in motion.”

“Hats off to (Knoch),” Indiana coach Mark Zilinskas. “They outplayed us at the end of the football game.”

Things had started off well for the Knights (6-0, 3-0), who forced an Indians' punt, then scored on a 42-yard slant pass to Mac Megahan from Ky Kenyon.

But a Kyle Decker 1-yard scoring run, followed by a 40-yard interception return by Tyrayl Veney gave the Indians (5-1, 3-1) a 14-7 lead.

When Casey Lauber intercepted another Kenyon pass, it helped set up another Decker scoring run, this time from 4 yards out for a two-touchdown lead with 1:14 left in the first quarter.

When the Indians squibbed the kickoff, it hit a Knoch player and the Indians recovered. When the drive stalled at the Knoch 10, Dane Mossgrove's 27-yard field goal put the Indians in control.

“The defense did what it had to do,” King said. “I'm not too worried. We put our defense in bad positions in the first half. We didn't back down.”

“We just killed ourselves,” said Knoch running back Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin. “We wanted to make sure we got back (the lead) and protect it. We made some great adjustments.”

On the ensuing drive, Megahan broke a 50-yarder on the first play and Rumburg-Goodlin, who ran for 239 yards, scored on a 4-yarder on the next play to slice the deficit to 10.

Indiana, however, embarked on a 15-play drive, but on a fourth-and-7 from the Knights 12, Sam Montgomery came around the side untouched and forced a fumble from Indians quarterback Logan Weaver and the Knights took over at their own 16 with 3:26 before halftime.

Rumburg-Goodlin ran for 15 and 20 yards on the first two plays to kickstart a drive that ended when he scored on a 1-yard run with 24 seconds left and gave the Knights a little momentum going into halftime down 24-21.

“I said we were going to run the ball until they stopped us,” said King. “That was the game plan.”

The Knights did it to near perfection, taking the opening kickoff and needing just two plays — runs of 42 and 14 by Rumburg-Goodlin — to take a 28-24 lead.

“High school football is all about momentum,” King said. “(Indiana) has good athletes and they're a very good football team.”

The Indians, to their credit, retook the lead when Weaver hooked up with Veney on a 57-yard scoring pass that he pulled in with two defenders making a play for the ball.

Mossgrove's extra point made it 31-28 with 11:03 left in the third quarter, but that was all the Indians would muster.

Knoch drove to the Indiana 17, but a fake field goal attempt turned the ball over to Indiana. However, Megahan made a shoestring interception and returned it 35 yards to the 9-yard line.

Three plays later, Alex Strezeski caught a 4-yard pass in front of the end zone to give the Knights the lead for good.

As it turned out, Knoch scored touchdowns on seven of its final eight possessions, not counting taking a knee in the final seconds.

Megahan added a 66-yard run on the final play of the third quarter to make it a 42-31 lead, then Kenyon added runs of 39 and 6 yards to close out the scoring.

“I can't take credit for this. It's (the kids). It's their heart. They should be proud. Their parents should be proud,” King added.

Notes: Megahan finished with 124 yards on four carries and Kenyon rushed for 69 yards and passed for 75 more. ... Weaver finished with 238 yards on 13-of-32 passing with Veney catching five passes for 140 yards. Weaver led the Indians with 93 yards rushing. ... Knoch entered the game having outscored its opponents 246-21; Indiana 189-66.