JEFFERSON TWP — Good news for the Knoch football team: It held Hampton senior and Notre Dame-bound running backSteve Paskorz to a mere 34 yards on 20 carries.

Bad news for Knoch: Its leading rushers, JustinMcGowan and Tim McNerney had four yards.

Good news for Knoch: It held Hampton to six first downs and 14 yards rushing.

Bad news for Knoch: It had five first downs and minus-7 yards rushing.

Good news for Knoch: Hampton scored only seven points.

Bad news for Knoch: It didn't score any in a 7-0 home loss to the Talbots.

"There's going to be some soul searching from players and coaches this week," said Knoch coach Mike King.

Maybe while looking for souls, the Knights (2-3, 1-2) will stumble across the offense it showed earlier in the season.

They didn't find it against Hampton.

Knoch's longest drive of the game traveled 20 yards. It punted six times and lost three fumbles in a five-play span late in the first half.

The last fumble led to the lone score of the game: a 25-yard pass play from sophomore quarterback Jeff Cully to Joe Cangilla.

That score capped a three-play, 19-yard drive.

"You're not gonna win any football games that way," King said. "It was just a tough night. Hey, you gotta take your lumps and learn from it."

Hampton (2-3, 1-1) was playing without senior starting quarterback Bob Bartley, who was hurt early last week against Franklin Regional.

Cully filled in the rest of that game, but had a full week to prepare to be the starter for Knoch.

It showed.

Cully was crisp and accurate with his passes, completing 10 of 17 for 143 yards and the lone touchdown.

Cangilla certainly helped his young QB, hauling in seven of those passes for 126 yards. In many respects, he was the Talbots' offense Friday.

"(Cully) was thrown into the fire last week," said Hampton coachGreg Mihalik. "He was a little more relaxed with a full week of practice."

Bartley dressed, but wasn't needed.

Knoch's injured star, Alex Whisler, was needed, however.

Whisler, who is nursing a hamstring injury, also dressed, but he didn't play for the first two-plus quarters. King said he didn't want to play him, but with the offense sputtering, inserted him into the contest late in the third period.

Whisler caught two passes for 19 yards and carried the ball twice more for only three yards.

"He didn't practice much all week," King said. "He came up to me in school today and said, 'Coach, I'm ready to go.' He gave us a little bit of spark, but we couldn't capitalize on anything.

"We need to go back to square one."

It won't get any easier for Knoch next week against FranklinRegional in what is turning into a must-win for the Knights.

"We didn't block anybody (Friday)," King said. "We couldn't block anybody.

"We have to find a way to get our offensive line in some condition to play that game."