JEFFERSON TWP — Playoffs?

Despite being winless through six games this season, Knoch hasn’t given up on the idea.

“It sounds crazy, but if we win the right two games, it can still happen for these kids,” first-year Knights coach Tim Burchett said. “And why not? We’ve been getting the progress we want, we just haven’t been getting the results we want.”

One of those “right two games” is Friday night, when the Knights (0-1, 0-6) take on Shady Side Academy (0-1, 1-4) at 7 p.m. at Deer Lakes. The game is Knoch’s homecoming.

Shady Side Academy, Valley and Knoch are all 0-1 in Class 3A Allegheny 6 Conference play. All three are knotted for fourth place in the league and the top four teams qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

“A lot can still happen,” Burchett said. “Offensively, we’ve come a long way. Codi Mullen is still among the top 10 in the WPIAL in passing. Our offense still ranks among the top 25 in all of the WPIAL. Knoch threw 41 passes all of last year. We threw 40 last week against Deer Lakes.

“We like where our future is. In the present, we have to finish games.”

Mullen was poked in the eye in the first quarter of last week’s 37-36 loss to Deer Lakes. He was replaced by Aidan Jones, who wound up throwing for 265 yards. Mullen will be a game-time decision Friday.

Jake Murphy, Exzavier Johnson and Jackson Bauman all have more than 10 receptions for the Knights this season. Sam Skurka is the team’s leading rusher and has scored three touchdowns.

Defensively, the Knights are allowing 39 points per game. Knoch has struggled in the kicking game as well.

“We have a soccer player doing our kicking and he can hit from 50 yards in practice,” Burchett said. “It’s just a Friday night thing, a lot pf people watching ... It’s been our season in a nutshell. We’ll take a few steps forward, a couple of steps back.

“Defensively, we’ve had some injuries and have had to move some people around.”

Shady Side Academy is averaging 20 points per game. The Bulldogs defeated South Allegheny, 41-0, and averaged 15 points against their other four opponents.

Wide receiver Joey Bellinotti leads the team with four touchdowns. Running back Darren Haynes and quarterback Max Wickland have scored two each.

“They run a spread like we do, a lot of empty sets,” Burchett said. “They played a solid game against Freeport last week. We’re hoping this is a good match-up for us.”

Knoch and Shady Side Academy will be meeting in football for the first time.

Kiski Area (0-6, 0-3)

at Mars (4-2, 1-1)

7 p.m., Friday

Kiski Area dropped a 47-28 decision against Indiana last week. Mars lost at Highlands, 54-22.

Kiski went 6-4 last year, but missed the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs before dropping to 4A this year. The Cavaliers have lost each game this season by double-digit points, including getting shut out by Pine-Richland (33-0) and Hampton (38-0). Of Kiski's top 9 tacklers from last year's team, 8 were lost to graduation.

Planets' RB Evan Wright and K/P/S Mason Childress both left last week's game with injury. Their status against Kiski is unknown. Wright leads Butler County with 776 rushing yards and 11 TDs. Childress has 47 tackles and a team-leading 3 INTs.

Hampton (3-3, 1-1) at

North Catholic (3-3, 1-2)

J.C. Stone Field

7 p.m., Friday

Hampton won a non-conference game against Connellsville last week, 55-19. North Catholic fell, 35-19, in Greater Allegheny Conference play at Armstrong.

The Talbots featured a pair of 100-yard rushers last week while gaining 432 yards on the ground as a team — Eric Weeks had 131 yards on 10 carries and Michael Morgano tallied 123 yards on 12 attempts. Hampton's lone loss in an 11-1 campaign in 2021 was a district quarterfinal defeat to Thomas Jefferson.

North QB Jason Siket has completed 42 of 91 passes for 613 yards, 5 TDs and 4 INTs. The Trojans have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for 10 straight seasons.

Punxsutawney (3-3, 2-2)

at Karns City (3-3, 2-2)

7 p.m., Friday

The Chucks are coming off a 23-0 shutout of DuBois Area. KC lost, 26-20, in overtime at Central Clarion.

Punxsutawney is in search of its first winning season since going 6-5 in 2014. The Chucks are fueled by a powerful ground game, paced by senior Zeke Bennett (840 yards, 10 TDs). In last week's win, senior QB Seth Moore completed 9 of 12 passes for 109 yards and a TD.

KC’s Zach Kelly returned the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a TD last week. The Gremlins will look to get their ground game back on track after being held to just 91 yards on 28 carries by Central Clarion. KC is averaging 215 yards rushing per game.

The Gremlins defeated the Chucks last year, 42-8.

Port Allegany (5-1, 4-0) at

Union/A-C Valley (3-3, 2-2)

Rimersburg

7 p.m., Friday

The Gators won their fourth straight game last week, 26-6 over Kane. The Falcon Knights became unbeaten Redbank Valley's latest victim, falling 38-8 to the Bulldogs.

Port Allegany relies heavily on its rushing attack, with Blaine Moses (594 yards, 11 TDs), Noah Archer (364-3) and QB Drew Evens (263-3) combining for 1,221 yards and 17 TDs. Moses also leads the team with 55 tackles. The Gators’ only loss this season was a 29-24 setback to Class 2A power Central Clarion. In its 5 other games, Port has allowed a total of 19 points.

Union/A-C Valley intercepted 23 passes last year, but has just 3 picks through 6 games. Junior QB Brody Dittman has passed for 442 yards, 3 TDs and 6 INTs.

The Falcon Knights defeated the Gators, 41-8, last season.

Moniteau (2-4, 1-3) at

Central Clarion (6-0, 4-0)

7 p.m., Friday

The Warriors handed Bradford its 24th straight loss with a 29-19 home victory last Friday. Central Clarion downed Karns City, 26-20, in overtime to stay undefeated.

Senior tailback Hunter Stalker came up big for the Warriors, going for 160 yards on the ground last week against the Owls. At the moment, he’s the Butler County area’s second-leading rusher. Kole Scott, Mathew Baptiste, and Logan Campbell also scored in the clash.

Sophomore quarterback Jase Ferguson has slung the football for 1,379 yards and 17 TDs for the Wildcats this season. Senior Ashton Rex has been his favorite target, piling up 31 catches for 793 yards and 7 TDs. His average reception goes for a whopping 25.6 yards.

On defense, Central Clarion has held four teams to seven points or less this year.

Sharon (3-3, 1-1) at

Slippery Rock (4-2, 2-2)

7 p.m., Friday

The Rockets took home a 23-20 against Hickory last week. Sharon was outclassed by Sharpsville, 49-27.

Senior triggerman William Mokel leads Slippery Rock’s aerial assault with 1,248 yards and 11 TDs thus far. Maddox Allen has been a key piece in the effort, as well, having run for 445 yards and received another 230. The Rockets are 3-1 at home to this point in the year.

The Tigers rely on running back Jayveerh White, who’s gone for 114.2 yards per game on the ground. Mikey Rodriquez has added 336 yards rushing and 8 TDs.

Slippery Rock won last year’s matchup, 35-33.

Summit Academy (1-5) at

Riverview (2-4)

7 p.m., Friday

Summit Academy was beaten by South Side, 49-0, on Saturday. The Raiders lost their fourth home game in a row, a 38-6 decision against Jeannette, the night before.

The Knights have suffered five losses this season, by a combined 258-20 score. They’ve been shut out four times, including each of the past two weeks. Their 45.2 points allowed per game are the third most in Class 1A, behind only Springdale and Frazier.

Riverview has a trio of rushers who have gone for at least 316 yards — juniors Carlo Buzzatto and Landon Johnson and freshman Rio Stotts.