INDIANA, Pa. - A strong defense and a stronger dose of Jordan Shoop were just what the Knoch football team needed against Indiana Friday to keep its playoff hopes alive.

The Knights quarterback rushed for 127 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns while the defense limited the Indians to 67 yards and five first downs over the final 35 minutes in a 27-7 Allegheny Conference victory.

With the win, Knoch (3-5, 2-3) is tied with Indiana for the fourth and final playoff berth in the conference, ahead of Keystone Oaks (3-5, 2-4).

"(Indiana) has a pretty explosive offense. We got them down and took them out of their rhythm," said Knoch coach Mike King.

"We had them in third-and-long situations, and late in the game, they're not a passing team."

Knoch scored 27 unanswered points after the Indians' David Watters opened the scoring on a 12-yard run just 40 seconds into the second quarter.

Quarterback Adam Chakot had a key 32-yard run on the drive and gave the Indians 105 yards combined on their first two drives.

The Knights defense started to come to life when, on the next Indians possession, Rob Briggs sacked Chakot on fourth-and-6 at the Knoch 35.

When Knoch took over, it took the Knights just three plays to cover 58 yards, the last play coming on a 52-yard Shoop run.

Back to the defense, the Knights' Bill Elliott sacked Chakot on a third-and-6 at the Indiana 30 to force a punt.

With 2:14 left before halftime, Shoop drove the Knights from their own 40 to the Indians' 12, thanks to five straight completions.

However, Ben Wetzel's 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked after a bad snap with 31 seconds left and the teams entered the locker room tied at 7.

If the Knights didn't begin taking control in the second quarter, they certainly did in the third quarter.

After forcing an Indiana punt after six plays, the Knights scored on consecutive possessions, thanks to long scoring drives.

Knoch went on a 12-play, 53-yard drive, capped by Shoop's 18-yard run.

On the Knights' next possession, Shoop engineered a 13-play 65-yard drive, culminating on a 4-yard run by Shoop.

In the two drives, Shoop had a hand in 19 of the 25 combined plays, including 13 on the ground. He added the conversion run to give the Knights a 21-7 lead.

"That was the difference in the game," said Indiana coach Mark Zilinskas. "One guy helped them chew up the clock. Shoop's a great player, a great leader and put on a great performance."

Indiana opened the ensuing drive with consecutive 17-yard runs by Watters and Zach Smith to give Indiana the ball at the Knoch 35, but the drive fizzled four plays later and Knoch took over on downs.

Knoch closed out the scoring on Indiana's next possession when Elliott intercepted Chakot and ran untouched for a 15-yard touchdown.

"I can tell you right now Bill Elliott had a real fine game and made so many tackles," said King. "And Jordan, coming up on their sweeps, he came up huge on some of those."

Shoop also completed 10 of 17 passes for the Knights, but his strong suit Friday was on the ground.

"We tried to throw the ball a little and we're fairly effective," said King. "We tried to do some things to open up the running lanes this week."

Notes:

The Indians were 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions … Smith led Indiana with 90 yards on 17 carries … Knoch wasn't flagged for a penalty in the game, while Indiana amassed only four.