Knoch defense, get ready for a steady diet of Jim Rockovich.

Franklin Regional defense, prepare for a heaping helping of Jordan Shoop.

Two football teams with definite agendas get together at 7:30 p.m. Friday when Franklin Regional (4-2, 3-1) hosts Knoch (2-4, 2-1) for homecoming.

Rockovich leads the Panthers with 908 yards and 10 touchdowns on 89 carries. He rushed for 337 yards in a 28-6 win over Pine-Richland and 237 yards against Keystone Oaks in a 55-6 triumph.

"Jim's a great zone runner who sees the field really well," Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta said. "He has deceptive speed as well.

"We came into this year figuring three backs would share the load. The other two (Fran Johns, Robby Armstrong) suffered season-ending injuries and Jim has really carried the load."

Franklin Regional threw the ball just four times in a 40-0 win over Highlands last week.

"We have a lot of confidence in our running game," Botta said. "I believe in the old theory that three things can happen when you throw the football and two of them are bad."

Senior tight end Scott Uziel, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 255 pounds, has been offered a scholarship by Akron and other Division I schools are looking his way.

Knoch coach Mike King said he will challenge his kids this week to stop Franklin Regional.

"They are the biggest team we'll face this year in terms of sheer size," King said. "That's football. That's the fun of it, rising up to the challenge. If you're not going to have fun with it, why play the game?

"They're going to come right at us. And we're going to try to exploit them with our passing game."

Shoop sat out last week's 35-7 loss at Plum with a slight left shoulder separation. The junior quarterback will be back in the Knights' lineup Friday.

Shoop has completed 38 of 77 passes for 582 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

"With Jordan back in our lineup, they'll have to prepare for that," King said.

Without Shoop, Knoch completed just one pass with sophomore Dan Pickard at quarterback last week.

"Danny did well with the limited package we gave him to work with," King said. "We didn't give him much time to throw. That will have to improve."

Botta said he is very concerned about facing Knoch's offense.

"Shoop is probably the best quarterback in our conference and the (Curtis) Compton kid is an excellent receiver," he said.

"(David) Bergamasco is a complete running back. They have a lot of weapons."

Franklin Regional suffered 11 turnovers in its first two games this year - a 7-3 win over Plum and 19-6 loss to Greensburg Salem. The Panthers have had only three turnovers in their last four games.

Franklin Regional is coming off a 3-7 season.

"We started nine underclassmen and six of them were sophomores," Botta said. "It's tough to win at Quad-A when you're in that situation, but we knew we'd be getting stronger."

The Panthers dropped to Class AAA this year.

"The one thing I noticed playing Quad-A programs or teams that used to be Quad-A … it's not the size of the kids, it's the number of sizable kids these teams have," King said.

"We have to play with our heart and guts. We're still 2-1 in conference play and we want to keep that going."